He realized all of a sudden that he'd probably come off as not wanting her to be here and felt guilty instantly. "Better how?" he asked, trying to ease the calm back into his tone. "I'm sorry if I sound surprised, it's just… not many people leave the library to come to Grand Central. It's usually the other way around…" he added.
Grand Central was notorious for having the worst guards. Not because they were bad guards but because they didn't seem to care about the people they were guarding at all. Evan felt an odd surge of protectiveness over Eloise, not wanting her subjected to that.
"At the very least, I don't think you should leave before you've slept, no," Evan offered with a small, slightly concerned smile as he tilted his head at her. "I wouldn't mind you spending time here. It'd be nice to have you here," he added, feeling a little bit of heat rising to his cheeks. It had been a long time since he'd blushed. He hoped she hadn't seen it, but she was observant, so she probably had.
Eloise's reaction to his accidental hand brush surprised him and he felt compelled to apologize, but before he had the chance, she spoke again. He'd apologize later if things got awkward.
He listened as she commented on his drawing and he half-smiled. She got it. Usually, the only ones who got things like that were Danny and Olivia—he paused, dragging his thoughts from Olivia for the time being. No need to put himself on that dark path when he was in the company of someone who genuinely seemed to enjoy his company.
He smiled a little bit. "That was what I was going for," he explained. "It was really amidst a bunch of trees but among the life it just seemed so different. So I went with that. I remembered it vividly, one of those images that just sticks with you."
Turning to her, he tilted his head in intrigue. "You seem to understand a lot of the nuances about art. I bet I could teach you to draw so easily…" he told her.