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.
“Have we met before?” he asks.
She frowns. “I don’t know. You look familiar.”
He squints and lift his hand to push back his hair, flashing the dark tattoos on the back of his hand. “I know you.”
The girl behind Seth grips his arm and tugs, her mouth a flat line. “Come on, Seth. Let’s go.”
“Seth.” Ev licks her lips. “Seth and Shane.”
“That’s my cousin.” Seth shakes the other girl off and leans over the table, focused on Ev. “Yeah, I know you. You brought us food sometimes. Gave us a blanket once when it was so cold I’d stopped feeling my feet. You’re that girl.”
I know Seth and Shane lived on the street when Zane found them and took them in, but never thought they’d met. I didn’t know they’d met Ev. I turn back to her.