Wanting to forget emotional upheavals and fashion, Eve went straight to the bedroom and fell facedown on the bed. The cat Galahad leaped up beside her, purring manically. After a few head butts brought no reaction, he settled down to sleep. When Roarke found her, she hadn’t moved a muscle.
‘So, how was your day off?’
‘I hate shopping.’
‘You just haven’t developed the knack for it.’
‘Who wants to?’ Curious, she rolled over, studied him. ‘You like it. You really like to just buy things.’
‘Sure.’ Roarke stretched out beside her, stroking the cat when it pawed its way onto his chest. ‘It’s nearly as satisfying as having things. Being poor, Lieutenant, quite simply sucks.’
She thought it over. As she’d been poor once, had managed to lever herself up to struggling, she couldn’t disagree. ‘Anyway, I think I got the worst of it over with.’
‘That was quick.’ And the speed worried him, a little. ‘You know, Eve, you don’t have to settle for something.’
‘Actually, I think Leonardo and I reached an understanding.’ Staring up and through the sky window where the sky was the color of old bleach, she frowned. ‘Mavis is in love with him.’
‘Um-hmm.’ Eyes half closed, Roarke continued to stroke the cat and thought about switching the gesture to Eve.
‘No, I’m talking the big one.’ She let out a long breath. ‘The day didn’t go exactly smoothly.’
He had the figures for three major deals running through his head. Shuttling them aside, he shifted closer to her. ‘Tell me about it.’
‘Leonardo - he’s this massive, and oddly attractive . . . I don’t know. Event. Heavy on the Native American blood, at a guess. He has the bone structure and coloring of an NA, biceps like astro torpedoes, and a voice that has a hint of magnolia. I’m not much of a judge, but when he settled down to sketch, he seemed very focused and talented. Anyway, I was standing there naked—’
‘Were you?’ Roarke said mildly, and nudging the cat away, he rolled on top of her.
‘For measurements,’ she said with a sneer.
‘Do go on.’
‘Okay. Mavis was getting some tea—’
‘Convenient.’
‘And this woman bursts in, all but drooling at the mouth. A jaw dropper - close to six foot, thin as a laser beam, about a yard of red hair and a face . . . well, I’ll use magnolias again. She’s screaming at him, and this big bull of a guy cowers back, so she jumps at me. I had to flatten her.’
‘You hit her.’
‘Well, yeah, before she sliced my face with those knifepoint nails of hers.’
‘Darling Eve.’ He kissed her cheek, then the other, then the dent in her chin. ‘What is it about you that draws the beast out of people?’
‘Just lucky, I guess. So, this Pandora—’
‘Pandora?’ His head came up, eyes narrowing. ‘The model.’
‘Yeah, she’s supposed to be pretty hot shit.’
He started to laugh, just a chuckle at first that grew and swelled until he had to roll over on his back again. ‘You punched precious Pandora in her billion-dollar face. Did you knock her on her pretty ass?’
‘As a matter of fact.’ Understanding bloomed and with it a surprising and unexpected twinge of jealousy. ‘You know her.’
‘You could say that.’
‘Well.’
He cocked a brow, not so much warily as with amusement. She was sitting up now and scowling down at him. For the first time in their relationship, he sensed a hint of green in the look. ‘There was a time - briefly.’ He scratched his chin. ‘It’s all very vague.’