All About Eve

by Liliana Hart

  Eve thought that was a very telling statement. It hurt, no matter what age you were, to not have the approval of your parents. Hers had always been there for her. No matter what, even though she’d grown up in the same circles of the wealthy that Jake had.

  “But Ruth is proud enough of you to make up for everyone else,” she said, touching the side of his cheek in comfort. “Sometimes you have to do what’s best for yourself, even though it might be the most difficult path to accept for others.

  “Yes,” he whispered. “A little bit of free therapy?” he asked, annoyed that he’d been read so easily.

  “I didn’t mean…I’m sorry,” Eve said, putting more than just physical distance between them. Why couldn’t she ever learn to keep her mouth shut?

  Jake pulled her closer, despite her protests, and buried his face in the soft fragrance of her hair. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. It was a cheap shot, and I didn’t mean it. It’s just that my family has always been a raw spot with me. I’ve never had anyone to share it with. I’ve never had anyone I wanted to share it with.”

  Eve understood. It was as if she could look at him and see all the hurts and triumphs he’d had his entire life. No one had ever looked at him that way, not even Ruth, for she still didn’t understand why he wouldn’t use the money that piled up with interest in his accounts every month. He was determined to make it without the backing of his trust fund or using the connections of his parents. And he had made it. And now with Eve, his life felt complete.

  “Marry me, Eve.”

  Her hand froze on his cheek. “What?”

  “I said marry me. I love you, and I want to have a thousand nights just like this one, with you.”

  “Don’t do this to me, Jake. It’s not fair. I’m not saying you couldn’t make me love you. You could. But after we have our thousand nights together, will you get bored and move on to something more exciting? Will we have a few nights of pleasure followed by a lifetime of misery? I can’t marry you,” she said, her voice hitching and tears burning her eyes.

  He had expected some surprise, some trepidation, but he hadn’t expected the fear and the bitterness in her eyes. He’d gotten carried away in the moment. He hadn’t planned to propose for a few more weeks, but dammit, he loved her. Why couldn’t she see that?

  “Why not? Is love not enough for you? What do I have to do? I want a commitment from you, a home, a family. I’m not the person I was ten years ago looking for a different woman while still playing with the first. I want you. Forever.”

  “Jake, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “The hell with that. Tell me what you feel.”

  “I don’t know. We’ve only known each other a couple of weeks. I’m not convinced that love at first sight is real. I know it’s not for me. I need security and trust. Marriage is not something I’ve ever planned on going through again. And if you’d been there before, you wouldn’t bother asking because you’d know what a miserable experience it can be. I won’t marry you. I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  Jake watched her jump out of the truck and run into the trailer. She’d been married before, and he’d had no clue. He leaned his head back and looked up at the stars. The first drops of freezing rain fell on his face and ran down his cheeks like tears.

  “Perfect. Just perfect.”

  He put his hand on top of the ache in his chest and rubbed. Hurt? Hurt didn’t begin to describe what he was feeling. Was love always so painful? He’d obviously miscalculated, but that just meant a change in strategy was needed. He was in love with Eve Lovegood, whether they’d known each other a few days or a few years. He was going to get to the bottom of this past marriage and then work on making her fall in love with him. He wasn’t a quitter.

  Jake hopped out of the back of the truck as the rain started to fall in earnest, not as heavy-hearted as he was before, but just as determined.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Steve Slater’s wife.

  Jake stared blankly at the paperwork in front of him. No wonder Eve didn’t want anything to do with marriage. He remembered enough of what the gossip columns had said after his death to know that Eve hadn’t had an easy time of it. He even remembered that the gossip had reached his parents circles. It wasn’t everyday when one of their own was killed so tragically.

  He hadn’t paid much attention at the time. His business was just beginning to make it on its own, enough to where he’d made George a partner, and it was around the same time that his grandmother had fallen down a flight of stairs and ended up in the hospital for a few weeks.

  Ruth had scared the hell out of him, and he’d given her a good blistering when he’d found out she’d talked one of the neighborhood kids into lending her a sled so she could use it to ride down the imaginary mountain. She was lucky she hadn’t broken anything, only a concussion and a few scrapes and bruises, but her age had slowed down the healing process. No, he’d given little thought to the death of Steve Slater, and even less of his widow. Had she grieved? Had she loved him? Those were questions that left him with guilt and jealousy, so he pushed them aside. He’d approached her all wrong. He knew that now.

  He’d decided after his failed proposal that he was going to have to know all about Eve to break down her defenses. He was still spending time with her, wooing her, but he hadn’t touched her intimately since that night. They’d had quiet dinners filled with laughter and conversation, and long drives filled with comfortable silences. But his need hadn’t diminished. And neither had his love. If anything it was stronger than ever. He wished his lips had never touched hers and his hands had never felt her curves pressed closely to him because then he wouldn’t know what he was missing. Her taste would still be a dream instead of a memory.

  And after the private investigator he’d hired had delivered the stunning information about her marriage, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to go through with his plan. Eve was right. She’d been through enough pain to last a lifetime. The marriage behind the scenes had been fairly quiet from the media’s viewpoint, and Eve had come across as a cold wife and even colder widow. But he knew Eve. There wasn’t a cold bone in her body. She was warm and generous, and she felt too much. She had just been trying to survive.

  Maybe his grandmother could help him out with a few ideas on how to win the girl. She’d know better than anyone.

  Jake pushed the chair back from his desk and closed the file folder. The headache that had started as a dull ache behind his eyes earlier in the day was now full-fledged, so he threw back a couple of aspirin with some Glenfiddich before hunting down his grandmother.

  He looked around at his Spartan office and wondered what Eve would think about his house. He’d never really considered it a home, just a place to sleep until the next job came along or until he found the right house to settle down in with a family. He’d lived there almost ten years. It was big and spacious, with skylights and a landscaped yard, but it lacked love. It lacked Eve. He’d considered Eve’s house more of a home than he ever had his own place.

  He headed towards the guest rooms he’d had furnished especially for Ruth whenever she got a wild hair and decided to come visit. He found it ironic that his parents didn’t warrant their own space. They’d only been to visit once in the time he’d lived there. He was always expected to come to them, a dutiful son paying his once a year respects to two people who were so absorbed in their own lives that they couldn’t be bothered to check on their only son every now and then, just to make sure he was still alive. He shook away the thoughts, knowing they’d do nothing more than add to his already pounding headache.

  “Edward,” he called out after not finding Ruth in any of her rooms. He headed towards the kitchen knowing that if anyone knew where Ruth was, it was Edward.

  “Yes, sir.” Edward came out of his own room, still dressed in crisply pleated black slacks and a white button down shirt. The man had looked the same ever since Jake had been a little boy. His silver hair was parted and neatly combed and his long, schol
arly face somber with the responsibilities of caring for the very rich. Taking care of his grandmother would be no easy task.

  “Do you know where my grandmother is?” For the first time that Jake could remember, Edward looked as if he wasn’t sure exactly what he should say. And even more strange, the man wouldn’t look him in the eyes. “What’s going on Edward?”

  “I believe your grandmother is spending the evening with Ms. Lovegood.”

  “Hmmm. What is it that they’re doing that had you contemplating lying about it?”

  Edward’s cheeks turned a dull red under Jake’s scrutiny, but not in fear for his position. When you’d walloped a boy’s backside for getting into things he shouldn’t, there couldn’t be fear in the relationship. It was embarrassment that tinged his cheeks.

  “Your grandmother mentioned taking Eve to High Pointe Lake. She said that Ms. Lovegood didn’t get into near enough trouble to suit her.”

  “That sounds like something she’d say,” Jake said, already wondering what kind of situation he was going to have to get his grandmother out of. “Any hint as to what I’m going to be walking into, Edward?”

  “Not a clue, sir, but knowing your grandmother as well as I do, I’m sure it will be interesting.”

  Jake eyed the man curiously, “When are you going to make an honest woman out of my grandmother?”

  “I beg your pardon, sir, but I’m not sure anyone could make an honest woman out of Ruth.”

  Jake roared with laughter and slapped the man on the back before he headed to High Pointe Lake. He was looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble his grandmother could get Eve into.

  ***

  “I don’t know, Ruth. I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Eve said.

  “Buck up, girl. If you’re going to be my grand-daughter-in-law I want to see what you’re made of. Now strip those clothes off before someone drives by.”

  “That’s the thing, Ruth. I don’t think I’m going to be your grand-daughter-in-law.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because I’ve been married before. It wasn’t an experience I care to repeat. I spent the entire two years of my marriage watching my husband rub other women in my face. Jake and I haven’t been to a restaurant, a picnic or a movie yet where we haven’t run into one of his old girlfriends. I’m sure I’m presenting a great challenge to Jake, but in the end, when I’m no longer a challenge, he’s going to go look for the next one. A woman like me doesn’t hold the attention of a man like Jake for very long.”

  “Well, that’s just plain stupid,” Ruth said. “Quick. Duck!”

  Eve hit the ground with a jarring thud and hoped Ruth hadn’t broken anything in her quest to be invisible. She’d hate to have to explain why they were sneaking around on private property. She groaned as she sat up gently, small pebbles pressed into her knees and grass stuck to the palms of her hands.

  “Come on. Let’s get this done with,” Ruth said, shedding her clothes in a heap on the ground.

  “Ohmigod!” The sight of Ruth Murphy naked was something she’d never be able to scrub from her memory. She looked like a ninety pound soup chicken, papery skin and bony knees and elbows. Eve had never been more grateful for a night without stars.

  “It’s going to rain. We’ll both catch a cold swimming in a freezing lake while the rain hammers at us from the other end.”

  “Nonsense. The rain won’t be here for a while yet. Are you a fraidy cat?”

  Eve heard the splash as Ruth jumped into the lake. She wasn’t afraid. Well, maybe a little because it probably wouldn’t be good for her career if she was caught, but she put her fears aside and stripped down. She was going skinny dipping with a woman who wanted her to love her grandson.

  “This water is freezing,” Eve screamed.

  “Of course it is. It’s December. Just because we still have the occasional eighty degree day doesn’t mean the water is going to cooperate.”

  “Now tell me what your plan is regarding my grandson. I know you have one.”

  “Well, since I turned down his proposal a few weeks ago, he’s kind of kept his distance. I mean, he still sends flowers and we go out, but there’s space between us. He’s fun. We’re having fun together,” she qualified. “It’s like he’s decided he’s happy just being my friend. We’re getting to know each other and that’s good, but a part of me has to wonder if he worked that hard with all his other conquests. Now I’m confused because I don’t know if he still wants me that way or not. The problem is, Ruth, I could fall in love with him if I let myself.”

  “There’s no let about it. You either are or you aren’t. And if you weren’t in love with him already, you wouldn’t be worrying so much about all this nonsense. And Jake definitely wouldn’t be spending all this time with you if he just wanted to be your friend. It’s you he wants. Hell, half of this country is following your relationship with Jake on your show every night. I tune in now just so I can hear him make a fool of himself.”

  Ruth was right. Her ratings had skyrocketed since Jake began calling into the show. Things seemed easier, safer, when they talked over the airwaves. He was a good man. A sensitive, caring, patient man. And honorable. It was a bitter pill to swallow that she was running out of excuses to keep him at a distance.

  His own self imposed distance was driving her insane, and she found herself watching him closely to see if the fire would leap between them whenever he looked at her. But though there was a sliver of hope somewhere beneath the surface, she knew that there couldn’t be a future for them.

  “He’s a man you can be proud of, and I care for him a great deal. But I don’t think I can spend the rest of my life with him, wondering, hoping that his feelings for me are real. My marriage taught me that trust was something to give sparingly, and that giving your whole heart to one person just means it hurts worse when they crush it. There’s not much left of my heart, Ruth.”

  “Sounds like your ex-husband was a horse’s patoot.”

  “He was, but he’s not my ex-husband. I’m a widow.”

  The breath Ruth drew in had Eve swimming in that direction, afraid that she was having a heart attack and about to drown. “You didn’t kill him did you?”

  Eve stopped swimming and stared at Ruth in shock before she started laughing. “No, I didn’t kill him. I was married to Steve Slater. He was very popular on the racing circuit.”

  “I watch the horse races. I have a right fine hand at the windows if I do say so myself. I don’t recall hearing about a Steve Slater though.”

  “He was a race car driver. He wrapped his car around a tree in Monte Carlo one night. The roads were slick and he’d had too much to drink. There weren’t very many pieces of him or his mistress left when the car was found. I hadn’t seen him in over a month. He was almost a stranger to me, and I feel guilty because all I felt was relief when he died.”

  “Ahh…Guilt is a powerful weapon. Even when wielded from the grave. Mistakes are meant to be learned from. One thing I’ve learned in my ninety years is that you can’t judge a person by someone else’s mistakes. It doesn’t seem very fair to Jake that you’d try.”

  “No, but other than the fact that Jake loves all women too much to abuse them, there seem to be too many similarities for me to be fair at this point.”

  “It sounds like you’re determined to grow old alone and miserable. I’ve found that’s something that most people have to work pretty hard at, especially when the love is there. Maybe you deserve a good kick in the pants instead if you can’t see the difference. I thought you showed promise, girl, but I’m not so sure now.”

  Eve wasn’t sure what to say. She was embarrassed about bringing up her past and ashamed at the same time with the set down Ruth had just given her. She was about to apologize when she saw the headlights that stopped on the side of the road.

  “Ruth, someone’s here. What do we do?”

  “Oh, drat. I hope it’s not the police. Jake got quite upset the last time he had to
bail me out of jail. He got that little line on his forehead like he does when he’s angry, and he didn’t talk to me for a whole day.”

  Eve thought Jake probably had a lot of patience if Ruth pulled stunts like this all the time and he still let her stay at his house. She was lucky he didn’t put her in a loony bin.

  “What the hell are y’all doing down there?”

  Eve sighed at the familiarity of the voice. They weren’t going to jail after all.

  “Don’t talk to us in that tone of voice, young man. I can switch your bottom just as easily now as I did when you were eight years old.”

  “Someone needs to switch yours,” he said in response. “You could catch your death in that cold water. Didn’t you learn anything when you were in that hospital a few years ago? Look at Eve’s lips. They’re blue.”

  Eve reached up and touched her numb lips aware of the fact that Jake’s eyes had never left hers. She wanted nothing more than to get out of the freezing water, but reality intruded. She was naked.

  “It’s not nice of you to remind me about that little incident. If that sled hadn’t had a warped set of runners, I would have sped right down those stairs instead of flipping over.”

  “You don’t really want to go back there, do you, Gran?”

  Jake looked like he was ready to explode, and Ruth was right, he did get a little line on his forehead when he was angry. It was everything Eve could do not to ask what happened, but she didn’t want to direct any attention to herself.

  “No, I suppose not. Well, I guess we’re all done here. I just wanted to get Eve out of the house. You can’t let her get too settled in her ways or she gets a little stuffy. Someone’s got to teach the girl how to have a little fun before she ends up like a dried up old prune.”

  Ruth stepped out of the lake, naked as a jaybird, and went for her clothes.

  “Good grief, Gran, you could have waited until I turned my back.”