by Loretta Hill
‘The truth is,’ Eve turned to her sister Phoebe, ‘like Tash said, that letter is years old. Nothing ever came of it and a lot has changed since then.’
Adonis nodded. ‘A lot.’
‘Will you be quiet?’ she hissed at him, sick to death of his little side comments that weren’t helping matters at all and were entirely distracting. She turned back to her sister. ‘Do you honestly think I would do that to you? Try to seduce the man you love?’
Phoebe hesitated, her eyes filling with tears. ‘I don’t know. I’ve been in so much turmoil this week. I …’ Her voiced trailed away.
‘Phee,’ Eve pleaded with her, ‘the thought is abhorrent to me, sickening even. I would always sacrifice my own happiness for yours.’
Phoebe grabbed her hands. Her eyes filled with sadness and regret. ‘And you did, you have. I can see how selfish and blind I’ve been.’ She blinked hard. ‘I should have known how you felt when Spider first came to Tawny Brooks. I should have guessed what was in that note before I read it. Instead, I blocked you out in pursuit of my own happiness.’
Eve shook her head, glancing from her to Spider. ‘You did the right thing. Look at you, you’re perfect together.’
‘Eve –’ Spider spoke up from behind his fiancé, but she held up her hand to stall him.
‘Don’t say anything, Spider, there’s no need.’
‘Honestly, if I’d known –’ he began, as she winced under the embarrassment of it all.
‘If you’d known,’ she interrupted him, ‘things would have probably played out exactly as they have. You with Phoebe, as it was meant to be.’
In truth, she didn’t really want him to explain why he hadn’t felt anything romantic towards her. Apart from the fact that it was humiliating, she thought that was a matter for him to talk over with Phoebe, not her.
‘Er … Eve,’ Tash interrupted. While they had been talking she had been examining her dressing gown. ‘Why does my dressing gown have a sleeve missing?’
Eve turned warily towards her elder sister, who was examining the damaged gown with consternation, and she wondered how she was supposed to get out of that one.
I burnt it on the stove in the restaurant was out of the question when the last thing she wanted everyone to know was that she’d been cooking in there.
‘And why was it in the back of Phoebe’s car?’ Spider asked.
‘And …’ Phoebe’s eyes narrowed, ‘come to think of it, whose blanket did you borrow?’
‘Well, the truth is …’ She searched wildly in her head for a plausible explanation.
‘The truth is,’ Adonis dusted sandwich crumbs from his fingers, as he drew her irrevocably into her side, ‘Eve is having an affair.’ He grinned broadly. ‘With me.’
Chapter 27
Maybe it had been a little high-handed of him, to have taken advantage of the situation like that. But the truth was he couldn’t get that kiss in the vineyard out of his head.
When he’d arrived in Yallingup he hadn’t wanted to get involved with anyone, especially in the wake of a broken engagement. In fact, what he’d promised himself was to take some time out, so that eventually he would stop asking himself why he had lost Kathy.
The truth was, since meeting Eve he had ceased to think about the past or wonder what was going on at the Rixon Valley Estate in the Barossa.
He didn’t mind any more if they missed him or questioned where he’d gone.
He no longer wanted to punish Kathy or her family for the humiliation they had caused him.
He no longer questioned why she had ended it so abruptly.
He didn’t care.
The information had shrunk in importance compared to his new life here at Tawny Brooks. For the first time ever, he felt like he was living at home. It was such a simple concept yet so wholly all encompassing – that feeling of belonging … warts and all. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone and they weren’t trying to intimidate him. He wasn’t trying to fit in either.
But he did.
The Maxwells were a bunch of oddballs and he took to their set like salt in popcorn. In all his time engaged to Kathy, he had never been so enmeshed in her family.
But with Eve everything was different. He felt like he could be honest with her, brutally honest. She made him laugh and cringe at the same time. She was both fascinating and frustrating. It was true that whenever he saw her, all he wanted to do was annoy her, but that was more of a reflex action than anything else. He wanted to get under her skin, the same infuriating way she was under his. He’d never been this unsettled before or felt this crazy. She made him feel such a clash of feelings – jealousy, longing, mischief and possessiveness. It was madness.
And after that kiss … he no longer had the fight to resist them.
He knew Eve well enough now to know that a simple wooing wasn’t going to catch her because she didn’t trust herself. And fair enough too – after the way Spider had dismissed her feelings for years. How opportune that Phoebe had discovered that lingerie in her car. If this hadn’t happened he never would have been able to back Eve into a corner.
‘Is this true?’ asked Tash.
‘Are you having an affair with Adam?’ Phoebe demanded.
Both sisters stared at her, open-mouthed, and he knew he had her.
She was so petrified of anyone finding out she’d been cooking in that kitchen, she would much rather they thought she was sleeping with him. She squeezed out one word between clenched teeth. ‘Y-yes.’
Phoebe’s expression changed slowly from shock to glee. ‘Eve, you dark horse. How long has this been going on?’
‘Ages,’ said Adam.
‘Barely a minute,’ she responded at the same time.
Natasha looked shrewdly from one to the other. ‘There does seem to be more going on here than meets the eye.’
‘Not really.’ Eve tried rather unsuccessfully to wriggle out of his hold but he held her tight. In resignation, she stopped struggling, turning instead to her sister. ‘Now that we’ve sorted out the whole lingerie debacle perhaps you could give me and Adam the sitting room back.’
‘Yes.’ An evil devil prompted Adam to murmur suggestively against her hair. ‘We were kind of in the middle of something.’
Her sisters’ mouths dropped open.
‘Not that,’ Eve said crossly, finally managing to wrench herself free of his hold, perhaps because his shoulders were shaking so badly with laughter. ‘But can I please have the room? I really need to talk with Adam privately.’
‘Oh no,’ Natasha shook her finger at her, ‘you still haven’t told me why there’s one arm missing on my dressing gown.’
‘Now that,’ Adam’s eyes danced, ‘is a very interesting story.’
‘Which we will not be sharing with my sisters.’ Eve began to turn a rather alarming shade of red.
‘Let’s just say,’ Adam winked at them, enjoying himself hugely, ‘that your sister is a firebrand.’
Seeing her sisters’ eyes almost pop out of their heads, she quickly and rather unwisely tried to explain. ‘What he means is, at the time we were in the kitchen and I was standing like here and he was standing –’
‘Don’t give us the play by play,’ Natasha gasped in mock horror.
‘Ew!’ Phoebe looked down at the lingerie she was holding. She threw it at Eve, who caught it against her chest. ‘You can have that back.’
‘Yeah,’ Tash waved her hands in front of her body. ‘No need for returns. That gown is yours, sister.’
‘It’s not what you think!’ Eve choked.
‘Believe me,’ Phoebe rubbed her temple, ‘I’m trying not to.’
‘It still doesn’t explain what it was doing in my car,’ Spider chimed in, and then he clamped his hand over his mouth. ‘You didn’t –’
‘Ew!’ Phoebe and Tash both said at the same time, causing Eve’s skin to flame all the brighter.
Adam decided to put her out of her misery. ‘No,’ he grinned. ‘Not in your car. Eve
left it on the floor at my place and I put it in your car thinking it was hers. I thought I was returning it discreetly.’
‘Eve,’ Phoebe shook her head, ‘this is a side of you I’ve never seen before.’
‘This is a side of me I’ve never seen before,’ Eve said tightly, balling the gown in one hand and walking forward to catch both her sisters round the waist. ‘Now, I really must insist you leave.’
Her sisters continued to muse on the revelations as she half-pushed, half-dragged them across the room.
‘So it was Adam’s blanket you borrowed.’ Phoebe was nodding.
‘I thought she was a little familiar with him on Saturday night,’ Tash commented. ‘I just thought she might have the hots for him.’
Adam threw up his hands. ‘Thank you!’
With a grin, Spider opened the door for the girls. ‘I guess we’re going now,’ he said to Tash and Phoebe. ‘Let Eve get back to her lovers’ tiff.’
‘It’s not –’ Eve gave up. ‘Fine. That’s what it is. I’ll talk to you guys later.’
‘Make sure you do,’ Tash said over her shoulder as the three of them sailed out of the room.
Eve closed the door behind them and as it gave a decisive click, she spun around to face Adam, back against the door, face set.
He winced. ‘I don’t suppose,’ he began tentatively, ‘you’re going to thank me now.’
‘What do you think?’
He watched her march forward, fists clenched and eyes blazing. She looked incredible, all fired up and ready for battle. It had his pulse going faster just watching her.
‘That,’ she stabbed a finger at him, ‘was not funny!’
He held his palms up in surrender. ‘Who said I was trying to be a comedian?’
‘You’re right,’ she put her hands on her hips, ‘more like a smart-arse.’
‘Hey.’ He widened his eyes to reflect his innocence. ‘I did you a massive favour just then, covering for you like that.’
‘You mean sinking me into a bigger lie than one of omission,’ she threw at him.
‘If I hadn’t,’ he protested, ‘your little secret would be out of the bag. I went out on a limb for you, thank you very much.’
‘Really?’ Her voice was sarcastic. ‘On a limb? What a hero!’
‘Well,’ he grinned, rather chuffed at this estimation of his character, ‘if you think so.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘Have you been drinking or something?’ She grabbed his face and sniffed him. In turn, he inhaled raspberries and guavas in her hair. She was so close he could see her irises dilating and those gorgeous little freckles he hadn’t noticed before sprinkled across her nose. Mesmerised, he leaned in to capture her lips and she quickly released him, taking a full step back.
‘Don’t you dare!’
‘Come on, Eve.’
‘We decided,’ she put her hands on her hips, ‘that we weren’t going to go there. And we had good reasons.’ She pointed her finger at the floor. ‘Valid reasons that haven’t changed.’
He folded his arms. ‘Well, mine have.’
‘How would you know?’ Her voice quivered ever so slightly. ‘It’s clear you’re thinking with your … with your …’ As words failed her, she flicked her finger at his crotch before pointing at her head. ‘Not with your brain.’
He grinned. ‘You know, I like this gutsy, take-no-nonsense Eve so much better than the shy, timid one I first met.’
‘You bring out the worst in me, you know that?’
He shrugged. ‘I think I bring out the best.’
‘You forced me into a corner in front of my sisters,’ she retorted. ‘What are we supposed to do now? Pretend we’re having an affair?’
He cocked his head. ‘Or have one for real.’
‘That’s insane.’
‘Actually,’ he stuffed his hands into his pockets, ‘I think it’s a pretty awesome idea. We get to explore this chemistry going on between us, and you get to keep your secret.’
‘I’m not having an affair with you,’ she said, point-blank.
‘Why not? I’m not asking for rock solid commitment if that’s what you’re worried about. We could take things slow. Have a little fun.’
‘Have a little fun,’ she repeated slowly. ‘I’m going to tell you something, which apparently you don’t know.’ She took a deep breath. ‘You are a very, very good-looking man. You could have anyone.’
‘Er … thank you but –’
‘No, seriously.’ She seemed to want to drive home her point. ‘Anyone. I mean, look at you.’ She shut her eyes and turned her face away from the blinding light that was, apparently, his body.
He chuckled. ‘I’m glad you find me attractive but –’
She cut him off. ‘You don’t need to mend your broken heart on me. Invest in a supermodel or something. She’d give you a run for your money.’
He groaned. ‘I don’t want a supermodel.’
‘And I,’ she took a deep breath, ‘don’t want to be your rebound girl.’
He sobered. Her eyes were glistening. She was obviously very serious about this and, to be honest, he did not quite know how to respond with any degree of credibility. After all, just five days ago he’d admitted to coming to town to nurse a broken heart. He just hadn’t realised how easy that would be to do with the right kind of medicine. Shit. Was she his rebound girl?
‘Listen, Eve,’ he said slowly, ‘I definitely don’t want to hurt you –’
‘Then don’t,’ she responded earnestly.
‘I have no intention of doing so,’ he tried to say.
‘You’re not in a position to say that. You just came out of an engagement, for goodness sake. I can’t compete with that. And you know what? I don’t want to. I’m sick of being that girl.’
He frowned, all his humour was gone now. ‘Okay,’ he nodded finally. ‘I hear you.’
Her lips pulled taut. ‘Good, I’m glad.’ With another nod she turned to go.
‘So we’ll have a fake affair then,’ he added.
She spun back. ‘A what?’
He blinked at her guilelessly. ‘A fake affair. I assume that’s what we’re doing if we’re not having a real one.’
‘What on earth gave you that idea?’
He grinned. Oh, Eve, did you really think you’d get rid of me that easily?
‘Well, otherwise won’t you have to come clean to your sisters about what really happened in the kitchen?’
This gave her pause. She pursed her lips and her fingers curled quietly into fists.
‘Won’t they just ask the question again if you tell them we’re not an item? I mean, it’s up to you if you want to reveal the truth,’ he shrugged, ‘though I’m sure they’ll wonder why, if you enjoy cooking in the restaurant so much, you don’t just start it up again.’
‘All right, all right, I take your point,’ she caved. ‘I’m happy to pretend. But that’s it.’
‘Of course,’ he nodded.
She eyed him uncertainly for a moment, clearly not trusting what she saw.
And she shouldn’t.
‘I better go,’ she said finally. ‘Mum, Tash and I still have some tables to arrange.’
‘Not a problem,’ he said as she headed for the door. ‘I’ll see you around, lover.’
Chapter 28
One week passed and the wedding preparations stepped up a notch. As far as Tash could make out, Phoebe and Spider were finally over the trouble that had been festering between them. And Eve seemed to be coming out in the open about her secret relationship.
Or rather … Adam was doing it for her.
He came to dinner with the family every evening now, sitting next to Eve as though he were a long-term boyfriend. Eve’s embarrassed resignation to this new development had their father amused.
‘Are you attempting to woo my daughter, Adam?’ he asked when the winemaker showed up for the third evening in a row.
‘Do you mind if I do?’
‘Not at all,’ John Max
well chuckled and then flicked his fork at Eve. ‘But I think she does.’
Eve turned a lovely pink hue.
‘Actually, Dad,’ Phoebe put in casually, ‘Eve adores Adam.’
Eve squirmed in her seat.
‘She calls me Adonis,’ Adam informed their father.
‘I do not,’ Eve protested.
‘Yes, you do, all the time. She thinks I look like a Greek God.’
‘That’s absurd,’ Eve said crossly.
Their father cleared his throat. ‘Might I give you some timely advice, my friend, from a man who has lived with four females? There are two great secrets to keeping a woman happy.’
Adam’s eyes lit up eagerly. ‘Go on.’
‘The first one is, whenever you’re wrong, admit it.’
‘Yes, yes of course.’
‘The second is, whenever you’re right, shut up.’
There was a bark of laughter across the table and everyone looked up from their meals to glance at Graeme, who immediately went quiet.
‘What’s the matter, Graeme?’ Patricia glared at him.
‘Sorry, dear,’ he coughed. ‘Nothing at all.’
Tash hid her smile. All couples had their problems and foibles, it seemed. She and Heath weren’t that special after all.
In the days following the discovery of her missing dressing gown, Heath continued to press his argument that they should try to be a couple again. He seemed to guess that their first brush with physical intimacy had been a little too much too soon and so chased her in other ways. When she overslept he woke her with coffee, like he used to do when they lived together. If he went to work at the restaurant early and she stayed at the house, he called her mid-morning to see how she was. Whilst these gestures still had the power to touch her, she could not bring herself to completely trust them without feeling some sense of panic.
Things weren’t so simple that they could just go back to the way they were. If their relationship had been perfect, it wouldn’t have been derailed by their loss. They would have come together, not fallen apart.
If they were going to be a married couple again, it had to be different this time. Their relationship had to be stronger and more transparent for both of them. And for that, they needed time. He couldn’t just expect her to pick up where they left off.
