Something About Eve

by Debra Salonen

Of their own accord, his thumbs plied her tense shoulder muscles. She arched her neck like a cat. He could almost hear her purr. “Isn’t that when you got sick? And started feeling run-down?”

  “I guess so. I’ve never been real regular.”

  He swallowed. “What you’re telling me is you don’t think we have to worry about you getting pregnant.”

  She made a funny sound of pain. “What I’m saying is I’m a freak of nature. I mean, what the hell good is it to have all the showy stuff to attract a mate when your ovaries misfire?”

  Matt had to bite down on his cheek to keep from laughing. Showy stuff? He cleared his throat. “I don’t know a lot about the female reproductive system, Eve, but I do have a sister and a mother who’s a nurse and I bet you might find that your…ah…cycle comes back online once you let yourself get healthy.”

  She stilled. “You’re not put off by this?”

  So strong, yet so fragile. “I’d say it’s a lucky break for us.”

  Her smile nearly unmanned him. “We can make love?”

  He gulped. “If you’re comfortable with the usual risks lovers face these days, I think I’m brave enough to forgo any contraceptives.”

  She hugged him fiercely. “Matt, you have my word of honor. If a miracle happened and I were to get pregnant—not that there’s any chance in the universe it could—but I wouldn’t expect you to—”

  He caught her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “I’d expect you to let me know. Are we clear on that?”

  She nodded, the look in her eyes so full of happiness, triumph and some other emotion, Matt’s heart staggered.

  “So…?”

  This was it. His last chance at sanity.

  She placed her hand on his chest, and suddenly nothing else mattered. Eve Masterson wanted him. Only a madman or a monk would turn down that kind of opportunity. Matt was neither.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  MATT BRUSHED the crumbling white sand from the bottom of the suitcase before stowing the bag in the trunk of the car. Eve’s well-worn leather weekender looked subtly glamorous compared to his basic black duffel—a freebie that had come with his running shoes. He slammed the lid and turned around to rest his derriere on the car.

  We’re too damn different to make it work, he repeated for the twentieth time since waking to find Eve’s head on the pillow beside his own. There’s no way this—thing—can be more than great sex.

  And make no mistake, he thought, stalking around the far side of the house, the sex was great. No, it was better than great.

  He plowed toward the beach, his bare feet tingling in the hot sand. He’d originally planned on taking Eve into Cancún early to do a little sight-seeing before their flight, but the morning was half gone when they finally woke up—gloriously spent from the night before.

  Matt stopped at the water’s edge. The cool blue water beckoned, but he’d already turned in his snorkeling gear. Besides, he knew he was putting off the inevitable. He and Eve needed to talk.

  “Are you having regrets?” a voice said behind him. “You seem upset.”

  Matt turned to find her sitting on the fallen log. A beautiful stranger in the same outfit she’d worn a week earlier. Only now the khaki pants fit. The pale blue blouse—open at the neck and with long sleeves rolled up—showed tanned flesh so healthy and vibrant Matt wanted to reach out and touch her. Gone was the wig. Instead, she wore her hair in a twist that poked out at the crown like a whimsical tiara.

  He felt choked by his inability to tell her what was in his heart. Despite what his logical mind insisted, the thought of casually dropping her off at her door and saying goodbye was tearing him up inside.

  “I’m worried about what’s going to happen when you get back to Atlanta,” Matt said, keeping his real fear—that he might have fallen in love with her—to himself. “You have a lot on your plate. You’re not going to get run-down again, are you?”

  “Never again. I learned my lesson. The key is to listen to my body. And my body needs five basic ingredients—nutrition, exercise, iron supplements and rest,” she said, ticking each one off on her fingers.

  Her lush lips—tinted with a pale shade of coral—smiled so broadly her sunglasses moved on her face. She pulled them off and tucked them into the pocket of her shirt.

  Matt’s gaze followed. Instead of seeing designer shades and fabric, he pictured her wondrous breasts, which he’d lavished with attention a few hours earlier in the shower. “Five? That’s only four,” he said, desperately trying to stay focused on the prudent path.

  She rose with grace and halved the distance between them. When Matt looked into her eyes, he saw something he wanted but couldn’t allow himself to acknowledge—love. “You. You’re elemental to my happiness, which is elemental to my health.”

  Matt took a step back, his heels sinking in the soft, wet sand.

  “I know we said we wouldn’t do this, but I can’t pretend I don’t care. Thanks to you, I feel whole,” Eve said with feeling. Her eyes narrowed from either sunlight or tears. “Last night healed a part of me I’d forgotten existed. You’ve given me back my sexuality, Matt, my femininity…my heart.”

  Matt heard gratitude in her tone. Am I just a link in the process of her recovery? He knew the cards were stacked against any long-term relationship. With his heart thudding the way it did before going into a dangerous situation on the job, Matt took her hand and led her back to the log. As he took a seat beside her, her scent filled his nostrils—an exotic blend of spice and floral that made his chest ache. How am I going to forget her?

  “Eve, we talked about this last night. If you sort things out with Communitex, your life will be in Atlanta, mine is in New York. Long-distance relationships are doomed to failure. We’re not going down that road, remember?” he asked, wishing he dared give himself one last moment of holding her.

  “I know, Matt,” she said testily. “I told you no strings attached and I meant it, but are you absolutely positive you can walk away from this without regret?”

  Hell, no. But I can try. For both our sakes.

  She rushed on without waiting for his answer. “Why does it have to be all or nothing? Can’t we see each other now and then? Talk, date, meet halfway once in a while?” Her tone came off chipper, hopeful. “We’ve been housemates and lovers, but shouldn’t we try being friends before we decide we can’t see each other anymore?”

  Friends. That had never worked for him in the past. And in all honesty, he just couldn’t picture himself in her world, or vice versa. “Eve, let’s be honest. Last night was incredible. You’re incredible. And I’m pretty sure what I’m about to say is one of the hardest things that’s ever come out of my mouth, but…we can’t work.”

  She reached for her sunglasses and shoved them back on her nose. Matt understood the defense tactic—he’d used it often. “Why not?”

  “We have no common ground,” he said bluntly. “You’re up here.” He lifted his hand above his head. “I’m down here. That’s the basic problem, but we can add all the other variables, too, if you like—Communitex, your career, your health, Ashley, my job.” He sighed and added, “Not to mention the media. I’m really looking forward to my role as the mystery man in your life.”

  His facetious tone drew a sniff. Eve turned her head, seemingly lost in the beautiful view, but he could tell she wasn’t thinking of the coral reef.

  “I understand what you’re saying, Matt, but I’m having a hard time accepting that you can walk away from what we’ve shared here without looking back.”

  The earnest dismay in her voice made him put his arm around her shoulders and give a gentle squeeze. “Nobody said it was going to be easy. Hell, maybe I’m kidding myself. I might get to New York and have to turn around with my bedroll over one shoulder so I can camp out on your doorstep like the rest of the paparazzi.” His teasing earned him a tiny smile.

  He kissed her sun-warmed forehead and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. “Maybe we should hold
off making any big life decisions until we see what’s going on back in Atlanta.”

  She nodded. “Good point. Even if the press has backed off, I might be in court with Communitex,” Eve said, her voice showing a tremor of fear. “If they fire me, I may wind up a pariah in the industry. Legal action doesn’t do much for a résumé.”

  Matt jiggled her shoulder. “Don’t even think that. You’re Communitex’s golden girl. Without you, the company folds. They need your name and face to save them from financial ruin.” He cupped her jaw, tilting her chin so the sun highlighted her profile. “Your beautiful face.”

  She twisted her chin and jumped to her feet. She took two steps then pivoted, hands on hips. “Do you want to know the truth about this face, Matt? It’s not mine,” she spat. “At least not the one I was born with.”

  She whipped off her glasses, slinging them to the sand. “These eyebrows take regular visits to the dermatologist. We’re trying to kill the damn follicle so it will quit producing new growth that gives me that Karl Malden look.”

  Her right finger poked the bridge of her nose. “See that tiny scar? When I was eight a boy at school threw a shoe at me and broke my nose. My parents took me to a plastic surgeon who not only fixed the problem but removed an unflattering bump—just in case I ever wanted to be a beauty queen.”

  Stepping closer, she leaned forward and pointed to her mouth. “These teeth cost my parents six grand in orthodontia. I won’t even tell you how much I spend to keep them pearly white.”

  She threw up her hands in a gesture of pure exasperation. “I could tell you how many personal trainers I’ve had, how many diets I’ve been on, about my flirtation with bulimia, my overdose of diet pills when I was sixteen. This face—this body—comes with a price tag, Matt. A very costly price tag. And, frankly, I’m not sure it was worth it.” Her shoulders slumped and she added under her breath. “I mean, what the hell do I have to show for it?”

  Matt’s heart ached for her, but before he could clamber to his feet, she was gone. He watched her run to the house.

  “Oh, Eve, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. After stopping to pick up her sunglasses, Matt headed for their rose-colored castle. He paused beside one of the thick posts that supported the shaggy palm-frond overhang. Turning, he took one last look at paradise.

  FOR THE BULK of the flight Eve kept her nose in a book—a J. A. Jance novel she’d borrowed from the house. She couldn’t have given anyone even the most rudimentary outline of the story, but it kept her from making a total fool of herself by hanging all over Matt and begging him not to leave.

  On the long drive to the airport, Matt had explained the underlying reason for his decision to walk away. “Ashley’s at a pivotal age, Eve. Her life is in enough turmoil without me complicating matters. I know you understand what I’m saying.”

  She did—more than he could ever know, but that didn’t mean she could accept it with aplomb. She wasn’t that good an actor.

  But maybe, a little voice said, he is. Maybe he was faking the rapture part. Maybe he’s in the wrong profession. Maybe he ought to be in show business.

  “Eve,” Matt said, cutting into her thoughts, “there’s something I completely forgot about. We haven’t talked about your stalker.”

  A shot of pure adrenaline made her levitate in the airplane’s cramped seat. But before she could respond, the person sitting in the window seat—an Hispanic-looking gentleman with gray hair and thick glasses—asked to be excused.

  Eve used the diversion to pick up the phone and call Sara.

  “Hello,” a woman answered.

  “Sara?”

  There was a sharp intake of breath, then Sara cried, “Eve, is Matt with you?”

  “Of course. Is something wrong?”

  Sara’s news made Eve’s reporter instincts kick in. She reached into her purse for a pen and a piece of paper. Matt’s look of puzzlement changed to concern, and he lowered the tray to give her a writing surface.

  “Tell me what you know,” Eve said briskly.

  She scribbled—her note-taking illegible to anyone but her. “How long ago? What does Bo think?”

  Her pen stalled when Sara gave her Bo’s take on the subject. “Here? Really?”

  “It makes sense when you think about it,” Sara said. “She loves her daddy and she’s hurting. Where else would she go?”

  “Okay. I’ll tell Matt. We’ll call you back when we land.” She hung up the phone without saying goodbye. She took a deep breath and turned in the seat to face Matt.

  “Ashley’s run away.”

  All color left his face. He opened his mouth to ask something, but Eve put her fingertips to his lips. “Let me tell you what we know. Ashley, her mother and stepfather flew home last night. Ashley went straight to her room. She and her mother had had a fight, and when Ashley didn’t come out this morning, Sonya assumed she was sulking.”

  Matt cursed softly.

  “Your ex-wife is distraught, Matt. She thought she was giving Ashley some much-needed space, but when she opened Ashley’s door around noon, she discovered the bed hadn’t been slept in.”

  The agony in Matt’s eyes almost broke her heart. “Do they have any idea where she went? Maybe my sis—”

  “They’ve checked everywhere. Your parents called Bo because he was one of the last to speak with Ashley.”

  Matt frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Eve consulted her shorthand. “Your ex-wife said Ashley called Bo from their cell phone on the way to the airport. She wasn’t trying to eavesdrop but she knows your name came up more than once. Sara and Bo think Ashley might be trying to get to Atlanta to find you.”

  He muttered another low curse.

  Eve took his hand and squeezed hard. “Bo thinks he may have given her enough information to find Communitex. He said she asked about my apartment, but he couldn’t tell her anything because he doesn’t know where I live. He called a friend of his to stake out the bus depot—she didn’t have enough money to afford a plane ticket.”

  “Why would she take off like that?” Matt cried. “She’s never done anything like this before.”

  Eve could only shake her head. “She and her mother had a fight. I can’t tell you the number of times I thought about running away from home when I was her age.”

  “But you never did, did you?”

  Eve looked at her lap. Adopted kids didn’t turn on their adoptive families. “No. I wasn’t that brave.”

  “Foolish is a better word.” He turned toward the window. “I can’t believe it. Of all the stupid—”

  Eve cut him off. “Don’t say something you don’t mean. You don’t know what was in Ashley’s mind. There’s no way to be sure she’s coming here. Maybe she’s hiding out at the horse barn or something.”

  “It’s the something that’s eating me up inside. She could be anywhere, and I’m not there to help. Some kind of father I turned out to be. When my daughter needs me most, I’m living it up in Mexico.” His tone was bitter and full of self-reproach.

  “It was your job, Matt.”

  Her gave her a droll look. “You don’t believe that any more than I do, and I can guarantee you Ashley won’t buy it for a minute.”

  Eve reached out and took his hand. She tugged on it until he faced her.

  “Matt, Ashley’s your daughter, and you’re the smartest, bravest man I’ve ever met. She’ll be okay because everything she needs to know about taking care of herself she learned from you.”

  His eyes narrowed and his lips thinned. She read his misgivings. “Have a little faith, Matt. If she’s coming here, Bo’s friend will make sure she gets to us safely.”

  Her unconscious use of the word us sank in when Matt’s eyebrows quirked. Her cheeks heated under his steady appraisal.

  The pilot announced their impending arrival, and Matt turned away. Undaunted by the slight rejection, Eve said, “You’ll find her, Matt. I know you will. You found me, didn’t you?”

  ASHLEY ROSS WASN’T lik
ing her impetuous decision to run away too much at the moment. She and her best friend, Bridgett, thought they’d covered every base when they cooked up this scheme last night in their online chat room. But now that Ashley was sitting in Bridgett’s brother’s rusty Saab in front of an imposing brick apartment house in Atlanta, she could see some flaws.

  Jarrod’s going back to college tomorrow. Georgia Tech. It’s in Atlanta. Is that not like fate or something? He has to pick up his two roommates in Virginia, but there’d still be room for you, Bridgett had written.

  The rest was easy.

  But it got hard once they arrived in Atlanta and Ashley couldn’t tell them where to go. All she had was the street address she’d copied from a Net listing that gave celebrities’ addresses and phone numbers. She’d learned about the underground site from a computer droid she met on the flight to California.

  “Are you sure this is the place, Ash?” Jarrod asked for the second time. He leaned across her to squint at the older, unpretentious building. “It doesn’t look as glamorous as I thought it would.”

  Ashley scrunched closer to the door. Jarrod had been pretty cool during the trip—he even bought her a Coke and a burger when they stopped for lunch, but his questions were getting a little too big-brotherly.

  “This is the number my dad gave my mom. I doubt if he’d make a mistake,” she said, trying to make her tone sound confident.

  In all honesty, Ashley had expected something a bit fancier herself. What if this isn’t the right place?

  “You wanna double-check?” Jarrod asked, digging between the bucket seats for his cellular phone. “I had a hard time understanding your mother when she called last night.”

  Ashley felt herself blush. Jarrod had flat out refused to consider his sister’s request to give Ashley a lift without talking to Ashley’s mother first, so Ashley had had to fake it with a towel over the mouthpiece. She was thankful the Saab’s dim interior and weak streetlights hid her blush.

  “Mom has pneumonia,” Ashley said quickly. “That’s why she sent me down here to stay with my dad. She was afraid I’d get it.”