Page 103 of Seven Days in June

“You’re okay with that, honey?” asked Eva hesitantly.

“I want him there,” said Audre with a mysterious twinkle in her eye. “And Iknowyou do.”

Eva had never thought about what it would be like, inviting him into their world in a real way. The logistics of actually merging their lives. But yeah. Yeah, she did want him there. Suddenly slammed by a wave of shyness, she caught Shane’s eye, bit her lip, and then looked down at her feet. Shane was a fidgety mess—cracking his knuckles, jaw clenching.

Audre watched their awkward little dance with exasperation. If she hadn’t known they were in like, or whatever, she would have assumed they were demented.

“Shane?”

“Eva?”

“Do you really want to come? You don’t have to, you know.” Eva was giving him an out. Maybe it was too fast. On the surface, it was just brunch—but it wasn’t, really. It was commitment. And she didn’t want to pressure him into a role he wasn’t ready for.

Over the years, Eva had trained herself not to expect anything from anyone, especially men. To not even ask or want. This, though? This she wanted.

Not want, she thought.Need.

“You can say no,” she said.

“You serious? I wouldn’t even know how to say no to you two.”

“Really?”

Shane’s face split into an irresistibly sunny smile. “Ladurée, on me.”

And Eva looked so elated that Audre did what every Generation Z kid was acculturated to do during memorable moments. She snapped a pic. (In portrait mode.) Without warning, she pushed them both together so they were side by side. Then she backed up and aimed her phone.

“This is a big deal, you reuniting like this. Does your high school class have a Facebook group? You gotta upload this pic.”

“No,” shouted Eva and Shane simultaneously.

“Wait, those two trees behind you are making a weird shadow. Their branches are all tangled up.” Audre gestured for them to move to the right.

They did. And then Shane flung an arm across Eva’s shoulders, Eva reached around his waist, and they cheesed.

“You know what I read?” asked Eva through her pasted-on smile. “A tree grows its branches out until it touches the tips of the next closest tree. And they’re linked forever. Because if they’re really close, their roots grow together. They’re so intertwined underneath that no matter what happens above ground, they stay connected.”

Shane pressed her a little closer to him. Under his breath, he asked, “Do you think our roots are connected?”

“More than,” she said.

Audre, witnessing their whispering, actually gagged. “Gross.Sorry. No, it’s cool. I’ll get used to this—it’s fine.”

Shane felt both grounded and light as air.

Feels like family.

Deep in his pocket, his phone continued to buzz, ignored. He was way too happy to deal with it.

SUNDAY

Chapter 25

DNA Ain’t No Joke

LADURÉE ON WEST BROADWAY WAS THE SOHO OUTPOST OF ONE OFParis’s oldest, most raised-pinky-finger tearooms. And it was anexperience. Known for its patisseries and macarons, the restaurant was a silk-trimmed succession of adorable salons, each one more girly-cozy than the next. Eva and Audre always made a reservation in the curtained-off Pompadour Salon, an airy, bright sitting room with louche banquettes and twinkly golden chandeliers dangling from a blue-sky ceiling.

It felt like they were visiting Versailles. And in their carefully chosen ensembles, they looked like Parisian princesses, too. Tomboy princesses. Audre was rocking her lofty crown braid and a marigold off-the-shoulder sundress (with Doc Martens). And Eva felt impossibly romantic in a backless black crepe halter dress (with Comme des Garçons Converse).

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