She raised her head to stare up at Willow. In the afternoon sun, his eye colour hovered between grey and brown, and each pupil wore a yellow crown. His lashes were pale, white at the tips, and the skin around his eyes creased like an accordion. He wasn’t pretty, but god she liked staring at him. His eyes were gentle. There was no other word for it. He looked kind. If your car broke down, this was the guy you’d want to pull over and help. And if you needed ten bucks, Eden had no doubt Willow would loan it to you and never mention it again.

“What are you thinking about?”

Eden felt like he’d shone a flashlight in her face. “Nothing.”

“Ah, the old nothing.”

He grinned, and Eden couldn’t help herself: she raised a hand and brushed his freckled cheek. She immediately pulled it away, her face warming. She waited for Willow to tease her. Instead, he pulled her close and they laid together for a while, Willow breathing into her hair. For Eden, lying on top of him was like sailing on a huge, sun-warmed boat. She rode until the sweetness became unbearable again. “That doctor is gonna get me pregnant.”

“Nah, he was using an era-appropriate dinger.”

They laughed. Willow had a great laugh, a great voice—deep and warm. Eden already missed his Scottish burr. “I loved your accent.”

“Borrowed it off my dad.”

“Is he hot too?”

He blinked at her. “You think I’m hot?”

“That doesn’t seem to be the right takeaway.”

“But you think I’m hot?”

She tapped his chest. “Answer the question.”

“I have no idea if I have a hot dad, Eden Jade. Why? Is that your thing?”

“Nah. It’s my friend Cheryl’s thing though.”

Willow shifted beneath her. “Shame. My mate Normal likes the look of her.”

“Is that the guy rolling his face off at Fiasco?”

“Ah, don’t hold that against him. He’s a good boy. And he’s sworn off drugs forever.”

“The first person to ever do that after a bad night…”

Willow laughed. He tugged at her skirt. “Nice dress. It was so hard not to drop the act when I first saw you.”

“Thanks, but I feel like an amateur compared to what you did.” She rolled off him, settling into his side. “How much research did you do?”

“Listened to a couple of podcasts. Watched that ‘Hysteria’ movie.”

Eden gaped at him. He’d actually watched the film that had kick-started her entire kink. “Really? You watched ‘Hysteria?’”

“Of course. I wasn’t going to fumble my shot with you.”

She laughed, but it didn’t come easily. A pressure was bearing down on her chest, making her want to run.