Page 31 of Seven Days in June

“So, this isn’t awkward at all.”

“Super normal,” Eva said, downing her entire glass of water.

“I…I’m kinda speechless,” he stammered, still awestruck. “You look the same but so different.”

“Cece made me wear that dress last night. And straight hair.” Nervously, she fluffed her bangs. “This is what I really look like.”

“I know what you really look like,” he said simply.

Eva shifted slightly in her seat and picked up the laminated menu on her plate.

“You look different, too,” she started.

“How?”

“Your eyes are open.”

“I’m sober.”

“I’m…stunned.”

“Me too.”

“How long?”

“Two years and two months.”

“Is it sticking?”

“I’ll let you know in another couple years.”

“No, you got this.”

A hot flush radiated across his chest, but he ignored it. “So. You had to make me evil, huh? A vampire?”

“If the fangs fit,” she shot back. “Did you have to make me an adorable runaway with a heart of gold?”

“I didn’t make you that. You were that.”

Eva grabbed a half-moon of seven-grain bread from the basket and began anxiously tearing at it. Whatever she was feeling, he didn’t want her to be alone in it. In a sign of solidarity, he grabbed a roll, too.

Just in time, a waitress appeared to take their drink orders. She was a sixty-something minx with a fuchsia lace headband and an eastern-European accent.

“Just water,” said Eva primly. “No, I’ll have a chocolate milkshake.”

“Two ztrawz?” said the waitress. She winked at Eva and then looked Shane up and down. “Well, aren’t you a chocolate doughnut?”

“One straw,” said Eva.

Shane scanned the menu, stopping on the natural juices, ever mindful of his new healthy lifestyle. “I guess I’ll have the Mint-Kale Clean Green Mean juice?”

“You zound like you don’t really vant that,” the waitress remarked, and bounced.

“So,” began Eva. “You’ve read my whole series.”

“Every line.” He popped a piece of bread into his mouth. “You’ve read mine, too.”

“With a highlighter.”

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