CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Eva wasn’t sure if Mr. Mayor had thrown his weight around or if the Beautification Committee couldn’t see a setup coming. Whatever the reason, she and Gia were formally invited to attend Wednesday’s top secret, emergency membership meeting.
She wrapped the loose cardigan around her a little tighter to ward off the chill on the walk over to the library with Gia. Eva had bought it, and half a dozen other sweaters, online to avoid another fire/naked dressing room situation. She wasn’t putting anything past this whole Uranus Crossing fiasco. A trip to the grocery store might end with her being locked in a freezer with the goat milk ice cream.
Gia was practically skipping with glee on the sidewalk next to her. Her sister was providing a much needed distraction from the weighty issues Eva was trying to ignore. What little mental energy that was left after writing and obsessing over Donovan and his potential feelings was spent on that little nastiness that seemed determined to hunt her down. She was determined to finally put the shadow that had followed her, exploited her, and played upon her emotions for years behind her. This time the answer was “no” and that’s what it would stay.
“Do you think they wear cool robes during meetings? Will there be a secret handshake?”
Eva poked Gia in the arm. “I can’t believe you’re this excited about it.”
“Are you kidding me? We’re about to join a secret society! Something I’ve always wanted to do. And we get to play Cupid with people’s lives? I can’t think of a better way to spend my free time.”
“Just keep in mind our primary objective, okay? We’re here to get in and make sure the B.C. doesn’t go nuts and start pairing up married people with swingers or something.”
Gia waved away Eva’s concerns. “Please. You’re still new here. You don’t know these folks like I do. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for true love.”
“You are ridiculous,” Eva told her sister.
She didn’t hear Gia’s response because Eva was too busy being yanked off the sidewalk behind a tree. She yelped, ready to defend herself against her attacker, when she realized her attacker was her very sexy, very warm, sort-of boyfriend.
“What are you doing?” She laughed as he backed her against the tree.
“I missed you,” Donovan breathed. He ran his hands up and down her arms. “Where’s your coat?”
“Forgot it. Maybe you have something that could warm me up?” She said it teasingly, but in that moment, there was nothing that she wanted more than a kiss from Donovan Cardona in the shadows on a chilly October night.
“It’s my duty to serve,” he told her. His lips branded her, crushing down on her mouth until she whimpered. She wasn’t cold anymore. No, the chill was chased out by embers that sparked an inferno.
He went instantly hard against her, and this time when Eva shivered, it had nothing to do with the cold. She wanted him, needed him. Uranus and nerves and uncertainty be damned. If this was crazy, she wanted to embrace it as the rest of the town had.
“Excuse me. Can you two get your tongues out of each other’s mouths, please?” Gia stood on the sidewalk tapping her foot and looking at her watch.
Eva shot her sister a dirty look. “Gia, do I interrupt you and Beckett when you’re making out?”
“Of course not. We have three children that do that,” Gia huffed. “But if you don’t stop eating Donovan’s face, we’re going to be late.”
Eva sighed, not ready to let go of him. She could feel his need humming under her hands. “Duty calls,” she said softly.
“You could just blow off the meeting,” Donovan whispered.
“Sheriff Cardona,” Gia gasped, hands on hips. “I’m beginning to think you’re under the influence of the planets. The sheriff I know would never shirk his responsibilities or ask anyone else to. We’re doing this for you so there’s one less group of citizens you have to watch.”
“She’s really excited about joining the B.C.,” Eva explained.
“I can see that. But I’m not sure she knows how much I’m looking forward to being alone with you.”
“I have eyes,” Gia announced. “And you have a town full of people to protect from themselves. We’ll report in after the meeting.”
Donovan pressed one last kiss to Eva’s lips, and it promised to get just as out of control as the last one until Gia dragged Eva out of his arms.
“Bye,” Eva waved, tripping over a tree root.
“See you soon,” Donovan said with enough heat to keep her warm for the rest of her life.
Gia linked arms with Eva and blew out a wolf whistle as they continued on toward the library. “That was one hell of a kiss.”
Eva fanned her flushed cheeks. “Our sheriff should have his mouth registered as a weapon.”
Gia released Eva and dug her phone out of her bag. “Excuse me. After seeing that live porn performance, I need to sext my husband.”
“Tell me the truth,” Eva said, putting a hand on her sister’s arm. “Don’t you think this whole thing with Donovan and me is moving a little fast?”
“What are you getting at?” Gia asked. “Are you looking for an excuse not to? Because that’s more Emma’s MO than yours. She almost missed out on Niko because she spent all her time coming up with excuses for why their relationship couldn’t possibly work.”
Eva shook her head. “That’s definitely not what I’m doing. I’m just concerned that Donovan’s feelings for me have something to do with this whole planetary thing. Everyone’s going at least a little crazy. What if this isn’t real?”
Gia’s eyes widened. “Well, crap!”
“See?” Eva said triumphantly though she felt anything but victorious inside.
Her sister was shaking her head. “No. That’s not what I meant! I know he has feelings for you, and they started long before Uranus stuck her nose in anything.”
“A crush then,” Eva argued. “But let’s face it. He didn’t act on it before. So, why now?”
“What I’m saying is, I know you can trust this. Sure, the timing is suspect, and I can understand why you’d have concerns there. But it’s real. I know it is.”
“How?” Eva grumbled.
“Aren’t you the romance novelist? How do your heroines know when it’s love?”
Eva ran a hand through her hair as they climbed the front steps of the library. “I guess they learn to trust their feelings and just go with it.”
“Like with Olive in Wild Desire,” Gia pointed out. “Olive didn’t know if Alexander really loved her, but she knew how she felt and decided to love him anyway.” She held the door for Eva and stepped inside.
“I can’t believe you read my book,” Eva said with glee, following Gia through the door.
“Everyone is reading your books,” Gia laughed. “I saw Mrs. Nordemann devouring Strings of Destiny at Overly Caffeinated yesterday.”
Eva grinned and took a deep breath. She loved the smell all libraries seemed to have. Old books, carpet cleaner, and a world of possibilities.
“Olive took a leap of faith,” Gia continued.
Eva sighed. Her sister was using her own fictional characters to educate her.
“That’s what love is,” Gia insisted. “A giant, scary leap of faith because there’s no guarantee that the other person will love you back. I don’t believe for one second that you don’t have feelings for Donovan. Not after that tongue wrestling back there. There’s something strong and bright and exciting between you two.”
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,” Eva confessed as they headed toward the back of the building past shelf after shelf of books. “I just assumed it was the insanity that everyone else caught.”
“Eves, frankly, he’s exactly the kind of man I’ve been hoping you’d end up with,” Gia said, squeezing her hand. “You can be scared, but don’t be paralyzed. Trust your feelings.”
“Jeez. You were made for the Beautification Committee,” Eva laughed.
They climbed the stairs to the second floor. The three-story brick building had once been a high school and while the first floor had been opened up for the book collections, the back half of the second floor maintained the original classrooms. They were now used for conference rooms and storage.
“Which room is it again?” Gia asked.
Eva dug through her purse. “Let me look at the email.”
An arm shot out of a darkened room and hooked through hers.
Eva yelped as she was dragged inside.
“What the hell, Ellery?” Eva demanded. “I’m going to start carrying pepper spray if I keep getting accosted on the mean streets of Blue Moon.”
Ellery shushed her and dragged Gia inside before shutting the door. She flipped one of the switches on the wall, and an ancient fluorescent light flickered to life on the ceiling.
“What’s with the cloak and dagger, El?” Gia asked, completely unconcerned by the abduction.
“I need to make sure you two are focused.” She snapped her fingers in their faces like a hypnotist waking her victims. “The committee has some radical members who don’t understand how relationships actually work. Their ideas are terrible… and dangerous. And since I’m no longer a calming influence in there, I need you two to protect the single people of Blue Moon from bad matchmaking.”
“How will we know if it’s a bad plan?” Eva asked. She assumed all plans from the Beautification Committee would be mostly awful.
“Think of it like your books. Just like a story, a good matchmaking scheme involves layers of psychology and physical attraction. You need to understand each party and dig into what they really want or need in life. The subconscious desires of the psyche.”
“Damn, Ellery. I could use you as a beta reader on my new book,” Eva grinned.
“Make sure those yahoos don’t ruin my wedding day, and I’ll read the heck out of your beta,” Ellery promised.
“So is there going to be a test or something to see if we’re fit for membership?” Gia asked nervously.
Ellery nodded solemnly. “There’s a test.”
“What kind of questions are there? Do you have the answers? Are there essays or multiple choice? Have you ever accepted anyone who didn’t pass the test? Oh, my God! What if they don’t let me in?” Gia’s verbalized train of thought ran off the rails.
“I can’t give you the answers because that would be unethical,” Ellery said, taking Gia by the shoulders.
“But they screwed you over,” Eva pointed out.
“Ah, but that’s their karma, not mine. I still believe in the mission statement of the Beautification Committee and am sworn to uphold my dedication to promoting love.”
Eva looked over her shoulder to see what was giving Ellery that far-away look in her eyes. It was either the dusty bust of Mozart or Ellery’s own ideals.
“Together, we will conquer personal fears and anxieties and mold the foundations of relationships to form unbreakable bonds!” Ellery stood with hands on hips like a super hero.
“Okay. So, cool. Uh, we’ll do that,” Eva said.
“And if those pompous, rule-bound weirdos in there give you any crap, I’ll take care of them,” Ellery said darkly.
“When you say ‘take care’ of them…” Eva began.
“I’ll make them sorry for crossing me and ignoring my contributions. My great-grandmother was a voodoo priestess, you know.”
No, Eva didn’t know that. Great. Not only did they have to put the Beautification Committee on a leash, but they had to make sure that Ellery didn’t start marching in a vengeance parade of one.
“So, what are you going to do during the meeting?” Eva asked easing away from the subject.
“I’m going to climb into that air vent and eavesdrop.” Ellery pointed at the wall above them. “If there’s anything insane being discussed, I’ll text you instructions.”