Page 30 of Unbreak My Heart

Sounds crashed. The monster roared. Eva squealed and grabbed his bicep and shoved her face into it to hide away from the creature on the screen.

Unable to help himself, Simon leaned down and whispered in her ear. “A bit louder, shortcake. I don’t think he heard you.”

That earned him an incredulous glare. “Shortcake? Excuse me?”

She still had a death grip on his arm as he grinned down at her. “You heard me.”

One of the women the creature was chasing screamed on screen, and Eva planted her face into his arm again, making him chuckle out loud.

Extracting his arm from her stranglehold, Simon relented and lifted the flat tray between their seats and placed his arm around her shoulders, hauling her closer. She responded by snuggling into his shoulder, her hand gripping his shirt tightly.

He fought the surge of satisfaction that wound deep at the feel of her against him, then sighed, closing his eyes.

Touch. Simply… touch. He needed this as much as she needed to hide from the monster on the screen in front of them.

“Why do you watch this stuff if it scares you so much?” he murmured between on-screen screams.

“’Cos I like it.”

Simon shook his head and leaned back in the chair, tossing some now-cold popcorn into his mouth. “Fair enough.”

“Don’t judge me!”

“I’m not,” he replied with obvious humour in his voice. “It means I get a hug, so…” He shrugged. “All good on this end.”

Eva kept peeking at the screen every few moments but didn’t let him go. He couldn’t help the little shivers that kept peppering his body each time she moved. By the time the end credits rolled, he was chill enough he could easily have fallen asleep, a far cry from his state of mind when they’d first left for Bialga.

Eva pulled back, letting his now wrinkled shirt go, and sat up, pushing at the hair that had escaped her loose bun. Simonfought the instant instinct to keep a hold of her. She sent him a self-conscious smile and straightened her shirt.

“Enjoy the movie?” he asked, popping the last of the popcorn into his mouth.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Yes.”

“That’s good.”

Her gaze narrowed further. “Are you trolling me?”

Simon’s laughter rang out in the rapidly emptying room. “No. Just making sure, that’s all.” He sat up and stretched, his arms high above his head, noticing Eva’s stare as his shirt pulled tight across his chest. “How ’bout we blow this popsicle stand?”

She avoided his gaze, stood quickly and nodded, grabbing the empty cup and popcorn bucket. She dumped them in the bin on the way out and side-eyed him. “I can’t believe you said that.”

Simon’s smile only increased. He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a man of the nineties.”

They stepped out into the mid-morning sun and blinked at the bright light as they headed toward Eva’s ute.

“I think you’re out by a few decades there, Simon.”

He chuckled and breathed deeply as the door unlocked and glanced around him, his gaze falling and resting on Eva as she climbed into her beast of a vehicle. She was right, but hey, what did it matter?

Affection bubbled up within him. She was the reason he wasn’t alone and a complete mess somewhere. Her compassion for someone she hadn’t known for long humbled him.

Eva Adams was a hell of a woman by anyone’s measure, and he was damned glad she was with him today.

She pressed the start button and both the radio and engine roared to life, startling them. It hadn’t been on when they’d stopped.

The distinct vocals of Richard Gower sent chills chasing down Simon’s spine as “Lay Your Love on Me” blared at themfrom the speakers. He stopped dead as he was about to step up into the ute and stared at Eva.

She slapped at the stereo and stared back at him, eyes wide. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know how that happened. I never have the radio on.” She waved a flustered hand at the offending device. “I usually only use it to Bluetooth audiobooks, or kids’ songs when Matty’s in the car. And never that loud.”

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