Seven Days in June

The Lettie Awards have finally arrived, and Eva attends with no sign or word from Shane. Cece texts Eva that a caterer from last night had seen Shane and Eva together and posted that they were a couple who had once been together in high school and were the inspiration for Sebastian. Eva can hardly focus as a migraine is coming on. Sitting with other authors she knows, she begins to excuse herself using her usual excuse that she needs to call her daughter—but then she stops and, instead, shares about her disability, explaining that her head feels like it’s going to explode and she needs to use one of her injectable painkillers. Her fellow authors are shocked, but she feels liberated. While walking to the bathroom, she sees fans dressed up as Gia, and on a whim, she hugs them and thanks them for sticking with her all these years.

Then, she sees Shane in the lobby. He explains what happened with Ty being shot; Ty didn’t make it, and Shane feels responsible; he was too busy being happy, too busy thinking he had a family and someone to love, and he didn’t pick up Ty’s calls. Eva tells him repeatedly that it is not his fault, but he admits what they both know, that he can’t be with her and won’t be able to go to Louisiana with her. She understands; their promises never stick. The couple separates, and Eva is announced the Best Erotic Romance Book winner. In her speech, she explains that she has been hiding behind these characters instead of being who she is, and now it is time to be that person. She announces that the series will not continue; instead, she will write what she knows about herself—that she comes from a long line of tragic, beautiful, and misunderstood women. She needs to write their story, which is also her story.

Shane also wins his Langston Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award and doesn’t say anything except, “This is for the misfits” (306). Cursed fans have merged with Eight fans, and by the end of the night, they are calling themselves the #MisfitHive.

While Eva is in Belle Fleur, she and Shane begin to talk again. Hesitant to get too close, they also cannot resist. Shane’s rent is up, and Eva tells him he can stay at her place for the summer since it’s empty. Eva tracks down her family, learning the real stories about the women in her family at that time; racism and misogyny have distorted their history. She loves Louisiana and feels at home. Shane feels at home in Eva’s house, and as much as he tries to take care of her plants, they all die. But slowly, he starts to feel better, and Eva begins to write.

Audre has just talked to her mother on the phone, and she feels worried over how Eva’s voice sounded—distant and heavy. Feeling something is off, Audre knows there’s only one person who can help her mother feel better: Shane. After she calls Cece for help, Cece calls in a favor with Shane, asking him to be the guest on a panel at the last minute in Atlanta. She then invites Eva to Atlanta under the pretense of it being for Cece’s husband’s birthday party. When Shane and Eva arrive, they realize they have been tricked into getting together, as a romantic dinner for two has been set up. However, they both know that loving each other never ends, and they want to be together. They kiss and restart together.