Page 78 of Sing For Me

“Eva, you were totally ambushed,” Geoff argues.

She shrugs. “It was a little scary in the moment, but mostly because I wasn’t expecting it. Will got me through the crowd and I calmed down pretty quickly once we were in the car.”

If anything, her explanation just seems to confuse them more. “I could stay down at Marissa’s place,” Geoff suggests. “Just in case you need someone.”

Eva still looks amused. “If you want to hang out with Mar, I’m not going to stop you. But I just want a quiet afternoon with Will.”

Her words fill my chest with warmth and something passes between us as she meets my eye, a spark of electricity, of understanding, in the air, and I couldn’t look away from her if I tried.

“Holy shit,” Geoff mutters, and I realize he’s staring at me, mouth open.

“Iknow,” Marissa says next to him, eyes darting back and forth between Eva and me. “What the hell is goingon?”

Eva rolls her eyes at their dramatics. “Okay, that’s enough of you two.” She starts to shuffle them towards the stairs. “Say hi to everyone for me. I’ll call you later.”

They argue some more as she herds them out but eventually they leave with promises that they’ll call and check up on her later. And then we’re alone.

“Sorry about that,” she says, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. I want nothing more than to still her fingers by taking her in my arms. I want to hold her close and feel more of that electricity that always seems to flow between us.

But I’m not sure where we’re at with the whole friendship break thing, and the last thing I want to do is overwhelm her after the morning she had. So I put my hands in my pockets to keep myself from reaching out.

“They’re a little overprotective?”

She’s nods. “They’re used to me not reacting well to this kind of thing.”

That’s when it hits me—her friends are the people who’ve gotten her through all of her breakdowns since the fire. I think about the series of bets and challenges they set up just to get her out of the house. The way she told me they were like family. Suddenly their reluctance to leave her alone after the morning’s events makes a lot more sense.

They were expecting her to freak out. To need them to pull her through it. But instead she sent them away—because she hasme. She trusts me to be that person for her.

The realization tightens something in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I have to swallow a few times before I can speak. “You’re stronger than they realize.”

She makes a face and I shake my head at her before she can deny it. “You are. You didn’t shut down today, Eva. You didn’t totally freak out.”

Her lips tug up in a sheepish smile. “I’m actually kind of proud of myself.”

God, this girl. Shewrecksme.

“You should be,” I say, my voice embarrassingly husky. I’m lucky I can speak at all over the lump in my throat. “I definitely am.” I shift on my feet, needing to break the intensity I’m feeling before my body saysfuck itand pulls her into my arms. “So you’ve got me for the day. What do you want to do with me?”

She thinks for a moment. “We could go for a swim? The water is probably still cold but we could give it a try.”

“Are you sure you want to be outside?” I ask, thinking about the photographers that I’m sure are still on the street.

“It’s a private beach. They can’t get to the back of the house.”

Well, then. “Honey, if you’re going to get into a bikini, you can bet your sweet ass that I’m down.”

She laughs that husky laugh that has tightened my stomach since the first day I met her. Then she holds out her hand, waiting for me to take it. When I do, she turns, pulling me further into her house.

I follow her. In this moment, I’m pretty sure that I would follow this woman anywhere.