"Oh, I don't know." Tristan drew out the book he was holding, flashing the cover for just a moment. "Without dresses, I'm nothing to write home about, apparently." 'Captivating' wasn't something he'd expected, and it was threatening to make him blush. He tried to think of some way to repay the compliment - it was a compliment, wasn't it? not just an observation? - but couldn't find a similarly innocuous way to tell her she had exceptional eyes. Every way he tried to phrase it sounded creepy.
He leapt on the change of subject, gratefully abandoning all the lame responses he'd formulated. "I was, yes. I graduated in ninety-three. You ..." He paused. He was fairly confident that she hadn't been very near his class, so his next guess shouldn't have carried too much risk. "You must have been a bit behind me - you look familiar, but - did you have a sister?"