The Surprise of Her Life
Auteur
Helen R. Myers
Lezers
19,8K
Hoofdstukken
10
Chapter One
“Oh, no— Help!”
Of course, she didn’t expect any. Eve Easton had come alone into the kitchen and was reaching into the commercial-size refrigerator with its double, glass doors to pull out the carved-crystal punch bowl, made heavier by pounds of chipped ice and boiled shrimp. But just when she turned toward the counter, the unwieldy thing had started slipping from her grasp.
Miracle of miracles, strong arms wrapped around hers in support, and a mellow, male voice assured her, “Got it.”
Too relieved to have avoided catastrophe to yelp from surprise that someone had actually heard her, Eve held her breath as, together, she and her mystery hero jointly hoisted the thing to the counter. Unfortunately, their combined momentum made it land with a sharp thud.
“Don’t shatter,” she entreated the bowl. “Glass shards aren’t a digestible garnish.” That was the problem with helping out here; everything in the place was genuine, gorgeous and breakable.
“Do you always reprimand inanimate objects?”
As her foolishness sunk in, she chuckled self-consciously—feeling increasingly so for their awkward positioning. “Oh, ignore me. I’ve spent most of my life either swimming upstream, ignoring logic, or otherwise trying to defy physics.”
“Eve? Eve Prescott… It is you.”
Already remaining stiff enough to shatter herself, Eve willed herself to faint. She was 99.99 percent sure she wasn’t dreaming, so there was no other escape from this moment. And the man who held her against the counter so tightly that they were as close as two people could get—short of sexual intimacy—sounded eerily similar to one of three people she’d hoped never to see again in this lifetime. The fact that he addressed her by her married name confirmed the impossible had happened.
God, leaving Texas wasn’t enough? In case you’ve forgotten, you don’t let Southwest fly to Mars yet.
Lifting her gaze to stare at their reflection in the glass cabinets at the end of the kitchen counter, she managed to eke out on a thin breath, “It’s Easton now, Mr. Roland. I took back my maiden name.” She didn’t dare turn her head what with him being so close, his breath already a lover’s caress against her ear and cheek.
“Of course. Sorry.”
It was then that his gaze lifted, seeming to follow hers, and they were staring at each other in the glass. “What are you doing here?” she asked him.
“I was invited—well—by a friend of an invited guest. Then by our hostess herself when my friend checked with her.”
Responding literally to her question also confirmed her conclusion—like she needed that. Derek Roland was nothing if not a stick-to-the-facts guy. What else would you expect from a government man? “I meant what are you doing in Colorado? Wait. First, would you mind—?” She bobbed her head to the right, signaling him to let go and give her some space. “If we get any closer, you’ll be able to describe my birthmark.”
With an understated clearing of his throat, he did exactly that, stepping around the kitchen bar to grasp the back of a brass-and-wood chair instead. “I live here now. Apparently you do, as well, or are you visiting relatives? You don’t resemble either of the Graingers.”
Wearing a new champagne-colored cashmere dress that felt like a second skin—something she intended to let Rae Grainger know was not her best wardrobe recommendation to date—Eve ran her hands over her hips where she could still feel his body heat. Yes, it was him—Derek Roland. Mr. Tall, Groomed and Stern. Even the perpetual frown between his eyebrows was exactly as she remembered; nevertheless, he was an attractive man, and she didn’t actually hold any resentment toward him. To be fair, she’d concluded him to be as much an injured party to what had occurred as she was. His offense was simply to be here and, therefore, was a reminder of the humiliation she’d fled Texas to forget.
“I’m not related to either Rae or Gus,” she replied, acutely aware of the visual study he was conducting of her. “Rae is my boss. Denver Events Planning.”
“From PTA fairy godmother and Booster Club organizer to events planner. That makes all the sense in the world and probably keeps you as busy as ever. You have to love the wardrobe upgrade?”
“It’s…different.” And keeping busy was the idea. She’d needed to stay as active as possible during her awake hours so she didn’t drown in a pity party for one when she should be sleeping. The paycheck was the other motivator to keep at this. “You’re absolutely right, though, I’m not qualified for much else,” she admitted ruefully.
“I didn’t mean—”
“Did you transfer to the Denver office, Mr. Roland?” she asked before he could finish. Back in Texas he’d been the most whispered-about person on their block. It wasn’t every day you had an FBI agent as a neighbor.
“Please, make that Derek, and, yes, something like that. I’m the S.A.C. here.”
“Excuse me, I’m terrible with abbreviations.”
“Special Agent-in-Charge.”
“Oh. Oh. Wow. Congratulations.” Without trying, he’d succeeded in making her feel even younger and less accomplished than she already did.
The stereotype continued to hold true; even in his gray suit and two-tone silver tie, he looked “government,” just as he had back in Texas when he and his then-wife Sam had moved in next door to her and Wes. It was when she brought over a peach cobbler she’d baked herself that Samantha Roland confided that her Derek was with “the Agency.” Derek had always struck Eve as a serious man, and you’d have to be obtuse not to notice that his job demanded much of his time. He’d almost never been around for small talk, even when outside mowing the lawn or cleaning up the branch-littered yard after a strong storm. Every chore or project was achieved at a brisk pace that suggested he had more important things to do and places to be. They were speaking more now than they had in all of the time that they’d been neighbors.
Eve doubted that she could bring herself to call him by his first name. He might only be five or so years her senior, but his whole bearing made her feel a full decade deficit in experience. “Rae will be thrilled,” she assured him, with a death hold on her role as assistant to one of the most talked-about women in Denver. “I think you’ve managed to put a new feather in her cap. With the weather as unrelenting as it is, I know she’s grateful if the D.A. or a judge will come up here. It’s usually the show business and sports people who are brave enough to take on the mountains in these conditions.”
“I’m glad I could make it. The place is spectacular.” As he spoke, Derek gave the state-of-the-art yet creative room a more thorough and admiring look. “I actually came with D.A. Maines.”
She literally bit her tongue to avoid saying, “Oh,” and spread her hands in a well-there-you-have-it gesture. If D.A. Maines remembered her, it would be as the coat check girl, when she’d actually handed him a program and glass of champagne at the pre-party to the opening of the theater’s yearly premiere of The Nutcracker ballet.
“His wife is with their daughter on a school-related trip to Italy, and he wasn’t up for ringing in the New Year with a TV dinner and case files.”
Never mind trying to picture the district attorney eating a frozen dinner, Eve had to force her gaze from Derek’s mouth. Slightly curved into a smile, his lips weren’t as thin as she used to believe, now that they weren’t fixed in that tight, white line they usually were back in Texas. In fact they seemed kind, and— tempting.
“You cut your hair.”
The unexpected observation had her self-consciously smoothing the short wisps at her nape. A year ago, her naturally blond locks had almost reached her waist. “There’s an understatement if I ever heard one. My ex—and probably yours—would say that I look scalped.”
“You look…great. Very chic, or is that an archaic expression these days?”
At first, she’d worried that the style made her look like a street urchin out of Oliver Twist, but heartened by his seemingly sincere admiration a bit of her impish humor surfaced. “Full disclosure? All I was doing was indulging a little immature spite. Typical southern male, Wes would complain at the slightest trimming I’d do to get rid of split ends.”
The truth was, once past her high school cheerleading years, she felt the weight of her hair too much for her slight frame. The first thing she did, after finding the apartment in Denver, was to walk into a full-service salon and ask for it all to be cut off. It not only felt liberating in ways she hadn’t imagined, but donating her shorn locks to an organization that would turn it into a wig for a child with cancer gave her a quiet joy. Interestingly, her migraine-size headaches soon stopped, too.
“I can top that.” Derek pretended to glance around before sliding her a conspiratorial look. “As I was moving out, I came upon Samantha’s engagement ring in the bathroom. I ‘accidentally’ flipped it into the commode.”
Eve couldn’t keep from sucking in her breath at the image. Sam’s ring was only half the size of Rae’s, but it was one hundred percent more than Eve had ever worn. Too grateful for this moment to resist, she asked, “Did she notice before…you know?”
With a negligent shrug, he replied, “She must have, she signed the divorce papers.”
Eve laughed with relief. Incredible, she thought, they were actually making small talk—and it was fun. The few times they’d exchanged greetings back in Texas, she’d hesitated and stuttered like a nine-year-old, finding herself in front of the school principal.
“Are you liking Colorado?” she ventured.
“So far, so good, although it took me a while to adjust to the altitude.”
“As physically fit as you people have to be?” Eve didn’t hide her surprise. “I thought I was going to have to buy my own personal oxygen tank. And it was a good thing I wasn’t wearing a ring anymore because my fingers swelled like sausages on a grill.”
Derek’s answering glance exposed his amusement but disbelief. “I knew you’d moved, Eve. I just had no idea it was here. I hope this isn’t too awkward for you, but I was merely looking for a secluded spot to check my BlackBerry for calls without appearing rude or attracting too much attention.”
Sensing he was turning back into FBI Agent Roland, Eve pointed to the sunroom at the back of the kitchen. It was a rather romantic nook with the outdoor lights from the patio twinkling through the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Consider me gone. If you need more light, there’s a switch to your left as soon as you enter. You’ll have the kitchen to yourself. I’m off to deliver this,” she said, gesturing to the bowl that had started their conversation.
Frowning, he reached out to stay her retreat. “Give me a second and I’ll carry that beast for you.”
With that he removed the BlackBerry from its belt clip, exposing his badge, and focused on the small screen. After only a few seconds and fewer clicks, he replaced it.
“Lead the way,” he said, reaching for the heavy receptacle.
She did, acutely aware of his gaze following her every step. Although she thought she looked the best she had in a year, she would have passed on this glove of a dress if not for Rae’s insistence when they’d gone on a shopping spree together. Granted, she’d admitted that she was frustrated with her harmless, girl-next-door image, but blatant-vamp persona felt a ridiculous reach. Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, she wasn’t. But the knee-length dress was a contradiction, as well. It had a demure, high front, but Derek had the real view—a seriously low, cowl neck in back exposing just about every inch of her from nape to waist, all of which was prickling—and not because the temperature in the house was too low. She wasn’t a gambler, but she could feel Derek’s gaze contemplating what she was and wasn’t wearing beneath the thing.
At the long buffet in the dining room, Eve indicated the spot where the bowl should go and stepped aside for him to put his hefty load in its place. “I do appreciate this,” she said as discreetly as she could, counting how many pairs of eyes had noticed.
“My pleasure. Besides, that dress doesn’t look like anything you can machine wash and I’m fast concluding that eau de shrimp isn’t the right fragrance for you.”
She heard a few chuckles from people overhearing the exchange and felt a betraying heat creep into her face. Special Agent Roland was flirting…with her. The man whom she last saw angry enough to bite inch-thick bolts in two when he’d come to confront Wes about his affair with Samantha. She couldn’t begin to wrap her mind around that idea.
“Eve, introduce me to this gallant gentleman,” Rae said, joining them. “I thought I’d greeted all of our guests, but I’m obviously remiss in welcoming you,” she added to Derek. She extended her beautifully manicured hand in a way that best displayed her French-tipped fingernails and several carats of diamonds.
Almost as tall as Derek and luscious in a silver-sequined, full-length gown, Rae’s personality was cranked tonight to radiate mach charm. Her reputation in Denver was at once admired and resented due to her ambition and fearlessness. She never questioned her taste or decisions and if a client did, they didn’t need to hire Rae Grainger for their function. That matched her bold appearance—flaming red hair and matching lips, permanent liner and eyebrows, and teeth that any TV personality would kill for.
With wry circumspection that played well to her brashness, Derek picked up a napkin, wiped his right hand and took hers. “Mrs. Grainger. Thank you for allowing me to join you.”
“You don’t look like a golfing buddy or business associate of my husband’s. And you have better manners.”
“More like an associate of D.A. Maines, who is taking pity on someone relatively new in town. Derek Roland.”
Rae’s face radiated her recognition and she nodded approvingly, which almost ended suspiciously like a royal bow. “I remember now. How lovely to have you, Special Agent-in-Charge Roland.”
Eve resisted the urge to roll her eyes by respecting her incredible memory. Rae could recite event quotes, guest lists and her daily phone log from a month back.
“Call me Derek, please…unless I come bearing a warrant.”
With a throaty laugh, Rae replied, “Well, Derek, you are obviously blessed with as much good taste as you are with chivalry and wit. I’ve about given myself an ulcer at the idea of all this loveliness going to waste.” As she spoke, she swept her hand toward Eve.
For the briefest moment, Eve thought the groan in her mind actually burst from her lips. But unable to stay silent out of fear total humiliation was forthcoming, she stage-whispered, “This was my former neighbor, Rae. My ex and his are now married.”
Rarely rattled, the resilient redhead muttered a brief, “Crap” through a frozen smile.
“Or something to that effect,” Eve muttered, wishing for a glass of anything to swig down. Crawling under the twenty-thousand-dollar dining table was out of the question. “I’m going to get the last of the sushi now,” she said to the room at large. “With luck, I’ll trip along the way, knock myself out and come to with amnesia.”
Once back in the kitchen, she leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the refrigerator. What had she done to deserve this? Even though Derek was being an absolute gentleman, he was a reminder of everything she’d been trying to put behind her, namely her failure as a wife and as a woman.
Hearing the door creak open behind her, she quickly made her way to the sink where she pumped soap into her palm and then ran water to wash her hands before setting to work again. She wasn’t surprised to see Derek’s image suddenly reflected beside hers in the sink window.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Sure. This happens to me every day.”
“You don’t sound okay.”
“Well, don’t take this personally, but having all but cried my way through Christmas because I missed my family and we were too busy to get time off to fly down to see them, the last thing I needed was my past hitting me in the face like a tacky pie-throwing joke.”
As she witnessed Derek’s head rear back as though she’d struck him on the chin, Eve grimaced and turned to face him. “I didn’t mean you. I meant the affair and everything. You’ve been all kindness. But you don’t know Rae. She may have appeared apologetic, but she’s taking your consideration to me the wrong way, as she will your presence. Trust me, regardless of what I said, or will say, she’s got an idea in her head and she will Frankenstein monster it into—I don’t want to think what.”
If he was upset at that news, Derek didn’t show it. Instead, he ripped off a sheet from the paper towel roll beside him and handed it to her.
“Oh, good grief, see? I’m dripping all over the hardwood floor and myself.”
“I wish you weren’t so uncomfortable about our reunion,” he said as she dried her hands, blotted her skirt and quickly dabbed at the few drops on the floor.
“You aren’t?”
“Not at all. I remember you as lovely in all ways, and I felt as badly for you as I did for myself. More actually.”
His flattery was as potent as wine and she was grateful for the need to turn her back on him so she could toss the paper towel in the trash compactor. “Why? You don’t know me. Maybe I deserved what happened. Do you realize this is the longest conversation we’ve had in all the time we were neighbors?”
“My work requires me to read people well.”
Thinking of his choice in marriage partners, she spun around. “I have two words for you and her initials are—”
“Resist that one.” Derek came an inch away from touching his index finger to her lips before stopping himself. “I don’t want to be remotely tempted to speak your ex’s name in rebuttal.”
As he continued to be transfixed by her lips, Eve grasped at humor as she always did when finding herself in an uncomfortable moment. “Hey, I never said I’m a good judge of character. I’m always surprised when people don’t mess up or let me down. Take my mother for example—I counted on her to produce another sibling so I wouldn’t be stuck being the baby of the family and forever being treated as if I have packing bubble for brains and shouldn’t be let outside after dark. But did she follow through? Nope.”
His tender smile was a dirty trick. It transformed his face in a way that made her tummy tighten and her heart flutter. In self-defense, Eve circled the island the long way around to take the plastic wrapping off of the last two trays.
“I have to get the rest of this sushi out there,” she told him.
“Let me take it,” Derek said. “No doubt you’ve been going nonstop since before this party started. Sit down. Breathe. I’ll bring us back a glass of something. Do you prefer bubbles or ice?”
He intended to prolong this? After a moment of dread, she had to admit she would be grateful to delay Rae’s inevitable questions. “Neither,” she forced herself to say. “If there’s any Cabernet or Pinot Noir open, that would be nice.”
He left before Eve could change her mind.
If only she could sneak out the back door and leave. However, having arrived early this afternoon, she knew her SUV was undoubtedly blocked in several times over. The plan had been for her to spend the night in one of the guest rooms.
Feeling trapped and so off balance that she was starting to scratch at her wrist, then her neck, she withdrew to the little garden table in the sunroom. “No hives,” she commanded herself. “Please no hives.”
The coolness and darkness enveloped and soothed her. Just these few yards even cut the sound of the revelry going on in the other parts of the house.
Breathe.
“Where did you go?”
He had returned quickly, Eve thought, or else she’d managed to zone out longer than she’d imagined. “Back here,” she called, raising her hand to wave. She hadn’t turned on the sunroom light and knew she was concealed in the shadows.
“Nice,” he said, setting the two fat goblets of dark red wine on the glass table. He eased onto the diminutive iron garden chair that faced her. “Is this thing going to take my weight?”
“It manages Gus’s. He and Rae often have coffee or wine here. Rae made this set herself.” Eve enjoyed Derek’s startled look. “Physically, she may trigger thoughts of a flashy bird-of-paradise blossom, and heaven knows that’s her personality, but she’s as serious a craftsman in her free time as she is a businesswoman.”
“Great praise considering that you sounded like you wanted to take clippers to those French nails of hers for her attempted matchmaking.”
The man saw entirely too much for her peace of mind. “Rae has no sense of boundaries where her affections are concerned. She expects us to recognize that what she does is for our own good. Just ask Gus,” Eve added with a chuckle. “But she’s been the equivalent of that college degree I never got as she’s mentored me. And she’s generous to a fault.”
“Then I’m glad you found her. Has this been your first position since moving up here?”
“My second, actually. My first was a secretarial position in the front office of the Broncos, but that was all too much of a reminder of what I’d just left.” Trying to think of a segue out of this line of conversation, she stroked the cool edge of the smooth goblet. Glass was one of her favorite mediums, but she had no artistic passion to do something creative herself. She was beginning to wonder if she had any passion whatsoever. She had Wes to thank for that self-doubt, as well.
“Doesn’t the D.A. want a little of your time?” she asked a little too brightly. “I thought when someone invites you to something like this, it’s because there are things they want to talk about. Or there’s someone you needed assistance in meeting at the function.”
As he tasted his wine, Derek’s gray eyes lit with amusement. “That’s mostly the case in fiction when you have to fill the pages between action scenes. If it wasn’t for my swollen ego, I’d worry that you’re trying to get rid of me.”
“No,” she lied. “But I just wanted you to know that I understood if you wanted to get back to mingling or—I don’t know what’s off-limits to talk about given your job?” Our past. Did you ever have a clue as to what was going on? Was Wes as friendly to you as Sam was to me pretending that everything was normal?
“Ask what you’d like—except for the number of the red phone on the president’s desk. Also, if there really are aliens at Area 51.”
Suddenly, Eve got it—she was fluff to him. Harmless. Her makeover may have upgraded her sex appeal, but he undoubtedly knew better and just saw her as an easy route to getting through his own difficult holiday break before returning to his real world. That compelled her to ask a question that would have annoyed her if their places were reversed.
“Have you heard anything from Samantha since your divorce?”
“No,” he said, without hesitation. “But I’d made it clear to her that I expected not to, except through our attorneys. Are you hoping to hear from Wes?”
“Good grief, no. I think that’s the one thing that would make my family disown me.”
“Whatever it takes,” he mused.
While his lips curved in that appealing way, Eve thought she read something in his smoke-colored eyes that made her think of secrets. She grew immediately apprehensive. “But you…know…something?”
“Eve, it’s New Year’s. Do you really want to do this?”
“The fool got fired, didn’t he? It serves him right. I was always baking brownies and fried pies to soothe the assistant coaches he’d offend—”
“I hear through reliable sources that our exes are expecting.”
She didn’t gasp, she had that much control. But otherwise, Eve was shocked into just staring at him.
“There lies the lesson,” Derek said quietly, almost apologetic. “Sometimes flirting with the idea that you want information ends up teaching you that you don’t.”
Summoning what pride she could, she straightened her spine and squared her shoulders and insisted, “I’m only surprised at how fast it happened.”
“I suspect, being several years older than you, Samantha’s biological clock was sounding like Big Ben’s toll to her.”
“You didn’t want children?” she asked, without thinking.
His look was enigmatic, but he replied, “A child isn’t always the solution to problems.”
Eve looked out into the magical night and watched the lights twinkle on the shrubbery and trees. “I’m so clueless, I didn’t know we had problems. We were married for almost eight years, and I believed him when he reasoned that we should wait before starting a family.” Until he had job security, then it was a larger nest egg, then it was something else.
“Well, if money was one of the reasons, they don’t have that concern now. I gave Sam the house, and she’ll get close to half of my pension to date.”
Eve slid him a sympathetic look. “You were very generous.”
After something close to a growl, he replied, “Legally, there wasn’t much I could do about the pension, and I ended up giving her my equity in the house to keep from having to liquidate a few other things that I inherited from my side of the family.”
“You don’t have anyone left, do you? I think I remember Sam saying you were an only child, too?”
“That’s right.”
“Thankfully all of my family is still alive.” Eve almost felt guilty for having so much when he had so little. What’s more, she had a reliable vehicle and a modest nest egg from her share of the equity that had come from the sale of their house, and Wes’s college debt was paid off. “I’m sorry that you have to think about Wes living in your house.”
“That happens less than you might think.”
Seeing his eyes try to hold her gaze, she admitted, “You know, back when we were neighbors, I was intimidated by you. So much so that I delayed going outside if you were mowing or something.”
He leaned forward and offered a conspiratorial, “We train to have that effect on people. Keeps everyone but reporters and politicians at arm’s length.” Lifting his glass again he waited for her to lift hers and gently touched rim to rim. “Allow me to make amends.”
Eve’s heart skittered at his subtle flirtation. “Amends” were not necessary and those feelings were part of a past she really was trying to put behind her. On top of that, she reminded herself, while he was handling her with kid gloves, she was still being handled. He’d admitted as much. He was a control-oriented man. Hadn’t she just divorced one of those? Maybe Wes was an amateur compared to someone trained by a government agency, but Wes had carried some clout in their community as he’d risen to the post of head coach of consistently winning football, basketball and baseball teams. Increasingly, he’d carried that persona home with him. She’d parried it with some success through her sense of humor and the reminder that “For better or worse” didn’t necessarily mean illness, it meant someone dropping the ball relationship-wise. No, hindsight told her that she hadn’t been completely blindsided by the divorce.
“You have to appease my curiosity,” Derek said, breaking into her thoughts. “What brought you to Colorado? I think Samantha said you were born and raised in Texas.”
“That’s true. All of the senior members of the family live near a retirement community north of Houston. That’s where both sets of my grandparents are. My parents joke that they live off campus.” At Derek’s surprised look, she grinned with pleasure. “Yeah, the Eastons and Leelands are a bunch of tough old birds. Plus I have an older brother, Nicholas, in Houston. He’s a cardiac surgeon, and my middle sibling, Sela, is a corporate attorney in San Antonio. To answer your question, I just needed some space. It’s true that my grandparents are getting frail, but I thought I could catch a flight anytime and spend a long weekend with everyone. What I didn’t count on was how busy Rae would keep me. And I must admit the cold makes me question part of my decision. Don’t get me wrong, I like the outdoors but winters aren’t as long in Texas as they are here.”
“You’ve got that right. Do you ski?”
She couldn’t quite stifle a giggle as she thought of her answer. “I’m deemed expert on the kids’ beginner slope, and I’ve humiliated myself twice by taking the 360-degree excursion tour via the lift to the adult slope. Just ask Rae and Gus.”
“I could cure that.”
Wow, Eve thought, when the man wanted to make a point, he didn’t mince words. “Short of threatening me with arrest for scaring children and wildlife with my screams, I doubt it.”
Derek’s look was as intimate as it was confident. “That I’d never do.”
Once again she felt things she had no business feeling around this man. Eve was certain that he didn’t really mean to sound seductive, but an undeniable chemistry had spawned between them. What a surprise, considering his deceptively conventional appearance. His square-jawed, slightly off-angle face denied him classical handsomeness the way his loose-fitting suit almost hid that he was a man of strength. Having glimpsed his badge as he’d tucked away his BlackBerry, she supposed the cut of his clothing was to hide what else that belt carried. She’d seen him in shorts and his legs were powerful and well shaped. Even tall Sam must have felt tiny wrapped in his arms.
“Well, either way,” she said, grateful for the darkness that hopefully hid her blush, “you’d be wasting your time.”
“Then you should try cross-country skiing with me. I actually like it better. Shorter skis, and you can pick the difficulty of your terrain. Plus it’s more private,” he added at her doubtful look. “Few people to see any mishaps.”
Her traitorous imagination pictured them in a secluded part of the woods, her sandwiched between him and a great old pine, him unzipping her jacket and caressing and kissing her until she couldn’t feel the cold anymore.
She shook her head to stop the images. “Skidding across the supermarket parking lot is as adventurous as I’m willing to get these days. Trust me, I’m too boring for you.”
“Says who? Wes the Wonderful, who needed to collect more than sports trophies to feel good about himself?”
Although his tone wasn’t unkind, the sting of truth had Eve swallowing hard. She raised her glass in salute, even though she wasn’t sure her hand would be steady. “You’ve got me, G-man. I guess a new dress does not a bruised ego fix.”
“It’s New Year’s and whether you’re into resolutions or not, at least let your hair down for the evening. Figuratively speaking,” he added, giving her cute do another admiring glance. “That’s a great song they’re playing out there, can you hear it?”
She could. She was woefully behind with new titles and singers, but she loved this classic. “Etta James singing ‘At Last.’”
“Ma’am.” Derek rose and formally bowed as he extended his hand. “These are close quarters, but would you care to shuffle?”
Why not? she thought, liking him more with each surprising disclosure into his character. She also was touched at how he was trying to make her feel comfortable around him. Unable to deny the invitation in his eyes, Eve placed her hand in his and rose. “Brave man risking a trip to the E.R. tonight.”
His chest shook in laughter as they stepped toward each other in that little cool nook bathed in muted light and surrounded by Rae’s pots of herbs. Their addictive scents added to the ambience as man and woman rocked gently to the romantic jazz. In her heels, Eve’s temple barely reached his freshly shaven, strong jaw, and yet her hand, engulfed in his, felt like she was cocooned in peace. It was intriguing to discover that someone larger than Wes, and in a more serious line of work, could exhibit so much more tenderness.
“You’re one surprise after another,” she murmured, letting her eyes close. “I’m going to remember this.”
“I damn well hope so.”
She chuckled softly at his mock indignation. “Do you sing?”
“Now you’re pushing your luck.”
As he spoke, his breath subtly moved her bangs and tickled her forehead. She realized she wouldn’t have minded if they were his lips. “Do you mind if I do?”
“Are you kidding? Was Tom Hanks ever crazy enough to say no to Meg Ryan?”
Softly, Eve crooned the next stanza.
“Lady, you have soul in your genes.” Derek stopped and coaxed her chin up so he could see her face. “I want to hear more.”
But there was no more music. The stereo went silent and someone turned up the TV to play the countdown to the New Year. Eve and Derek looked at each other. Despite the distance, the cacophony threatened to shatter the fragile web of magic between them. Time had passed more quickly than either of them realized and caught them in a particularly unexpected and potentially complicated situation.
“Five…four…three…two…one…Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year,” he murmured, his gaze roaming over her face.
“And to you,” Eve whispered. She grew sad as she felt this sweet, unexpected moment coming to an end.
But instead of releasing her, Derek slowly lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. The caress was warm and gentle. He made her feel delicate and special. Before she could reason herself out of the impulse, Eve kissed him back.
With a sigh of relief, or gratitude, he slid his arms around her again, only this time he brought her closer. Nevertheless, it felt as right as when they were dancing. Then he slanted his mouth over hers, seeking a deeper connection.
“Eve?” Rae called as she swept into the kitchen. “Have you seen Special A—? Oh…and there you are!”
