Page 51 of Lessons in Love

When she turns and notices my confused look, she laughs. “It’s where we all tally up our eggs and see who won. And this bad boy,” she kisses the golden egg before slipping it into my jacket pocket. “Will be played when necessary. Although I do believe we have a good chance of winning without it.”

“Is that your hypothesis?” I ask. Her eyes light up as she nudges me with her shoulder.

“Some of my science must be rubbing off on you.”

“If only I could get you to read a book.”

“I read that…” She trials off, face red. I’m not going to let her off that easily.

“You did, didn’t you? You know, you never really told me if you liked it or not.”

“The characters were annoying,” she splutters out, determinedly making her way back to the house.

I pause and grab her arm, her heat seeping into my fingers. “Yes, but did you like it?”

I think her eyes are going to bug out of her head. Maybe I’m being too forward. Maybe I’m being too much? She looks at where our bodies are joined, before laughing and shaking out of my grasp. I have to jog to keep up with her. Unpredictable, this girl.

I’m grateful when we rejoin the rest of the family and Eden says nothing. No-one mentions the way my hair is all messed up or the way Eden’s bottom lip is slightly swollen as she chews on it, a blush settling across her nose and cheeks. I tuck that image somewhere in the back of my brain. I’m sure it’ll be useful for later.

Jake smirks at us, his bucket almost overflowing. The twins each hold a good number, and Evelyn and Rachel are busy counting theirs under the watchful eye of Mark.

“85,” Jake says smugly.

“Good effort.” Eden takes our bucket over to her dad and smirks over her shoulder. “Not as good as ours, though.” It’s a tense few minutes as Mark counts and recounts our eggs. And recounts. He looks from Eden to Jake, then shakes his head.

“84.”

“Yes!” Jake fist-bumps the air. “Ha! I told you! Winner for three years in a row!”

“Not so fast!” Eden looks like she might explode. “Oliver, would you like to tell them what we found?”

“What you found? Surely not one more egg.”

“Yes, one more egg, Jake. A very special one, mind you.” I hand it to her, and she holds it up for the family to see. It glimmers in the light. Someone gasps, and then it descends into pandemonium.

* * *

Jake wasn’t happy to concede victory. But the bizarre Miller family rules state that he must, so he must. Just with a lot of pouting.

It’s a bit ridiculous having this guy with a pair of bunny ears on his head and a seriously pissed off expression on his face. Eden looks positively giddy. She hasn’t stopped smiling, even as we get ready to head off to the Easter show. It’s an all-day thing, and considering we woke up before the sun, we’re off and racing before I usually get out of bed. Eden and I hop into the ute with her dad and Jake, while the rest of the family hops into her mum’s minivan.

“You so cheated!”

“I so did not!”

Putting Eden and Jake in an enclosed space so soon might have been a bad idea. But it’s a short drive and Jake’s seatbelt is holding him in the front seat. It doesn’t stop him from turning around and wagging a finger in my face. The same way Eden did, all those weeks ago. The memory makes me smile, which I bite down upon seeing Jake’s thunderous expression.

“Once I find out how you did it, James, you’re dead.”

“How do you know my last name?” I shoot Eden a look. “How does he know my last name?” A flush creeps up her neck. She opens her mouth to respond but Jake cuts her off.

“Oh. No reason. Maybe it’s the fact that she never shuts up about you.”

“Jake.” There’s a warning note to her voice, which surprisingly makes Jake fall quiet. He turns to the front without another word. Silence descends.

“Well, I certainly do not want to know what that was about,” her dad pipes up. “We’re almost here, Oliver. And then we can let these two animals fight it out in the ring.”

“In the ring?” Images of Eden sweaty with boxing gloves enter my mind and I don’t try to push it away. I really should take her to the gym with me sometime. I have no doubt that that woman could throw a mean left hook.