Page 211 of Haunt Me

Eden looks at me for a second, and then she is smiling and crying at the same time, and I don’t think I have ever seen anything more heartbreaking in my entire life.

“Yeah,” she says finally. “It’s good. It should… it should exist in the world.”

Every thought flies out of my head as I raise myself on my knees and fit my lips to hers. I rub my thumb over her mouth, smoothing the surface I’m going to devour in a second, and her breath catches, undoing me completely.

“Let’s pretend we’re snowed in,” she says against my lips. “Let’s not go anywhere ever again.”

I smile as I run my index finger down the delicate line of her collarbone. The familiar fire begins to burn in my veins again. I lap it up, pulling her closer.

“Do you want to order in?” I ask her.

“I don’t want to move from this spot right here.”

“Then don’t,” I agree. “I’ll cook.” I get up and immediately miss holding her.

“I’ll help you,” she says, and we head to the kitchen together.

“This is who you would become, Eden,” I point to her. I’m walking backwards, in order to keep looking into her eyes the whole time. “This, right now. Kind, and amazing, brave and gorgeous. That is what you would become. That is the answer to the ‘what if’ of your poem. In spite of everything, you would bloom. You would thrive. This is what you would become, in any scenario.”

She pauses.

“I want you to know something,” she says. She has my full attention, but I am not prepared for what she says next: “I wrote this poem before I was free. I wrote it while I was still living under his roof.”

…

The day I film the announcement video for my new album, she is there with me, sitting by the director’s chair. I keep glancing at her and I can’t stop smiling. We have to do more than five takes—but, finally, it’s done. It will be out there in the world in a few days.

And all hell will break loose, but we’ll deal that when it’s time.

“Still don’t wanna do interviews?” Skye asks me.

I shake my head. I won’t give any interviews or show my face any more than I absolutely have to. The album comes out in less than two months. We are still in talks about what exactly I will do to celebrate it with the fans, but I am too wrapped up in this new happiness to care.

…

I take Eden to the premiere of Spencer’s Regency series. He has sent us both VIP tickets, because he ‘took’—and I quote—one of our new songs for the soundtrack.

I sent him the whole album as soon as I had the demos, months ago, and I never expected him to pickEnough Love, the song Eden wrote the gut-wrenching lyrics to. I don’t think the people watching his Regency series are going to be ready for what hits them, if this song is any indication.

I am kind of scared to watch it, now that I think of that song and all it means.

Why would Spencer pick that one? What emotional horrors are about to unfold on that screen—?

“So we get to be the first people in the world to watch this? Inprivate?” Eden asks for the millionth time, her eyes huge with excitement. “Themosthighly-awaited romance series of the year?”

I just look at her. I look and look and I can’t stop looking. When I called to ask her if she wanted to go, a week ago, she went all quiet on me.

“Eden?”

“That’s… wow,” was all she said.

“Well, you are dating Issy Woo,” I said. “Do you want to go? We don’t have to.”

“Oh, wehaveto,” Eden replied. Then she started giggling.

“Do we need a dress?” I asked her, but before she could reply, I said: “We need a dress.”

So we went shopping together, and I insisted she try on every single thing she saw and liked. She had so much fun, she didn’t stop smiling once. Then she picked a light blue chiffon slip dress that makes her look like a goddess.

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