Xenia liked him. Far more than she should. Maybe it was his composure.
Maybe it was the quiet authority he carried without effort.
Or maybe it was because, around Stan, she never felt like she was being viewed as a trophy to obtain.
He never chased her. Never tried to force conversations.
Never looked at her with the greedy hunger she had grown used to from other men.
Ironically, that restraint only made him more dangerous to her.
Her heartbeat quickened again.
At this point, Xenia suddenly realized something else.
If she kept waiting for Stan to make the first move, absolutely nothing would happen between them.
A man like him probably had countless people approaching him every single day. If she truly wanted him to notice her, not casually, not politely, but genuinely, then she could not continue sitting still like this.
For perhaps the first time in her life, Xenia decided she would have to be proactive toward a man.
The thought alone made her face grow warm.
....
