The Boyfriend Experience (The Boyfriend Experience 1)

She smiled at him. “I want to take you to a place that you’d never find in the city.”

He arched a brow. “Sounds intriguing.”

“More like incredibly peaceful.” And right now, she was pretty sure he’d welcome the tranquil atmosphere.

As soon as they made their way down the porch and she took a path heading away from the cabin, Eric slipped his hand into her free one, as if it was the most natural thing for him to do. Like they were a real couple. And just like an infatuated schoolgirl with her crush, she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

They continued following the trail, which was lit up by solar path lights that helped lead the way. Before long, they arrived at a small clearing that sloped gently down to the lake. For the most part, they were surrounded by tall pine trees, and with the moon slowly rising, it created a mesmerizing silvery effect on the rippling water. Everything was calm and quiet . . . except for crickets chirping and a distant, occasional hoot of an owl. Nature’s harmonica, her grandpa would always say.

Eric stood there for a long moment, taking it all in before he released a deep breath. “Wow. This is a beautiful spot, especially at night.”

“It’s one of my favorite places to visit when we come here.” She was suddenly glad that she’d decided to share it with him. “Sometimes I get lucky, like tonight, and nobody is here.”

She opened up the blanket, and Eric helped her spread it out on the grassy knoll. She sat down, adjusting her summer dress accordingly, and patted the spot next to her for him to join her. He didn’t hesitate to settle on the blanket beside her, and they both stared out at the lake in companionable silence, enjoying the serene surroundings.

After a while, she turned her head to look at him, though he kept his gaze pinned straight ahead. The moon provided enough illumination for her to see the outline of his strong, handsome profile and those sensual lips she loved having on her own.

She hated to shatter this peaceful moment between them, but she did it anyway. “Eric . . . what happened with your twin sister?” Evie genuinely wanted to know about the sibling he’d lost.

He closed his eyes and groaned. “Evie . . .”

She heard the reluctance in his voice, and before he could refuse her, she added, “Did you really think I wasn’t going to ask about her?”

He huffed out a small laugh and turned his head, meeting her gaze. “No, I figured you would. But I was hoping you wouldn’t.”

Knowing her question wasn’t completely unexpected, just unwanted, she gently persisted. “Eric, you could have made up a background and family situation that was ideal and perfect, but you didn’t,” she said, pointing out the obvious. “You can’t just say you had a twin sister who died and not expect me to care enough to want to know what happened. Because I do care.” Probably more than was wise.

He gave her a faint but genuine smile. “I know you care, because that’s the kind of selfless person you are.”

And still, he avoided the topic, so she tried once more. “I imagine it’s incredibly painful to talk about, and you’ve probably discussed it with family more than you care to, but the way you spoke about her at dinner . . . you’re clearly still dealing with the pain of losing her.” Then again, did a loss like that ever really go away? No, she didn’t think so, but Eric’s grief still felt fresh and raw, despite the ten plus years that had passed.

“No, I actually haven’t talked about it since Trisha died. I mean, there have been rare instances when I’ve told select people about her and what happened, but never in detail.” His jaw hardened ever so slightly. “As for my parents, they both dealt with her death in different, selfish ways, but we never discussed what happened, nor did we grieve Trisha’s death together.”

Which meant he’d probably suffered alone, and her chest squeezed tightly at the thought. She remained quiet and didn’t push for more at this point, leaving it all up to Eric whether or not he decided to share those personal, private details.

Much to her surprise, his stiff shoulders relaxed a fraction, though he kept his gaze focused on the lake, not her. “When Trisha turned fifteen, she started getting frequent infections and bruising and nosebleeds. She was always tired and not feeling well, so of course my mother took her to the doctor to figure out what was wrong. Blood tests showed her platelets were off, and after a bone marrow biopsy, that’s when the diagnosis of leukemia came in.”

He drew up his knees and rested his arms across them. “From there, she spent a year in treatment and in and out of hospitals. She went through a stem cell transplant, more rounds of chemo and radiation than I can count, and God, she was so strong through it all.” He shook his head in wonder as a faint smile touched his lips, then gradually faded. “She lost all her beautiful long hair, and when she decided to shave her head of the few pieces that were left, we did it together so she wouldn’t have to do it alone. When she was in the hospital, I spent every day with her, playing games, reading to her, or watching TV. Being twins, she was my best friend and my other half and the thought of losing her scared the shit out of me.”