poured the contents of her heart into his lap. For the first time all weekend, he knew exactly where they stood.
Until the biggest category of the night began, almost an hour later.
By now, he was used to the emcee’s drama, so he barely registered when she announced the “Best Full-Length High Fantasy nominees!” But then he noticed that Rae was holding her breath, a familiar mixture of nerves and near-excitement in her avid gaze. He started paying attention to the awards again just in time to hear the final nominee: “…And, Kevin Cummings with Everlee.”
He saw the image on the screen, and his blood turned thick and sluggish in his veins. He knew that book. He’d seen it. It was the book he’d picked up from Rae’s luggage on their first day here, the one she’d snatched out of his hands. Something cold crept over his skin. Rae watched the stage like her life depended on it, but Zach… Zach watched her face.
The emcee opened a shiny envelope and joked, “Drumroll, please!” There was a weighty pause before she beamed, crowing, “And the winner is: Everlee by Kevin Cummings!”
Rae bloomed with sheer joy.
It was the kind of happiness no-one else would even notice, carefully controlled and quickly suppressed. But sometimes it felt like there was a direct line between Zach’s heart and Rae’s hidden feelings, so he couldn’t have missed it if he’d tried. Her applause was polite, and her smile was stiff, but he saw the flash of pleasure in her eyes, lighting her up inside like a firework. He knew what it meant when the edge of her mouth curled that way, the restrained excitement it signified. She was ecstatic. Beside herself. Over the fucking moon. All because Kevin had won.
She might as well have punched Zach in the gut.
He straightened in his seat, swallowed hard, and tried to explain this away. Tried to tell himself, for the thousandth time, that he knew this or he sensed that. Except, even when he wracked his mind, he couldn’t find a damned scrap of knowledge about Rae that would explain such a reaction.
Well. Except for one awful possibility. Maybe, for whatever reason, she still wasn’t over Kevin.
The idea was ridiculous, until it wasn’t. Zach’s memories shifted, took on another dimension, as if he’d never seen the full story until now. From the start, Rae had been worried about bumping into her ex and his new wife. She’d latched on to the fake boyfriend idea with surprising ease. The one time they’d actually met Kevin, she’d come out of the situation furious with Zach rather than her shitty ex. And now, here she was, losing it over the guy’s book. Which, apparently, she carried around with her like some kind of lucky charm.
Understanding was an icy trickle down Zach’s spine. Finally, he realised just how foolish he’d been. Rae had said from the start that she wasn’t interested in relationships, but he’d pushed and pushed and pushed, with actions if not with words. He’d decided they had some unspoken connection, that she was simply skittish, and he was—what, fixing her? Healing all her wounds with the magic of good sex and conversation? God, what fucking arrogance. What absolute delusion. She’d probably given up trying to smack him over the head with the truth. Must have decided it was easier to let him build fantasies around friendship and fucking.
Except… Zach dragged his thoughts under control with an iron fist, forcing himself not to get carried away. Tonight, Rae had made it clear that she wanted him in more ways than one. Maybe there hadn’t been any confessions of love, but he knew her, and he knew what she’d meant. So, he wouldn’t lose his shit and make assumptions. He’d stop fucking around, sit her down, and ask her. They’d finally talk like actual adults, and he would know for sure what this thing was.
The thought, sensible and logical as it may be, didn’t make him feel any better. Didn’t soothe the hot, prickling well of his panic or stop worries racing through his mind. He tried to reassure himself, to remember that Kevin was a toxic, controlling prick, and that last night in bed, Rae had been so different. But what did different really mean? This was the problem. Zach had almosts and possiblys and sex-soaked hints; Rae and Kevin had an entire marriage. A shitty marriage, from the sound of things—but love didn’t always make sense. Sometimes saplings survived in wastelands.
And