CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“What in the ever-living hell, Eves?” Emma stared at her, hands on hips, lips pursed. “I don’t even know where to start with you. ‘Oh, hey! By the way I’m a giant liar, and I’m only confessing because I got busted!’”
Gia took a different route. The one Eva hated. She sat perched on a barstool at Eva’s kitchen island, her green eyes wide and sad. “Can you tell me what I did that made you feel uncomfortable trusting me? I feel awful that you felt the need to keep this whole part of your life from us.”
Eva shoved her hands through her hair. The guilt trip. Gia had mastered it as a mother and wielded it like a sword used to stab her in the heart.
“Look. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. It wasn’t that I thought you guys would judge me. I mean, maybe a little, but—”
“I’m judging you and your jerky liar face right now,” Emma snipped.
“Damn it! It wasn’t supposed to happen like this!” Eva paced the small space and wished Donovan was still here.
“How exactly did you envision it going?” Gia asked calmly.
“I was going to hit a bestseller list, and I was going to have you two and Dad and Phoebe over for dinner—with champagne—and give you all signed copies, and you’d finally know that I wasn’t some daydreaming screw-up anymore.”
“We don’t think you’re some daydreaming screw-up,” Emma argued. “We think you’re our little sister. We pick, all of us. I’m the control freak, Gia couldn’t find her damn car keys if they were braided into her hair, and you can’t be bothered to pay enough attention to not walk into cabinet doors.”
“So, if I come to you with a bestselling book—”
“You’re still our Eva. Dumbass.”
Gia shot Emma a warning look. “Eva, we’re already impressed with you. You graduated college. You travel. You’re living your dream right now and not waiting until you’re fifty to chase it down. You’re amazing, and I’m sorry we ever gave you the impression you were anything but amazing.”
“I just always thought you guys didn’t think I could take care of myself.”
“Where did you get that dumbass idea?” Emma asked, a little less heat behind her words.
“When Mom left, you guys and Dad hovered over me like I might shatter into pieces.”
“When Mom left, you were the youngest. You were also the closest to her. Gia and I were going through our rebellious phases already.”
“Besides, Dad smothered us all with ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Do you miss your mom?’.” Gia pointed out. “It wasn’t a ‘you’re too weak to function’ thing. It was a ‘you can talk to me thing.’”
“Great. Now, I really feel like crap,” Eva groaned. “Stupid Donovan being right all the time.” She prayed the subject change would lighten the mood.
“What did our esteemed sheriff have to say once he put the bullhorn down?” Emma asked, picking up a banana from the fruit bowl.
“He said—to paraphrase—family wants to be there for messy parts, not just the celebrations.”
“The mess is more important than the big wins,” Gia nodded. “That’s like if I wouldn’t have introduced you guys to my kids before they were potty-trained and feeding themselves. Babies and toddlers are the mess, but you can’t skip over the mess and just land at the good stuff. Most of the good stuff is in the mess.”
“Our resident philosophical yogi,” Emma said, golf clapping.
“I fucked this all up,” Eva sighed, flopping down at her table.
“Not everything,” Gia said. “You did just have a very attractive man shouting at you from your lawn.”
“He thinks he might love me.”
“What?” her sisters screeched in unison.
“Ouch! My ears,” Eva complained.
“What did you say when he made this approximal proclamation?” Emma demanded.
“I told him I need time to get used to the idea of dating him.” Eva threw up her hands. “Technically we haven’t even had a real date yet.”
“And yet he thinks that you’re it for him?” Gia asked, hearts and flowers in her eyes.
“I know. It’s insane.”
“I think it’s incredibly romantic, Eves. He doesn’t date unless he does it very quietly. The fact that he’s coming on this strong… well, I think he means it.” Gia clasped her hands under her chin.
“Of course the romance novelist gets the romance,” Emma teased. “Speaking of, when do we get to read your book? Books? How many do you have?”
“You can start right now,” Eva said, grinning. She skipped into the living room and opened the storage compartment of her ottoman. She returned with an armload of books. “I have five out, and I’m working on number six.”
Emma snatched one off the stack and flipped it open. “That’s What She Said Publishing?”
Eva grinned. “That’s me, too.”
“You’re a publisher, too?” Gia squealed. “I’m getting more proud by the moment!”
“Don’t get me started on the indie publishing industry and how being your own publisher both rocks and sucks,” Eva laughed.
“Her hand trembled as he skimmed his lips over the curve of her hip—” Emma read. “I think Niko and I are going to read this in bed tonight.”
“Don’t leave those laying around for Aurora to find and take to school,” Eva cautioned Gia. “They’re… steamy.”
“Like on a scale of one to, oh, I don’t know… fifty?” Emma asked with a wink.
“A strong forty-eight.”
Gia whistled and fanned herself. “I can’t wait until naptime today! Aren’t you going to sign them for us?”
“I’ll sign them if you like them,” Eva decided. “And don’t sugar coat it. If you don’t like a book, tell me.”
“Now that the yelling portion of the day is done,” Emma said, “Niko and I are hitting the farmer’s market with Baxter.”
“How is Mr. Adorable?” Eva asked. Niko had surprised Emma with a yellow lab puppy and house as part of his proposal.
“My husband is amazing as always,” Emma said cheekily. “And Baxter is pretty great, too. At least, he would be if he could figure out how to stop peeing in the closet.”
“We’re still talking about the dog, right?” Eva grinned.
She helped her sisters load up their books.
Emma turned around at the door. “Merill recap. Talk to us about stuff. You don’t have to protect us from the bad or hold on to the good until its better.”
“Yeah. What she said,” Gia said, nodding in Emma’s direction.
Eva tossed her sisters a salute. “Got it. Now get out of here so I can write another book.”
Gia ducked her head back in the door. “Trust us, okay?” And then she was gone.
But she couldn’t. Even now, Eva couldn’t. There were just some things that you protected your family from.
Eva poured herself a second cup of coffee and retrieved her phone from the bedroom. She powered it up and winced at the number of missed calls and new text messages. She weeded through them quickly. Saving Donovan’s to read last.
She’d have to return her dad and Phoebe’s calls now, but the rest could wait.
There was another text from an unknown number. Eva debated not opening but decided it was better to know what was in it.
Unknown: “Don’t play games with me. I know where you are.”