_{———❝ PARDON ME… was that like an innuendo? ❞
blinking, the man wondered momentarily on the woman’s wording. something about how the phrase danced around a secret he’d been keeping, a secret he was sure she could sense. this was no ordinary person, not if she chose her words so close to home.}  

     _{❝ if not, we can pretend it was? ❞}