Chapter 12
Tate
“I’m sorry.” I’m quick with my apology. Eve’s cheeks are now fire-engine red. I squeeze my eyes shut tight. I shouldn’t have said that. She looks flustered, and I’m sure she found an insult where none existed.
“No need for an apology.” She turns to the side so I can’t see her eyes. Can I feel more like a pile of dog shit? “I appreciate the clarification. It’s good to know that there’s no attraction on either side. Nothing that can cause problems later on.”
Ever so gently with her chin between my thumb and pointer finger, I turn her head in my direction. “I never said I wasn’t attracted to you.”
“It’s fine.” She doesn’t believe me. “Really. I promise.”
I release a shaky breath, upset with myself for ruining the night. I didn’t expect to enjoy talking to her so much. I feel like I can talk to this Evelyn forever.
“The truth is,” I try to explain. “Yesterday I felt . . . and today, these aren’t my best days. I’m feeling a little insecure, and I think you’d rather be sitting here playing footsie with Jonah ‘The Player’ Nurple than me.”
“Jonah, he’s the one that comes out swinging from a vine like Tarzan, right? You know what?” She waves her hand in front of her face, letting on for the first time how much the wine is affecting her. “It doesn’t matter. Baby man whores don’t do it for me.” Trailing my finger around the rim of my wine glass to keep my hands busy so they don’t reach for Eve, I can’t help but snigger at her off-the-cuff characterization. “Not when I had the pleasure of dealing with the president of the Man Whore Anonymous Club for more than twenty years.”
“Your husband?” I give her a side glance, afraid if I look at her straight on, I’ll make her uncomfortable.
“Mmm. The one and only.” She downs the rest of her wine, then sets the glass on the ground beside her. She looks so sexy and relaxed, I want to bend over and taste her sweet-looking lips.
I’m not sure if she places her hands behind her hips to hold herself up or to lean back to test my control. The conversation stalls as it does every now and then, leaving me wondering what the hell I’m doing with her.
This can’t go anywhere, regardless of whether I want it to or not.
“Did you know that I own a house in this neighborhood?” Eve says out of the blue.
“You do?” Surprise colors my voice, and damn if I don’t feel my face light up at the thought of herbeing close by. I hope she doesn’t notice. “Then why don’t you live here?”
“Because I just found out.”
“That sounds like bullshit.”
“No, really. Six years ago, when the development was new, Brandon and I looked at a house a few blocks away. We did that sometimes if we had nothing to do. We visited open houses to get ideas about furnishing and decorating. We loved the model. Oh my god, was it stunning.” Lost in her memory, she touches my shoulder for a moment. “The house was sooo big and had so many rooms, he could’ve moved his whore in with us and I wouldn’t have known.”
Like a scratch on an old-time record, my mind reruns what I heard. “Did you have an open marriage?”
“You look so serious.” Looking pensive, she traces my pinched brows. Oh yeah, she’s drunk. My words sink in. “Why? . . . I’d never agree to that!” She sounds insulted. Even though I’m enjoying this side of her, the speed and extent of her mood swing tells me I need to cut her off from the wine. “Who in their right mind would agree to that?” Yep, she’s insulted. I brace myself for what comes next. Eve snatches up the towel next to her and pulls her feet out of the pool as if my question poisoned the water. “Is this what you teach Teddy about relationships? I need to have a long talk with my daughter.”
“Of course not. I didn’t mean anything by it. But, Eve, that’s more common than you think.” I get to my feet and join her. My six-foot-three frame dwarfs her five-foot-short stance.
“Are those the relationships you’ve been involved in? Mr. Tate?”
For a split second, I consider correcting her and reminding her that Tate is my first name, not my last, but I don’t want to piss her off more than I already have.
“Not me. But I’ve encountered teammates that had understandings with their wives since they were away from home so often.”
