Page 23

Harper

Five days left to remember why I’m out here while not getting distracted by Eve

Eve and I saw Jensen and his crew at the exact same time, moving through the room with body language that screamed victory .

My stomach sank, and my lungs froze. I shot a panicked look over to Eve at the bar. The second our eyes met, I felt some inner instinct yank me in her direction.

“Harper?” Heather asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes— Well, not exactly…” I stopped mid-stride and touched her arm with an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry. I’ll be right back, okay?”

I didn’t wait for a response. Eve moved toward me, and I ducked around groups of people, trying to stay hidden from Jensen’s view.

We collided beneath the disco-saddle. Before I could say a word, she had my hand in hers and was dragging me to a small, dark hallway behind the wooden stage.

“Why does he look like he just found a whole bunch of buried treasure?” I hissed.

She shook her head. “I don’t know, but it’s making me nervous.”

Eve ducked into the hallway and pulled me close—my back pressed to the wall, both her hands braced by my head. She angled herself to block us from view, the only light coming from the disco saddle, sending a prism of sparkles along the right side of her body.

“He couldn’t have found anything…right?” I asked. “For one thing, they all look dry, so they couldn’t have been out in this storm.”

Eve had her phone out, scrolling with a furrowed brow. “Nothing on X Marks. Knowing Jensen, he’d have posted about it the second he found it. But they could be celebrating something else. A clue. Some new insight, maybe.”

A round of cheers went up. Not from the dancers, but from Jensen’s team. Peering past Eve’s arm, I caught sight of them doing shots at the bar.

“Goddammit,” she whispered. “I always wanted it to be me and Monty. I always…” She ran her fingers through her curls. “Always wanted Priscilla to be ours , something we shared together. But maybe that’s stupid.”

She bit her lip, looking absolutely devastated—a rare crack in her armor that made my own heart ache on her behalf.

“Stories like Priscilla’s and Adeline’s aren’t just words on a page for queer people,” I murmured. “They’re…they’re oxygen, the air we need to breathe. A reminder of our joyful existence.”

Eve caught my eye as another wave of disco light sparkled across her body.

“You wanting this isn’t stupid, Eve,” I said. “It’s brave. It’s hopeful. Cherishing this story, cherishing her life. Going after what you desire even if you fail.”

My mother had raised us through the world of books, each day a new adventure. I once saw what I did as a journalist to be something similar, but now I wasn’t so sure. Over the years, my father’s outrageous influence and ego had crept into those dreams, stolen them away in bits and pieces.

The need to prove myself to him, to prove I was better , was ebbing in volume the longer I was out here, replaced by wide-open sky and dusty red canyons.

And the wild, untamed hope of two women, racing hand-in-hand across the desert toward their new life.

“You think I’m brave?” Eve asked softly.

“Of course. You chose yourself over your family’s toxic behavior. That takes courage.”

She swallowed. “My family would disagree with that assessment.”

“Well, they’re fucking idiots. You did the right thing, getting away from them.”

One side of her mouth tugged up into a smile. It had me realizing where we were standing—in the dark, outside of prying eyes, her tattooed hands on either side of my head. She was so beautiful it took my breath away, all roguish curls and high cheekbones.

Not twenty minutes earlier I’d broken the rule I’d just set and let myself get pulled onto the dance floor by this goddess. She danced like a dream, of course, her wicked charm and sly swagger making me feel seduced , like we were on an actual date .

No part of me knew what to do with that. Not my brain, not my body, certainly not my heart, which was currently thrashing inside my rib cage like a scared rabbit.

“Heather’s cute,” Eve said.

I cocked my head. “Who?”

“The woman with the blue hair. You were talking to her right before Jensen came in.”

I touched the center of my forehead. “Oh, right, Heather. She’s super sweet. We were talking about Brooklyn a bit.”

“Does she live there?” she asked.

I frowned. “I have no idea. Why?”

“Nothing, you just…” Eve cleared her throat. “I was picking up on some vibes, is all.”

A heady warmth spread across my chest. “Eve…were you jealous I was talking to her?”

She scoffed. “What’s there to be jealous about? Besides, even if we were together, that’s never been my style. That shit’s toxic.”

I held her gaze, refusing to back down even as she looked like she wanted to fidget. “Then if that’s the case, maybe I’ll get her number before we leave. Give her a call when she’s back in Brooklyn next month.”

Her dark brows knit together. “So you did think she was cute?”

“Oh, extremely. Totally my type.”

Eve went rigid, though she forced a smile. “You should go for it. She’d be a fool to turn you down.”

That same heady warmth climbed the back of my neck. “Do you think so? I wasn’t sure if she was flirting with me or just being nice.”

She dipped her head closer. “Hendrix, you’re absolutely stunning. She’s lucky you even talked to her.”

My belly swooped like a flock of birds in the sky. “Oh my god…you were jealous.”

Eve was briefly lit by the disco ball, bright red cheeks on full display.

“You have no proof,” she said, clearly trying not to smile.

“No one’s ever told you they were jealous before?” I asked.

“It’s never been like that,” she said easily—though she was blushing even harder now. My entire body felt electrified at the knowledge that I could make this cocky, self-assured woman blush .

I let my eyes linger on her full lips. I was breaking all the rules now. But it was just this once. Just one moment of indulging in what I really wanted. Our shared moment back at the Kept King mine clearly hadn’t been enough for me.

My secret fear, though, was that when it came to Eve…it would never be enough.

“Anyone you’ve dated who hasn’t gotten at least a little jealous is lying through their teeth,” I whispered. “You inspire desperation, Eve Bardot.”

Eve shifted, boxing me in more closely. The tip of her nose hovered just an inch from mine. “What exactly are you implying?”

“You asked me how to be more honest in your relationships,” I said. “You can start by being honest about how much you want me .”

A muscle ticked in Eve’s jaw. One hand came around to cup my cheek, her thumb sliding beneath my chin. Tipping my face up. The tension between us simmered with a taut, frenetic energy.

“You want to know how desperately I want you?” she whispered hoarsely.

She reached down, gripped my thigh, pulling it high around her waist so she could pin my hips to the wall with her own.

My lips parted on a gasp. “Do you want to hear every dream I’ve had of you in my bed?

Every time I wanted to kiss you, mid-argument, and stopped myself? ”

She dropped her face to the crook of my neck. I dug my nails into the back of her hair, holding her there, arching into her body.

“I want you so badly I burn with it, Harper,” she murmured against my skin, the sound of my name on her lips sending a jolt of ecstasy through me. “So yes , I was jealous, because I’ve never felt like this before, and I’m losing my fucking mind about it.”

Her teeth were against my ear. Then her mouth was in my hair, at my temple. I fisted my hand in her shirt, our breaths mingling. Shaky.

I couldn’t be sure, but I thought Eve’s fingers were trembling where they cupped my face.

Pressing up onto my toes, I hovered my lips close to hers. “Then do something about it.”