Page 58 of At First Catch

“I’m usually quiet.”

“Not like this.”

I glance toward her.

She’s watching me carefully now, curled deeper beneath a knit blanket with one knee tucked beneath her.

The sight does dangerous things to my nervous system.

“What’s this like?” I ask.

The tension in her face eases, her eyes softening as if a gentle warmth has spread through her.

“Like you’re thinking too much.”

I lean back in the Adirondack chair and look toward the dark outline of the trees.

“I’m not good at this.”

“At what?”

I gesture vaguely around us.

“All of it.”

Beside me, Hadley’s body goes rigid.

“You’re doing fine.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

The words come out rougher than intended.

For a moment, neither of us speaks.

The fire crackles while laughter drifts from the porch swing where Crew apparently just said something ridiculous enough to make Ivy choke on her drink.

Then Hadley says in a hushed tone, “You don’t have to earn your way into every room you walk into, Nolan.”

No one has ever said something so accurate to me so casually before.

I stare into the flames.

“You always see too much?”

“Usually.”

“That seems exhausting.”

“It is.”

A smile pulls unexpectedly at my mouth.

Finally, Hadley murmurs, “I’m glad you came tonight.”

I look over to find she’s already watching me, and suddenly, the rest of the world fades out around me again. None of it matters as much as the way she’s looking at me right now.

“You make this place hard to stay away from,” I confess, the words tumbling out before I could blink.