All About Eve

by Liliana Hart

“Eve’s a little gun shy,” Jake said, making Eve’s mouth drop open in surprise. “I’m being patient before I ask her to marry me again. Besides, it’s not good for a man’s ego to be turned down too many times.”

  “Well, don’t be too patient. If I had to wager a guess, I’d say not all the hesitation is on one side,” she said, making Jake frown. “I’ve got a sixth sense when it comes to romance. Maybe I could be a guest on your show one night, Eve.”

  “Maybe,” Eve said, noncommittally, pretty sure that America wasn’t yet ready for Ruth Murphy. She also wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about her love life being discussed in the kitchen so casually.

  “Now open your present,” Ruth said shoving a package across the table before Eve could think too much.

  Eve was expecting a completely outrageous gift, from anything along the lines of a stuffed llama to a gaudy handbag, and she already had her smile in place so Ruth wouldn’t be offended. But when she unwrapped the tissue a surprised gasp escaped.

  “Ruth, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Eve said tracing a finger over the delicate colored glass. The bowl was purely ornamental and unnecessary. She loved it. It was a pale blue crystal etched with gold leafed dancing ladies. “It’ll be perfect for my office.”

  “I thought so when I came across it,” she said, squeaking when Eve pulled her into a bone jarring hug. “Watch it girl. I’ll snap like a twig.”

  “I’ll show you what she got for me later,” Jake said with a leer. “It’s not meant for public display.”

  Eve laughed as he knew she would and the sound lightened his heart. She hadn’t had the opportunity to laugh enough in his opinion.

  “Well at least you got all your Christmas shopping done,” Eve said pointing to the bags.

  “Those aren’t Christmas gifts. I haven’t even started that mess yet. Those are all for me. I found this little lingerie shop while I was away that just had the most amazing stuff. It’s the same place I found your gift, Jake.”

  Jake colored at the thought of what was in those bags and then decided deleting the entire memory out of his head was the best course of action.

  “I tell you, my friend Lorena is not nearly as fun as she used to be. We’d do the darndest stuff together when we were younger, dropping pumpkins from high places to hear the explosions and dressing up like candy stripers to scope out the hot doctors at the hospital, but I thought she was going to fall out of her wheelchair when I walked into that place. You’d think the woman had never had a sensuous moment in her life.”

  Probably not in the last forty years, Eve thought with a smile.

  “Now, I’m tired. I need a nap before dinner, so tell me which room is mine. I’ve decided to move myself in with you since I like this place better anyway and all the action seems to be here. I told Edward he could stay at Jake’s house. The man is such a worrier,” she said as an afterthought.

  “You’re…you’re staying here?” Eve stuttered.

  She could feel Jake’s laughter shaking his body next to her and wondered how he’d feel with her elbow in his ribs. Apparently Ruth made her own book of etiquette as she went along because it didn’t look like she felt the least bit guilty inviting herself for an extended stay.

  “Only through Christmas. I’ve got to work up the nerve to go visit my sons before the first of the year. I’ll never understand how I could have given birth to two such boring men.”

  “I’ll put you in the downstairs guest room,” Eve finally said.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Jake, this is ridiculous. You don’t have to drop everything you’re doing to follow me to work. I’m perfectly safe. I haven’t gotten so much as a note or a prank phone call in weeks.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’s not still out there. Have I ever told you how sexy you look in those skirts?” he asked, changing the subject. “Dr. Lovegood, professional, untouchable and legs that are smooth as silk. The whole package drives me absolutely crazy.”

  “You’re crazy, period,” she said, though the compliment pleased her. She’d spent the day doing promotional shoots at the radio station’s TV affiliate and wasn’t going to have time to change before heading to the station to do her program. She was already dreaming of a glass of wine and shoving her pantyhose down the disposal.

  “Let’s go, then,” she said resigned..

  “Your enthusiasm is bubbling over.”

  “Just like a plugged toilet,” she said with a grin. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a carefree moment, especially with a man.

  “I have an idea,” Jake announced, ignoring her sarcasm.

  “There is nothing in my contract about you having ideas. You’re only supposed to fix my house.”

  “Stop being such a smart ass and listen. Besides, I think I fixed more than your house.” He gave her a lecherous grin.

  “Fine, fine. What’s your idea?”

  “I’ve never seen where you work.”

  “So what? I’ve never built a set of bookcases. That’s why we each have our respective careers, and thank God we’re good at them. You wouldn’t want to see any attempt I made at carpentry.”

  “I’m not saying I want to go on the air, Eve. I just wouldn’t mind if you invited me in to see you in action so to speak. I have all these erotic images of you when I hear your voice over the radio. I bet it would be even better if I could see you.”

  “You’re hopeless.”

  Eve thought it over for a minute. “Fine. This way I don’t have to deal with your nightly phone call. I’m telling you, some men just can’t take a hint.”

  Eve barely avoided the swat to her backside that Jake aimed her way, and her laughter caused her to miss his determined smile. There was nothing he liked better than a challenge.

  “I think you’re going to have to get a car I can fit in,” Jake said, looking at the tiny contraption and already wincing at the thought of his cramped legs.

  “I’m not going to buy a new car so you can be comfortable. How impractical is that? Besides, I think you’ll look kind of cute stuffed in there. I’ll even put the top down if you’d like.”

  “It’s thirty degrees outside!”

  “What are you, chicken?”

  “I don’t care if you put the top down. It’s not me that’s going to look like I stuck my finger in an electrical outlet.”

  “After years of my own therapy, I’m finally at peace with the knowledge that my hair has a mind of its own.

  “That’s good that you’re so comfortable with yourself. I would have figured you’d be much more self conscious about the dent in your chin.”

  Eve gasped in shock and brought her fingers to her chin. “I don’t have a dent in my chin.”

  “Of course you don’t,” he said placatingly. “It was rude of me to bring it up. I’d only thought by your speech that you were comfortable with all your flaws.”

  “Well, I seem to be comfortable enough around you, so you’re probably right. Get in the car. I’ll make sure to make the trip as painless as possible,” she said. The look in her eyes would have made Ruth proud.

  ***

  Eve checked in with the front desk to let them know she had a guest before they made their way to the elevators and rode silently to the twenty-third floor where the WKTP offices were located.

  “You’re a little overdressed,” Jake said, looking at the combination of jeans and sweats, Hawaiian shirts and spandex with amusement.

  “Ahh…the joys of radio. That’s why I love this job. This is my professional look. It’s what people imagine I look like when they hear my voice, and I try to give them that image when I’m in public. Fortunately, I don’t have to spend too much time in the public eye unless I’m teaching a class or doing a television appearance, and therefore, I keep my sanity. I’m perfectly content to sit behind the mic for the rest of my life.”

  “Well I have to say I like this image of you almost as much as your holy sweatpants look. You sure do have a
pair of legs on you, Doc. Maybe next summer you can buy a pair of little shorts so I can ogle.”

  Eve didn’t want to think about next summer. Of being without Jake. She locked the thought away when she heard the rapid clip-clop of heels, and knew the sound could only belong to one person.

  “Here comes Lucy,” she told Jake under her breath. “She’s my producer, and she’s been thinking about giving up her lesbian status ever since she heard your voice. Try not to make too much of an impression.”

  “I’ll try to leave her heart intact,” Jake said solemnly, putting his right hand up as if swearing in a court of law.

  “How did the spot go over at the network?” Lucy asked, flipping through her clipboard, making notes and giving orders to an intern all at the same time.

  “Great. We’re going to do a commercial promoting the Christmas Eve show next week. It’ll run the full week before Christmas.”

  “You also have a morning appearance on Wake Up Dallas next week and the Good Morning America spot the week after that, so you’ll have to make sure all two of your business suits are dry cleaned,” Lucy said sarcastically. The snicker from Eve’s companion had her looking up, way up, into a pair of blue eyes that she could have drowned in.

  “Shut up, Jake,” Eve said, elbowing him in the ribs. “Lucy this is my good friend Jake Murphy. Jake, Lucy Porter.”

  “Ahh…Murphy-Madsen Construction. George did wonderful work on my condo several months ago,” Lucy said, finally understanding why Eve only grinned every time she asked how the house was coming along.

  “Nice to meet you, Lucy.”

  “Oh my God!” Lucy screamed, drawing everyone’s attention. “You’re Waiting in Dallas. I’d know that voice anywhere.”

  Eve winced at the announcement. She should have realized that Lucy would figure out who Jake was. Now she’d never hear the end of it.

  “You’ve been holding out on me,” Lucy accused. She turned her attention back to Jake. “You look even better than I imagined you would. You’re a celebrity, you know?”

  Jake couldn’t keep the smile off his face. The woman was a steamroller. He figured she and Eve probably suited each other very well when working together.

  “Thanks. I decided I wanted to see Eve work. I’m curious to see if she’s as sexy in person when she spouts all of that advice as she is when I can only dream of her.”

  Eve rolled her eyes, but Lucy and Jake both ignored her.

  “I’ve decided to like you,” Lucy announced. “I’m a bitch for the most part, so this is a great honor I bestow upon you.”

  “I’ll treasure it always,” Jake assured her, straight faced.

  “Come on. You can hang out in my office and watch the show through the glass wall. I’ll be in the control panel, so you won’t be in my way.” Lucy took hold of his arm and dragged him away.

  Jake looked over his shoulder in time to see Eve laughing by herself in the hallway. It was a good thing he’d had Ruth to get him used to crazy over the years because he was sure getting his fair share now with Eve in his life.

  ***

  “Anxious in Albuquerque, you’re on the air with Dr. Lovegood.”

  Jake watched her through the clear glass wall of Lucy’s office and felt the wave of desire wash over him as soon as he heard the first words come across the airwaves. It was a feeling that was becoming much too familiar.

  She’d taken her spiked heels off as soon as she sat in the oversized chair behind the control panel in the booth and propped a mile of long leg on a table that held something that looked suspiciously like donuts. No wonder he couldn’t bribe her with them.

  She hadn’t paid him one bit of attention once she’d started her program two hours before. She had the ability to focus completely on whatever she was doing. He remembered her same intent focus when they made love, as if everything she did in everyday life was an experience to be savored. After what Steve Slater had done to her, he didn’t blame her.

  She fascinated him, and at the same time frustrated him so completely he didn’t know how to handle her. She seemed to be perfectly content to go on exactly as they were, as if things were bound to end eventually and she was resigned to enjoying it while it lasted. He wanted marriage. A family. But every time he tried to approach the subject she cut him off. And broke his heart a little more.

  She cared for him. He knew her well enough to know that she would never have taken him to her bed if she hadn’t. She might even love him, not that she’d let him in on that little secret.

  It all came down to trust. When all was said and done, she still felt like he’d eventually let her down. His past was stacked against him. After his time with Eve he couldn’t remember the face of one of those women she was so sure he still wanted.

  It was time to play hardball. He wanted to bring in the New Year with Eve Lovegood as his wife. He glanced at the phone on Lucy’s desk and an idea began to form.

  ***

  Eve tried to get Lucy’s attention so she’d know she just handed her a caller without a title, but Lucy was involved in what looked like a heated discussion with one of the account executives so she would have to wing it.

  It had taken every ounce of control she possessed for her to keep her eyes off Jake and listen to a never ending line of callers. She could feel the heat of his gaze on her with every movement she made, but she kept her head down and her nose buried in the paperwork in front of her.

  “Thanks for calling in. You’re on the air with Dr. Lovegood.”

  “Hey, Doc.”

  Eve’s head snapped up and she caught Jake’s clear blue gaze through the thin glass wall that separated them. The phone was pressed to his ear and his eyes were filled with desire. For her.

  “Ahhh…Waiting in Dallas. I wondered when you’d call in.”

  She didn’t notice that her voice had gotten huskier, but Jake did. Their eyes were locked and the game would be played, no matter what the consequences.

  “Surely you’re not still having problems with your love life. I thought we’d already worked out all the…kinks,” she purred.

  Jake nearly dropped the phone and said to hell with the charade. He didn’t care who was listening. He wanted her.

  “Oh, I think the kinks have been worked out just fine.”

  “That sounds promising, but I won’t ask for the details since we have an audience. And your one true love? How is she faring? Or have you finally come to realize that it was only lust at first sight after all.”

  “I think she’s. . .satisfied.” He let the word trail off his lips like a caress.

  Eve stopped the moan before it could escape, but the palpable silence over the airwaves crackled with tension.

  “Bragging?” she asked.

  “Never. Just honest. And my one true love has finally realized that I’ve been right all along.”

  “Right about what?”

  “About it being love at first sight. She’s loved me from the start. She was only afraid to admit it. But I’m a patient man. And I’ll wait for the words I’ve needed to hear.”

  “You sound very sure of yourself.”

  “I have reason to believe that things will work out beautifully. I’ve waited my whole life for this woman, and I can’t say she’s made it easy for me. She’s still not making it easy for me. But I’ll get what I want in the end.”

  “That sounds like a challenge,” Eve said, raising her eyebrow. She met his gaze without flinching.

  “It is a challenge,” he said smirking back at her. “But the ball is in her court now. What do you think about dinner?” he asked, succeeding at throwing her off course.

  “What about dinner?” Eve didn’t know how she’d lost control of the conversation. He made it seem like she was the one that was being difficult when in reality he was the one that changed women like days of the week underpants. She’d have to be a complete imbecile to drop her well constructed armor for Jake Murphy when she’d barely survived her time with Steve Slater. She kne
w the difference between them. Steve had never been half the man that Jake was, but he was still a man.

  “I was thinking she’d like to have a late dinner somewhere quiet, somewhere where she can tell me what I need to hear,” Jake said, seeing her frustration, at herself, at him. “And then I thought I’d make love to her until she realizes I could never want another woman the way I want her.”

  Eve’s throat was as dry as dust. “What woman wouldn’t want that? It sounds like she’s lucky to have you.” Her eyes never left his and her gaze was full of tenderness. Of Love. It was only the two of them in the building, the thin glass wall wasn’t between them and there weren’t a million people listening as she lost the best part of herself to a man she wasn’t sure wouldn’t end up leaving her heart in pieces.

  ***

  The late night drive from the station was made in comfortable silence. Eve had willingly given Jake the keys when he’d held out his hand for them as they’d left the building. Her mind was crowded with thoughts—restless—and nerves made it difficult for the tension to seep out of her shoulders.

  The night was cold, freezing, and flurries turned to wet mush as they landed on the ground. Jake handled the car with ease despite the difficulty he’d had with fitting his large frame inside. The heat was turned on low and the wipers swished hypnotically, but she still found it difficult for her thoughts to settle. She loved him. Why were the words so much harder than the act itself?

  She studied his profile. Intelligent eyes in the face of a warrior, a stubborn chin and a grin that could melt the hardest of hearts.

  “If you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to have to pull the car over and take advantage of you.”

  “I love you,” Eve blurted out. She felt as if a freight train had landed on her chest and she was having a little trouble breathing.

  “I know,” Jake said, pulling the car to the side of the road, “but it’s nice to hear you say it.”

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Eve said, putting her head between her knees.