THEY’RE gonna be deceased if they don’t treat you right.
38
EVA
I took a deep breath,and then another, watching the fog from my breath dissipate as I gathered my courage. My phone buzzed in my pocket, the third time in as many minutes. I ignored it.
Tristan had invited me to the hockey house to watch a pro game with him and the guys, like everything was normal, like my entire life didn’t balance on a knife’s edge. My hand hovered over the doorbell.
“Oh my god, Eva!” Katie nearly knocked me off the step, her arms loaded with grocery bags and a case of cider. She was grinning, genuinely happy to see me, and the tension in my chest loosened a hair.
“You’re back!” She didn’t wait for an answer, just shouldered the door open. “Hey, everyone! Look who I found!”
The weight of everyone’s gazes hit me at once, and I wanted to dissolve into nothing, to curl up and hide.
Haruto bounded out of the living room and enveloped me in a hug that lifted me off my feet. “How are you doing?” he asked, holding me at arm’s length, his brown eyes searching my face.
“Same as I was at practice yesterday? And workouts this morning?” I said, teasing him.
A throat cleared above us. Tristan stood at the top of the stairs, a towel in one hand, wiping his freshly shaved face. Our eyes met and held.
“Eva,” he murmured.
My heart kicked against my ribs—the irregular thump-pause-thump that reminded me it wasn’t quite as reliable as it should be.
“He shaved for you,” Haruto teased, gently elbowing me, careful to nudge my arm and not my side. “Must be a hot date.”
“Just the game,” I whispered.
Cole appeared in the kitchen doorway. All the air left my lungs in a rush that had nothing to do with my fucked-up heart valve and everything to do with the way he looked at me.
“Hi,” he said quietly.
“Hi.”
We stared at each other across the entryway. He looked good—so fucking good.
“Take her coat, you lovesick idiot,” Haruto teased Cole.
Cole’s fingers skimmed my neck and arms as he helped me out of the coat, leaving gooseflesh in their wake. He hung it carefully in the closet then reached for my hand before yanking his back.
He was nervous. The realization sent a thrill of power through me.
A moment later, Tristan joined us and gently steered me to the living room with his arm around my shoulders.
My phone buzzed again, and I tensed.
“You okay?” Tristan’s voice was low, just for me.
I nodded. We had a plan, I reminded myself.
Rami was already sprawled in the loveseat with a sweet-looking blonde woman whose name he probably couldn’t remember. One day, he and Katie were going to stop hurting each other and admit that hate and love were two sides of the same coin.
“I’m on snacks,” Haruto said, taking the bags from Katie. “Eva, what do you want?”
“Junk food,” I said.
“Coming up!”