by Linda Verji
“What are you doing here?” Eve asked.
“I’m here to take you out on a date.”
Shocked, she jerked her head backwards. “What?”
“I’m taking you out on a date,” he repeated. “Dates were part of our agreement last night, right?”
“Well… yeah… but…” She swallowed before saying, “I can’t just leave work like that. It’s only three.”
“I already talked to Mom,” Carter reassured her. “Nobody will say a word if you ditch work a few hours early.”
“What about Jackson?” Sounding panicked, she added, “I’m supposed to pick him up from school.”
“I already talked to Benisio,” Carter said. When she opened her mouth, probably to protest more, he cut her off before she could speak. “You promised to try to make us work, remember?”
His words seemed to be having an effect because her frown softened.
But just to finish the job, he added, “Please.”
It was that please that did it. Eve sighed. “Fine.”
It would’ve been a lie to say that Carter wasn’t nervous as he walked her to her office so she could pick her purse. He and Eve had gone to many dates just as friends, but they’d never done anything together as husband and wife. Hopefully, her tastes hadn’t changed in the last five years and she’d like what he’d planned for the day.
The moment they got to their destination, he realized that he had nothing to be worried about. Eve’s gaze lit up as it swept across the grass field, taking in all the people who’d come to the festival. Music from the indie band on stage floated on the warm breeze like flower petals leaving everyone smiling or singing along.
“I didn’t know there was a festival today,” Eve said as she stood beside his car.
Carter opened the trunk. “It’s been the talk of the town for weeks. I actually heard it from my coworkers.”
Noticing the picnic basket that he’d just pulled out of the trunk, she asked, “What’s that?”
“This?” He lifted the basket. “Our dinner.”
Eve’s eyebrows rose. “You made it yourself?”
“No.” He chuckled. “Martha did. But I gave the instructions. Does that count?”
Eve didn’t smile back. She just shrugged. “I guess.”
DESPITE HER ATTEMPT to not get emotionally invested in anything she and Carter did, Eve enjoyed herself at the festival. The music was great, the food was delicious, and despite the lingering tension between her and Carter it felt like old times again.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” Carter asked as he drove them home.
More than I expected, she thought. But all she did was nod.
However, it was enough for him. He grinned. “Me too. We should do it again. I think they have more bands coming in tomorrow.”
“I can’t,” she replied. When she caught the disappointment that crossed his expression, she explained. “Jackson’s baseball team has a match tomorrow.”
“Ooh! I forgot about that.” Carter snatched a glance at her. “I told him I’d come. Is that okay with you?”
“Of course it is.” Quietly, she added, “He’s your nephew.”
Carter drove silently for some time before saying, “I’ve never thanked you.”
Eve glanced at him. “Never thanked me for what?”
“For taking such great care of Jackson.” Carter’s lips twisted in a rueful smile. “My mom and I have practically left it to you to raise him when he isn’t even your responsibility.”
“Of course, he’s my responsibility,” she immediately protested. “He’s your nephew and I’m your wife.”
Carter smiled. “My wife.” It was almost as if he was testing the words on his tongue. His smile growing, he turned to meet her eyes. “I like the sound of that.”
His smile and tone were so seductive that her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat. But the memory of what she was doing to him immediately stabbed at her and she quickly looked away. Poor Carter! Months from now, he’d be cussing at her and calling himself a fool for thanking her.
By the time they got home, it was close to ten. However, Sharon wasn’t home. She was still at a meeting with one of her highflying politician friends. The couple dropped by Jackson’s room to check up on him. Though Jackson was in bed, he wasn’t asleep yet mostly because he was nervous about tomorrow’s game.
This was more of Carter’s territory so Eve left them alone to talk while she headed to hers and Carter’s suite. She showered and went to bed. When Carter came to the room, she pretended to be asleep. After his own shower, he slipped into the bed beside her.
Sleep was hard to come by. Though they weren’t touching, Carter was right beside her. She could feel his body heat, smell his fresh masculine scent and hear his slow breaths as he fell asleep. Her awareness of him was bad enough, but he’d forgotten to put off his light which made falling asleep practically impossible. Unfortunately, Eve couldn’t just wake up and turn the light off. She was supposed to be already asleep.
Tensely, she waited him out. When his breath finally evened out into the long inhales and exhales, she slowly turned. She hadn’t realized how close she was to Carter until she came face to face with him. He was asleep on his side and facing her.
Something about her movements must’ve disturbed his sleep because with a sigh, he shifted even closer to her and set his head on her arm. Eve froze. Though his head was heavy on her arm, it was how close he was that held her motionless. Heart in her throat, she tried to drag her arm from beneath his head. But it didn’t work. He cuddled even closer to her until she could feel his breath whispering against her chin.
She should’ve shoved him away then but for some reason she couldn’t. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, and it felt so right to have him this close to her that she didn’t have the heart to push him away. Sighing deeply, she watched him sleep. Even in his sleep he looked kind. Like a man who’d give his last shirt to a beggar. And it made her love him all over again.
Without conscious thought, she reached to him with her free hand and touched his hair. The dark tresses slipped over her fingers like silk as she caressed his head.
I’m so sorry for doing this to you, she thought as she wove her fingers through her hair. He was such a good man; one who definitely didn’t deserve to be a victim of her scheme. If only he wasn’t Sharon’s son. Sighing again and smoothing her hand over his hair, Eve whispered, “I’m so sorry, Carter.”
“Sorry for what?” he murmured.
Honest to God, Eve’s soul jumped right out of her body at the sound of his voice. His eyes were closed so for a second she thought that she’d imagined his voice. But then his eyelashes fluttered and his eyes opened to meet hers. His blue eyes were surprisingly clear; like those of a man who was just pretending to be asleep. Frozen in shock, Eve just stared at him.
“Sorry for what?” he repeated.
The sound of his voice brought home the certainty that she wasn’t imagining things. He was awake and had just caught her touching him in a way that could only be described as loving. Panic driving her, she pulled her hand away from his hair. But Carter caught her arm mid-pull. His fingers closed around her wrist.
For a long pregnant second they just stayed like that, staring at each other. Eve couldn’t think of anything to say to diffuse the situation, and her body refused to move away from him. All she could do was stare at him in horrified distress and see what he was going to do.
Carter moved. Not away from her, but closer to her. Eve saw him coming but for some reason she couldn’t convince her head, or the rest of her body for that matter, to go in the opposite direction. She just waited for him. When his lips touched hers, her eyes were still wide open. When he pulled back, she stared at him silently instead of protesting.
His eyes open, he came back for another touch of his wicked lips against her. This time he stayed for a longer moment. When he pulled back away from her, she still didn’t do anything to push him
away. So he came back to her, this time with his eyes closed.
Eve had no idea what possessed her. When he moved his lips, she actually closed her eyes. And when he suckled her lower lip, her mouth parted, partly in shock and partly to let him in. But it was all the permission he needed. His tongue snuck in between her lips.
The kiss was as intimate as it was tender. Slowly and carefully, his mouth moved over hers as his tongue met hers in a gentle exploration. Despite herself, Eve responded to that kiss. Her tongue hesitantly coiled against his even as her lips danced with his. When he firmed his lips over hers and deepened the kiss, she replied in kind, meeting him kiss for kiss.
Her pulse was pounding in her ears and her body trembling with heat when he ended the kiss. Her eyes met his even as her lips throbbed with the memory of his. His gaze was dark with unconcealed need. But instead of coming back for another kiss, he smiled then lifted his head slightly to remove her arm. While she was reeling in the whirlwind of emotions still storming within her, he turned to turn off the lights then slid his arm beneath her head.
He pulled her to cuddle into him then whispered, “Go to sleep,”
How was she supposed to sleep when he’d just kissed her like that? As Eve lay against him, she realized that she was completely screwed. She’d assumed that he was the only one who’d be hurt at the end of everything. She was wrong. They would both get hurt.
CHAPTER 6
Eve’s weekend was pretty tame. Saturday was a trip to the salon, Jackson’s baseball game and dinner with her family and Carter’s. Sunday was spent just hanging out by the pool then later, watching movies. It should’ve been comfortable and relaxing, but it wasn’t. Eve was on edge the whole weekend and it felt like she was walking a tightrope.
And it was all because of Carter.
It was bad enough that the memory of their kiss still lingered, but his sudden need to touch her at the most inopportune moments was extremely disconcerting. At Jackson’s baseball game, he’d sat so close to her that his body brushed hers every time he moved. When they’d gone to meet the other parents after the game, he’d held her hand. When he wasn’t holding her hand, his palm was on the small of her back.
Though he hadn’t kissed her when they went to bed, he’d held her all through the night. On Sunday, he hovered around her at the pool, and while they watched the movie, his arm had been around her shoulders. When they went to bed, he held her again. By Monday, her nerves were shot, and she needed space from him. Thankfully, the drama at work was enough to distract her from thoughts of her husband.
“That girl is getting on my nerves!” Sharon exclaimed the moment Eve entered her office after being summoned. Scowling fiercely, the older woman smacked her lips. “I’ve been holding myself back but I think we’ll have to take care of her this time.”
Eve took a seat. “Who are we talking about?”
Benisio who was seated on the couch adjacent to Sharon’s quietly said, “Nina Wu.”
“What did Nina do this time?” Eve asked.
“Show her,” Sharon ordered.
Benisio held out a sheet of paper and Eve plucked it from his hand. The headline of the document immediately caught Eve’s eye. It said: La Belle’s Cleansing Conditioner Is Making You Bald & Giving You Cancer.
“Well… okay.” Eve scanned through the rest of the article with raised eyebrows.
The article was a blatant hit-job. In it, Nina was claiming that La Belle’s conditioner, which had been launched on the platform that it was paraben-free, now contained methylparaben. Worse, La Belle had used high concentrations of the component thus exposing users to the risk of cancer. All this yet their ingredient lists contained no mention of the presence of methylparaben. In fact all the bottles on the shelves had large labels saying ‘Paraben-Free’ and claiming that the product was FDA approved. The article also contained anecdotes from people who’d been using the conditioner for more than one year and were now experiencing hair loss or scalp irritation.
As she finished reading, Eve exhaled loudly. “This isn’t published, right?”
“That’s what I should be asking you.” Sharon’s blazing eyes settled on her. “Isn’t it your job to keep things like this from happening?”
“I’m sorry,” Eve apologized immediately. “I didn’t know that she was writing this kind of thing. I’ll call her editor right now.”
“Don’t waste your time,” Sharon bit out. “Thankfully, Nina had only submitted it so I was able to stop it from being published. And she’s already been fired.”
“But this is Nina,” Eve reminded them. “She’ll find a way to get it out there even if it’s not through her paper.”
“That’s why you’re here.” The older woman said, “I need you to talk to her. Stop her fear-mongering.”
“That’s not a problem. But first I need to know-” Eve tilted her head as her eyes met her mother-in-law’s. “-is there any truth to what she’s saying? We’re not using methylparaben in the conditioner, are we?”
“What kind of question is that?” Sharon’s lips thinned in anger as she demanded, “And why are you asking it? Your job is to do what I say not ask me questions. If I say bark, you bark. You don’t wag your tail or ask me questions.”
The comparison to a dog sent anger shuttling through Eve. But even as she bit down on her anger, she noted that Sharon hadn’t answered her question.
Instead of repeating the question, Eve explained, “The reason I’m asking if there is any truth to that article is because it will affect how I deal with Nina. If she’s lying, then the threat of a lawsuit will shut her up. But if it’s the truth, we might need to settle it with money.”
Sharon barked, “I don’t care how much you give her. Just shut her up.”
That answer alone was enough to tell Eve all she wanted to know. The article was true and Nina was about to get a big paycheck.
“What about the people who gave her their stories?” Eve asked.
“Don’t worry about them. Benisio will deal with them.” Sharon ordered, “You just stop Nina.”
* * * * *
EVE AND NINA met at a small stylish restaurant in an atmospheric, century-old house. It wasn’t the kind of place that attracted the trendy crowd. Most of its clients were people who wanted privacy even while eating in a public space and could pay for it. The tables were spaced far, far apart to prevent eavesdropping, and each table had its own personal server. Basically, it was the perfect place to scheme.
“Just so you know… you’re paying,” Nina said as she took the seat opposite Eve. She set her large purse on the floor beside her. “I’m now unemployed so I can’t afford to buy anyone anything.”
“I’m sorry.” Eve winced. “But we expected this to happen, right?”
“I know. I know. I know.” Nina made a face. “It doesn’t make it less annoying though. Your mother-in-law is a heartless bitch.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know.” Eve guffawed. She raised her hand to call a server over.
If anyone was spying on Eve, they’d assume that she was doing just what Sharon had asked. But they would be wrong… very, very wrong.
Once the waiter brought their drinks, the women got to business. Nina asked, “So what did she say once she saw the article?”
“That you were just scaremongering.” Eve took a sip of her cocktail. “And as expected, she wants me to pay you off.”
Nina laughed. “She’s so predictable.”
“After we leave here, I’ll talk to our lawyers and let them know that you and I have agreed on twenty thousand dollars.” Eve said, “They’ll contact you…”
Nina finished. “… and I’ll take the money?”
“And you’ll take the money,” Eve confirmed. “After that it’s game on.”
“My people are ready to go.” The other woman added, “Once you give us the go-ahead, we’ll get down to business.”
“Great.” Eve smiled. A moment later, a thought struck her. “The ladi
es know that Benisio is coming, right?”
“Yes.” Nina nodded. “I told them to take whatever Benisio offered but not to use it.”
“Good.” Eve asked, “What about the lab tests? Are they done?”
“They are.” Nina took a sip of her orange juice then said, “The guys you referred me to are pretty fast. I’m just a little worried that Sharon will come for them once she sees who did my tests.”
“She won’t be able to take these guys out even if she wants to,” Eve assured. “Their backer is more influential than her.”
Nina watched her for a moment before asking, “Are you sure you want to do this? Once Sharon finds out that you didn’t deal with me, she’ll come after you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Eve reassured. “I can take care of myself. Just do what you do and I’ll deal with the consequences.”
* * * * *
AS SOON AS Eve got home, Sharon called her into her office.
“How did it go with Nina?” Sharon asked.
“She’s agreed to settle,” Eve said as she stood in front of her mother-in-law’s desk. “Twenty thousand dollars.”
“Only?” Sharon snorted. “I knew she was cheap but not that cheap.”
“The whole article is based on hearsay and anecdotes.” Eve shrugged. “I wasn’t going to give her more.”
“Good job. Good job.” Sharon gave Eve a rare grin of approval.
Eve said, “Our lawyers will be meeting with her tomorrow to sign the NDA.”
Sharon’s eyes narrowed. “She won’t back out, will she?”
“No, she won’t.” Eve shook her head. “She looked desperate.”
“Losing your job will do that to you.” Sharon laughed. Moments later, her smile faded. “How are you doing on the other end?”
“On what other end?”
Sharon pointed to Eve’s stomach. “You and Carter have been quite friendly since he got home. Any results?”