“I haven’t walked down the street with an ice-cream cone since I was a kid.”
“Then you should do it today,” Anna said. “Come on, Eden. Say yes.”
She met Anna’s eyes, immediately lost in their chestnut depths. In that moment, she’d have said yes to almost anything. “Okay.”
“Really?” Anna asked, and was she closer now than she had been a moment before?
Eden had gone from staring into her eyes to looking at her lips, which were glossy and pink. They looked so soft. Would they feel assoft as they looked? Anna leaned forward, and oh God, was she going to kiss her? Eden felt a surge of something hot and urgent between her thighs. But wait, she didn’t actually want—
Then Anna’s arms were around her, and they were hugging, and Eden was trying very hard not to sound like she’d forgotten how to breathe. Anna pulled back, beaming at her. “We’re going to have so much fun!”
“Are you sure you want vanilla?” Anna asked.
Beside her, Eden looked adorably ordinary in a purple baseball cap and sunglasses, paired with an oversize lime-green T-shirt, black shorts, and sneakers. For the first ten minutes or so after they’d arrived at the river walk, she’d been so visibly uncomfortable that Anna almost gave in and took her back to the hotel. Every time someone even glanced in their direction, Eden’s entire body tensed.
But now, she seemed to be realizing that her disguise worked. No one—except Anna—was paying her any attention, and as they approached an ice cream stand, Anna wanted to celebrate the moment, even if Eden had picked a boring flavor. If vanilla was truly her favorite, Anna would happily buy her a vanilla cone, but she wondered if Eden was just playing it safe, which seemed to be her default setting.
“Vanilla’s fine.” Eden shrugged, eyeing the ice cream stand like it was filled with overzealous paparazzi who were about to leap out and accost her.
“Of course vanilla isfine, but at least look at all the flavors before you pick.”
“What are you having?” Eden asked.
“I’m having lemon sorbet because it’s the only vegan option, but you have like twenty flavors to choose from. Come see.” Anna gestured for Eden to follow as she walked closer to the stand.
Eden positioned herself slightly behind Anna in a reversal of the way they’d stand onstage together later tonight. Anna was enchanted by this somewhat shy version of her. She couldn’t have even pictured it until this moment. For the first time since they’d met, Anna was in charge, which was a heady feeling.
“Okay, actually I want to try the mint chocolate chip,” Eden said. “I remember loving that when I was a little girl.”
Anna gave her an incredulous look. “Eden, when is the last time you had ice cream?”
“From a stand like this? Probably when I was about ten. I love dessert, but ice cream isn’t really something I seek out, other than a scoop on top of a piece of pie or something, you know?”
“I know you’ve been deprived of the joy of ice-cream cones for entirely too long, and I’m very happy to remedy that for you.” Anna gave her a playful nudge. “Okay, so mint chocolate chip. And how do you feel about waffle cones?”
Eden looked sheepish. “They sound interesting?”
“All right, Ms.Snooty Celebrity, let me reintroduce you to the simple pleasure of ice cream. Be right back.” Anna headed toward the stand, half expecting Eden to follow. She’d been glued to Anna’s side ever since she finally gave Taylor permission to go off on her own here on the waterfront. Anna wasn’t sure where Taylor was now, but she’d promised to stay nearby in case Eden needed her. Anna was glad that so far, she hadn’t.
She approached the stand and ordered a cup of lemon sorbet for herself and Eden’s mint-chocolate-chip cone, grateful not to see any hint of recognition from the employee behind the counter. The girl scooping the ice cream looked to be in her late teens, which was Anna’s core fan demographic.
Anna paid with cash and turned around to look for Eden, who was nowhere in sight. Where had she gone? Anna felt a flicker of panic. Shewanted this outing to be casual and fun, a chance for Eden to escape the confines of her life for a few hours. If anything happened to her ...
But there she was, standing at the edge of the river with her back to Anna. Eden’s hands were clasped behind herself, and from a distance at least, she appeared at ease. Anna exhaled as she hurried toward her.
“One mint-chocolate-chip cone for the lady by the river,” Anna said.
Eden turned toward her with a smile. Their hands brushed as she accepted her cone, and Anna felt a happy tingle travel up her arm. “Thanks,” Eden said.
“See that bridge ahead?” Anna asked. “We could stand up there and people watch while we eat our ice cream if you like.”
“I think I’d like that a lot.” Eden licked her cone, distracting Anna with the sight of her tongue as it swirled over the ice cream.
“When I was in high school, my best friend and I used to play this game where we’d watch the people around us when we were out somewhere and make up stories for them.”
“What kind of stories?” Eden asked as they began to walk.
“The more outlandish, the better,” Anna said. “Want to try?”
