She hadn't called him out on standing in the tunnel indefinitely, and she hadn't taken offense at his — slightly rude — question. This was better than August could have honestly expected, and so he was happy to keep chatting with the presumably-debutante.

"Your first season, then?" August asked, smiling softly back at her. "I would tell you that it gets better, but I'm afraid I have no real evidence of that."

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