Page 101 of Fangirl Down

Christ. I want to kiss her and never come up for air.

“We just about died, seeing that happen on live television,” Evelyn said, fanning herself with a limp cloth napkin, which couldn’t possibly be producing enough wind to be worthwhile.

“That’s when your whole turnaround started,” Jim said, tilting his head curiously. “You birdied damn near every hole after the accident. Why is that?”

“It’s a boring story,” Josephine said quickly.

“No, it’s not,” Wells disagreed, unable to keep his expression from turning cocky. “She had my name painted on her toenails. I caught her blue-toed.”

Josephine slapped her hands over her face.

“How delightful!” Evelyn split a glance between them. “But I still don’t understand why that would spur you into such a comeback.”

Now everyone was looking at him, waiting for an explanation.

Did he have one? That he could put into words?

“Well, uh...” He scrubbed at the back of his neck. “I don’t know. I guess I grew up needing just one person on my side, you know? Just one. I finally had that for a while—someone on my side—but that experience only taught me that people come and go. Not Josephine, though. And I guess her toes reminded methat...” He blew out a breath. “Having Josephine on my side is more like having a whole army. And I wanted to fight, too.”

Somewhere, ten miles away, a pin could be heard dropping.

Jim reached for his drink and took a long, healthy gulp.

Josephine stared at Wells with an unreadable expression.

Evelyn dabbed at her eyes with the cloth napkin. “Isn’t that lovely?” She whooshed a breath up toward the ceiling and refocused on Wells with glassy eyes. “You said you didn’t have anyone on your side growing up. Where were your parents?”

“Mom... ,” Josephine murmured.

“No, it’s okay.” Wells reached over and squeezed her knee under the table, his chest expanding to twice its size when she wove their fingers together. “When I was twelve, my parents got jobs on a cruise ship. I’d been a lot of trouble, getting kicked out of school, refusing to come home when I was told, fighting. They just needed a break, you know?” He tried to smile, but it never quite formed. “Anyway, after that, they were always traveling. The times they were home, they needed to blow off steam, I guess. They partied a lot. I started staying with my uncle... and one afternoon, my parents docked after a trip to Mexico and... I just didn’t go home. No one really addressed it. I just stopped going home.”

A wave of embarrassment caught Wells off guard. Why was he ruining this brunch—his girlfriend’sbirthdaybrunch—by tellingthissob story? The Doyles had never missed a milestone in Josephine’s life. Probably never forgot to pack her a school lunch even once. His backstory probably sounded pathetic to them. So he tried to make light of it to alleviate the heavy mood he’d caused.

“I mean, if anyone understands blowing off steam, it’s me. I’m sure you’ve seen the evidence of that on the news,” he joked, no longer sure he should be holding Josephine’s hand after reminding them he’d been in jail. Not exactly boyfriend material fortheir incredible daughter. But when he tried to take his hand back, she held on.

“Look what they’re missing out on,” she said for his ears alone, brushing a thumb across his knuckles. “Look what so many people have missed out on.”

Someone started singing.

Several someones.

Wells was so busy looking into Josephine’s eyes that it took him a moment to realize their table was surrounded by singing waiters and waitresses. They’d set a cupcake down in front of Josephine, a candle stuck in the center.

“That’s the sugar-free one?” Evelyn mouthed to one of the waitresses, not so discreetly.

Josephine gave Wells a playful eye roll, before continuing to watch him steadily.

When the birthday song had nearly reached its end, she leaned over and settled her mouth against his ear. “Have you ever had a birthday party, Wells?”

What was happening inside his chest?

Pressure built more and more, crushing his windpipe.

He gave a stilted shake of his head.

She didn’t let any pity show and she’d never know how grateful he was for that. “Blow the candles out with me?”

Wells barked a humorless laugh. “I don’t need to do that, belle.”

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