Her Blind Date Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,25

wandered over too. One guy pointed and said, “I think that’s Liam Summerville.”

Liam didn’t care about all of that. He was only staring at one person: Evie. His heart thrummed. He’d left his stage fright behind a long time ago, but this wasn’t a normal concert.

Henry was delighted, and he kept hollering at people. “Come see a famous music singer. Come!”

Liam grimaced when he saw several members of the growing crowd take their phones out. “I would ask you not to record, folks. This is just for one person right now.”

Many of them respected him and put their phones down.

Liam began strumming the song. Evie had never heard its last verse, and he hoped she would like it. “I never knew the night I met you that it wasn’t the bonfire that made me burn. I never knew the night I met you that I had so many things to learn. The truth was that I’d never met someone with the kind of laugh that made me smile. The truth is that I’d never met someone who only had to ask and I would even change her tire.”

She laughed.

He sped up the tempo to the chorus. “Love—they say it’s an evasive thing in this world, but I know this isn’t that. Love—they say it’s been done too many times before.”

The crowd was quiet with rapt attention.

“And I tell them it’s only the first shot for me. Because it’s a river, it’s a stream, it’s an ocean in my dreams. It’s the way you get me to do anything. Anything. Love. God said He used it to move the mountains. Love. And it caused the burning bush. Love. But I only see it in myself when you’re in my arms. Like a tiger, like a leper, like a homeless man. Like a river, like an ocean … if I’m on the land. You’re all that matters, the only hand I want to reach to me. Reach for me. Reach in me! Evie! Evie! Evie!”

Evie giggled, even as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Evie! Evie! Evie! They said this wouldn’t work. They said our love would never … work … Evie. Evie. Evie.”

The song ended. The crowd erupted into clapping and whooping.

Henry stood gruffly wrapped him in an embrace.

Liam hugged him back, blinking his teary eyes. He put up his hand. “One more verse.”

They all settled down.

“You tell me that we can’t know how it will all turn out. I tell you if your hand’s in mine, that’s all I need. That’s all I want… Be with me! Evie! Evie! Evie! One more time!”

“Evie! Eve! Evie!” the group chorused. Everyone applauded as the song came to a close.

Then Evie stood and did something Liam wasn’t expecting: she threw herself at him, taking him into a kiss. He pushed the guitar down and put his hands on her hips, loving this.

When she pulled back, she laughed. “You did it. You made a song with my name that actually works.”

“Of course I did. I promised you, didn’t I?”

She held his gaze, and he knew he was head over heels for this woman again … and he might still lose it all.

“Evie?” someone called. They turned to see Mr. Temple striding toward them and gesturing for her. “Are you coming?”

Chapter 16

Evie stood in the gallery, quickly moving around the room to clean all the paintings with a feather duster—it was something they tried to do every evening if there weren’t a lot of customers. Every part of her was antsy, jittery, ready to pounce on something. Had all of that just happened? Her eyes fluttered as she thought of the song and the way she’d kissed Liam. She stopped and put a hand to her lips. He was still an outstanding kisser.

The door dinged, and Jason walked in, holding his baseball cap and looking defeated.

“Hey.” Guilt surged inside of her, and she hurried toward him.

Jason jerked a thumb toward the part of the pier where they’d all been sitting. “Your boyfriend is out there singing more songs, signing autographs, and talking with apparent ‘fans.’” He made air quotes, rolling his eyes.

Evie peered out the window near the back of the gallery, and she saw a group clustered around Liam. She tsked her tongue. “I think he wanted to avoid that.”

“Did he?” Jason asked. He had his arms crossed, and he was looking her up and down. “And did you really want to just focus on your dreams and go to university?”

“What do you want me to