CHAPTER ELEVEN
EVE HAD HAD no trouble turning down Dylan’s date request. Especially after she’d suspected that Regina had put him up to it. Dylan had actually seemed relieved at her nixing the idiotic idea, and Lawson might have been relieved, too, but he had hurried off before Eve had even given Dylan her answer.
If Lawson had hung around, he would have also heard how adamant Eve had been about declining. That was despite Regina’s insistence that Dylan and she were perfect for each other. Even if they had been, which they weren’t, there was no way she could have gone out with Dylan, especially after the kissing match that’d gone on between Lawson and her.
And there was no way she should have followed through on Sophie’s girls’ night offer, either.
Yet, here she was, thanks to Cassidy’s weeklong prodding. At the Longhorn Bar, in a dark corner booth, sipping a bitter glass of merlot while she pretended to have fun. What Eve was actually doing though was wondering how Aiden was dealing with both Cassidy and her not being there with him, and that’s why she checked her phone again to make sure she hadn’t missed a call from Adaline O’Malley, the sitter.
Eve wouldn’t admit it to anyone, not even Cassidy, but she’d actually hired a private detective to check out Adaline before she’d called her and asked her to babysit. Adaline was a premed student and came with stellar references. Added to that, Eve had left her pages of instructions and multiple phone numbers in case of an emergency. It had taken Eve five hours just to prepare to leave for what she hoped would be less than a two-hour event.
“So, are you going to tell us all about the hot Hollywood hunks you dated?” Sophie prompted Eve. “I especially want to know about Kellan Carver. I had such a big crush on him when I was in middle school. There were posters of him all over my room.”
Cassidy and Eve exchanged glances. “Should I be the one to tell her that Kellan is a shallow, narcissistic dickwad?” Cassidy asked.
“I think you just did,” Eve answered.
Obviously, Sophie, Mila and Nicky hadn’t been expecting, well, the truth, so Eve added, “Kellan and I never dated. I mean, he’s Aiden’s father, but we were never a couple.”
Obviously disillusioned, Sophie’s chest fell. “Did he at least look good naked underneath that leather demon suit?”
Eve didn’t want to see any more fallen chests or disappointed looks, so she lied. “Of course.”
That was possibly true. Eve hadn’t actually seen him naked since they’d kept on most of their clothes for their one-nighter.
“So, who did you date in Hollywood?” Mila asked. “I kept seeing gossip about you with one hottie after another.”
All of it was manufactured by the studio or her publicist, but Eve didn’t want them to think she’d spent the past eighteen years pining away for Lawson.
“I went out with Jason Winters a time or two.” Since they gave her a blank stare, Eve figured they didn’t know who that was. “He’s the actor who played Elba, the Swaron warrior who used to help Cassidy’s character.”
The women gave variations of “oh” and some head nods though they clearly weren’t impressed.
Eve hadn’t been, either.
That’s because Eve had spent her free time being a mom to Tessie, and she didn’t regret any of it. All right, she did regret not telling Tessie sooner the truth about the nonadoption. If she’d done that, then she might not be in this position.
Eve checked her phone again, just to make sure Adaline hadn’t sent her a message. Nothing. So, Eve texted the sitter just to make sure everything was all right. Adaline answered back right away with a thumbs-up and a smiley face.
“You’re missing out on the conversation about Lawson and you having sex,” Cassidy leaned in and whispered to her.
That got Eve’s head whipping up from the phone screen only to discover that all eyes were on her. Sophie’s, Nicky’s, Mila’s and Cassidy’s. There was a moment of silence before they all burst out laughing.
“Told you,” Sophie said, giving Mila’s arm a nudge. “I knew sex with my cousin would get your attention.”
Eve shook her head. “I’m not sleeping with Lawson.”
“Sophie knows that,” Nicky assured her. She reached across the booth and patted Eve’s hand. “She’s just trying to get your worries off the baby. He’ll be fine with Adaline. She’s babysat for my two kids plenty of times, and they love her.”
Yes, Nicky had mentioned that when Eve had called her to check out Adaline’s references, and since Nicky had two children, Eve was hoping Adaline wouldn’t have trouble handling just one.
“But we should talk about Lawson.” Nicky smiled as she sipped her beer. “And that means the conversation will, of course, lead to the subject of sex—both past, present and future.”
Cassidy made a loud sound of agreement that might have been fueled by the tequila cocktail she was drinking. “The Granger men do make you think of sex, don’t they?”
Mila and Nicky made their own sounds of agreement. Of course they felt that way since they were married to two of them. Past, present and future sex were a given for them.
Eve stayed quiet on the subject. But yes, Lawson did cause a flurry of sexual desire in her. And confusion. Yes, she wanted him, bad, but sex came with big price tags. No way did she want to get involved with Lawson when her own life was such a mess. Regina had been right when she’d warned Lawson about it not being wise to get involved with her again.
“What about Lucian?” Cassidy asked, looking at Mila and Nicky. “Did either of you ever—”
“God, no,” Mila jumped to answer. Nicky echoed the same. “But I did have a coffee date with Dylan once,” Mila added as she turned to Eve. “I understand you turned him down.”
Mercy, was that all over town? “How’d you hear that?”
“Regina told Belle, and Belle called me to see if I would try to change your mind. I said no as fast as I could.”
“She called me, too,” Nicky volunteered. “I told her I’d leave the matchmaking to Vita and her.”
“Vita?” Eve groaned. “How is she involved in this?”
“My mom is usually involved in stuff that isn’t any of her business,” Mila piped in. “I don’t think she’s actually matchmaking this time, but she’s got it in her head that Lawson and you have some bad karma or something together.”
Many people probably thought that, Eve included. Because of Brett. And just like that, her mood was even lower than it had been when she’d been focused on Aiden and the sitter.
“Don’t worry,” Mila went on. “I’ve told my mom to stay out of it, that you don’t think of Dylan as lover material, that he’s more like a brother to you.”
Sophie, Cassidy and Nicky all made sounds of agreement.
That was absolutely true about Eve’s feelings for Dylan. And it seemed they were all on the same page there.
There was probably nothing Eve could say about the Granger men that would be news to this bunch. Well, other than the fact that Lawson and she had done all that kissing just a week and a half ago. That would be a shocker since everyone at the table believed Lawson and she were succeeding in keeping their hands off each other.
Eve heard the chatter and laughter by the main entrance of the bar, and when she glanced in that direction, she saw someone else who would be surprised and no doubt upset about the Lawson kiss fest.
Darby.
No raincoat tonight. She was wearing her green nursing scrubs and was with two other women dressed the same way. Maybe they were also having a girls’ night out after work. Darby shot her a cool glance as did the other women. Eve turned her attention back to her wine, but Cassidy gave the trio a big smile and waved before they disappeared into the bar.
“Remember, Lawson dumped her,” Cassidy reminded Eve in a whisper. “And he did that before you were even in the picture.”
Darby would argue that Eve had never been out of the picture. Her, and her heart-crushing memories. Darby’s opinion of her wasn’t going to improve once everyone learned the truth about what she’d done. Not just the kissing, either, but also about Lawson being Tessie’s father.
“So, has Eve told you all about her steamy romance with Lawson?” Sophie asked Cassidy. “All that kissing!”
Eve hoped her eyes hadn’t widened too much because Sophie quickly added, “When they were in high school.” Eve unwidened her eyes, but she was certain that Sophie hadn’t missed her reaction.
“Yeah, I know about Hot Cowboy.” Cassidy smiled. “Eve always had a picture of him. In fact, if you ever watch episode nine of Demon High, you’ll get a glimpse of Lawson’s picture.” Eve groaned softly, but Cassidy didn’t pick up on the cue to stop. “Eve was moping around, looking at it while she was waiting for the scene to start, and she left it on the table on the set. It made it into the shot.”
Mila and Nicky muttered something about having to rewatch that episode. Great. Eve didn’t want them focusing too much on that one because her stomach had just started to show. She hadn’t been using a body double just yet, but the camera crew had been careful about catching her at a side angle. It hadn’t always worked, and she’d gotten some “fan mail” about her getting fat.
“Moping around, huh?” Sophie questioned. “I remember Lawson doing plenty of that after you left.”
Eve figured there’d been gobs of anger to go along with that moping. Lawson hadn’t taken her calls after she’d broken things off, but the last conversation they’d had back then had not been a pleasant one.
Sophie smiled, leaned in closer to Eve. “So, does Lawson know your secret?”
Eve got choked on the sip of wine she’d just taken. “Uh, what secret?”
“That you still think he’s Hot Cowboy and—” Sophie stopped, and her smile changed when she looked at who was making their way toward their booth.
Roman, Garrett, Clay and Lawson.
Roman, Garrett and Clay were smiling, too, their attention on their spouses. But Lawson looked as if he were being led directly into a brushfire while his protruding body parts were coated with accelerant.
“Ladies,” Garrett greeted them. “We stopped by for a beer before heading to poker.” He tipped his Stetson. But he saved the best greeting for Nicky. He leaned down and kissed her.
Clay didn’t do the hat-tipping, but he also kissed Sophie.
“Hell, I can do better than that,” Roman grumbled. He hauled Mila to her feet and did indeed do better with the kiss that he delivered. It went on so long and was so scalding that it caused Cassidy, Clay, Sophie, Garrett and Nicky to laugh.
“Keep that up, and I’ll have to arrest you,” Clay joked.
Lawson wasn’t laughing though. Neither was Eve. That was mainly because the kiss was a reminder of how it felt to have Lawson’s mouth on hers. It didn’t help that she could see him now. He was a hot visual aid. One who was looking at her.
“Can we talk?” Lawson asked her. “In private,” he added one skipped heartbeat later.
Eve wasn’t sure who was more shocked at the table, but she thought maybe she was the front-runner. Lawson’s request certainly got everyone’s attention though, and they turned toward her, waiting for her to answer.
She tried to sound casual when she smiled and answered, “Sure,” but she wasn’t fooling anyone.
Especially herself.
Her hand was trembling a little when she set her glass on the table and followed Lawson away from the booth. He didn’t take her to another part of the bar but rather out the side exit that was usually reserved for those on the prowl for a make-out spot or for avoiding someone you didn’t want to see.
Eve hadn’t realized it was drizzling until they stepped outside. Lawson immediately took hold of her arm and moved her away from the steps and beneath the awning. That let her know just how important this had to be for him to take her out in the rain. This was probably about that kiss at her house. He was no doubt going to tell her that it could never happen again and that he was moving to Alaska or someplace else to put some distance between them.
“Tessie called me about an hour ago,” Lawson said after he put his hands on his hips.
Of all the things she thought he might say, that sure wasn’t one of them, and her heart skipped another beat. Oh, mercy. That couldn’t be good. “Uh, what did Tessie want?” Eve managed to ask.
His short hesitation didn’t help her rattled nerves one bit. “For me to tell you to give her some space, that she didn’t want you to keep asking to see her.”
That stung because Eve had already given Tessie so much space that she didn’t have any more to give. A year of it, as a matter of fact. But she knew Tessie could have said something much worse to Lawson.
If Tessie suspected that Lawson was her dad, that is. Eve had told her that Kellan wasn’t her father, so Tessie might have found out about Lawson and her being high school sweethearts and could have pieced the truth together.
Eve glanced around, considering if this was a good time for her to spill all to Lawson. It wasn’t. There was a couple kissing and groping each other at the back of the building. Plus, someone else could come walking out at any second.
Maybe they could talk in her car?
But Eve nixed that, too, because it was best if Lawson didn’t have his inevitable meltdown in a public place with his cousins and his ex-girlfriend inside.
“Tessie thinks you and I are together...or something,” Lawson added a moment later.
Not together, but the or something was true. The air was zinging again, and Eve didn’t think it was because there was any lightning nearby. Nope. These sparks were all caused by Lawson.
“She came out and said that?” Eve asked. “Or was that just a feeling you got?” Because if it was a feeling, she could dismiss it.
“She came out and said it,” Lawson stated.
So, no dismissal, but it did make her wonder why Tessie would be concerned about who she was or wasn’t seeing. “Did she say anything else?” Maybe ask about their shared past?
“She wanted to know why I went to Austin to see her.”
Oh, that. Eve certainly hadn’t forgotten about the visit. “How did she know you’d been there? And for that matter, how’d she get your number?”
“She didn’t say, but she probably got it from Belle. She mentioned that Belle had called her a time or two. I didn’t tell anyone I’d gone to her sorority house in Austin, but Belle might have heard about it somehow.”
“Small-town gossip,” Eve muttered.
Lawson nodded. “More efficient than tabloids or paparazzi. Faster, too.” He looked up at the awning and at the alley that led to the back. “We made out here once after a school dance.”
Eve didn’t need a glance to confirm it, but they had indeed done that. It was one of the rare times when the Longhorn had closed the bar so the teenagers could have a dance. Lawson and she had been barely seventeen, and just like the couple at the back of the bar, there’d been groping and kissing involved. Perhaps even one of those hand slides down into his jeans since that was around the time they’d become full-blown lovers.
“Yes. That happened in a lot of different places,” she admitted. “I can’t drive by the high school bleachers without blushing.”
He smiled, just a little, but she didn’t think it was from humor, and she thought he was about to let her know that this chat was over and that it was time for him to go. But that didn’t happen.
“This staying away from each other isn’t working for me,” he said, his voice a low easy drawl. If foreplay had a voice, that’s how it would sound. “How about you?”
The drawl, the question and the look he gave her would have caused chrome to melt. “No.”
It was the truth, but she winced. She shouldn’t be admitting stuff like that. She shouldn’t be giving him the look, either. The look that was almost certainly begging him to launch her on the path to a much-needed orgasm.
“No,” he repeated.
He drawled that, too, and she didn’t think he was changing his mind about what he’d said. The alley didn’t have the best lighting, just a yellowish bulb above the door, but it was more than enough for her to see his attention lower to her mouth. Then to her breasts.
Then lower.
The look he was giving her seemed very familiar. “Are you playing the game we used to play?” she asked.
He didn’t ask what game? Which meant they were likely playing it. It was one they’d started about the same time they’d made out in this alley. Long, lingering looks at places on each other’s bodies that they wanted to touch or kiss. Followed by the question—touch, lick or kiss?
It was their sexed-up version of “Truth or Dare?”
The game had gotten her into trouble once when she’d glanced down at Lawson’s man parts just as he’d blurted out “lick.” Until then “lick” had usually been reserved for necks, earlobes and nipples. They’d been in his truck at the time and parked on the back of his family’s property so they had some privacy. But, alas, her seventeen-year-old skill set had failed her, and he’d gotten one short lick instead of what he’d been expecting. A few minutes after that, they’d had sex, so it probably wasn’t a huge disappointment.
“It was a fun game,” she said. There was too much breath in her voice, and the pulse on her throat was starting to throb. Actually, several parts of her were throbbing. “But this isn’t the best place to play it.”
She sounded hesitant, and her brain was, but the rest of her was nudging her to go for anything, including but not limited to sex against the wall.
“Probably not.” His words agreed with her, but the look he gave her didn’t. He dropped his gaze to that runaway pulse on her throat.
“Kiss,” she blurted out, and she might have waved it off if Lawson hadn’t moved in and put his mouth there.
Oh, my. That was like flipping on a switch. A hot, needy one. It always had been, and Lawson had been the one who’d discovered that ultrasensitive spot on her. Of course, he’d discovered most of her spots.
“You’re right,” he whispered, his warm breath hitting against her neck in the very area he’d just kissed. “Wrong place, wrong time.”
Yes, that was the only thing wrong about it. Everything else was so right. She leaned back to tell him something that she hoped would sound sensible, but she glanced at his mouth first.
“Touch,” he said. Obviously, they were still playing the game, so maybe sensibility could wait for a few more seconds. Interesting, though, that he hadn’t gone for the obvious—kiss.
She wet her index finger with her tongue and gave him her own version of touching. Eve slid her finger over his top lip. Then his bottom. And while it was fun, it soon wasn’t nearly enough. She upped the touching by grabbing on to a fistful of his shirt, snapping him to her and kissing him.
It was as if the floodgates opened. Hot, mind-blowing floodgates that made her want to touch, kiss and lick at the same time. And she might have done all three, too, if Lawson hadn’t jerked away from her.
That’s when she saw the person coming up the alley from the Main Street sidewalk. Because her heartbeat was drumming in her ears, Eve hadn’t heard their visitor approaching, but she had no trouble hearing what she said.
“Mom?” Tessie called out. “Is that you?”
And her daughter came walking straight toward her.