by J. Kenner
The anger, of course, was for herself. Because he was right. Elena was an adult. But she was a young adult, still in school, who'd just learned that her supposedly dead father was alive and that she also had a half-brother whom she had yet to meet.
And Eva was traipsing off to Vancouver?
Yeah, she really was running away. Why the hell hadn't she seen it?
"It's hard to figure out your own head sometimes," he said, after she told him all that. "Sometimes you have to look at it from someone else's perspective."
"Like yours?"
"Happy to provide you perspective anytime you want," he said with a seductive little grin.
She sighed and flopped back in her seat. "You realize what the biggest problem here is, don't you?"
"What's that?"
"You. You're what I was running away from."
He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Oh, I wouldn't let that bother you. That's a problem I can live with."
* * *
Eva called the airline from the car to cancel her ticket, banking the credit for when she finally did return to California. Then she called Marianne and explained the situation and asked her to cancel the Vancouver flight and the hotel.
"I hope this is because you're getting laid," Marianne said. "Because I really miss you. But it's worth it if you're getting good sex."
"You have no idea how lucky you are that I don't have you on speaker right now," Eva said, making her friend laugh like a loon.
She shook her head, then told Marianne she'd see her in two weeks. After that, she'd have to get back, as she had some wedding shoots and a Sweet Sixteen party on the books.
"There, wasn't that easy?" Tyree asked.
"For you. You're not rearranging your life. And it just occurred to me that I'm now homeless. I gave up my room at the Driskill."
"I'm sure they'd be happy to book you another. But I do have an alternate solution."
"I am not staying at your house. So just forget it."
"As tempting as you are, that wasn't the solution."
"Oh." It was, she knew, stupid to be disappointed. "What, then?"
"Elena said to tell you that the apartment she's watching is a two bedroom."
"Look at you two. Quite the schemers."
He shook his head. "I had nothing to do with living arrangements. I just have a vested interest in keeping you here."
"Yeah? Why?" She was playing with fire, but she couldn't help herself. Despite having her plans completely explode, she was having an exceptionally good day.
"Why? Because I want you here."
"Oh." She felt the tug of her smile. "Well, that's a reason."
He reached over and squeezed her hand quickly. Then, when he started to pull it back, she held on. She saw him glance down, and she just shrugged. For a second, she thought he'd pull away. But then he relaxed, and they rode in silence the rest of the way to The Fix.
"Why are we here?" she asked as he pulled into the single space in the alley. "I assumed you'd be taking me to Elena's."
"Just one quick stop here, if that's okay. We've got a staff meeting this morning, and since Elena's on staff now, I thought I'd introduce you around."
"Uh-huh. In other words, you and our daughter have some other scheme in your pocket and this is where you spring it on me?"
"Also a valid possibility," he said, looking so contrite that she actually giggled. "Fine. I admit I'm curious." She waited until he'd killed the engine, then climbed out of the car. He opened the thick metal back door and led her into the bar. As soon as they reached the main rooms, she paused to soak it all in.
This was, she realized, the first time she'd had a good look around. Her first time here, she'd been too nervous to see anything going in, and too pissed to pay attention to anything going out.
Now, she had to admit she liked what she saw. It was fun, but cozy. A traditional bar, but different. It looked like the kind of place where regulars gathered. It looked like a place that felt like home.
"It's great," she said. "You really did it. Your own place. Food. Drink. Just like you always said you wanted."
She saw the pride in his eyes as he nodded. "I love this place. It's been damn good to me. And I'm doing everything I can to not lose it."
"Elena told me some of that," she admitted.
"And now we're hoping to tell you a little more. Come on."
They moved to a front alcove by the window where a small group, including Elena, already sat. She'd met Brent during her earlier visit, but Tyree introduced the other two--who were clearly a couple--as Reece and Jenna.
"It's really great to meet you," Jenna said as she stood up. "And that's not just because we totally want to hit you up for work."
Tyree laughed. "Way to blow the lead, Jenna. I haven't told her yet."
The petite redhead put her hands on her hips and scowled at him, so ferociously that Eva wouldn't lay odds against her. "You were in a car for almost an hour to the airport and back and you didn't think to mention what we wanted to talk about?" She shook her head, clearly exasperated. "Men."
"They only want you for your camera, Mom," Elena said, to which Tyree nodded. "Pretty much. I know that's all I want."
She bit back a laugh, then collapsed into a chair. "Okay, slow down. What's the deal?"
The deal, apparently, was that they needed images of the first five winners--the fifth contest was coming up fast--of the Man of the Month calendar contest to use in the actual calendar. "And promo shots for general advertising," Jenna said. "And then we'll need six through twelve, too, but if you can get the first set done that would be a huge load off. Plus we're doing a cookbook, so we're hoping to get some staged food shots, too."
"Don't forget Megan's idea," Reece said.
"Oh, right." Jenna turned back to Eva. "Megan's started working with me doing marketing, and she had this great idea that we'd start putting together postcards and flyers and social media posts of all the guys who are actually entered. You know, promoting the contest before it takes place. We're always at capacity, so I honestly didn't think about it, which is lame. But she's so right. It's a huge way to up exposure for the bar overall. But that's twelve shots we need every two weeks. So far, we've always had twelve entrants," she explained.
She looked at the other four. "I think that's it." When nobody corrected her, she turned to Eva. "Yeah, that's it. Any interest? Elena said she could take the pictures, but she also said you were a billion times better. And that you could clean up the images if they need it."
"I'm not sure about the billion, but I definitely have more experience. It's my job. It's her hobby. And as for taking it on, if it will help you out, then why not?"
"That's great," Tyree said, but she interrupted him by raising her hand.
"I just have one tiny condition."
They all looked at each other. "Shoot," Jenna said.
"I want him in the contest." She looked at Tyree with the most innocent smile she could conjure. Then she shifted her attention to Elena. "Don't you think so, sweetheart?"
Elena managed an equally stoic expression, although Eva could see the laughter dancing behind her eyes. "Oh, definitely."
"I mean, if I'm shooting the men who are going to be on the bar's advertising, I think the owner should be among them." She didn't bother asking if the others agreed; she could tell from their expressions they considered it a totally kickass idea.
"So?" she asked Tyree. "I guess it's up to you."
"Then I guess you're staying," he said. "And I guess I'll be strutting my stuff a week from Wednesday."
Chapter Thirteen
Tyree had expected Eva to take the portraits of the men inside The Fix, but that wasn't her plan. "I'll do that, of course. But I want to get to know the guys out in the world first. That'll inform how I want to position them in The Fix."
She told him she intended to shoot them at their work and then at a few locations around the city before scheduling the final shoot for the bar. "F
ortunately, all the winners so far are local, so we can take our time."
He couldn't argue with that, though he'd wanted her inside the bar and close by him. Wanted it bad enough, in fact, that he spent some time manipulating the schedule so that he could spend a few hours outside the bar when she did. Ostensibly so that he could represent The Fix if anyone came along from the local paper or a news feed. But the truth was that now that he'd persuaded her to stay a bit longer in Austin, he didn't want her out of his sight.
Initially, he'd told himself that having her stay was for Elena's benefit. But that, of course, was bullshit. He wanted her near. He wanted her close.
But that desire was a double-edged sword, because every night when he was alone, he felt the shadow. Because if he let Eva in, didn't that mean letting Teiko go?
Those rumblings haunted him in the dark, but they were easy enough to push aside during the day, and so he pushed them shamelessly. Tamped down the demons and joined her as she worked.
They went to KIKX, and Eva took dozens of shots of Nolan in his studio. For Reece, she photographed him doing renovations in his father's kitchen. And when she took Spencer's initial shots, they spent a few hours puttering around the old Drysdale Mansion, a fabulous property that Spencer and Brooke were working on--tailed by their ever-present camera crew--when they weren't jamming on the renovations at The Fix.
On the day she shot Cameron on the UT campus, he and Eva stayed behind after Cameron cut out to go meet Mina. They spent the next few hours chatting about Elena and San Diego and pretty much everything as they navigated the maze of buildings to reach the manicured grounds outside the LBJ Library on the University's eastern edge. Finally, they settled on the hill by the fountain, and Eva pointed her camera at him, even though he'd tossed his hands up as if to ward her off.
"Oh, no," she said. "I want some of you. Besides, you'll win next week. I might as well get ahead of the game."
"I might win," he agreed with a grin. "I mean, I am pretty awesome." He'd been lying on his back watching the sky, but now he rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hands.
She laughed. "Why are you fishing for compliments?"
"Compliments aren't what I'm fishing for."
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "No?"
"I mean, I am pretty awesome. But that's just a state of being." He shrugged. "You should compliment me on something I'm willing to work hard at perfecting."
Her expression turned suspicious, but she played along. "And that would be...?"
He crooked a finger. "Come here, and I'll tell you."
He saw the awareness in her eyes as she leaned in. "You know what? I think maybe you should just show me."
He cupped the back of her head. "I think that sounds like a delicious idea," he murmured before tugging her down so that her arm rested on his chest, and her lips covered his.
It was a more intimate position than he'd intended, their balance thrown off by the steepness of the hill, and he was afraid she'd pull away, although, dear Lord, he didn't want her to. Because right then, he thought that her mouth was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted, and the heat from this kiss combined with the heat of the sun beating down on them made him almost fear that they'd both spontaneously combust at any moment.
But what a way to go.
Far too soon, she broke the kiss, then rose just enough so she could meet his eyes. "I've been wanting to do that again since the moment I decided to stay."
"Thank goodness," he said, then waggled his brows. "Wanna go back to my place?"
She laughed. "Yes. But no." She shifted so that she was sitting on him, straddling his waist. "I'm still not sure this is a good idea," she said softly, her words making him feel cold. Both because he didn't want to hear them, and because he actually agreed with them. "But I want this too much to stop completely."
"Completely?"
"I mean I want to take it slow. Is that okay?"
He reached up and cupped her cheek, then looked deep into those dark, beautiful eyes. "Sugar, that sounds just about perfect."
Her smile seemed to light her from the inside, and she shifted her face so that she could kiss the palm of his hand. The sensation was unexpectedly erotic, and he felt the pull of her lips all the way down to his cock. Christ, he wanted her. But she was right. Slow was better.
"Eva," he murmured. "About that slow thing."
"Yeah?"
"Kiss me," he demanded. "Kiss me long and slow."
Her lips twitched with amusement, and then she bent over, brushed her lips over his, and did exactly what he asked.
* * *
Any lingering fears that Eli or Elena would find the new family arrangement to be awkward or weird or untenable were quashed the first time that Elena and Eva came to Tyree's place for a family dinner.
It was, he thought, the perfect mixture of chaos and fun.
Elena had brought some Nintendo gadget that made Eli's eyes bug out, and he swore that he'd been intending to ask for one for his birthday. When she'd plugged the small device into the television, basically turning it into a gaming console, Tyree's usually calm and collected teenager went absolutely apeshit.
"She picked the perfect ice breaker," Tyree commented as he returned to the kitchen after taking a peek at the newly acquainted brother and sister hunched over their controllers as they killed bad guys--or possibly aliens--on the television screen.
"It wasn't as altruistic as you think," Eva said from where she was perched on a barstool watching Tyree finish putting together the enchiladas he was making for dinner. "Eva's been a gaming fanatic since she was fifteen. That gizmo was her Christmas present last December. She begged me not to get her any little presents and to put all the money I'd budgeted for her toward it. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that she and Eli are going to get along even better than we'd hoped."
"I think you may be right," he said, then tossed aside the oven mitt he'd used to pull out the dish and move it onto a trivet.
He came around the bar and sat on the stool beside her, the words she just spoke echoing in his head. "The budget," he repeated, feeling like a complete ass. "Hell, Eva, I never thought to ask. Is being here messing you up financially?"
He'd assumed she had money. Because, frankly, when he'd known her in San Diego she'd had lots of it. Or, at least, her father had.
She shook her head. "No, I told you. I was going on vacation. So, actually, you saved me a ton on the hotel I'm not staying at." She flashed a grin as if to reassure him she wasn't upset about missing her trip. "And don't forget, Jenna's paying me the same as the photographer who trotted off to Milan."
"Still, I'm sorry. I just assumed you could afford it."
She pressed her hand over his. "It's fine. But, yeah, my dad cut me off. No more resources from him from the day I filed for divorce from David. And everything in his estate went to charity, with the exception of some boxes of family memorabilia."
Tyree cringed, despising the man even more than he already did.
"That's where I found the letter from him confessing that he'd only pretended you were dead. And the letter wasn't even to me. I guess he just wanted to clear his conscience. And there were five letters from you to me. I'd never seen even one of them before."
A hard ball of anger settled in his stomach, and, frankly, it was a good thing the old man was dead. Because if he wasn't, Tyree would have been tempted to hop on a plane to San Diego and go have a few words.
"He screwed us both over," she said gently, obviously reading his mind. "But all we can do now is go forward." She met his eyes. "Like this," she added, then bent forward and kissed him, slow and sweet and so tender it melted that ball of steel that had formed in his gut, replacing it with a building heat that fired his blood and made him regret that the kids were in the living room.
"Whoa. Nice work, Dad," Eli's voice shattered the moment, and they burst apart like guilty teenagers.
Speaking of the kids...
"Don'
t mind me," Eli said, holding his hands up. "I just wanted to check on dinner."
"Five minutes," Tyree said.
Eli's brow rose. "Yeah? You work quick, Dad."
He tossed a dishrag at his son. "Twerp," he said, as the boy ran out, and Eva laughed.
"He really is great," she said, and Tyree had to completely agree.
They ended up eating the enchiladas on TV trays in the living room, which wasn't exactly the family meal he'd envisioned. But the kids wanted to finish their game, and then Eva suggested they watch a movie after that. So once the enchiladas had been devoured, the kids reluctantly unplugged the Nintendo and they surfed the streaming services until they found--of all things--the original Disney Parent Trap.
Both Tyree and Eva insisted on watching it, even though Elena seemed completely clueless as to why they were both so amused by the idea.
And although both kids had protested at first--especially Eli, who begged for "anything from this millennium"--they'd ended up enjoying it. Which Tyree considered a bonus, especially since the original movie was more than half a century old. Not quite a millennium, but still ancient for a teen.
It had even spawned a conversation about California, though the story was set at the top of the state, and Elena and Eva had come from San Diego.
"It would be totally cool to live there," Eli said. "I mean, I could learn to surf. That would be awesome."
Best of all, Tyree had spent the evening on the couch with Eva curled up beside him, her head on his chest, and his hand resting on her arm.
The whole evening had been nice. Hell, it had been perfect.
Maybe too perfect. Because the truth was, he could get used to this.
More than that, he wanted to.
Chapter Fourteen
The biggest downside of Eva shooting all the photographs of the winners was that every few days she needed to just hunker down, focus on her computer screen, and work on cleaning up all the images.
And to do that, she really needed to be alone.
She'd tried taking her laptop to The Fix, but the hum of activity had distracted her, and even when she'd moved into Tyree's back office, she'd been unable to concentrate. Already, the staff and regulars had become her friends, and she wanted to be out there with them, not off hiding in a corner.