Chapter Ten
Eden
My cousin would be lucky to survive the weekend.
Low-key drinks with Addie and Milo turned into an ambush when we walked in to find half a dozen of Adelaide’s buddies sitting around the bar at the back of the restaurant.
The only one of the group who I’d previously met was Addie’s friend, Monique.
I stiffened as soon as I spotted them all.
Milo’s hand settled on my lower back just before he murmured in my ear, “It’s okay. I’ll shield you if you need it. I know most of them from school, but if you want to escape after one drink, say the word and I’ll whisk you away.”
Since Addie couldn’t see the daggers I was shooting from my eyes as she skipped toward the bar, I grumbled my acquiescence under my breath and let Milo propel me forward.
The rest of them introduced themselves, greeted Milo with hand clasps or hugs, and then every one of them eyed the two of us curiously.
Just what I needed. More scrutiny.
The bartender was a young guy named Lucas, probably only in his mid-twenties, but he, too, knew Milo. “Hey, man! I’m joining Liv’s new game on Tuesday. I haven’t played Dungeons & Dragons since I was a kid, but Liv is…”
“Tenacious?” Milo suggested.
“I was going to say persuasive, but yeah.”
The two of them shared a grin as we ordered our round of drinks—fortunately just for the three of us rather than the whole group, or I would’ve ripped into my cousin for costing Milo a small fortune. I decided on the evening’s special, a bourbon-based cocktail, and Milo smirked in my direction.
“You’re a bourbon girl, huh? Not champagne, to celebrate?”
I shrugged. “I don’t drink very often, but I know what I like. The champagne that night was more symbol than preference.”
“Good to know,” he mused.
Though Addie proposed a toast to the shop’s success, which resulted in the entire restaurant erupting in cheers, her friends diverted her attention enough that Milo and I were left mostly to our own devices.
He reached over, his fingers gently tugging the bow at my neck. “I like this.”
“You do?”
“Mmm.”
The low sound was somewhere between a murmur and a growl. Those gray eyes darkened when goosebumps rose along my bare arms and a shiver danced up my spine.
“You look like a gift, just waiting to be unwrapped.”
I sucked in a breath as that fantasy spun before me.
Milo let go of the fabric, but he trailed one fingertip along my throat as his hand moved away.
Focused as I was on his expression, a mixture of heat and longing, I didn’t realize Addie was calling my name until Milo tipped his head in her direction.
“What?” I asked, swiveling on my stool.
Addie was smiling at me, but it wasn’t the triumphant smirk I expected. It was soft, pleased. Loving. All my remaining irritation fled under the warmth of that smile.
“Sorry about the crowd, babe. I just told them we were coming out and they wanted to celebrate your success today. You did great. I’m so proud of you.”
“Be proud of us,” I replied. “You’ve done more than your share of the heavy lifting. I couldn’t have managed this without you.”
“Nonsense. Take note, Milo. Eden Rosalie Campbell has a will of solid steel. Whatever she sets her mind to, it doesn’t matter how long it’ll take to make it happen—if she wants it, she will get it.”
Milo grinned at me and said, “I’d noticed that, actually.”
Addie burst out laughing while I shot him a glare, but I couldn’t hold onto it long. Aside from Addie, Rob, and Monique, I hadn’t built a whole lot of community in Spruce Hill while I worked toward my goal, but here I was, surrounded by people ready to cheer me on.
Including Milo.
With him at my back, I let Addie and her friends draw us into their conversations.
As I relaxed into this whole being part of a group thing, I felt Milo shift, turning on his stool with one knee on either side of my hips.
I moved without thinking, settling myself there between his legs, reveling in the heat of his chest against my back and the weight of his hand when it squeezed my waist.
“I’ll walk you out when you’re ready,” he murmured into my ear, just as my sleepless night and chaotic first day caught up with me.
I stifled a yawn. “I think I’m ready now.”
Addie had a sixth sense for anything that involved getting me alone with this man, so she smiled brightly and said, “I’ll catch a ride with Monique. Have a good night, you two!”
Though I rolled my eyes, the chorus of farewells and wishes for continued success on opening weekend distracted me from my cousin’s meddling. Milo’s hand closed around mine as we left the restaurant, walking into a startling burst of chilly air. I recoiled slightly, bumping into Milo’s firm chest.
“If I had a jacket, I’d offer it to you,” he said.
“I guess I should still be bringing one to work. It’s been so nice out during the day this week, I thought maybe we were in for an early spring. I can’t wait for warmer weather.”
He wrapped his arm around me, tucking my body into his side as we hurried toward his car. God, he was warm, even in a t-shirt and jeans. I tripped over my own feet just as we reached the car, saved from falling only by Milo’s quick reflexes.
“Easy there. Are you okay to drive? I can take you home.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That’s probably a good idea. You’d think a single drink wouldn’t be a problem, but I have zero tolerance for alcohol. Addie had offered Monique as our driver and said she’d bring me to work in the morning if I needed it.”
Milo’s expression shifted as he led me toward his car instead. Once my door was shut, he jogged around to the driver’s side, settling into his seat before he spoke. “Eden, that night…”
Before he could even finish the sentence, I started shaking my head. “No. Nope. If you’ll recall, I didn’t even finish that glass of champagne. I’m not drunk now, Milo, I would just rather be safe than sorry when it comes to operating heavy machinery.”
“Okay,” he soothed. “Just making sure.”
“Do you regret hooking up with me?” I blurted out, then wondered if I might be drunker than I’d thought, since my verbal filter had apparently abandoned me.
“Do I regret—fuck no.”
The words carried enough force to reassure me, though he looked a little hurt that I’d even asked the question. I wasn’t sure what exactly my face was doing, but as his eyes searched mine, whatever he saw there caused his expression to grow soft.
“Eden, that night was amazing and my only regret was not waking up with you so we could exchange information before you left. But for what it’s worth, this—hanging out, talking, letting you kick my ass at video games—this is amazing, too.”
My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, letting me?”
“By giving you the opportunity to use your vastly superior but slightly concerning button-mashing skills.”
“Mm-hmm.” I glared for another second, then reached out to stroke his beard, silky soft under my fingertips—but still rough enough to leave pink marks on my skin, as I recalled all too clearly. “You’re lucky I like you.”
“Was that so hard to admit?” he whispered, covering my hand with his own and nuzzling his cheek into my palm.
“Yes,” I whispered back.
His eyes looked black in the dark interior of the car, but I saw them sweeping across my features. After a long moment, he nodded, kissed my palm, and released my hand.
“We’ll work on that. Can you direct me to your place, or should I put your address in my phone?”
“I can direct you,” I replied, but his words were still bouncing around inside my brain.
We’ll work on that.
Like it was a given he would be by my side to do just that. Like he didn’t mind my idiosyncrasies, like this was the start of something real and true. Like somehow, together, we could make our way forward.
It sounded like a promise, like a lover’s vow, and damn, I liked that.
Iignored every one of my cousin’s curious looks the next morning when she picked me up, but I knew I wasn’t fooling either of us.
“I’m sorry again about the crowd,” she said, “but I’m glad Milo was able to make it.”
“You’re just glad he’s a gentleman and offered to drive me home.”
Her immediate grin was confirmation enough. “I don’t believe in questioning serendipity, and you shouldn’t, either.”
Though I rolled my eyes, she had a point. After the best night of my life, I’d let my upbringing cast its ugly shadows over what happened between me and Milo, let that imagined shame frighten me away from a night of sheer joy.
Never again.
That’s what I’d started telling myself even before I left home at eighteen. Never again would I let someone else’s beliefs destroy my happiness.
It hadn’t been easy, shedding that skin, melting into a messy pile of goo inside a chrysalis as I fought my way into independence so I could emerge as something new, something stronger.
Addie had been at my side through all of it—the therapy sessions, the late night crying jags, the tentative emergence of a bolder Eden who moved through the world with confidence and poise.
An Eden who embraced her sexuality, who wore what she wanted, who didn’t have to hide herself away from constant criticism for fear of being locked in her room as punishment for her imagined misdeeds.
The fact that I’d let that new me slip away in a moment of panic at the hotel room still grated on me, but now I had the chance to fix things.
I had the chance to seize hold of what I’d found with Milo, even if I had almost thrown it away because of everything my parents had embedded deep into my psyche before I knew any better.
I drew a deep breath, washing every trace of them from my mind, and smiled at my cousin. “You’re right. I’m certainly not complaining.”
That smile lingered until we pulled up around the corner from Garden of Delights where I’d parked the day before, and I noticed my car looked weird.
“What the hell?” Addie muttered angrily, throwing the gear shift into park and jumping out of the driver’s seat to stalk toward my SUV.
“Son of a motherless goat,” I whispered as I hurried over to inspect the car.
Every single tire was completely flat. Aside from the flappy, deflated rubber, the rest of it looked unharmed, but even if I’d wanted to change a tire in my work clothes, I only had one spare.
Maybe fate wasn’t actually on my side after all.