“Good morning,” Faith stammered.
“Faith,” Eve said. “Are the twins up?”
Faith nodded.
“Good.” Without another word, Eve walked off toward her bedroom.
Faith frowned. Was Eve avoiding her? Faith hadn’t known what to expect from Eve, but this wasn’t it. Just days ago, she’d had her hand up Faith’s dress, whispering all kinds of dirty things in her ear, and now, this? Was Eve just going to pretend nothing had happened between them?
She went into the kitchen and began making the twins’ breakfast. It was all routine now. Usually, Eve would be coming and going, giving Faith instructions. Not today.
A few minutes later, the twins came downstairs. Faith served them breakfast at the dining table and sat down across from them. Midway through the meal, Eve entered the room, greeting the kids and planting a kiss on each of their cheeks before sitting down to talk with them while they ate. Faith tried to catch her eye, but Eve avoided it. She barely acknowledged that Faith was even there.
Hurt welled up in Faith’s chest. She couldn’t believe Eve would be so cold. Faith had given in to all the feelings she’d been resisting for so long. Her longing for Eve. Her submissive desires. She’d exposed her deepest, darkest self to Eve.
And now, Eve was ignoring her.
Faith pushed her feelings aside. Getting upset at work was never a good idea. Then again, neither was hooking up with her boss at a party .
Once the twins finished their breakfast, Faith sent them upstairs to brush their teeth. Eve stood up to follow them out of the room.
“Eve,” Faith said. “Do you have a minute?”
“I need to get ready for work.” Before Faith could stop her, Eve slipped out the door.
Faith scowled. She wasn’t upset anymore. She was mad. She wasn’t going to let Eve brush her off. Eve wasn’t going to make this easy, but Faith wasn’t going to give up.
She helped the twins get ready for school. Today, they were carpooling with a friend who lived down the road, so Faith had to do little more than see them off at the street. Once they’d been picked up, she returned to the house. She had errands to run for the family. Grocery shopping, picking up school supplies. But they would have to wait.
Faith sat down at the bottom of the stairs. She didn’t dare go barging into Eve’s room. But sooner or later, Eve would have to walk past.
After a few minutes, Faith heard the distinctive click of heels on the marble floor. As Eve’s footsteps grew closer, Faith stood up from her hiding place behind the banister, coming face-to-face with Eve.
Eve startled, almost dropping her briefcase. “Faith.” She looked at her watch. “I need to get going.”
“No.” Faith crossed her arms. “You’ve been avoiding me all morning.”
“I don’t have time for this.”
“I don’t care.” The intensity in Faith’s voice surprised even Faith herself. “Why are you ignoring me?”
“I’m not ignoring you.”
“Yes, you are. ”
“Fine,” Eve said. “I am.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Faith flinched. “Do you regret what happened between us?”
“Believe me,” Eve said. “That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” This was like pulling teeth. “You won’t talk to me, you’ll barely look at me. You won’t even be alone in a room with me! If you don’t regret it, then why are you acting like this?”
Eve stiffened. Faith could see the battle going on in her mind. Still, Eve didn’t speak.