Free Between Octobers Bk 1, Savor The Days Series by A.R. Rivera

kiss.” His
face held a look of deep concentration, which gave way to an easy
smile as he shook out his arms, pretending to loosen the muscles. I
had no choice but to smile back.
    Evan took a spot on the sofa in the formal
living room while I continued towards the kitchen, the most likely
place to find someone. I rounded the corner, passed through the
vacant family room, and peeked into the kitchen. Lily was leaning
into the open fridge. Several empty plates sat on the counter
behind her. I guessed she was aiming for an early dinner of
leftovers.
    “Hey, girl!”
    She jumped, tossing the Tupperware high into
the air and swearing. With a quick flick of her hands, Lily caught
the plastic tub before it hit the ground.
    “ Good catch.”
    She fumbled the food onto the counter.
“Really nice, Grace.”
    “It was, wasn’t it?”
    She looked irritated for the slightest
moment; then it was gone, replaced with more surprise. “How was the
museum?”
    “Good, actually. Remember how I lost my
phone?”
    “He found you!” She sighed in relief.
    “How did you know?”
    “He called and Mom told him where you
were.”
    “Oh.” I put my fingertip to my lips.
    “She’s not here. Been gone since
three-thirty.”
    “In that case, there’s someone I want you to
meet.” I turned, waving for her to follow.
    Evan was resting his head on the back of the
couch. His eyes were closed. I clomped my feet a little louder than
necessary over the tiles. He opened his eyes, which appeared brown
in the soft living room light and lifted his head.
    “The coast is clear. She left an hour ago.”
I looked back to make the introductions, but Lily wasn’t there.
    He smiled, standing. “Would that be during
or after I was stuck, hovering over a public toilet?”
    The image of him sweating and squatting made
me crack up. My stomach clenched so tightly, I had to bend to
alleviate it. Evan laughed just as heartily, his volume increasing
when I snorted.
    “What happened?” Lily bolted through the
entry, smiling curiously.
    My brain registered her presence, but I
couldn’t react. I was struggling for breath. He was perched over
that toilet like a bird over a nest of snakes. My eyes blurred at
the comical imagery.
    Evan gained composure before I did. “Hi.” He
waved with a subdued smile and Lily’s jaw dropped.
    I took several controlled breaths—my sides
hurt, my cheeks ached. It was wonderful—I wiped my eyes and
introduced Evan, my new friend, to Lily, my oldest and dearest.
    “Well, you’re a pile of gorgeous aren’t you?
It’s nice to meet you, Lily.” His attractive pronunciations chimed
sweetly as he presented his hand for her to shake, but she was
frozen. “We were in the lift… er, elevator together. I found the
phone.”
    She was frozen, wide-eyed and
speechless.
    “Earth to Lily.” I waved my hand over her
eyes.
    She blinked. “You’re Rhys Matthews! Grace!
You were in an elevator with Rhys Matthews?” Her focus shifted to
me and back to Evan, her volume increasing. “Grace! You spent half
the afternoon with Rhys Matthews?”
    “He told me his name was Ev—”
    “I am such a huge fan! So happy to meet
you!”
    She leapt at him, grabbing his hand and
pulling him into an unexpected hug. Suddenly she was jumping up and
down. I could not stop giggling—again, falling into full and free
laughter when Evan started jumping with her. Lily never got excited
like that. Over anything. Not even Dior sales at Saks.
    The noise must have grabbed the kids’
attention. Caleb wandered in and started laughing because we were,
and Noah just watched, standing behind his brother, a smile peeking
through his pursed lips. After we calmed down, I introduced them to
Evan and he regaled everyone with the story of our bathroom
adventure.
    Noah seemed to enjoy my high spirits more
than the story itself and it pierced my heart. I’d have to make
additional efforts to be more even keeled.
    I showed Evan to the couch in the family
room and