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I rub my fingers through my short, drenched hair and glance at Ev, who’s settling her fancy purple-and-white walking stick against her chair.
It’s her. I’d guessed right. I still can’t believe I’m sitting across from her. That I held her and kissed her.
She catches my gaze and smiles at me. Her lips are red and puffy from our kiss and damn, all I want is to take her in my arms and taste her again.
We order coffee and apple cake with cream cheese frosting, then sit back and look at each other. She brings her long ponytail over her shoulder and fiddles with her shiny hair. She bites her lip.
She has no clue what she’s doing to me. I swear, every look, every gesture goes straight to my cock. I shift on my seat, biting back a groan. Any minute now the buttons of my fly will pop from the pressure.
“Ev...” I say and then catch myself. I’m not her friend, not yet. “Evangeline.”
“Just Ev is fine.” Her smile returns, bright.
I smile back, relieved. She’s been Ev in my head for a long time now. “Ev it is.” Where to start? How to tell her how she saved me? “You like walking in town.”
The words just spill out of my mouth, and she frowns, delicate, honey-colored brows drawing together. God, everything about her is so pretty. “How do you know that?”
Oh shit. “I used to...” ... what, watch you? From afar? Before? Oh yeah. Now she’ll be sure I’m a stalker. “I used to think...”
“Think what?” She pulls back as our coffees and cake arrive, then draws her coffee cup closer and cradles it in her hands, looking at me expectantly.
I pour a package of sugar into mine and stir slowly, to buy myself time. “That people with leg injuries must be the ones who walk the most.” I lift the cup to my lips to hide a wince.
Yeah, real smooth. Christ.
But she laughs softly. “Well, you’re spot on. I used to walk a lot. But then I had this accident, and my parents and brother took it as an excuse to convince me walking in town is a bad idea. That talking to the people on the street is a bad idea. And then...” She stares into her coffee, the light in her eyes dimming. “Never mind.”
My mouth is dry. I lick my lips and try to swallow. “Then what, Ev?”
“Maybe they’re right,” Ev whispers. She shrugs her shoulders a tiny bit. “Maybe it’s dangerous.”
Her last words chill my blood. My hands clench at my sides. “Why? Has anyone hurt you?”
“No. It’s not that.”
I relax a little. “If you ever need anything... anything at all,” I find myself saying, “come to me. Don’t hesitate.”
Her eyes go round, and she blinks rapidly. “You barely know me.”
I know you, I want to say. I know who you really are inside.
But I hesitate. Because she isn’t sure she wants to talk to people from the street anymore, not sure she did the right thing.
“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper. Because right now she’s looking at me with fondness. Then her gaze falls on my mouth, and her lashes lower over her darkening eyes. Could she want me as I want her? I can’t forget the way she melted into my kiss, the way she kissed me back.
How will she look at me when she knows? How will she react? Will she run away?
Fuck. I have to tell her. Not telling her would be like lying. I take a fortifying breath and open my mouth to spill it all out.
“Micah? Hey, man,” a male voice calls, and I clench my jaw.
“Fuck,” I mutter as he approaches.
Ev gives me a questioning look.
“Hey, Seth.” What the hell is he doing here? Not his usual spot. Then I notice a girl trailing behind him, tall and willowy with a cloud of white-blond curls.
Ev is staring at Seth like she’s seen a ghost. Seth stares back just as hard, his eyes narrowed. His dark hair is loose and falling into his face.
