Page 27 of Unbreak My Heart

But the timing …

Stop it. You’re seeing things that aren’t there.

“And you can take that snobby look off your face,” she said, concentrating on the road ahead.

He arranged his long legs, appreciating the generous legroom in the footwell. Particularly when compared with his own ute from the fifties, this one was positively enormous. Surprise coloured his voice when he spoke. He was as far as you could get from snobby.

“What look is that?”

“My coffee. You sneered at it.”

That almost made him laugh. “That’s not coffee. It’s lolly water.Hotlolly water.”

Eva took a large, loud slurp then placed it carefully in the cup holder near the air vent. Her point was obvious. And hilarious. He couldn’t help himself, he had to poke.

“Just because you can swallow that doesn’t make it any more drinkable.”

She sent him a startled look, then gripped the steering wheel tighter, heat blazing up her cheeks.

Simon looked closer, narrowing his eyes. What had he said to get that kind of reaction?

“Perhaps I enjoy hot lolly water.”

Glancing out the window, Simon shrugged and hid his smile behind his cup. “All good. You do you.”

“Are you always this ornery?”

A chuckle burst out before he could stop it. “That’s a first. Usually, I get stubborn. Or annoying. I quite likeornery. Has a nice ring to it.”

He could see her mouth twitching as if she wanted to smile. They passed the rest of the miles to Bialga in silence, something he wasn’t used to. His family being the way it was, someone always had something to say, some opinion to share, or simplynoise.

It was nice. Silence was… nice.

He placed his now-empty coffee cup back into the cardboard tray at his feet, then looked up in surprise when Eva pulled into a just-vacated parking spot, the red tail-lights of the leaving car ambling up the road to their right.

The Empire Theatre was directly in front of them.

The old place had been renovated sometime in the last few years, the previously dated facade now looking fresh and inviting, as if you had just stepped back into the nineteen-fifties.

Eva hopped out and stood at the bull bar that could just be seen above the bonnet of the car. She tilted her head and motioned toward the cinema.

Simon followed, stepping up onto the pavement. He put the tray with his empty cup and the one that had obviously been destined for Max into the bin to his left, then shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.

“The movies? You’re taking me to the movies?”

A massive grin widened her friendly face. Her dark eyes sparkled in the morning sunlight.

“I sure am!”

He followed her into the ticketing area and glanced around, the intense scent of buttered popcorn swirling in the air all around him, making his stomach grumble in appreciation.

“Are they even open yet?”

He hadn’t been to the movies in years. His normal work schedule as a bartender didn’t allow for much time out at night, and the rest of the time he was usually sleeping off the late night before in preparation for his next shift. The fact that going to the movies meant you had to drive to Bialga and back just added a layer of difficulty that was usually shoved into the too-hard basket.

Eva turned and walked backward, her happiness catching as she kept eye contact with him.

“They sure are! Cheap Tuesday. They open early every Tuesday—eight AM—and show the movies that are finishing that week at a discount.” She reached forward and grabbed his hand, yanking him toward the counter. “There’s one I’ve been itching to see, but haven’t had the time. Or rather, time on my own.”

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