Page 71 of For Eva

I gasped and scooted to the edge of the cushion.

“So I was just thinking, maybe you could take me to dinner to make up for the accident instead of going through all the insurance crap. Or actually, maybe I should take you to dinner. Unless you have a boyfriend or a husband, in which case this is completely inappropriate.” He paused, and I stared at the machine with wide eyes. “So, long story short, if boyfriend-slash-husband doesn’t exist and you wanna do something, give me a call at 555-6431. Hopefully, I’ll talk to you soon.”

I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees and my hands covering my mouth.

Holy shit. Is this for real?

I reached over and pressed the rewind button to play the message again and heard the same words from just a minute before.

I couldn’t imagine I was in any way Aaron’s type. And though he was much too preppy for me, there was something about him that intrigued me. By all standards, he was a good-looking guy.Reallygood-looking. But his hair was short and he played sports, not instruments, so naturally, I was confused about the instant attraction. Because as much as I’d craved a normal life when I left LA, old habits still died hard.

I retrieved a pen and piece of paper from the junk drawer in the kitchen and played the message once more, this time jotting down the digits of his phone number. I sat back on the couch and stared at them for a good five minutes before picking up the cordless receiver. As the line started to ring, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and prayed this wasn’t a bad decision.

“Hello?”

“Um, hey, this is Eva. Is this Aaron?” I clenched my teeth and opened one eye.

“Eva Holloway!”

I laughed and relaxed my jaw a bit. “Yep, it’s me. From the gum wrapper.”

“Am I to assume that you calling me means there is no boyfriend-slash-husband who heard my message and now wants to kill me?”

“Your assumption is correct.” I crossed my leg, bobbing it up and down to release the nervous energy flowing through my body.

“Good. Also, is it weird that you hit my car, and I immediately called and asked you out? I don’t think I’ve ever done this before. But then again, you’ve never hit my car before. So, first time for everything.”

My God, he’s charming. And funny. And seriously, what is going on here? Am I really attracted to a guy who probably belongs to the Chicago Sport & Social Club and wears a suit and tie to work every day?

Well, you did say you wanted normal. And here it is being served up on a silver platter.

“Idon’t think it’s weird.” I paused and titled my head. “I think I’m actually glad you called.”

“Youthink?”

I laughed. “Iamglad you called. I’m surprised, that’s all.”

“What? Guys don’t usually just randomly call you up and ask you out?”

“Ha! No. Not at all.” I paused, letting the truth of that sink in. I’d turned down the two dates I’d been asked out on since moving back to the city. It had taken me months to get over Danny, and it still hurt to think about what he’d done.

I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “So did you win your softball game?”

“We did. I even hit a home run. Does that impress you?”

“I think I’m ready to come over to your place right now, forget dinner,” I joked.

He chuckled. “Speaking of dinner, does next Saturday work for you?”

“Sounds amazing.”

My eyes widened, and I folded my lips inward, unable to believe those words had actually come out of my mouth.

“Great. I’ll call you this week to firm up plans.”

“I guess it’s a date, then,” I said, still in awe of what was happening.

“Youguess?”

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