Page 20 of The Fangirl and the Crooner

Slipping my feet into some furry boots, I grab my purse and keys and head out. The drive over to the shop is short, and as I walk inside, I see my friends already at a table with coffees.

“Thanks for meeting me,” I say as I slide into my chair and pick up the mug Willow left in front of it for me.

“Of course, girl,” Keegan says. “We’re always here for you. What’s the crisis?”

“As if we have to ask,” Willow stage-whispers, making Keegan laugh.

I’m sure it was meant to make me laugh, too, but all I do is groan. They both straighten and focus on me, ready to listen without judgment or mockery.

“I fell asleep on the couch last night while Bram was at work, and when I woke up this morning, he had covered me with a blanket. I was so embarrassed andapologized for taking over his space, and he, of course, was kind and generous, and I didn’t know how to act, and it was just fucking awkward.”

“Okay, take a breath,” Keegan says, reaching over to squeeze my shoulder. “That doesn’t seem like such a big deal to me.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Willow adds.

“You don’t think it made me look like a slob taking advantage of his generosity?”

“Oh, my God, Press,” Keegan says with a laugh. “You’re too much. You fell asleep on the couch. You didn’t eat all his food and leave trash all over the living room, did you?”

“Well, there was a half-eaten bag of chips and a soda can,” I admit as my eyes drop to my lap.

“Ugh, and he didn’t kick you out for that?” Willow asks, her voice laced with a heavy dose of sarcasm. When I just look at her, she huffs and droops her shoulders. “Sorry, that snark was uncalled for. What I meant to say was this. I think you’re blowing it out of proportion. And if Bram said he didn’t have a problem with it, he didn’t have a problem with it. He’s a kind, generous man, and he’s not a liar.”

“I think we should dissect this and get to the heart of the problem,” Keegan says.

“And what’s that?” I ask, almost fearful of her answer.

“You think you want things to be normal between you two again.”

My eyebrows draw down. “No, IknowI want that.”

“No, you don’t,” Willow says, seeming to know where Keegan is going with this.

“Yes, I do,” I argue. “I just want everything to go back to the way it was before I messed up.”

“Do you, though?” Keegan asks.

I scrub a hand down my face. “Just tell me what you’re getting at. I’m too emotionally exhausted to figure it out.”

“Being obtuse doesn’t suit you,” she says with a small smile and a shake of her head. “You want more. You’ve always wanted more with him, but you’ve been too scared to go after it.”

Of course, she’s right. Iwasbeing obtuse, and I do want more than what I had with Bram before things got messy. But at this point, I’d settle for the friendship we had over whatever fresh hell is going on between us at the moment.

Settle. That word sends a shiver of revulsion through me. I don’t want to settle. I did enough of that in my old life, and I came to Evening Shade to start over. To take life by the balls and be happy, for once.

I shift my gaze between them, then ask, “How do I do it? How do I get Bram to see me as more than a friend?”

“That’s easy,” Willow says. “Youstopbeing his friend.”

“Wait. What?” I ask, thoroughly confused.

Keegan shakes her head. “What Willow means is, you’ve only ever treated Bram like he’s your buddy. Sure, you flirt, but it’s innocent, friendly flirting. Youshould get serious about it.”

“I don’t know if I can do that,” I murmur. Then louder, I add, “I don’t know if I knowhowto do that.”

“Of course, you do,” Willow says, drawing my attention back to her. “Just don’t backtrack and laugh it off when the tension builds between you.”

“How did you…?”

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