One for the Money

She stares at me, her mouth open. I half expect her to slap me for calling her out like this. For calling her family out. She’s nothing if not loyal to them.

Instead her dark eyes soften. “You were trying to protect me?”

Exasperation makes my laugh sharp. “Eva Honorata Morelli. You are the strongest, smartest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. And you let your family walk all over you. Grown men and women who can’t last a single night without you coming in to save them. It makes me want to take you far away and chain you to a beach chair until you relax and forget about everyone else.”

Her lips quirk. “You remember my middle name.”

I laugh, though there’s not much humor in it. “You don’t want to talk about this.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You wrote your name across my chest with your finger. I’m going to remember that night for the rest of my life.” I shake my head. “No. Of course I won’t. Someday I won’t remember you at all, which is a goddamn shame. Your naked body is a work of art.”

Sadness clouds her face, and I regret my words. It’s just so strange to have someone who knows my secret. It made me relax. But of course, there’s a reason it’s a secret. Because it makes people uncomfortable. Eva is too sweet and pure to judge me for it, but the truth is, she doesn’t like it any more than the rest of the world would.

It’s called the Hughes curse for a reason. It’s my cross to bear. Not hers.

She sighs. “You’re right. Sometimes I do go a little too far trying to keep the peace.”

I still remember the way her father gripped her arm at a party long ago, his anger thick in the room. They thought they were alone. The skin around his fingers had turned white. I interrupted them. “You did more than keep the peace. You were abused.”

Something fierce flashes through her eyes. “That was one time.”

I give her a look that calls bullshit. Loyalty is admirable, but I know the truth.

She looks away first. “Families are complicated. I thought you understood that.”

“My relationship with both my parents is complicated, but I can tell you that neither of them has ever hurt me. Well, I suppose that’s not strictly true. My father has been known to fight during his worst hours, but when he does that he’s not in his right mind.”

“My father wasn’t in his right mind either,” she says, her voice quiet.

Christ. She’s enabling them. I can’t blame her, because I’ve seen how intensely she loves them. It’s in her nature to protect them, even if they don’t deserve it.

The same way she protects you, a small voice says inside me.

I push that idea away. I’m not hurting her.

Aren’t you?

The waiter comes back with our drinks and takes our order.

When he leaves we sit in a silence that’s actually quite comfortable. She looks beautiful. That’s what keeps distracting me. Everything about her is flawless. Everything about her is queen-like. We might be fake engaged, but if I were ever going to marry, if I had to choose someone, I would want someone like Eva. No, not someone like her. Just her. This specific, incredible woman who drives me insane with lust.

As I study her, I notice a faint sadness in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

She gives me an arch look. “Nothing.”

“Don’t tempt me, sweetheart. If I have to coax the truth out of you in front of all these witnesses, I have no problem doing it.”

Her cheeks turn pink. “I’m a little worried.”

“About?”

“About Haley. She’s pregnant, and she keeps having these false contractions. The doctors say it’s normal, but my brother is so worried.”

I reach across the table and take her hand. “Can I help?”

Her eyes meet mine. “You are helping, just by listening. I can’t tell anyone else in the family, because they’d only worry. Or worse, descend on their house. Leo is always overprotective, but in his current state he’d probably get arrested.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I mean of course I’m worried about the baby. And Haley, who I really care about now. But I’m more worried about my brother. Leo has been through so much already. And he loves Haley beyond what can be healthy. If anything happens to her…”

I wait a moment, but she doesn’t finish the sentence. “We don’t have to stay here, sweetheart. I can take you home or to Leo’s place or—”

“No,” she says, a faint pleading note in her voice. “I want this. Need it. Show me what it would be like to have a real date with Finn Hughes.”

“So the other dates weren’t real?”

“They were,” she says with a soft smile. “In a way they’re the realest things I’ve ever done. But I like this too. Both sides of you.”