Fearless by Abby Brooks (best books for 8th graders .txt) 📗

“You must have known. That’s why you tried to talk me into not drinking last night, so I wouldn’t seduce you and discover what you’ve been hiding.”

“That’s exactly what happened. Oh, wait. No. It’s not. Not at all.” She ran a hand through my hair, taming the crazy curls. “Did you have a good day?”

“A good day? A good day? I had a freaking fantastic day. I haven’t written that much in…” I shrugged. “I don’t know that I’ve ever written like that. You’re my talisman. The…”

I was about to say, “the best thing that ever happened to me,” but I stopped short of going that far. No need to scare her off so early in the game.

“Have you eaten?” Evie asked. “The plan was to surprise you with a homecooked meal, but, you scared me pretty good and now it’s decorating the kitchen floor. I would have gone down too, but someone gave me these nifty socks.” She lifted a foot and wiggled her toes.

“Are you serious?” I stared over her shoulder at the disaster on the floor.

“I wish I wasn’t. Not only does orange chicken take some time, but it also makes quite a mess when chucked overhead and splatters to the ground.”

I apologized and helped her clean the sticky orange sauce covering the tile and cabinets. When we finished, I pulled out a chair for her to sit and massaged her neck and shoulders. While mine ached from being hunched over in my chair all day, I wanted to lavish Evie with attention. Not only did she understand why I’d been locked in the office, but she wanted to celebrate with a homecooked meal. Could she be more perfect?

“You know what?” I pressed a kiss into her hair, inhaling deeply to memorize the scent of her shampoo. “I’ve been craving a burger from Mike’s ever since you commandeered mine. I know it’s not a great replacement for homemade orange chicken, but maybe it’s close?”

“Are you kidding? I liked those burgers enough to eat two and then sleep with the fries.” Evie stood and slapped me on the ass. “Let’s go, White Knight.”

I cringed at the nickname, then quirked my head. “Do I want to know what you mean by sleeping with the fries?”

“No. No you don’t.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the house.

After going through the drive thru at Mike’s and ordering our meals in separate bags—just in case—I drove us to Lookout Point, otherwise known as Make Out Central for the high school crowd. With stellar views and plenty of privacy, there’d been more than a few steamed out windows in the last twenty years. Thankfully, tonight, we were the only car on the ridge.

“Do you know what a big deal it is that I brought you here?” I asked as I put the Range Rover in park.

“First things first, bucko. Hand over the burgers.” Evie made grabby hands for the bag and the paper rustled as she dove in for a handful of fries. “Now that’s taken care of, please explain why it’s a big deal for me to be sitting in a parked car in the dark.”

I unbuckled my seatbelt and threw an arm over the back of my seat as I shifted to face her. The squeak of the leather caught her attention and she quirked her head in a question. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“This is called setting the mood, my muse.” I gestured out the darkened windows, the strong beams of the headlights stretching out in front of us, obscuring the true beauty of the view. “You don’t bring someone to Lookout Point if you don’t have serious intentions of making some moves. Everyone in Wildrose Landing knows this, and as our newest resident, it’s time you did, too.”

“I was already fairly clear you had serious move-making intentions before we left my house. I think your mention of a magic hooha said it all.”

“You’re not seeing my point.” I sighed dramatically. “I’ve only brought two people up here. Ever. Samantha English from high school. And now you. I’m making a serious declaration of intent.”

“Intent, huh?” Evie grinned, still clearly not seeing the magic of the moment.

“Prepare yourself.” I turned on the radio, the swoony, croony goodness of a playlist I built just for the moment filling the cabin, then turned off the headlights. The night sky came into view, every star imaginable visible in the velvet dark, with a crescent moon shining its silver light.

Evie gasped, the Mike’s bag forgotten in her lap as she craned her neck to see out the windshield. “Oh, Alex! It’s beautiful.”

“It pales in comparison to you.”

A smile pulled at the corners of her lips and she glanced at me. “That was…”

“Cheesy?”

She shook her head and shrugged as she settled back into her seat and gave me her full attention. “Wonderful.”

Her smile stoked my own and I rested my head against the headrest as my eyes wandered the splendor of the heavens. “Do you have a favorite author?” I rolled my head to meet her gaze. “Other than me of course.”

“Other than you, one of my favorites is pretty obscure. She only put out one book, but it was so poignantly written, I come back to it whenever I need to feel something, if that makes sense. Harlow West. I’m sure you haven’t heard of her.”

“Actually, I have. My agent used to work with Harlow’s sister-in-law. I’ve never met Mrs. West, but I am a fan of her work.”

Evie nodded, thoughtfully. “I should have known she wouldn’t be obscure to you.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “What’s your favorite movie?”

“That one’s easy. Harry and the Henderson’s.”

“Harry and the who? Definitely never heard of that one. Let me guess. Some dry documentary on Harry S. Truman.”

A laugh exploded past my lips. “You’re so far off, it’s ridiculous. Harry and the Henderson’s is a comedy from the eighties about a family who finds Bigfoot. He comes to live