at him, and Evan realised that she was right. He’d come over to the magazine stand looking for something specific.
He wanted to see if they had any comics. For Ruth.
Before he could open his mouth to say as much, Mrs. Needham plucked a magazine from the middle rack. “This is very popular with our menfolk,” she said conspiratorially. The glossy magazine read, Classic Cars. “I think we even had one of those, around here,” Mrs. Needham murmured, tapping the little green car on the front cover. A frown creased her wrinkled brow.
“I’m not much of a car guy,” Evan admitted.
She shook her head, as if to displace a buzzing fly. “Nonsense. Here, Daniel, darling.” Waving the magazine over at the counter, where Daniel stood, she said, “Didn’t you have a car like this?”
Daniel squinted at the image. “Not exactly,” he said, his voice slow. “That’s a Lancia Flaminia GT.”
“Oh.” Mrs. Needham pouted. It was an… interesting look, on a woman her age. “But you know the one I mean, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes,” Daniel said. And his gaze settled firmly, strangely, on Evan.
“The green one,” Mrs. Needham prompted, as if he hadn’t said yes.
“That’s it.” Daniel’s green eyes seemed to burn into Evan’s skin.
Mrs. Needham added, “The one that Kabbah girl smashed to pieces.”
Evan turned and walked out of the shop.
“Sir?” he heard the other woman call after him. “Sir? Are you alright?”
He ignored them.
Evan had a rule when it came to other people’s business. He tried not to pick it up anywhere but the horse’s mouth. Of course, in a town like this, people fell over themselves to pour gossip into the ears of strangers.
Which Daniel clearly fucking loved.
Evan walked fast, his heart pounding. He didn’t know why, but he was certain that if Daniel came after him right now, he’d lose it.
In fact, he did know why. He knew exactly why. He thought about the hours he’d spent with Ruth the other day, about how simply and passionately she’d answered all his questions, about how eager she was to talk about comics, of all things. She was a sweetheart, even with all her grumbling and awkwardness and short, sharp words.
He’d wanted to befriend her, but that wasn’t all he wanted. Not anymore. Not at all.
Evan wasn’t exactly surprised to realise that his feet were taking him to the town’s car park. He watched the slab of tarmac draw closer as he walked, almost dreamlike. It was the one place in town guaranteed to be busy; the council hadn’t added more spaces as Ravenswood grew, so finding a bay was always a battle. Nevertheless, Evan reached the place where he and Ruth had first met without any difficulty.
Apparently, even the cars circling like slow vultures, looking for spaces, didn’t want to mess with Evan Miller just then.
He looked down at the hard ground where Ruth had fallen. He wasn’t sure he was in precisely the right space, but it seemed right; a few feet from the leafy central reservoir, in line with the town’s library across the street. Evan stared at the innocuous space, that mundane piece of the world whose significance only he knew.
There was no-one else who would look at that spot and think about hypnotic, angry eyes; no-one else who would see a hard-won smile or a perilous stack of comic books. Even Daniel fucking Burne wouldn’t see that.
Or would he?
I’m the town Jezebel.
Evan shook his head, dislodging the thought. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that standing here, thinking about Ruth, sent a familiar warmth surging through his blood.
He had no idea what had happened the other day. Well, that wasn’t true; he knew very well that he’d lost control, moved too fast, and generally fucked up. When he thought about the way she’d looked, the way she’d touched him, the silk of her skin beneath his lips…
Jesus.
But that part didn’t matter to anyone but Evan and his cock. The thing that mattered was the fact she’d pulled away.
He’d been trying to figure out, these past few days, if she’d meant Not now or Not like this or Not ever. If she wasn’t so fucking… Ruth, he’d just ask her. But he had a feeling, if he did anything so blunt, she’d avoid him for the rest of their lives.
She didn’t trust him. Not entirely. But something inside him was desperate to prove that she could.
With a sigh, Evan ran a hand over his face and turned away. If he wanted a chance to eat lunch,