Page 102 of Try Hard
Eve hummed. “Fair enough.”
Mum shot me an accusing look that was barely concealed behind a polite smile. “Good dinner?”
“Great. Thank you.” I narrowed my eyes infinitesimally, hoping she’d get the message that I didn’t want to talk about the fact that Eve had returned home with me. “And you?”
“Delicious,” Dad said happily, entirely unsurprised to see Eve—which I supposed wasn’t entirely unexpected. He’d spent the entire morning with the two of us paying very little attention to the planes we were ostensibly watching.
“Agreed,” Jeremy said, looking warmly at his daughter. “And I’m guessing your mum and Terrance sent the two of you with lots of leftovers.”
Eve laughed. “You know it.”
I gestured to the kitchen. “We should get it in the fridge, actually, but there’s plenty of cake to go around if you haven’t had dessert yet.”
Eve followed me as we heard Jeremy tell my parents, “I wouldn’t say no to Marnie’s baking.”
I was sure divorces were hard and painful, but the way Eve’s parents had navigated it, the ease with which they spoke of each other was really something special.
I looked at Eve as I shut the fridge again. “I’m glad your parents still have such a good relationship.”
She sent me a soft, appreciative smile. “Me too. Soph and I are very lucky.”
“You know it’s good when you’re talking about Sophie without sounding like you want to murder her.” I wanted to hold her so badly, an unusual urge for me, at least outside of her. The way she stepped closer to me told me she was feeling the same way.
“Soph’s not here,” she said, her voice low and suggestive.
“Indeed.”
“Do you two want tea?” Mum asked, appearing from the living room.
I cleared my throat and stepped back from Eve, more than ready to be alone with her. It was like we were slowly making our way through an obstacle course of the Archer and Pendrick families. I was more than ready for it to just be the two of us now.
“That would be great, actually,” Eve said, smiling at my mum with ease. “Can I help?”
Mum laughed. “Absolutely not. You poor girls are soaked! Let me get you your tea and you can head upstairs to get dry and warm.”
I cringed internally at the slightly accusing edge in Mum’s voice. We werenotgoing to have sex in their house. Even if I didn’t have a million things to talk about before that could happen, my parents and Eve’s dad being downstairs, eating cake together, was the opposite of a turn-on.
Eve leaned on the counter carefully, smiling at my mum. “You’re the best. I can’t believe how hard it’s coming down suddenly. But, don’t worry, I’m taking care not to wreck your house with the river I just brought in.”
Mum laughed and watched her warmly as she set the kettle on to boil.
It was ridiculous how much Eve—massive sporting celebrity, interior designer to the stars, woman who’d moved to another country to chase her dreams—fit in there, in my parents’ kitchen, chatting to my mum like they were old friends. I didn’t think Eve had ever met a person she didn’t immediately click with, who she couldn’t dive into conversation with like they’d known each other for years. My heart ached as I listened to Mum grilling her on the weather she’d experienced in the US, and Eve was so animated as she replied.
I’d never worried my parents wouldn’t like her. Even when I’d thought her reciprocating my feelings had been a pipe dream. Everyone liked Eve. She fit in everywhere.
I felt a twang like I’d let her down. Sure, her family liked me well enough, but I didn’t have the conversational ease she did. Even fully engaged, I could still be prickly in my responses. But I enjoyed her family and I wanted them to like me—not just because of how much I liked Eve.
Mum finished making tea for everyone and I pulled the cake out for her, Dad, and Jeremy. She offered us some, but we’d both had Marnie-sized portions earlier and couldn’t eat another bite. Marnie and Terrance were well matched for a lot of reasons but especially for how much they showed their love through food. I got the feeling they’d get along with my parents.
“Have a good night,” three knowing, suggestive voices called after us as we headed upstairs with our mugs. I felt my face burn. They were all ridiculous.
And I would have a great night.
Eve was comfortable everywhere she went, including my former bedroom. She followed easily after me to put her mug down and drop her bag in the corner of the room. We’d taken our coats off downstairs, but before she could remove any of her other wet clothes, I fell into her arms. It felt like days that I’d been away from her.
I couldn’t remember ever feeling so complete around another person, so much like we understood each other with or without words, or more like I could just be myself around them. It made me ache when she was away, and ache in a completely different, deeply unfamiliar way when she was close.
She smelled like she always did—likeEve—combined with the rain, and it was perfect. The sound of it still hitting the window, fast and heavy, played at the edges of my awareness,every other part taken up by Eve—the scent of her, the play of her back muscles under my hands, the way she held me.
