“Thank you,” she whispered softly into his ear. “Thank you so much.”
He glided down the front steps and turned to flash her a half-drunken smile along with a cheesy thumbs-up before climbing into the town car’s back seat. She watched the car speed away and hurried upstairs, still lightheaded from the drinks, to tell Burley all about her evening. She desperately wanted to call Destiny to give her a play-by-play of her date, but was worried she’d wake her friend by calling at such a late hour. That call would have to wait until tomorrow, and with her head spinning she walked Burley to let him do his business, headed back upstairs, and collapsed in bed. Tired from the wine, she drifted off to sleep while reliving the unexpectedly good time she’d had with the sweet man she’d so greatly mischaracterized.
Chapter Five
The following day she awoke with a mild hangover to find a text message from Devon Cross thanking her once again for a wonderful time. He’d sent it a half an hour after dropping her off the night before, but she’d been sound asleep by then. She hastily replied, and he returned the text within minutes. They spent the day casually texting each other as she straightened up her apartment in between playing with Burley to pass the time. Knowing Destiny was working, she shot her a text as well and asked her to call whenever she took her next break. At three in the afternoon, her phone finally phone rang and she relayed the events of her odd yet exciting date while Destiny listened attentively to every word and, as always, offered her support. For years she’d been pushing Eva to venture outside of her comfort zone and date a man who could offer her the finer things in life, and she was thrilled to hear her friend had finally done just that.
When six o’clock came, she flipped off the television and began readying herself without the painstaking effort she had made the night before. She was ready by seven, opting to wear a pair of jeans and a nice button-up shirt as opposed to anything fancy. Devon had reiterated through text message that they wouldn’t be going out, and that she needn’t worry about dolling herself up. She was perfectly fine with that and felt much more comfortable dressing down for this second date.
With the same punctuality as before, Devon arrived a hair before eight but this time Eva was much more welcoming and invited him into her small home. When he was done showering Burley with affection, she gave him a tour of her modest apartment and she felt neither judged nor shamed by the man who held so much power and influence. She was relieved to see that he hadn’t dressed up either and, like her, was also wearing a pair of jeans. He stood wearing a vintage Star Wars t-shirt and his sneakers looked as though they’d seen better days. When she commented on them, he confessed that they were his favorite pair and that they’d lasted him since high school. It was her first time seeing him as a regular person, and it was a sight she could easily get used to. For a moment she forgot all about his vast wealth and the estate where they’d be spending their evening.
Heading downstairs to the familiar waiting town car, he helped her inside just as she’d anticipated and climbed in next to her. This time they didn’t need the help of alcohol to feel completely at ease around each other. The man she had only known for less than one week now felt like an old friend and she found herself sitting a bit closer to him than she had the previous night. There was an almost palpable energy between them as they filled the entire thirty minute drive chatting, and when the car eventually crawled to a stop Eva realized there hadn’t been one awkward silence.
“This is it,” Devon said as he guided her out of the car and motioned towards his home. Eva’s jaw dropped at the sight of his sprawling estate. She’d never seen such beautiful architecture in person before, and she gasped while processing the sheer size of the colonial mansion with its four towering columns that looked as though they were guarding the large, solid oak double doors they stood in front of. An elegant illuminated fountain, located in the middle of the circular driveway, was situated behind them, the water spurting from its top forming a pool in the first tier and trickling its way down to the larger second tier and even larger third.
“Jesus Christ,” Eva muttered while taking in the elegance surrounding her. The entire property radiated wealth, and she suddenly felt extremely small and insignificant. Picking up on her insecurity, Devon took her hand in his and smiled tenderly while looking into her big, brown eyes.
“Welcome to how I feel every single day,” he joked, breaking the ice that had developed at the sight of his lavish dwelling. “It’s a bit overwhelming, I know. It’s been my home for almost fifteen years now and even I feel like I don’t fit in here most of the time,” he shrugged.
Hand in hand, Devon led her inside where Eva found the interior every bit as breathtaking as the exterior. The foyer was lined with marble columns, each one topped with a some exquisite sculpture of unthinkable worth. A huge, original oil painting in the same vein as the famous depiction of George Washington crossing the Delaware hung from the wall just to her right, and she stood admiring its authentic brush strokes in awe.
“You’ll see a lot of artwork like this throughout the house,” Devon commented as he stood next to her. “My grandfather was a Revolutionary War junky, apparently,” he shrugged.
“This place…” Eva stammered. “This place is beautiful.”
“You realize this is just the entrance, right?” Devon joked, inciting a playful slap to his chest from Eva.
He guided her through the enormous house and into the spacious kitchen, giving her a brief history of the estate along the way while she listened in fascination. In her wildest dreams, she’d never envisioned stepping foot in such a luxurious setting. She was out of her element for sure, but with Devon by her side she somehow didn’t feel uncomfortable. His soothing voice, coupled with their troubled past, helped calm her as he began preparing dinner.
“I hope you like chicken, but if you don’t I’ll whip us up something else,” he said as he searched the cabinets for his cookware, looking totally lost in the process.
“I’m getting the feeling you don’t cook too often,” Eva joked while watching him bumble around clumsily.
“You could say that,” he replied as he cracked an egg with a focused determination on his face, his tongue peaking out as he concentrated with all his effort. “Three more to go. I got this,” he said as he caught Eva watching him adoringly.
“This has to be one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen,” she chuckled while placing a hand over her mouth to hide her smile. “Have you ever done this before?”
“Nope!” he exclaimed proudly. “Thank god for Google,” he quipped, causing Eva’s chuckle to turn into a fit of laughter.
“You’re in such amazing shape though,” she said while admiring the strong arms stretching the sleeves of his t-shirt. “What do you eat, boy?” she asked with her voice rising an octave.
“If it weren’t for protein shakes and canned and frozen food… I think I’d starve to death,” he said humorously. “If my microwave ever broke I’d probably kill myself,” he added, evoking another burst of laughter from Eva.
“You’re ridiculous,” she grinned while watching him fumble with a whisk and attempt to beat the four eggs he‘d successfully cracked. “You know I can help you, right?” she offered, but he held up a hand to ward off her advances.
“No, no, no,” he insisted as he began draping the thinly-cut chicken breasts into a bowl of flour. “This is your night. I want you to just relax while I do all the work.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied with a mock salute. As he continued preparing the meal, he divulged even more details of his personal life.
“When my parents died,” he began, “I was pretty pissed off at the world. I was sixteen when I was placed in a foster home with a guy who taught me to channel my anger through lifting weights. I stayed in that home for a year before being shipped off to yet another home, but the one year I spent with that man really changed my life.”
“That explains those muscles,” Eva commented as she took a seat on one of the kitchen island’s bar stools. She watched his hands work their magic as the meal began to take shape. With the chicken breaded and ready to go, he placed it in the preheated oven and took a seat on the stool next to her. As it cooked, he shared more about his life before probing into hers and she was surprised to find herself letting her guard all the way down for once. She’d always been skeptical and stand-offish, yet this charming, genuine man had managed to break down the walls she’d spent years building up around her heart.
Dinner was a resounding success, and Eva could tell Devon was proud, along with relieved, that he had actually accomplished it. He’d confessed that his back-up plan had been to order a pizza, but as luck would have it his chicken parmesan was not only edible, but delicious. He’d even prepared a small plate of shrimp scampi, and it wasn’t until halfway through the meal that Eva got the joke: chicken parmesan and shrimp scampi were the two discarded foods she’d dumped all over him when they’d first met only days earlier. He was as funny as he was handsome, and she’d always been a sucker for a man who could make her laugh.
A tour of the estate followed dinner, and even though Devon claimed it was the “short tour,” it still took over one hour. The impressive library took her breath away, as did the heated Grecian swimming pool. As much as she wanted a simple life, she had to admit that soaking up the sun poolside with a good book sounded pretty fantastic. She was also smart enough to realize that, if she had daily access to this, she’d eventually become unappreciative of it. With that knowledge she pushed the thought from her mind.
The tour ended in the custom-built theater Devon had added to the home two years prior. It was dim