Page 99 of Try Hard

The way she said it had my heart jolting, like her mum knew she had a crush on me too. For some reason, that made the whole thing feel real. Perhaps because Ophelia gave so few things away to the world. If she’d given that up, it had to be so desperately real to her.

I felt her rising up on her tiptoes as I hugged her tighter, almost picking her up. Even in the bathroom, it felt spectacular, like one of those ridiculously cute shots from a movie. I was just glad I got to live with her.

“You don’t have to worry about Sophie,” she said quietly, one hand teasing gently over the nape of my neck.

“No?”

“Not at all.”

“I think it’s pretty clear Soph’s got a serious crush on you.”

Ophelia breathed a laugh. “Indeed. She’s never been particularly subtle about it, but she knows we’re just friends.”

“Does she?”

“Yes, and I’m happy to spell that out clearly to her. But, either way, it’s not her I’m interested in, Eve.”

I sucked in a deep breath at my name on her lips. I loved the way she said it—loved the way she said everything. “Sorry. I’m not usually like this, I promise.”

“What? Tactile?” she asked humorously. “I’ve seen more than enough of your games to know that’s not true.”

“Not that.” Touching her was possibly the best thing I’d ever felt. She was so soft and warm, toned, strong, fragile,beautiful. She always had been. “Jealous. I don’t think I’ve ever been jealous of anything before. Definitely not with a… um. Well. Person?”

She laughed gently. “We’ve all got something we care about enough to get jealous over, but you don’t need to worry about Sophie. I like her, always have done, but there is nothing remotely romantic about it. She’s not the Archer I spend all my time thinking about.”

My heart raced, my stomach bottomed out again, and my brain buzzed in the most unexpected, delightful way. Ophelia Pendrick thought aboutme.What had I done to deserve that? “What’s the thing you care enough about?”

“You.”

I was going to die. And I’d go happily. It came to us all eventually, and I couldn’t think of a better way to go than in Ophelia’s arms, breathing her delicate scent in, as she told me she cared about me just as much as I cared about her. I wasn’tsure a better paradise existed. Maybe I was already dead. If this was the afterlife, I was good with that.

“I’m sure Sammy’s a lovely woman but I cannot stand the way she looks at you, touches you. It feels like an inferno inside of me when I see her hitting on you. Of course, I’d never do anything. You’re allowed to be with whoever you want, but, yeah.” She shook her head and I opened my eyes to watch the way her hair danced down her back when she did. It was so perfectly wonderful.

I pulled back to look her in the eye. “I’m not interested in Sammy. We had words last night, actually. Assuming she remembers, I don’t think she’s going to like me very much anymore.”

Ophelia winced. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Not my first time dealing with something like that, and I really needed her to get the message. It’s hard to properly hit on you when someone’s constantly trying to get in the way.”

Her smile was the best one in the world. “Like Sammy. Or your sister.”

“Hm. One of those is more awkward than the other, but yes.”

Ophelia’s eyes dropped to my lips and she moved to trace her index finger over the lower one. When I shuddered deliciously from the touch, she smiled, not taking her eyes off me. “Eve, what are you doing later?”

“Lying in bed thinking about you,” I whispered, leaning closer. I wouldn’t kiss her without her explicit say so. I knew what that meant for her, but I could feel it brewing between us. How close we’d been last night in bed pounded in my every atom.

“I don’t have the house to myself, but do you want to stay at mine tonight?” Her teeth grazed across her bottom lip as she leaned in and my heart pounded in my ears.

“More than anything.”

She smiled, her breath coming just as fast as mine. I could barely hear anything but the moment between us and the reaction my body had to her.

Her hand traced from my lips along my cheek to cradle the back of my head, both of us breathing together. I could practically feel her lips on mine.

“Eve! Dinner!” Soph yelled from downstairs, crashing straight through the moment, and Herc charged up the stairs, seeking us out.

Ophelia laughed, burying herself in my neck. “I guess we should have known that was coming.”