She gasped, locking her arms around my neck. "You're crazy."
"Three!" I yanked open the door and dashed outside, juggling Evie's kicking legs and cradling her to me as I made a break for the house. The grass was soft and spongy under my toes, and then we were at her front door and tumbling inside, laughing so hard, I could barely keep upright. Evie fell from my arms, and we both collapsed against the door, still in each other's arms and drawing each other close.
Evelyn pushed up on her tiptoes and shoved me against the door, reaching up to kiss me again. "You came back," she repeated softly.
"I'm not leaving," I corrected, framing her face between my hands. I loved cradling her face, treasuring her smiles and comical expressions. "Let's get dry and warm."
She let me lead her upstairs to her loft, but I heard her whisper, "I'm warm."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
EVIE
Benjamin smelled like petrichor and sweat—like the earth and masculine protection. I snuggled my nose into his neck as he dried my hair, my quilt pulled up to my chin and my limbs slowly warming against his skin. He was talking in low, soothing tones, telling me about Margot and Nash, about how difficult it had been to watch her struggle through the night. He lightly tossed aside the towel and pulled me against his chest, and we settled back against the pillows. I listened to him speak, my throat aching with sadness for Nash and his family, and I brushed my thumb back and forth across Benjamin’s chest, trying silently to soothe away the hurt I could hear in his voice.
“Eventually, the rest of Wells’ family showed up,” he said. “I ducked out after that. It felt wrong to intrude.”
“I’m sure Nash asked you to be there for a reason,” I assured him.
Benjamin was playing with my hair, starting at the roots and then gently combing through the wet strands to the ends where he wrapped them around his finger. “Something told me I needed to be with you.”
I tipped my head back, looking up at him in question. “What ‘something?’”
His bright eyes were focused forward, and his brows contracted together slightly. “I wasn’t sure at the time. I just knew I needed to find you.”
I swallowed, and the ache in my throat seemed to trickle over my heart. “That’s rather serendipitous.”
His eyes drifted down to me with a touch of derision. “It’s usually safe to assume you’ve gotten yourself in a kerfuffle.”
“Is that how they put it when you showed up to find me?” I asked with a dose of amusement. “That I’d gotten myself in a kerfuffle?”
“I think Ghost’s words were, ‘She nobly fucked that up.’”
I winced. “In hindsight, I shouldn’t have gone with them. I just didn’t want them poking around and making more trouble for my family.”
“I know.” Benjamin stroked my hair again, and I relaxed against him. “Although, that didn’t stop me from being royally pissed.” He tugged on the end of my hair playfully. “Don’t do that to me again. Ever. At first, I showed up, and everyone’s faces made me think you’d gotten shot.”
“Dear God,” I muttered.
“And then when they told me you’d gotten yourself in an interview room at the station, I knew you’d be terrified,” he continued. “When I saw your face—” I heard him swallow.
I hugged his torso, trying to wordlessly apologize. “I must have looked like a mess.”
“You looked haunting,” he replied roughly. “Broken.” He squeezed me tightly then, laying his cheek against the top of my head. “I’ll give literally anything to never see you like that again.”
Something warm spread across the ache in my chest, soothing it. “But… you do want to see me again.”
“Evelyn.” He straightened, pulling me up with him so we were facing each other. I curled my legs under me, and he cradled my face in the way that made my insides cartwheel. The electric blue of his eyes pierced through me, and he held my gaze steadily. “I can’t see anything but you. When the rain falls, I see it on your skin. When someone speaks, I hear your voice. When a shadow falls, I remember the shape of you.” He smoothed his fingers down the sides of my neck with a feathery touch, and his expression softened the hard planes of his face. “I will go insane if I cannot see you as often as you’ll allow.”
My throat tightened, and I tried to swallow away the traitorous tears that had come unbidden. “Are you teasing me?”
He shook his head, one corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “Not this time.”
“You’d better not be,” I choked. Two droplets stung the corners of my eyes, and I tried furiously to blink them away. But that only caused one of them to trickle to my cheekbone.
Benjamin leaned forward and kissed the moisture tenderly. “Does this mean you want me to be obsessively in love with you?” His breath fanned across my skin as he smoothed his lips to my temple. Against my hairline, he murmured, “Please say you want me to.”
My breath caught against the tears in my throat. "In love?"
