Page 86 of The Sweetest Devotion

The gesture almost made me smile. It was cute she was a reader. “Hopefully something better than that other one.”

Eden focused back on me, scowling. “Excuse me?”

“Nothing.”

Eden narrowed her eyes, and then she grinned. “Wait. Did you get a copy?”

I scratched at my neck. “Unfortunately, I did.”

She lit up and bounced a little. “Oh my God, what do you think? Are you finished?”

“Dixie’s incredibly naïve,” I said. “The world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

“It could be,” Eden chirped up.

I shook my head. She was young. “You’re in for a rude awakening.”

Eden clicked her tongue. “You’re such a Darius.”

I did relate to the male lead just a little. “He’s pretty solid.”

Eden rolled her eyes. “So, how far did you get?”

“A little over halfway.”

Eden clutched her chest, her eyes enlarging. “You didn’t freak out when Dixie was about to fall off the roof and Darius saved her?”

I shrugged. “It’s the decent thing to do.”

Eden deadpanned and very boldly reached out and shoved me. “God. It was beyond human decency. That’s when he realized he cared about her, that he had a heart. His mind didn’t just panic, but his heart froze. His heart, Keith! Like his world would stop if she wasn’t there.”

I’d read that scene, and admittedly was on my toes thinking ol’ girl was about to bite it before the end of the book. Eden was right though, there was no missing the visceral reaction Darius had had when Dixie had slipped on that roof after they’d argued.

“Romance just isn’t my thing, but it’s good you enjoy it,” I said in the end.

Eden held her hand up. “You gotta really pay attention when you read it. Let your mind go and just get sucked in.”

“It’s not realistic.”

Her upper lip curled up. “I don’t read for realism, I read for escapism.”

“Enjoy your fairy tales then.”

She pouted and I felt bad just then. I didn’t know her story, but in her large dark eyes I could see something like experience, trials and errors, but unlike me, unlike Dominique, I saw no anger.

There was something about Eden, something bright and hopeful the more I talked to her. It was for this reason alone I didn’t dump on her book too much.

Fuck, I was too jaded these days.

“Sorry,” I apologized sincerely. “I don’t know. He comes from nothing and she’s got everything, and somehow, I’m supposed to believe she really looks at him and sees something?”

“Yes,” Eden responded.

“Why?”

“Because love isn’t material. Love isn’t black and white—it’s gray. Love isn’t letting a class difference define what matters. Love isn’t easy, but it’s worth the fight.” Eden’s eyes fell to her slides as she kicked at the ground. “At least, that’s what I get out of reading these books.” She looked up at me and gave a little shrug. “I get hope. And hope makes the world go ’round. Hope makes you believe in the impossible, and for some people, love isn’t realistic until they meet that person who redefines what it is.”

She sounded just as naïve and idealistic as Dixie’s character.

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