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“Have a good night, Eve.”
“You too, Grif.”
He was halfway down her walkway when she hollered, “Be safe.”
When he twisted to reassure her once again, the door was already closed. It was for the best. He might’ve caved and decided to stick around with her.
The festivities were hopping when he arrived. Vendors with food, games, and drinks were scattered around the grounds near the lake where the fireworks would go off. Santa sat in the gazebo with a line of children waiting to sit on his lap. He tossed his blanket down next to Juliet’s and Bryce’s, smiling at Melody who stood near the cooler he knew was full of water and pop. He never drank at this event and neither did Bryce. Juliet would indulge, but she also didn’t have to worry about crowd control.
“Hey, Grif. I almost thought you weren’t coming.”
He wasn’t running too far behind schedule, but he had arrived later than he usually did. Eve had distracted him a little too much.
“Busy day. How are you, Melody?”
“Perfect.” Her eyes glided to Bryce and Denise as they approached. Griffin swore her eyes lingered on Bryce longer than they should’ve.
He’d suspected for a while she had a thing for Bryce, which was why he never understood the insistence on trying to date him. Though Denise was more the warrior in that battle than Melody was. In the end, it didn’t matter how Melody felt about Bryce. He was married and would never stray from Denise, even if their marriage was on the rocks.
“Hey, Bro!” Bryce slapped him on the shoulder. “What took you so long?” He glanced around the area. “Where’s Eve? I figured she would’ve joined you.”
“I tried. She doesn’t like crowds. She preferred to stay in tonight.”
He would’ve preferred that as well. Right next to her. Cuddling on the couch and pretending he was okay with the friends-only status he’d landed himself in.
“Well, so far so good. Crowd is mellow. No ruckus going on.”
Griffin chuckled. “It’s also only eight o’clock. We have another hour or so until the fireworks actually start.”
“True. Want to take a round with me?”
By that, Bryce meant walking around the area greeting people and making small talk. Because as the mayor and chief of police, that was expected of them. Bryce and Griffin always did what was expected of them.
“I’m not singing carols this year.”
Griffin had his limits. Singing Christmas carols was always a painful experience, especially since he didn’t like his singing voice.
“I’m sure I can talk you into one song.” Bryce’s grin said he’d try like hell. Griffin wasn’t having it.
Though he welcomed people, talking about this and that, his mind veered to Eve and how she was doing.
5
Eve curledher legs underneath her, pulling the blanket over her lap. It wasn’t particularly cold in the house, especially since she had the windows open, letting in the fresh air. But it made her feel better to have it over her.
Scanning the TV didn’t help steer her mind away from Griffin and Juliet and all the fun they were having. She could be having fun right now as well.
She hadn’t lied, of course. Crowds were definitely not her thing.
When she was eight years old, she’d gone to the carnival with her family. It had been the best time—until she lost track of them. She could still feel the terror of searching for her parents, calling their names. Momma. Pappa. In the moment, it had never occurred to her to use their actual names. So many people. So much loudness. The panic had taken over. Instead of watching where she was going, she ran into people. In her panic-induced state, everyone bumped into her, as if shoving her around in a dizzying circle.
After what felt like hours, a police officer stopped her and helped her find her family. They had been playing a dart game, trying to win a stuffed teddy bear. They hadn’t even been aware she had wandered off and gotten lost. That had hurt more than anything.
Even then, she had been nothing. Just an object to push around and do their bidding.
Since then, it had been another reason to hate crowds. Getting lost in the sea of people.
She tossed the remote to the side, watching as it bounced on the cushion and then to the floor. It rattled across the wooden floor before stopping underneath the coffee table. She needed to buy a rug. Though the remote didn’t break, it could’ve. A rug would’ve cushioned the fall better.
