by Holly Rayner
“I hope it will lead to something good,” he said.
He looked into her eyes, and she looked back into his. For the first time in years, Eva found she wasn’t preoccupied with thoughts about the future. She felt completely happy in the present moment, sitting close to Dimitris on the couch.
“I think it’s already led to something good,” she said.
The corner of his mouth tilted up in a subtle smile. “You’re right,” he said. “It has.”
He leaned in and kissed her again.
This time, she fell back on the couch and let his heavy weight settle on top of her. She ran her hands over his firm torso and kissed him deeply. She lost all sense of time and place as her attention riveted on the feel of Dimitris moving against her. They were both breathless when they parted.
Eva enjoyed a sense of ease as she reached for her beer and took a sip. An hour had slipped past, and the food was now cold, she was sure. It didn’t matter. Nothing seemed to matter except for the fact that she and Dimitris were together.
She didn’t know what the future would hold. All she knew was that they were finally on the same page. The business arrangement they’d formed together felt like nothing but a stepping-stone that had led them to that very moment. It seemed so insignificant compared to the look in Dimitris’s eyes when he said that he felt a connection to her.
The energy in the room had shifted, and that was a big relief.
Dimitris turned his attention to his plate, too. Now that they’d discussed their standing, it seemed his appetite had returned as well. “This looks delicious,” he said.
“It’s nothing fancy,” she told him.
“Food doesn’t have to be fancy to be good,” he said. “Sometimes simple is best.” His playful tone was back. He used his fork to cut into his omelet.
Then his tone shifted again as he said, “You know what? This past week I’ve been thinking about you and what’s happening between us, and I can’t help but feel like maybe it would have been better if we’d never signed the marriage documents at all.”
She knew what he meant. It was so nice to feel a genuine relationship budding between them, and she wondered if that relationship would be better able to grow if they didn’t have the whole fake-marriage deal to worry about.
“I have an idea,” she said, as she picked up her fork and shifted her plate so it was closer to her. “How about we forget about marriage applications and US citizenship for the rest of the evening?”
“I like that idea,” he said warmly. He took a bite of his food and groaned with pleasure. “Eva, you’re a master at cooking omelets. The proportions are perfect.”
“Better than leathery bacon and a stale croissant?”
“A million times better,” he said.
“Even though it’s cold?”
“I think this omelet is the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” he said.
“Now you’re just being nice.”
“Hunger is the best seasoning, they say,” he said. “Sleep deprivation doesn’t hurt either.”
“What about good company?” she asked. “Does that make a cold omelet taste better, too?”
“Oh, yes,” he said. “Now, you have to tell me more about these paintings of yours. What were you working on today? I didn’t even have a chance to see them. Still lifes? Landscapes?”
Their conversation flowed easily for the remainder of the afternoon. By evening, Eva’s abs were sore from laughing so hard. She felt like she was glowing with happiness, and she knew that Dimitris felt the same.
They ordered pizza for dinner and ate it while talking, laughing, and watching the rays of the sunset. By the time darkness took over the living room, Eva felt more comfortable around Dimitris than she’d ever felt.
Instead of turning on the living room lights, she lit a candle on the coffee table. With low-volume music playing over the living room’s speakers, their conversation died down and was replaced by soft kisses.
The candlelight flickered, casting dancing light over every surface as their kisses became more passionate.
The thought of setting up the pull-out couch for Dimitris never even occurred to Eva. Her bedroom door was visible from the couch. The door was open, the bed beyond inviting, and when Dimitris led her toward it, she accompanied him gladly.
Hours later, she fell asleep in his arms, feeling happier than she’d ever felt before.
Chapter 14
Dimitris
Dimitris nestled his head into the pillow. The fabric was soft and smelled of coconut. It was a familiar scent, and one he could place easily.
Eva.
Thoughts of her moved through his consciousness, and a feeling of warmth and lightness swelled in his chest. He felt happier than he’d been in a long time.
He opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the bright light that slipped through a crack in the window shades. The rising sun had reached a point that caused it to shine directly into the room, and he realized that was what had woken him up.
He turned to his back, still only half awake. It took him a moment to realize he wasn’t in his own bed. He reached reflexively to the nightstand to grab his phone, but he didn’t find it there. Instead he nearly knocked over a glass of water that sat by the bedside lamp. His fingers brushed over a book, and then he stopped searching.
I’m at Eva’s, he thought, as he pulled his arm back and laid it on his chest.
The other side of the bed was empty, and as he tuned into the sounds around him, he noticed the clinking sound of a spoon against glass out in the kitchen. It was clear that Eva was already up, and the smell of coffee and muffins in the air made him think that she’d been up for a while—at least long enough to mix up muffin batter and put them in the oven.
He felt overcome with gratitude and a relaxed sense of well-being. It was a strange feeling, since he was used to waking up with a jolt and quickly checking his phone for messages about things that had gone wrong.
The desire to check his phone flitted into his mind, along with a curiosity about how his company was doing. Had anything new happened with their Argentinian client? Had Stavros updated the publishing policies for the engineers?
These thoughts quickly faded away as he realized that no matter what was happening with the company, it didn’t change the fact that he was right where he was, in Eva’s apartment.
The hours of much-needed sleep had made his mind feel sharp and renewed. After a few more moments of enjoying the bed, he rose and made his way to the small bathroom that was attached to the bedroom.
Once inside the shower, he wasn’t at all surprised to find out that Eva used coconut-scented shampoo. He smiled at the sight of a photograph of the ocean, which hung above the towel rack. He dried off, dressed in a few of the clean clothing items he’d packed, and then joined Eva in the kitchen.
Eva was standing at the sink, humming as she washed a mixing bowl. The tank top she was in showed off her slender, perfectly formed shoulders. Her brown hair was pulled back, giving him a glimpse of her elegant neck, which he’d kissed many times the night before. She wore a skirt and had bare feet. He walked towards her, feeling as though he was being magnetically pulled.
She turned as he made his way around the counter.
“Oh, you’re up,” she said with a smile. “I hope I wasn’t making too much noise out here. I know you needed the sleep.”
“I slept great,” he said. He placed his arms on her hips and leaned down to kiss her gently on the neck.
She wrapped her arms around him. “Well, good morning,” she said softly.
“Good morning,” he said, once he’d finished with the delicious spot on her neck. He moved his lips to hers. She leaned back against the sink, and her fingers wove through the still-wet hair at the nape of his neck.
The oven timer went off with a loud beep, and Dimitris stepped back.
“The muffins…” Eva said breathlessly. “They must be ready.”
“They smell delicious,”
he said.
“Blueberry,” she said, still slightly dazed from his kiss.
He smiled. “What can I do to help?”
“You could pull out some mugs for coffee,” she said over her shoulder while she opened the oven door.
A wave of heat rolled out of the oven, carrying with it a smell that made Dimitris’s mouth water. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Eva as she bent over and went about pulling out the pan of golden baked goods.
She eyed him mischievously as she set the tin on the stovetop to cool. “They’re in the cabinet by the sink.”
“Oh—right, the mugs,” he said.
She laughed. “Do you take cream and sugar?”
“Just a touch of both, if you have them.”
“Same with me,” she said. “Sometimes I skip it, but I like the taste better with them.”
“A little bit of sweetness goes a long way.”
After placing the mugs down on the counter, he moved over to where Eva stood. She was arranging a few of the still-steaming muffins on a plate. He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her as she worked. He lowered his mouth to her shoulder and kissed it.
“You look beautiful this morning,” he said.
While his arms were still around her, she turned. She reached up and ran a finger over one of his damp curls. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said. “Did you find everything you needed in the shower?”
“I can think of one thing that was missing,” he said.
“Oh? What’s that?”
“You,” he said.
She laughed. “I don’t know if my shower is big enough for the both of us.”
“I think we could make it work.” He kissed her again.
Dimitris felt blissful as they parted. He hummed as he filled the two mugs with coffee.
It struck him, as he placed the mugs down on the counter, that the morning was progressing much differently than the one they’d shared in the penthouse. He felt much more comfortable around Eva now; without the tension and discomfort that he’d felt before, his attraction for her was able to course through him without any impediments. He felt it flowing through his veins, and the feeling was intoxicating.
Is this what love feels like? he wondered, as he watched Eva slice open one of the muffins and place a pat of butter into the steamy cake-like interior.
She passed the plate over to him. “There you go!” she said happily. Then she jumped up. “Oh! I almost forgot the cream and sugar. Hang on a sec.”
She went about getting it, and he noticed that she seemed just as happy as he was.
Is this what being a couple is like? he thought.
Eva added a splash of cream to his drink, and then looked up at him. “Does that look good?” she asked.
Dimitris had become used to being served and waited on, over the years. He’d had maids, butlers, personal chefs, and all other manner of help and service. But he’d never felt that someone cared so sincerely and selflessly about his well-being. Eva didn’t just want to put the right amount of cream in his coffee because she wanted a bonus or a raise. She wanted, purely and simply, to make him happy.
That knowing made his chest ache with gratitude. It also made him eager to return the favor for her. He’d never felt such an intense desire to please someone as he now felt for Eva.
“It’s perfect,” he said to her. “Thank you.”
She slid the sugar bowl over to him, along with a spoon. “I’ll let you get your own sugar,” she said. “I know how awful it is when someone adds too much. When I order coffee out, I always ask to add my own sugar.”
She jumped up again. “Oops! That just reminded me, I was supposed to meet Nikki for coffee this morning before her shift.” She headed to the living room and let her hand slide over the couch cushions. “My phone must be here somewhere.”
Dimitris stirred sugar into his coffee and then took a sip. It was just strong enough, and he liked the dark roast flavor.
Now I know she has good taste in coffee, too, he thought happily as he lifted the muffin. The steam still curling up off of it smelled divine.
“I found your phone, but not mine,” Eva said as she returned to the kitchen. She placed Dimitris’s phone down on the counter. “Oh! I remember,” she said to herself as she headed back to the living room.
Dimitris looked over at his phone as he chewed. The battery was dead, which didn’t bother him. He wasn’t feeling as eager to check in on work as he usually was. He was completely content sampling Eva’s baking and enjoying her beautiful presence.
“Found it,” Eva said, holding up her phone. She eyed Dimitris’s. “Is yours dead? Here, use my charger.” She reached over to the edge of the counter and pulled a white cord off of the top of a stack of magazines.
“Thanks,” Dimitris said. He took a moment to plug his phone in, as Eva texted her friend.
“You and Nikki are close, aren’t you?” he said, once he was done.
“Very,” Eva said. “I’m an only child, technically, but I pretty much consider her my sister now.”
“You two look like you could be sisters, what with the dark hair and eyes,” Dimitris said.
“We get that a lot, actually,” Eva said with a laugh.
“Maybe we could see her today,” Dimitris suggested. “Have you been back to your restaurant since quitting?”
“Nope,” Eva said. “And I have to admit, I miss the staff. We had some good times together.”
“We could go for lunch,” Dimitris suggested. “Or dinner… whatever you think. Wouldn’t it be fun to be waited on for a turn?”
She smiled at that and finished her bite of food. She cupped her mug in her hands and grinned at him over the lip of it. “Hmm… I hadn’t even thought about it, but you’re right. It would be kind of fun.” She laughed. “And you could meet my old manager!”
“I’ll tell him everyone deserves three shift drinks,” Dimitris joked. “No, make that five.”
Eva giggled.
Dimitris’s phone beeped, letting him know that it was back on and charging.
“No, you’d better not say anything about shift drinks,” Eva said. “He’s a sensitive guy. Get him riled up, and who knows what kind of new rules he’ll come up with to punish the staff with.”
Dimitris made a mock-serious expression by furrowing his brow: “All employees must wear white sneakers!” he said.
“Oh, geez,” Eva said with a roll of her eyes. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Dimitris’s phone chimed twice, and Eva glanced over at it.
“New messages?” she said.
“Probably just work-related things that can wait,” Dimitris said. He leaned over and eyed them briefly. “Yeah, they’re both from Stavros. Probably about the contract he’s writing up for the US government deal. I’ll give him a call this afternoon.”
The smile on Eva’s lips faded. “What US government deal?” she asked.
“The one I’ve been trying to secure for years,” Dimitris said.
“Is the contract about some kind of sale or something?” She put her muffin back down on her plate.
Dimitris found her curiosity about his work a little bit strange. It was nice of her to show interest, but he didn’t understand why her voice had a fearful edge to it.
“A sale, yes,” he said. “My company sells rocket propulsion systems. I have a team of some of the best engineers in the world, and several years back we came up with a particular fuel head that was superior to the others on the market.”
“So you’re selling the part… to the government?”
“Well,” he said as he reached for his coffee. “Not just the fuel head. That’s part of a whole package that we sell.” He sipped his drink.
Eva leaned forward. “But you don’t sell it directly to the government, do you?”
“Of course,” he said. “I mean, I want to. I’ve been pitching the idea for years, but it wasn’t until the administration changed, a few years back, that I sta
rted to make real ground with them. This will be the biggest sale my company has ever had to go through. Millions of dollars more than what we netted last year, actually. But more than that, it’s about how it’s going to position us ahead of the competition.”
He expected Eva to congratulate him, but instead she pressed her lips together, her face drained of color.
“What is it?” he said.
“I had no idea you were working with the government.”
“Is it a problem?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said nervously. It was clear that there was something on her mind, but he couldn’t understand what.
She went on. “Does the deal with the government have anything to do with why you wanted to become a US citizen?” she asked.
He set down his coffee, too. He didn’t like the quiver in her voice. She was scared and upset. Why?
“Actually, yes,” he said. “When we first met, I was in DC to close the deal. But there was a problem. I couldn’t get cleared by Homeland Security because of a minor infraction on my record. My lawyer told me that if I was a citizen, that would no longer be an issue. After I learned that, I had the idea about marrying you.”
Eva stood up. Her face, which had been pale as a sheet, suddenly flushed. She started pacing.
“Eva, what’s going on?” Dimitris asked. “What’s wrong?”
Chapter 15
Eva
Eva felt a familiar sensation of fear. It grew slowly in her chest and traveled down into her stomach.
He married me for a government contract, she thought. Bobby told me that as long as the guy I was marrying wasn’t involved in government affairs, I’d be fine.
Dimitris’s question rang through the kitchen. “Eva, what’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong is that I had no idea you were working so closely with the government,” she said, with more attitude than she intended.
“I didn’t think it was that important,” Dimitris said.
She felt his eyes on her as she walked into the living room area of the apartment. She tried taking a few deep breaths, but it did nothing to help her mental state. Fear edged into her consciousness, crowding out all else.