Page 101 of A Certain Step
“We should sit in here. We never have time to do that,” Willa pointed out, taking in the faux succulents and cactus plants covering the place along with the wall of vinyl records and old posters. There were rows of adorable floral mugs aligned against another back wall, which made the place feel like the kind of shop they’d find back home in London. The exterior decorations needed a bit more work, but eh, it’d pass. The interior deserved the praise.
Sahar agreed. “I got nowhere else to be.”
They sat down after their orders were called. Willa observed both Jay’s surprise at seeing them seated and the opportunities he took to steal glances at Sahar when she wasn’t looking.Ha! He had to have a thing for her. She loved being right.
“Jay’s a director, yeah?” Willa asked, her voice low enough so only Sahar could hear.
Sahar took a bite of the pastry, eyeing Willa through her long lashes. “Mhmm,” she acknowledged.
“Have you seen any of the films he’s made?” Willa asked.
Sahar looked up finally and took a sip of her coffee. “I’ve been meaning to, but I haven’t gotten around to them yet.”
Willa tilted her head. “I wonder if Ethan has.”
“He has, actually. When we came here to grab drinks together the first day you went on as Elizabeth, he told Jay how he appreciated one of them. I put it on my watchlist after that.”
“Hmm,” Willa noted. It must’ve been sad if Ethan hadn’t forced her to watch it with him. He was banned from making her sit through anything too tragic for the rest of the summer.
She chanced another glance at Jay, who now had his back turned away from them and seemed to be writing something on a notepad. “He seems like a good person. I can’t exactly pinpoint how I know that, but he does,” Willa said aloud.
Sahar echoed the sentiment. “I get that vibe, too, but my radar can’t exactly be trusted these days.”
Willa narrowed her eyes, noticing the brief sadness flashing through Sahar.
“None of that negative talk. You’ve always known deep down that Martin was a prick, but you try to see the good people, even when they don’t deserve it. And one of these days, when you least expect it, someone will surprise you, Sahar. He’ll know what a bloody brilliant catch you are the second he spends five minutes with you, and all those wankers who hurt you will continue to be miserable morons for the rest of their sorry lives.”
Sahar smiled. It was a little somber. “Seems like it was only yesterday I was giving drunk Willa a very similar talk in our kitchen.”
“And look howwell that turned out for me,” Willa acknowledged.
“You’re a big sap now is what you are,” Sahar declared.
Willa lifted her coffee cup in a wordless toast. She was, she truly was.
How could she not be when she watched Ethan’s sadness torrent all over his incandescent blue eyes because she’d been in pain? How could she not vouch for love when she knew with utmost certainty that Ethan would do anything for her? How could she not see all the wonders of being adored when he promised her that she’d never have to go through anything alone, ever again?
Willa might’ve needed a moment to clear her mind, but she would overcome all of this.
She’d overcome the negativity and the hurdles.
She’d fight for him.
She’d fight for their love.
After a while,they said bye to Jay and Dahlia and headed home. It also helped that Willa chose to stay off her phone, not wanting to see any more comments about her and Ethan’s relationship, even if they were positive. It wasn’t until they were getting ready for bed that Sahar called out to her about Ethan making a post.
Willa came back out into the living room. “I’m scared to look at it.”
“It’s lovely and honest,” Sahar confirmed.
Willa wasn’t sure what she was in for. She knew he’d have his comments disabled, so obviously, she wouldn’t have seen anything adverse from that end, but still.
It made her nervous, a little—wait, no, very—anxious, too.
“Okay, hand it over,” she relented, reaching forward.
Sahar brought her phone closer, already opened to a picture of them Willa didn’t even remember taking. It must’ve been their set photographer, Gary Black. It was back in Boston, and they’d been sitting on the floor, her head against his shoulder, a big, goofy smile across her face. The moment came to her suddenly.
