Eden

I feel him the second he enters the building. Careful to keep my expression blank, I continue working on the webpage for Miller’s. It’s been six days since Donovan raced out of my room and seeing him hasn’t gotten any easier. I think a lot of that is due to the fact that he’s polite but detached every time I see him—which, annoyingly, has been every day.

“Hey.”

I look up and smile blandly. “Good afternoon.”

He stares at me for a few seconds as if he’s sizing me up. Only when I raise a brow does he speak. “My mom called and said Ron is worried about some wobbliness under the counter over in the beverage area. He’s busy getting all the food ready for Margie’s birthday party dinner so I’m here to take care of it. Depending on how bad it is I might need to redo a piece or two of the bracing. You cool if I work in here for a while? I tried to tell her I’d do it after dinner but she wouldn’t back down because she thinks Ron will worry himself into an ulcer if he thinks things aren’t up to par.”

I’m not dumb. He tried to get her to let him do it later so that he wouldn’t have to see me. That stings, but there’s nothing to be done for it. “Have at it,” I shrug.

“I’ll grab Ron’s tool cart and get to work, then.”

I acknowledge his words with a nod of my head before I go back to working on the webpage. More accurately, I’m pretending to work. I keep my head down as he rolls Ron’s massive tool cart into the lobby, steering it toward the beverage area. It’s hard to ignore him, so the ringing of the phone is a welcome distraction.

“It’s a beautiful day here at Miller’s. This is Eden, how may I help you?”

“What’re you doing?” Julie demands.

“I’m sure it’s going to come as a surprise that I’m working, considering you called me at work,” I tease.

“I know, dork. Aunt Stella wanted me to call and see if Donovan has shown up to take care of the thing in the lobby yet.”

Hearing his name makes me look across the room where he’s crouched down checking the first brace.

“Yeah, he’s here doing it right now.”

“Perfect. Anyway, the other reason I called is to find out what you’re doing after work.”

Thinking of what I have planned, I smile. “My Amazon order came so I’m going to make some chocolate pizzelles.”

I’m met with the sound of faux snoring. “Well,” she yawns. “That sounds boring as fuck, Grandma.”

“But delicious,” I counter.

“They can be made any time though. Change of plans—you’re coming to Mom’s birthday dinner and we’re going out after.”

“I’ll come out later for sure, but I’m not crashing Margie’s birthday party.”

My gaze goes to Donovan as I say this, only to find that he’s watching me. Biting my lip nervously, I look away.

“You can go ahead and tell my mom you don’t want to come then since she’s the one who wants you here.”

I grimace, hating the idea of letting Margie down. “Are you sure? I thought this was just a family thing.”

“Well it’s not, so get your ass here by six and make sure you bring a change of clothes for the bar because I’ve got something special planned. You need to go out on an honest-to-God date and I’m making it happen. Prepare yourself because this blind date is going to be epic. Just wait ‘til you see what I’ve got up my sleeve.”

My eyes dart toward Donovan again but fortunately he’s busy checking another one of the braces so he doesn’t see. I can’t stop thinking about him—how ridiculous would it be to try going on a date with anyone else? Talk about a time waster.

Turning my head away to talk quietly in the phone, I take a firm tone with her. “Slow your roll, Cupid. You can’t just spring a blind date on me.”

“Yes I can—especially when we’re talking about Mr. Right. Also, I suggest going panty free. Cosmo says men have some sixth sense when a girl isn’t wearing anything under her dress and knowing there’s nothing there drives them mad. I can tell you from personal experience that it works like a charm with Morrow.”

I choke out a laugh. “I’m not going on a blind date in a dress and no panties, you psycho.”

“Have I steered you wrong yet?”

I look up at Donovan again, quickly looking away when I see that he’s watching me. Glancing away, I let out a huff. “In fact, you have.”

“Au contraire, Sugartits. That plan worked like a charm.”

“If by charm you mean nightmare then sure,” I mutter.

She giggles like I’ve said something funny. “I’d love to keep talking about this but Aunt Stella wants me to show her the new makeup she sent this week. Be here at six and don’t forget to bring something hot to wear for the night. Don’t let me down!”

She doesn’t even wait for my response before she hangs up. I hang up the phone with a shake of my head.

“I heard the word date. What’s that about?”

Dammit, I whispered that! When did Donovan acquire bionic hearing?

Doing my best to appear nonchalant, I hitch one shoulder up in a shrug. “Julie thinks she’s found my Mr. Right.”

“Mr. Right?” he asks, his voice taut.

“I guess.”

“And you’re just going to do it? Go out with some random asshole my cousin thinks might be good enough for you?”

I was going to text her and tell her absolutely no to the date, but his attitude about it is rubbing me the wrong way. He’s the one who levitated out of my room like my virginity was a problem.

Cocking my head, I stare at him with a bland expression. “I can’t think of any reason why I wouldn’t, can you?”

Apparently he was not prepared for that question because it pulls him up short. His eyes flash fire and he grinds his teeth like he’s about to lose his shit. “Sure, right,” he mutters. “I’m out of here. Nothing feels loose to me so Ron’s going to have to show me exactly where the problem is. I guess I’ll be seeing you at Margie’s.”

He spins on his heel and walks away without waiting for my response. Stomping across the room he grabs the cart and steers it back toward the storage area it belongs in. When he comes out a minute later, he acknowledges me with a jerk of his chin before leaving without another word.