Page 5

EVE

The sunlight streaming through my thin curtains felt invasive, like it didn’t belong—not in this house, not in my life. For a long moment, I stayed perfectly still, bracing for the sharp ache in my chest that had gripped me last night.

It didn’t come.

I shifted cautiously, pressing a hand to my side, and while there was definitely some tenderness, it was nothing like I’d expected. My ribs weren’t screaming, my head wasn’t pounding. Manageable.

Had I overreacted? There was no bruising. No pain sharp enough to explain last night. Just the memory of Orion’s hands, steady and warm, and a lonely ache that I definitely didn’t want to think about.

Orion had seen me at my absolute worst—bleeding, panicked, and barely coherent. Why did he have to see me like that? Couldn’t he have caught me on a good day—if I even had one of those left?

I pressed my hands over my face, groaning softly.

What a mess.

I swung my legs over the side of the sofa, wincing as my feet hit the cold wooden floor, and shuffled to the bathroom.

The reflection in the mirror above the cracked porcelain sink made me stop short.

Dark circles hung under my muddy brown and green eyes, and a tangled mess of golden brown curls was knotted down my back.

But what stood out most was how normal I looked.

Not like someone who’d crashed their car less than 12 hours ago.

Orion was coming this morning.

The thought made my cheeks burn, and I splashed cold water on my face to shake it off. God, what would he think about my silly little drama?

An hour later, freshly showered and dressed, I tugged my wet hair into a loose braid.

I wished that I had more time to do… well, anything to make it look like I was less of a mess, but it’d have to do.

No one had been around to teach me how to properly care for my curls… so this was all I could expect.

A knock at the door jolted me out of my spiral. My stomach flipped as I glanced at the clock. He was early. Of course he was.

I darted towards the door, wrenching it open with more force than was probably necessary. But whatever nerves had gotten the better of me scattered when I saw Orion.

He stood on the other side of the door, leaning casually against the frame.

He was wearing the same dark jacket over a simple green shirt, his jeans fitted just enough to hint at the strength in his legs.

The sunlight caught the faint scruff on his jaw and the effortlessly messy waves that tumbled over his forehead, making him look effortlessly put-together in a way that made my hurried appearance feel sloppy by comparison.

“Good morning, hurricane,” he said, his full lips curling into a teasing smile as he held out a steaming reusable coffee cup. “Thought you might need some of this.”

“Uh, thanks,” I mumbled, taking the cup automatically.

“You’re welcome,” he said with a wink, straightening up and nodding toward the car parked behind him. “How are you feeling? No aches or pains you need me to massage?”

My mouth gaped. Fuck, I was messing this up.

I’d been rehearsing what to say to him all morning—first an apology for my state, then I’d try to brush it off with a quick joke to make myself seem more cool.

But the moment I looked at Orion, all that practice seemed to fly out of the window, and I just felt flustered all over again.

I coughed, trying to get control of my tongue again. “I feel fine.” I wanted to smack myself in the forehead.

“Well, alright. You ready?”

Orion stepped back toward the car when I was ready. He moved with the kind of ease that made everything about him seem deliberate—like he always knew what to say, what to do.

I shook my head sharply, forcing my gaze away from him as I grabbed the spare key to lock up. I must’ve lingered in the doorway for a second too long because Orion’s voice rang out from a distance.

“Hurry up, slowpoke. Unless you need me to carry you again?”

“I was injured,” I shot back, but it felt like a lie in the daylight.

Other than the lingering soreness, I felt as good as new.

I hurried to catch up, juggling the coffee cup in one hand while trying to shrug into my jacket with the other.

Orion stood by the passenger side of the car, holding the door open for me, not even trying to hide his smirk.

“Thanks,” I muttered, sliding into the seat as Orion closed the door.

The cab smelled faintly of leather and something earthy—pine or cedar. The interior was clean, but not spotless. A stack of papers was tucked haphazardly into the side pocket of the driver’s door, the corners bent and creased like they’d been there a while.

On the backseat, a small notebook sat half-open, its pages covered in neat handwriting that I couldn’t quite make out. Next to it was a map book—an actual map book, the kind I didn’t think people used anymore.

Orion climbed in, the door shutting with a solid thunk as he slid his sunglasses down from where they’d been perched on his head. “Comfortable?” he asked, starting the engine without looking at me.

“Yep,” I said, shifting in the seat as he pulled out of my driveway and set off down the country lanes.

“So, what do you do at Starlight Diner? Are you a waitress?”

I glanced at him, narrowing my eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

He shot me a sideways smile, one hand draped casually over the steering wheel. “It’s called getting to know one another. You know, I ask a question, then you—”

“OK, I get it!” I said, crossing my arms. “I’m a chef. Happy now?”

Orion glanced at me as we hit a stop sign. “Really? Didn’t peg you as the type to get your hands dirty.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Usually the pretty ones are the type to be in front of the customers, that’s all.”

I’d taken the wrong moment to try and drink my coffee, almost spitting it across his dashboard. Orion knew exactly the impression he was making. His smile brimmed with pride, and I hated how easily he could unravel me.

“So, did you always want to be a chef?”

I swallowed the burning coffee and tried to compose myself. “It just sort of… happened. Harold, the owner of the diner, raised me in that kitchen. He’s not my real grandfather, but he might as well be. Taught me everything he knew before he died.”

Orion hummed thoughtfully, but kept his eyes on the road.

It was difficult talking about Harold without missing him.

He’d been a light in my darker days and saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things I’d had to do.

The man taught me everything I knew and I missed his stormy moods and boisterous laughter filling the kitchen.

The world felt colder without him. I’d been trying to keep the burners hot ever since, pretending the heat could fill the space he left behind.

If Orion was aware of the change in my mood, he didn’t let it show. His fingers tapped against the steering wheel in rhythm to the radio playing out quietly, a studious look on his face as he drove towards the diner.

“Alright, hardball time,” he flashed a grin. “What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done?”

I blinked, caught off guard. “The wildest thing?”

“Yeah. Something spontaneous. Memorable.”

I opened my mouth, then paused. What was the wildest thing I’d ever done? I combed through years of routines and caution and came up empty.

“Probably skipping school to hang out at the diner.”

It sounded so lame when I said it out loud but I was never known for my recklessness.

Maybe I should have lied and told him something outrageous.

Lila would tell me I needed something to hook this man, but lying to a cop felt wrong.

Even if it was something as harmless as exaggerating my boring life.

“Damn, Eve. Living on the edge,” he shot me a wry glance. “What’s next—jaywalking? Baking without a license?”

“Guess I’m not exactly the adventurous type,” I said with a shrug, but his teasing nature pulled a slight smile to the surface.

“Alright, I think I have time for one more question,” he said, as we pulled into the diner parking lot.

He pulled into a spot by the door and turned toward me as he shut off the engine.

His gaze was steady when he lifted his shades, and the weight of it made me want to squirm, but I held myself as still as I could.

“If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?”

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to find something that sounded honest without making me seem pathetic. I didn’t know why I cared what he thought. Maybe I was just tired of feeling like a disappointment.

“I’d like to go clam-digging,” I said finally. “Spend the day at the beach. Salt in the breeze, sun on my face, and I can eat what I find. What’s not to love?”

“I think that sounds like a great plan,” Orion said, his tone warm.

I scoffed and unbuckled my seat belt. “Plans are things you make. That’s just a… dream.”

“Sounds to me like you need to take a page out of your teenage rebellious years—just take a day off and go.”

“It’s not that simple.”

My mom and I had planned a trip to the coast once, before she left. I didn’t want to tell him that going by myself would be like the final nail in the coffin of that relationship. That if I never did that trip, I could continue imagining what it would be like to go there with her someday.

That bitterness still lingered in the back of my throat, and I struggled to breathe around it.

Orion didn’t miss the shift in my expression this time. He reached his hand out, laying it gently on the hand I had clasped around my coffee, earnest written into the creases at the corners of his mouth.

“You’re allowed to want more, Eve. It doesn’t have to just be a dream.”

I shook my head, a bitter laugh slipping out.

“You don’t get it,” I said, the denial heavy in my tone. “The diner’s not just a job—it’s my whole life. Louise needs me. The customers…” I waved a hand vaguely toward the building, the weight of it all pressing down. “I’m needed here.”

He didn’t argue. Didn’t even blink. Just tapped his thumb against the back of my hand, raising goosebumps across my skin.

Before he could say anything else, I shrugged out of his grip and opened the door. I meant to thank him, but he was already out—locking up like this was just another morning.

“Come on then,” he said, heading toward the diner. “Let’s go meet the people keeping you here.”

I stared after him for a beat, mouth dropped open. I shook my head and caught up to him, my stomach twisting with nerves.

Orion didn’t seem fazed. He slung an arm over my shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like we did this every day, and he hadn’t just rescued me from a ditch the night before.

The warmth of it settled into my bones. After everything, it should’ve felt awkward. Instead, it felt like maybe… I could breathe.