Eve grinned. “If you want to know everything about me, Lainey, you’re going to have to be bolder than that. Don’t be afraid to ask me questions. You want to know why I didn’t use the money to live off of instead of going to Paris. Honey, it’s okay. I understand that you’re going to have questions and I’m prepared for them. The money was in a trust fund that I couldn’t get to until I was twenty-one. If something were to happen to my mother before I turned twenty-one, it was stipulated in her will that I was to get an allowance each month for living expenses. My college tuition would be paid for, along with an apartment off campus if that’s what I preferred. But, when I ran, the funds were frozen. I suppose they thought I’d be desperate enough to come back if I didn’t have access to any money.”
Lainey sipped her tea and studied Eve over the rim. “Do you ever think that you made the wrong decision by running?”
Eve considered Lainey’s question. “Yes. Every day of my life. But, we all make our decisions, and we have to learn from them. We have to live with them. When I turned myself in...”
“When did you do that?” Lainey demanded although she thought she knew when Eve had finally escaped from the hell she was living in.
“That night,” Eve said insistently. “I couldn’t take it anymore. I was so tired, in so much pain.” She hesitated for a moment, remembering everything. “I knew that I had to get out of there or I would end up dead. I had gone there to stay alive, but I couldn’t live like that anymore, so I turned myself in. I ran away, called the authorities from some shop a few miles away. I was too scared to stay in the area, afraid that one of Madame’s ‘patrons’ would tell her where I was.”
She followed Lainey back into the living room with their tea. “You know, when I asked you to dinner tonight, I don’t think I expected this,” Eve said softly when they were sitting together on the couch. “I knew I wanted to talk to you, but not about all this. I’d explain that I lost my mother when I was very young. Perhaps add a few details about my father. Just enough to satisfy you. And then we’d end up in bed together and we would make love instead of wasting our time together talking.”
“I don’t feel like this is a waste of time, Eve.” Lainey rested her hand on Eve’s leg. “We are being intimate, just not physically. Yet.”
Eve smiled. “I don’t feel like it’s a waste of time either. I feel like a boulder has been lifted off my chest. Don’t worry I’m over the nastiest part of my past. It was difficult, but I made it through. Thanks to you.” Lazily, she wrapped a strand of Lainey’s hair around her finger. “Hmm. I should finish this before I say to hell with it and take you upstairs.”
Lainey’s heart skipped. She was tempted to tell Eve to do just that. She wanted to be with her so badly, wanted to show her that she was more attracted to her now than ever. Eve’s strength amazed her. Her character, generosity and kindness meant more to Lainey now that she knew how complicated Eve’s life had been. Eve could easily have become quite a different person considering the challenges she’s had to endure.
While they sat there, close to each other on the couch, Eve went on then to tell Lainey that, thanks to the help of Agent Donovan, the rookie she had run from 3 years before, she had been taken in by a couple who had been his long time friends. Then there had been the part time jobs, the one room apartment when she turned eighteen, and the stabs at taking the few college courses with the help of the inheritance.
“I was alone and the only things I had to keep me company were my memories,” Eve said distantly. “That’s when I started smoking, drinking heavily and taking my frustrations out on unsuspecting men.”
Lainey frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“I made it my mission to ruin the lives of men who reminded me of the ones who had hurt me before.” Eve shrugged. “I guess it was a way for me to feel in control of my life again. A way to punish them for what they did to me. I didn’t care who they were, or who they had in their lives that would be hurt by what I was doing.”
“Eve, you didn’t...”
“Fuck them?” Eve was ready for the question, and didn’t blame Lainey for thinking it. “No. I used them in other ways. Men are easy to manipulate when you’re a ‘beautiful’ woman who pretends to pay attention to them. They would buy me things, give me money, give me whatever I wanted. And, in return, I would set them up. I would call their wives, tell them that if they wanted to know what their husbands were up to, they would be at the place I told them, at a certain time. Then, I would make sure their husbands were caught in a compromising position with me. But, I never slept with them.”
“Did it make you feel better?”
It wasn’t disapproval that Eve heard in Lainey’s question, but understanding, and that surprised Eve. “No. Temporary power, maybe, but it didn’t make me feel better.”
“What would you have done if the wives hadn’t shown up? Or, if they had, but had wanted to hurt you?” Lainey understood why Eve had done what she had. It was a wonder to her, knowing as she did now how she had been abused, that she hadn’t been worse.
Eve lifted a careless shoulder. “I took the chance. If something had gone wrong, I would have dealt with it. But, I researched my ‘victims’ beforehand. I never went into anything blindly. Most of their wives were having affairs of their own, and what they really needed to get out of the marriage and keep the money, was to catch their husbands having an affair.”
“I see. So, you ruined the men, helped the women and got revenge at the same time.” Eve might try to sound nonchalant but, Lainey could still see how unhappy those times made her. “What changed you, Eve?” she asked. “Because that’s not the woman you are now.”
“My mother,” Eve answered after a moment of silence. She smiled at Lainey’s confusion, and explained. “When I turned twenty-one, a whole new world opened up for me. A trust fund was handed to me. Something else was handed to me that day as well. Something that was more valuable than any amount of money in the world. A key.”
“A key?”
“Yes. It was to a safety deposit box that belonged to her. No one knew what was inside that box until I opened it that day. God, I’ve never told this to anyone.” What is it about you, Lainey? Why am I telling you things I never wanted anyone to know? “There were three things in that box. Three things that mean more to me than anything I’ll ever own. There was a locket with a photo of my mother on one side and me as a baby on the other. It was engraved.” She paused for a moment, thinking of those words that would forever be imprinted in her mind. “On the front it said, ‘Two bodies, One soul’, and on the back it said, ‘I give you my strength’.”
“That’s beautiful.” Lainey tried to swallow the lump in her throat, not wanting to lose it now. She wanted to be strong for Eve, to help her get through all of this.
“Yes. It was. Is. There was also a letter and a journal with only a few pages filled. Her last entry was made the day she died. It was as though she knew. Her last words were; ‘This is where I end, and you begin.’.”
Lainey could see the pain in Eve’s eyes when she spoke of her mother. But there was something else there, too. It was clear to Lainey that, as Eve spoke, all of the love she had left for her mother was overwhelming her.
“My mother also left a letter,” Eve said and now the words were pouring out of her. “I’ve read that letter hundreds of times. I can recall every word. She told me that there would be people in my life who would try to break me. ‘Don’t let them get you, baby girl’. ‘Don’t ever let them take anything away from you.’ She said that love does exist, and that I should never let anyone take that away from me. It was the one thing she insisted on. ‘Find love, baby girl. It’s waiting for you.’ Of course, she wanted me to be successful in life, to make sure no one could take away my hopes and dreams. But, it was love she wanted for me the most. ‘If I could give you anything in the world, baby girl, it would be these three things.’“ Eve paused, but only for a moment. Her face was slightly flushed and ther
e was a far-away look in her eyes. “She wrote ‘I give you my strength to triumph through times of adversity and become the woman I know you were meant to be. I give you my courage to walk away from those who hurt you, with your head held high. Something I never could do. I give you my heart, full of love, to add to yours so that you can pass it on to the world.’“
Now Lainey knew where Eve had gotten her generosity and amazing inner beauty. All Eve needed, was to know how to set her heart free. She knew the love inside Eve was enormous, and amazingly true.
“I did everything she asked of me,” Eve continued, cutting through Lainey’s thoughts. “I became a successful business woman. Went to school around the world to ‘broaden my horizons’. I gave up on revenge. It did nothing but make me feel miserable anyway. I focused on giving, instead of taking. I had the strength and courage to walk with my head held high and triumph over everything that happened to me. And, yet, I was still empty inside.” She drew up her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. A movement of uncharacteristic insecurity. Eve looked very young just then. Unsure of everything.
“I began to think that maybe Mama was right about love,” she went on. “Maybe that was what I was missing in my life and why I felt so alone. So...I started dating.”
Something that was a cross between amusement and annoyance lit Eve’s eyes. “I hated every minute of it. If the men weren’t completely boring and self-absorbed, they were complete assholes. None of them wanted to know me. I was an ornament for them, a beautiful woman to hang on their arm. To have sex with afterward. At least that’s what they wanted. But it was something they never got. I stopped dating because it was just aggravating me and focused my energy on making my galleries the most prestigious in the country. And then I met Adam.”
It was a relief to be back in the here and now, Eve thought, suddenly aware that she was emotionally exhausted.
“And what about Adam,” Lainey asked. “Are you in love with him, Eve?”
Eve frowned. For a split second, she thought she was going to say yes. “I don’t know how to love, Lainey. If I were in love with him, wouldn’t he be here right now instead of you?” She closed her eyes and swore softly. “That didn’t come out right.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” It stung, but she honestly did understand.
“No, it’s not okay. I didn’t mean to say that. It’s just that I’m as confused about what’s going on between us as you are. I have feelings for you, Lainey. Very strong feelings. But, I also have very strong feelings for Adam. Not that it matters anymore. He’s moved on, and it was the best thing for him to do. I’ve spent my energy trying to protect him from my past so that I wouldn’t lose him. I just couldn’t give him enough of me, or maybe I couldn’t give him the part of me he really wanted. He would ask me about my past. Wanted so much to know what happened, to make it better. He was the first man to be sensitive enough to know I’d been hurt. And he wanted to know who had done it. He was ready to fight the ghosts of my past for me. I looked into his eyes...oh, Lainey, he was so sincere. And, for a moment, I wanted to tell him.”
“Why didn’t you, Eve? Why don’t you? He loves you. I see it in the way he looks at you. He’ll understand.”
“I can’t. Lainey, he gets upset when another man talks to me. He would tell me, ‘They want to sleep with you, Eve. Can’t you see that?’ How can I tell him what I did? Do you really think he’ll just look over the fact that I was a whore?”
“Stop it! Damn it, Eve, stop saying that about yourself.”
Eve reached for Lainey’s hand. “Honey. No matter how rose colored your glasses are when you look at me, that’s what I was. I slept with men for money. I didn’t want to do it, and I never saw the money, but the fact still remains.”
“I don’t like that word, and that’s not you.”
“There are no pretty words for what I did. Prostitute, hooker...call girl. Whatever you want to call it, I couldn’t tell Adam, and if I have any chance of getting him back, it has to stay locked away.”
“I think you’re wrong,” Lainey said simply. She truly believed that Adam would be there for Eve, that he wouldn’t turn away from her. And, if he did turn away from her, he wasn’t the man Lainey had thought he was. He certainly wasn’t the man for Eve if he couldn’t stand beside her no matter what.
“He was the first man I ever made love to,” she said in a low voice. “He was the first man to ever touch me so tenderly, the first to look at me as though I were the only woman in the world. He was the first and only man I’ve ever kissed.”
“So, Adam was your first.” Lainey was still trying to grasp the idea of that. “That’s wonderful.”
“Are you sure you wanted to hear this?” Eve asked her.
“Yes. Eve, I’m sure,” Lainey told her. “This is what best friends are for, honey.”
“I’ve never had one,” Eve said quietly. “And I certainly never imagined that my first best friend would also turn out to be my lover.” She smiled when Lainey blushed.
Eve had never felt so completely content as she did at this moment finally letting out everything she had kept locked inside for so long.
“I don’t want to talk anymore,” Eve said, exhausted. “I’ve told you everything. I’ve bared my soul to you.”
“We can stop, okay?” Lainey said and kissed her.
Eve sank into the kiss. “Would you do me a favor?” Eve whispered. “Will you go upstairs with me? I want to lay with you, have you just, just hold me before you have to leave.”
“Come on,” Lainey said softly. And hand in hand they walked up the stairs.
Eve was asleep, breathing softly, one arm and leg wrapped across Lainey. The horrors she had heard would have kept Lainey awake even if she hadn’t had to go. The clock read eleven o five. She would give herself a few more minutes with Eve, then she had to go home. But, the thought of leaving upset her.
She turned her head back towards Eve and drew in her scent, as though it were the breath of life. You have to figure this out, Lainey, she scolded herself. What are you doing - or more importantly, what are you going to do?
“So beautiful,” Lainey whispered, touching Eve’s lips gently with her own. Eve’s response, which was to open her mouth to the kiss, left Lainey breathless.
“Hi.” Eve yawned and stretched lazily.
“Hi.” Lainey couldn’t help but smile. The feel of Eve’s body against hers, was incredible, even with both of them being clothed in the shorts and t-shirts they had changed into before dinner.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“It’s alright. You needed to rest.” Lainey tightened her arm around Eve as she snuggled closer. She had been dreading this moment all evening. The moment she had to say goodnight to Eve. “Eve?”
“Hmm?”
“I have to go,” Lainey told her. It was hard to say the words.
“I know,” Eve murmured. Though her heart ached, Eve wouldn’t argue.
“You could at least act like you want me to stay,” Lainey told her. What in the hell was she doing? Why was she so upset that Eve understood?
Eve looked at Lainey intently. “Stay,” she whispered. “I want you to stay.” Eve closed the gap between them and kissed Lainey with a heated passion.
Lainey broke away, gasping for air. “God. You had to say it that way?” Rolling over, she picked up the phone.
“What are you doing?” Eve asked her.
“Jack. It’s me,” Lainey said, pressing a finger to Eve’s lips. “I’m sorry. This project is taking a lot longer than I expected and it’s getting late.”
“What are you saying, Lainey?” Jack asked, even though he knew the answer already.
“I’m saying that I’m too tired to drive home, so I’m just going to stay here tonight.” She caught Eve’s look of surprise and disapproval. But that couldn’t be. Eve couldn’t be disappointed that Lainey had made the decision to stay.
“Are you mad at me for some reason
?” Jack asked her. “Is that why you’re not coming home?”
“No, Jack. I’m not mad at you,” Lainey said quietly. “I just told you that I’m tired. I have more to do here and I don’t want to drive all the way home. I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“All right,” Jack said after a long pause. “I’ll tell the boys in the morning that you stayed with Eve. They like Eve, so they’ll understand. I – I love you, Lainey.”
Lainey’s heart skipped. Instantly, involuntarily, she wished they had come from Eve instead, and felt horribly guilty for that. “I...love you, too,” she murmured and felt Eve move away from her.
“Why did you do that?” Eve asked when she heard Lainey hang up the phone.
“You told me you wanted me to stay,” Lainey protested.
“You told me to tell you to stay.” Eve felt Lainey go rigid beside her and swore under her breath. Rolling over, she pinned Lainey beneath her before she could get up. “I do want you to stay, Lainey. I always want you to stay. But, I also understand that you have a family that you need to be home with. I promised you that I would help you with your marriage, and all it seems like I’m doing is hurting it.”
“It was my decision to change my life and go back to work. It was my decision to become your assistant, even though I knew I felt something for you from the moment I met you. It was my decision to become your lover, something I’ll never regret. And, it was my decision to stay tonight, Eve. Don’t feel that this is your fault. My marriage was in trouble before I even met you.”
“Yes, but, I was supposed to help you fix it, not break it even more.” Eve remembered Lainey saying that she would never regret becoming Eve’s lover. She hoped and prayed that would remain the truth.
“Eve, you’re not doing anything except being there for me. I was lying here, listening to you breathing as you slept, dreading the moment I had to get up and leave you. After everything that you told me tonight, I didn’t want to just go.”
“Is that why you’re staying?” Eve interrupted, heatedly. “Because you feel obligated?” The intensity of her anger took her by surprise. “I’m not vulnerable, Lainey! I’m not a child!”
Something About Eve (An Eve Sumptor Book 1) Page 32