Page 38 of Sing For Me

“Eva,” I say, shaking hands. “Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s so nice,” Will mutters. “To be bombarded by half my cousins over the course of five minutes. You haven’t even had food yet.”

“That’s why we’re here, actually,” Rose says, pointing over her shoulder at a darkened balcony overlooking the ballroom. “Alex is up there hoarding food for us.”

“We saw the little girls all over you,” the dark-haired cousin says. “We thought we’d rescue you.”

Will shoots me a cautious glance. “It probablyisquieter up there,” he says, then scowls. “But we’ll have to talk to these assholes, so it might not be any better.”

“Hey.” Rose smacks his arm but Will ignores her, leaning closer so only I can hear.

“Seriously, Eva. If this is overwhelming to you, we don’t have to go. We can find a quiet table down here.”

Normally, I would avoid this kind of situation like the plague. If there’s anything worse for my mental state than spending time in a crowded ballroom, it’s being forced to interact one-on-one with strangers.

But looking at Will, the normal worry doesn’t flood my system. I like this, I realize, getting a peak at his loud, crazy family. And I definitely don’t want to say goodbye to him yet.

“I’ll just text Marissa and tell her where I am.”

He nods, taking a deep breath, as if bracing himself. “Ignore like, seventy percent of whatever they say,” he mutters, gesturing at his cousins.

I laugh. “Oh, I’m definitely going to get the dirt on you tonight.”

“I can hardly wait,” he says drily. But he places his big, warm hand at the base of spine and leaves it there as we follow his cousins from the ballroom.