Love.
Thankfully, Lawson didn’t say anything. Probably because she had stunned him into silence. He was almost certainly rethinking that dance date now. And with the confusion widening his eyes, Eve finally got her car started and drove away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“SUCK IN YOUR BREATH,” Cassidy instructed.
Eve was already doing that. She was also sucking in her stomach, her butt and anything else in or on her body that she could suck or clench.
It wasn’t helping.
The dress that she’d bought eighteen years ago for the Sadie Hawkins dance was meant for a teenager’s body, not the mother of two. In hindsight, she should have tried it on after Cassidy had had it dry-cleaned, but Eve had been so tied up in knots over Tessie and Lawson that it had slipped her mind. Plus, she had assumed that the corset bodice would be more accommodating to her “womanly” figure.
“You could try one of those full-body girdles on top of the control-top panties,” Tessie suggested, eyeing the two-inch gap where the corseted back didn’t meet.
Eve was eyeing it, too, because Cassidy had set up three mirrors at various angles so that she wouldn’t miss a single moment of this frustrating, humiliating experience. Even Aiden was getting a good look because he was in his carrier seat on the floor just a few yards away. He was watching them the way a kid would feast on a cartoon playing out in front of him.
“I don’t own a full-body girdle,” Eve said, and she prayed that Tessie and Cassidy didn’t, either. She could barely breathe as it was, and she didn’t want to vise her stomach and lungs any more than they already were.
Cassidy and Tessie kept tugging, pulling, eyeing and adjusting the corset laces until Eve had had enough. “I knew this was a stupid idea.”
Cassidy made a yeah right sound. “You can’t make me believe you don’t want to go on a date with Lawson. You’ve fixed your hair. Put on some makeup. And you’ve been giddy all day. You even laid out those silver hooker stilettos that I made you buy but you’ve never worn.”
Yes to all those things, but answering this was tricky territory because Tessie was right there, and since Lawson was her father, Eve had to watch what she said. Definitely no mention of sex. Or love. Or the fact that Lawson was the only man Eve had ever really wanted. Tessie was already on an emotional roller coaster, and it was best for Eve not to crash into it with her own carnival ride of feelings.
She’d told Lawson she loved him. That was no big deal. She’d mumbled that a time or two during the afterglow of orgasms.
But the “living the rest of my life with you” was huge.
It wasn’t just a hint of the c-word, it was the very definition of it. In fact, she was surprised that Lawson hadn’t run and then canceled this dance date. But he hadn’t. When Eve had texted him earlier in the day to ask if they were still on for eight o’clock, he’d answered back with a thumbs-up emoji.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t mentally running for the hills though. And Eve figured she should steel herself in case he wanted to break things off with her. He could be using this date as the big finale to the dance they’d never had.
The goodbye they’d never gotten to say.
Of course, he might not have any breaking-off opportunities if she didn’t show up, and while that was somewhat tempting, she did want to see him. Then she could take back her c-word, and they could continue to, well, do whatever the heck they were doing. She had to be careful, though, so that she didn’t spoil the relationship that seemed to be budding between Tessie and him.
Eve let go of everything she was clinching and sucking in, making the laces on the dress pull even tighter. “I need to find something else to wear.”
Cassidy huffed. “You’ve hung on to this dress for nearly two decades. You’re wearing it. Maybe you can turn it around so the gaps will be in the front. It’ll be sexy, showing some cleavage.”
“It won’t be sexy because my boobs will be smashed together and my stomach will be showing. The pudge will poke through the tight laces.”
Tessie and Cassidy looked at the gap again and made sounds and gestures of agreement. “How about wearing your Ulyana costume underneath it?” Tessie suggested. “You know, the one that fits like a scuba suit.”
Eve shook her head, but she knew exactly which one Tessie meant. Even if she had been able to find the outfit, she’d have to oil her body just to get into it. Plus, it had a high neck, which meant the dark red leather would show big-time beneath the strapless dress.
“Maybe we can cut off the top of a camisole and use it like a lining underneath the dress to cover up the gap,” Cassidy tried again.
Tessie nodded. “And then Mom can wear a shawl over it.”
They were both bad ideas, but Tessie and Cassidy ran with it as if it were a genius plan. It’d been a while since Eve had seen Tessie move with such enthusiasm, so she didn’t stop her as she raced off. Cassidy barreled up the stairs, no doubt on her own clothing scavenger hunt.
Eve pulled off the vising control-top panties and tossed them in the trash. She was about to head to her closet to find anything else, but her phone rang, and the moment she saw Kellan’s name on the screen, Eve knew she had to answer it.
“You worthless piece of worm s-h-i-t!” Eve greeted him. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying to spell shit as it was to say it, but she didn’t want to curse in front of Aiden. “And if you call me Baby-Cakes, I’m going to reach through this phone and rip out your effing tonsils.”
Silence. Which meant Kellan had indeed been about to call her that.
“I’m hearing a lot of anger in your voice,” Kellan finally said.
“Then listen harder because it’s more than just a lot. It’s a massive amount. Even bigger than your ego. You had no right, none, to say that Tessie was your daughter.”
“I thought it would help. I thought it would get Lawson off the hook. But I can see now I was wrong. Lawson seems to want to stay on that hook.”
Eve wasn’t sure of any of that, but she was especially suspicious of Kellan’s motives. “You lied because you wanted the publicity. Well, listen here, Baby-Cakes. If you screw with my life and my daughter again, I’ll rip out the rest of your internal organs and shove them up your a-s-s. Have you got that?”
“Uh. Yes. I think you painted a very clear picture for me.” He paused. “Hey, gotta go, Baby...uh, Eve. I’m about to do an interview with a reporter about the rumors of the remake of Demon High. Say, I don’t guess I could talk you into reconsidering doing some reunion episodes?”
She had to get her teeth unclenched before she could speak. “Remember that clear picture I just painted for you? Ask me that question again, and the picture will become your reality.”
“Oh. Okay.” He was already in his slick PR mode, which meant the reporter was probably right there and listening. “I’ll remember that.” And then he added something that sounded surprisingly sincere. “I am really sorry, and it won’t happen again.”
Eve jabbed the end-call button with enough force to break the screen just as Tessie came back into the room. Not rushing the way she’d made her exit. And she glanced at Eve’s phone.
“Kellan?” Tessie concluded.
“Yes. We were talking about, uh, art, among other things.”
Tessie stayed quiet a moment. “You chewed him out for lying?”
Eve nodded.
If Tessie had given her any hint that she wanted to know more about the conversation, Eve would have filled her in, minus the spelled-out profanity. But Tessie only held up the two items she was holding.
A gold bolero sweater that wasn’t large enough to cover anything but her shoulders and a sparkly silver shawl with a bead fringe.
“I had the shawl on my lampshade to diffuse the light,” Tessie explained. “It’s chic boho.”
She draped it around Eve’s shou
lders, and while it wasn’t her style, at least it covered up the gap. Well, it would if she didn’t move around too much.
“I’ll never be able to dance in this,” Eve mumbled.
Though dancing was iffy anyway. And if Lawson and she did miraculously make it onto a dance floor, he would probably be concentrating on his recently learned moves rather than her semibare back.
“Thanks,” Eve told Tessie, and she kissed her daughter’s cheek.
Tessie didn’t recoil, didn’t huff and didn’t look at her with that awful you’re a liar expression. That alone was worth the discomfort of wearing an ill-fitting dress. Plus, Eve had the added benefit of knowing that no one but Lawson would see her in this garb. There was no way he would want a dance date to happen in a public place. Eve was thinking he might take her to the barn or a pasture at the Granger Ranch. Which was fine by her. It’d be hard for him to see the back of the dress in the dark.
“I’m really sorry that I didn’t tell you about Lawson sooner,” Eve said.
Tessie shrugged, the way a person did when it wasn’t important. But it was, so Eve took her by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Eve repeated.
Tessie gave her another shrug, followed by a slight huff. Then a sigh. “Lawson made me see your side of things.” Her chin came up. “You know, if I’d gotten pregnant at seventeen, you would have had a cow.”
“Yes, I would have. But I would have still loved you as much as I always have.”
Tessie stared at her, and while she didn’t actually make a sound of agreement, Eve could see it in her eyes. Tessie knew she was, and always would be, loved.
“How are things between Lawson and you?” Eve risked asking.
“Okay. He’s okay,” Tessie added. “And I’m a little okay with him being my father.”
That put a huge lump in her throat. It wasn’t a gush of affection, but it was a start, and for now, that was, well, okay. Eve would take it.
Breathing hard from the running, Cassidy came back in with a pink camisole and a pair of scissors. Eve wanted to tell her not to ruin the camisole, but Cassidy immediately started cutting until it was a chopped-off silk tube top. Of course, once she was done, it meant undoing the corset laces so Eve could slip it on, and both Tessie and Cassidy tugged and pulled until everything was back in place.
Mostly, anyway.
Her bare back was no longer showing, but the pink colors weren’t even close to being an identical match. Again though, it wouldn’t matter in the dark, and she doubted Lawson was going to be studying her back.
The doorbell rang, giving Eve a jolt that was akin to terror. It was barely seven thirty, which meant it was still a half hour until Lawson was due to pick her up. She’d counted on having that extra time in case she decided to come up with an excuse as to why she couldn’t go.
Cassidy scooped up Aiden in the carrier and went ahead of Eve and Tessie to answer the door. It was a false alarm though, but it was still a reason for concern.
Because it was Darby.
The woman wasn’t wearing her usual scrubs today but rather a black cocktail dress that hugged her tiny, perfect body in all the right places. Definitely no pudge. Or shawl to cover up pudge.
Darby immediately looked past Cassidy, her attention landing on Eve. The woman’s eyes widened a little, the kind of reaction a person might have if they’d interrupted something. That might have been why Darby glanced around the foyer and the living room. Maybe she was looking for Lawson.
“Uh, I’m sorry,” Darby said. “I won’t take long, but could we talk?”
Eve silently groaned and then debated it. It would be so easy to lie and say she was pressed for time, but instead she heard herself offer a friendly-sounding “Sure.”
Cassidy and Tessie obviously weren’t sold on the idea because they lingered in the foyer while Eve ushered Darby into the living room.
“I wondered if Lawson mentioned anything about my father talking to the head of the department at Tessie’s college?” Darby asked, her voice practically a whisper.
Eve nodded. “The decision’s already been made, but thanks for the offer.”
She thought she knew where Darby had hoped to go with this. It was perhaps about those strings that Darby wanted on Lawson.
“Look, Darby.” Eve was just going to put it all out there and tell Darby that she wasn’t certain where Lawson and she were heading, but that she didn’t intend to end things with him. And even if things didn’t work out that it might not give Darby a clear path to getting Lawson back.
“You’re in love with Lawson,” Darby said before Eve could finish. “I think he might feel the same way about you. That’s why I’m moving on with my life. I have a date tonight.”
Eve certainly hadn’t been expecting that, but the relief she felt wasn’t a surprise. Despite the clinging and hanging on that Darby had done—and yes, that included the raincoat incident—Eve didn’t want to see the woman hurt any more than she already had been.
“I want more than just a commitment for weekly dates and moral support,” Darby went on. “I want marriage. Kids. And we both know I never could have gotten that from Lawson. Well, not the marriage and commitment parts, anyway.” Her gaze drifted toward Tessie.
“Yes, she’s his daughter,” Eve told her.
“I can see that. I could see it in the picture that got posted on the internet, too. I suppose Lawson’s forgiven you for not telling him?”
No. But Eve didn’t have to answer because Darby waved off the question. “I should be going,” the woman said, but she gave Eve one last look. “Does your dress have something to do with the party that’s being set up at the high school gym?”
Eve pulled back her shoulders in surprise. The original Sadie Hawkins dance had indeed been held at the gym, but she hadn’t imagined that Lawson would take her there for a date.
“I’m not sure,” Eve admitted.
Darby smiled. “Well, we’ll soon find out.”
With that cryptic remark, Darby would have just walked out if Eve hadn’t stepped in front of her. “Are you going to the dance, too?” Eve asked.
But it was such a ridiculous question. At least Eve hoped it was.
It wasn’t.
Darby nodded. “I’m not sure who planned the party, but whoever it was sent out invitations. Everyone who’s ever attended Wrangler’s Creek High School was invited. I suspect most of the town will go. See you there.”
Darby obviously didn’t notice the gobsmacked look on Eve’s face because she gave a perky wave as she headed out the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“THERE’S A CURSE on you, Lawson Granger.”
Lawson groaned when he heard those words. And again when he spotted the curse-bearer by his truck as he came out of his office in the Granger house.
He definitely didn’t have time for Vita or the fates who’d cursed him—again. He was running late and had to pick up Eve for their date. A date he didn’t want her canceling, and that’s why when she’d called, he’d let it go to voice mail. If she was going to bail on him, she was going to have to do it to his face.
“I don’t have time to talk,” Lawson told Vita. He mumbled some profanity under his breath when he heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. Maybe the rain would at least hold off until he’d picked up Eve.
“Yeah, I know. You got a date at the high school gym. But this is serious. You want stitches in your heinie again?” Vita asked.
“Not especially.” But he’d take the stitches over being late for Eve. And lateness wouldn’t have been an issue if he hadn’t realized he had forgotten the envelope with the boxes in his desk. So much for all his careful planning.
Lawson threw open his truck door and tossed the envelope on the dash before he turned to Vita. “Mix up a potion to nix the curs
e. Then do whatever it is you need to do with it.”
The old woman eyed him with plenty of suspicion. Even though it was already dark, the backyard was well lit, so Lawson had no trouble seeing her face. The suspicion was likely because he’d never shown any faith whatsoever in her craft, and he didn’t have faith in it now, either.
“A potion like that could be expensive,” Vita said. “Maybe twenty or thirty bucks.”
“Good. Then make five or six of them to be sure it rids me of the curse and then send me a bill.”
Vita beamed with a smile. Hell, if he’d known it was this easy to get rid of her, he would have ordered potions earlier. A thousand of them.
“Don’t ride your bike home in the dark,” Lawson added. “It’s about to rain. Have one of the hands drive you back.”
That caused her to smile even more, and she patted his arm. “You’ve got a good heart, Lawson Granger. But I’m going to see Mila and Roman for a while. They can give me a ride.” She tipped her head to the envelope. “Is that for Eve?”
Since he doubted she had actual ESP, it meant she was guessing. Not even a good guess, either, since she must have known his date was with Eve. But yes, the envelope with the two boxes was for her.
Lawson nodded. Now he had to hope she’d choose the right box.
He was about to drive off when his phone rang, and Kellan’s name popped up. The only reason the idiot was in his contacts was because Lawson had called him multiple times when Tessie had gone missing. They hadn’t exactly been on friendly terms then, and it was a whole lot worse now.
“You dickhead,” Lawson said the moment he answered. He didn’t start driving because he didn’t think it was a good idea to be on the road while he gave this turd a piece of his mind.
“You know, you and Eve should really work on your greeting skills,” Kellan said. “She called me ‘worm shit.’”
“Good for her. I’m going to call you a lot worse, but hear this—you don’t dick around with my daughter, with Eve or with me. Have I made myself clear?”
“As clear as a picture.” And that was a little sarcastic. “I called to apologize and to ask you a favor.”
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