by Sandra Kitt
Kevin had not asked much of her in their physical relationship. She was simply supposed to be there when he needed her. She had always willingly complied. But she didn’t have to do anything. Her response had merely been to acquiesce to his needs. It had been comfortable. Nothing more or less. But Maxwell had not only been much more assertive, he had expected active participation. What had also scared Eva so badly was that she wasn’t sure she’d know how.
Maxwell’s manliness was so overwhelming, so forceful. Here was a man who knew what he wanted and could no doubt succeed often in getting it, if Lavona Morris’s presence was testimony. But he was too bold for Eva, and much too fast. She had never advanced this far in the dating game. She had never known tantalizing passions or burning desire before. Only affectionate care and gentle loving. Eva very much suspected that with Adam Maxwell she would definitely learn. But if she allowed herself to explore and find out, would she fall into an unescapable abyss that would change her whole world?
Chapter Five
Eva could see that for the second time in a row, it was going to rain all day. If she’d been on only a week’s vacation, she’d be tearing her hair out and cursing the bad weather. As it was, it gave her a day and a half of time all to herself. There was time to read a book and to write out the postcards purchased on St. Thomas. But twenty-four hours of that was enough.
In the late afternoon, wearing jeans and a lightweight sweater under a foldaway rain slicker, Eva decided to go visiting. Diane was the only one likely to welcome her, and with the excuse of wanting to see how the little girl’s foot was, Eva drove slowly through the drizzly miserable rain half a mile down the road.
Eva had already decided that there was also a distinct possibility that Lavona Morris would also be there, but she wasn’t going to allow that to hold her back. She was mature enough to handle that situation if she had to. Maxwell could decorate his house with whomever he pleased. And Eva had so calmed down from her brief encounter with Maxwell two days earlier that there was no hesitation now as she knocked on the solid wood door. However, a moment later when Maxwell himself opened the door, Eva jumped and just stared at his rugged good-looking body in the doorway.
Maxwell raised a brow sardonically and waited for her to speak first. Eva suddenly had a flash of the other night when he’d said quite calmly that he wasn’t sorry for having kissed and caressed her. Something warm and liquid flowed through Eva, curling around in the pit of her stomach, as she recalled how she’d responded.
“Hello,” Eva said politely to his imposing posture, but he didn’t respond. “I thought I’d come by and see how Diane was doing.”
Maxwell looked her over. “You didn’t have to bother,” he said evenly, showing no reaction at all to her being there. “Diane’s fine now.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Eva said formally, nonetheless wondering at his stiffness and seeing that apparently nothing had changed between them. He was still giving her a hard time and treating her indifferently. His attitude now effectively erased whatever lingering warmth she held over from two nights ago.
“I have a little gift for Diane. I thought it might cheer her up.” Eva reached into her pocket and pulled out a pink store bag, holding it up for Maxwell to see. With reluctance Maxwell pushed himself away from the door frame and held the door open for her. Gesturing in an exaggerated courtly way, he indicated she should enter.
“Welcome to my parlor,” he said.
“Said the spider to the fly,” Eva finished, matching his sarcastic tone. As he closed the door behind her, Eva faced the room. It was beginning to show signs of slipping into another state of wreckage. She stood shaking her head, without realizing it, in disbelief.
“Don’t start getting ideas about cleaning,” Maxwell said directly behind her. The hairs on the back of Eva’s neck stood straight and electrified with his nearness. She turned half around to face him and immediately had to look up to his face.
“I only have to be told once where I’m not wanted,” she answered blandly. “Clean it yourself. Better still, why not let Lavona do it?”
Eva was surprised at the dry laugh that shook Maxwell’s shoulders once.
“What? Does Lavona look like the kind of woman to be a good housekeeper?” Maxwell asked with skepticism.
“You would know better than I,” Eva said, moving a step away from him.
Adam raised his brows, opening his light eyes wide. “Lavona is good at one thing. I can tell you for a fact it isn’t housekeeping.” He turned away from Eva and walked with loose long-legged strides to knock softly at Diane’s door.
“You have company,” he said and moved back into the living room.
For the first time since entering the house, Eva noticed a long table set up for Adam to work at. There was a good desk light that had a long adjustable neck. Maxwell went over to it and eased his large frame onto a stool. Picking up a pair of tweezers, he continued with his dissection of what appeared to be some kind of sea plant with bulbous fronds for leaves. In genuine interest Eva walked over and stood opposite him to watch silently as his huge hands with ease and sure control delicately separated the nodes and pods from the stem. Maxwell’s eyes flickered up at her once, briefly.
“Why don’t you take off your raincoat. You’re dripping water on my floor,” he said caustically.
“Sorry…I didn’t realize it would make a difference,” Eva softly shot back. Maxwell grunted, but she saw a reluctant corner of his wide mouth quirk upward with amusement.
Eva had the slicker off and was pushing up the long sleeves of her sweater when Diane’s door opened and the youngster emerged. She wore a pair of shorts just a bit too snug for her and a T-shirt. As she limped gingerly from the back room, her hands were busy putting her stubborn unruly hair in order.
“Is Dory here?” Diane asked, rounding the corner into the living room and finally spotting Eva. “Oh…it’s you. I thought Dory was here,” she said with barely disguised disappointment.
The thought that she’d be brightening the little girl’s day was quickly squelched with Eva. She grinned ruefully to herself. It was only natural that Diane would want someone her own age to visit.
“Hello, Diane. How’s it going?”
“Okay,” Diane said distantly, shrugging. Eva frowned and turned to look questioningly at Maxwell, only to find that apparently he wasn’t paying any attention to their exchange as he continued to bend over his work.
“And your foot…is it getting better?”
Diane only nodded, standing so that the injured left foot was balanced on top of the right. She finished twisting her hair into place and stood quietly looking down at the floor. It was not going exactly as Eva had planned, and now she felt foolish for even coming.
“Well…I only stopped by quickly to say hello.” Eva looked behind her to the pink bag. “Oh! And I got you a little present.” She passed it to Diane, who took it grudgingly, still not looking directly at Eva.
“Hey! You know better than that,” Maxwell coaxed low behind them. Eva turned to find him sitting back on the stool, his hands braced stiffly on the edges, forcing the sinewed muscles of his arm and shoulders to press taut through his shirt.
“Thank you,” came the whispered response from Diane.
Eva sighed, not understanding what had gone wrong. She picked up her slicker. “Well…I guess I’ll be leaving. Maybe it will be sunny tomorrow and you can…”
“Why didn’t you come?”
Eva faced Diane again. “Pardon me?” she asked, confused.
“Why didn’t you come? The other day I waited all day for you to come and see me.”
Eva stared openmouthed at Diane. “Why didn’t I…but I did come by!”
Diane still looked doubtful. Eva turned a confused face to Maxwell who was listening closely now, his own brows drawn together in thought.
“Diane…” Eva started again carefully. “The morning after your accident, I did come by to see you. I was going to stay a little w
hile and then take the ferry into St. Thomas, but Lavona said you were sleeping.”
Diane frowned. “I was in my room, but I wasn’t asleep. I was hoping that you’d stay with me instead of…” Diane’s eyes shot contritely to her father and then dropped sullenly to her bare feet.
Once again Eva turned to Maxwell, as he let out a deep breath and stood up. Putting his hands flat in the back pockets of his jeans, he pursed his lips and walked slowly over to stand next to Eva. His expression was closed, and he stood for a long moment looking thoughtfully at his daughter. Adam’s jaw tensed, and his eyes dropped to Eva and then back to Diane.
“I know that Diane likes you, Eva. I was going to ask you if you didn’t mind staying with her a few hours that day but…” He looked fully at Eva again, talking directly to her, and for the first time since she’d known him, it was seriously and without derision or indifference. “Lavona came by from the Hamiltons’ and said she’d stay.” Maxwell shrugged. “There didn’t seem to be any point in bothering you if she was here. You know what I’m saying?” Maxwell questioned in his deep voice.
“Yes,” Eva answered, wondering if she and Maxwell were now thinking the same thing, that Lavona may have deliberately kept Eva from Diane. For what reason was anyone’s guess. “I told her to tell you that I came by,” Eva said to Diane, “but I’m sure she just forgot.” Eva defended Lavona weakly and without any enthusiasm.
“I’m sure,” Maxwell said in a strange voice, still watching Eva closely.
Eva broke the look between them, not sure of what she was seeing in that penetrating gaze. “Well, it doesn’t matter. Why don’t you open your present, Diane. See if you like it.”
When Diane extracted the two books and the hair barrettes, she finally broke into a smile and came over to stand shyly in front of Eva.
“Thank you, Eva.”
“You’re welcome, dear. Here…let’s put these in your hair and see how they look.” Eva took them and clamped them into the thick hair. “There! Why don’t you go find a mirror and see what you think?”
“Okay!” Diane beamed cheerfully and went off to her room.
Eva crossed her arms over her chest and stood awkwardly in the ensuing silence, very much aware of Maxwell right behind her. She stole a quick glance at him to find him watching her intently, that same searching, examining look he’d given her the first time she’d seen him on the ferry coming from St. Thomas. But this look was not superficial or impersonal. Diane came back.
“It looks good!” she proclaimed.
“I’m glad. Enjoy them.” Eva smiled at the little girl. Her mind suddenly came up with another idea. Spontaneously she looked from Diane to her father. “Look…how would you like to come to my house for dinner? Nothing great, you understand, but…”
“Ooooh! Could we, Daddy?” Diane pleaded.
Maxwell nodded agreement, more quickly than Eva would have believed. It surprised her and she raised her brows in question.
“Fine with me,” Adam said evenly, and he was drowned out by Diane’s exuberant reaction. “Go put some clothes on,” he admonished his daughter, and Diane was off like a shot. Then he went back to his worktable and began to wrap and jar his samples.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your work. Maybe we should do this another time,” Eva said uncertainly.
“Are you really going to now tell Diane that you’ve changed your mind?” he asked, arching a brow at her.
Eva tilted her head at him pertly. “Diane can still come. You can stay here if you want to work.”
Maxwell looked suggestively up and down her lithe form in the casual but well-fitting jeans. “Afraid to be alone with me again?” he asked her softly.
Eva raised her chin and gave him a slight, defiant smile. “If I was afraid of that, I’d only have invited Diane.”
“But you still have to prove that you’re not, don’t you? Is that also why you came by so bright and early the other morning?”
Eva’s eyes widened to stare silently at him. He was so close to the truth that she couldn’t think of a thing to respond with. She did want to prove that she wasn’t going to make a mountain out of a molehill, but something deep within her had been touched and awakened, and it was frightening. It was frightening because the feelings had been stirred by Maxwell and she didn’t want him to be able to do that to her. She certainly didn’t want him to know that he could.
“It’s only dinner we’re talking about, Maxwell. Nothing more,” Eva answered him in a tightly controlled voice. But he only sort of grinned wickedly at her and continued putting his things away.
Eva walked away wondering if she was really so transparent. A chill of apprehension caused her to shiver as she shrugged her way into her slicker and buttoned it. Behind her was this strange wall of heat. It reached out to flicker up and down her back seductively, tempting her closer and closer to its soothing warmth. But she wouldn’t give in to it, knowing that Maxwell was the radiating source.
A STEEL BAND PLAYED music from the radio positioned on the curved counter just outside the kitchen. Diane knelt on the indoor-outdoor green carpeting in front of the coffee table, looking through an old magazine and nibbling on a nearby dish of pretzels. Maxwell was still setting the small square table as Eva began to bring out plates of food.
“Okay, it’s ready,” she said, maneuvering around Maxwell. She couldn’t quite get used to this giant of a man carefully laying out napkins and water goblets. Maxwell always gave her the impression of being kind of chauvinistic and generally expecting all sorts of things to be done for him. Stranger still, Eva had not asked him to help set the table.
“Time to eat, Diane,” he called to his daughter, and she got up at once and came to the table. They all sat down to eat.
Maxwell frowned and picked over his plate gingerly with his fork. “What is all this?” he asked cautiously. Eva shot him a withering look.
“You don’t have to eat it,” she said indifferently. “I can always make you a cheese sandwich or something else bland.”
“I hate cheese sandwiches!” Diane grimaced, beginning to eat the food in front of her.
“I guess I can take it,” Maxwell said conceding. But Eva smiled into her plate knowing, with total surprise, that Maxwell had been teasing her!
With the aid of the one lone cookbook in the kitchen on Caribbean cuisine, Eva had attempted to put together an authentic island meal. She’d thawed and baked several pieces of chicken in a casserole with okra and fungi. Eva had to admit that her fungi needed a little work. There was also salad and one other side dish.
They were almost through the meal when Diane pointed to the flat, sweet, delicately sauteed foodstuff.
“This is good. What is it?” the little girl asked.
Eva hesitated, feeling mischief bubbling within her. She looked at Diane and with a straight face said, “Fried bananas…”
Diane looked at her, and in the next instant they were both laughing over their private joke. Maxwell watched them both. He raised his brows not understanding what was so funny but didn’t ask for an explanation. Eva realized that she and Diane were very likely making it funnier than it really was, but after three days of being cooped up inside, Diane was enjoying it.
When Eva began to clear the table, Diane wandered over to a small telescope on a tripod in a corner of the deck’s far side and curiously tried to work it. Adam walked over and in a low voice began to explain the mechanics. As Eva scraped and washed dishes, she was happy to see Adam’s patient attentiveness to his daughter. While Diane’s accident had been more frightening than it was serious, it had apparently also served the purpose of awakening Maxwell to Diane’s need for his attention. Maybe her needs weren’t so far from his own, since Adam didn’t seem to be the happiest person Eva had ever met.
Diane loved her father and needed his love. Perhaps Maxwell was admitting to the same kind of need himself. Eva had recognized that without the cynicism and indifference, Maxwell was a personable man. He was intelli
gent and while his sense of humor had so far shown itself to her as sardonic, she had a feeling it could be equally nonsensical and mischievous. He was good-looking, and there was no denying his strong masculine appeal—he was all man. But he needed a softer edge as far as Eva was concerned. However, she reasoned, Maxwell didn’t take her seriously in any case, so her exercise in trying to know and understand him was useless.
Eva was deep in thought as she went through the mechanics of cleaning up. She jumped when she heard Maxwell’s deep voice behind her.
“You really are domestic, aren’t you?”
She glanced briefly over her shoulder at him and turned back to rinse the glass in her hand. “So…what’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. It’s probably how you really are most of the time.”
Eva laughed softly. “Maxwell, you don’t know how I really am most of the time. You seem to enjoy making snap judgments based on little fact. You know something? I bet your wife was very independent and you resented it…”
Eva rinsed another glass, put it on the drain, and picking up a towel leaned back against the tiny sink and dried her hands. Maxwell was staring at her with a mixture of cold hard anger and something else, some other emotion she couldn’t name. His mouth was a grim straight line, and his jaw tensed repeatedly. Eva was fascinated, again not sure what it was she’d said to achieve that look from him.
“Close…but no cigar,” Maxwell answered cryptically. “I married one kind of woman and ended up with another kind.” He left it at that.
“Then I guess I was luckier,” Eva said evenly. “Kevin and I always understood each other perfectly. It was nice.” Eva smiled softly, dreamily, not catching the painful expression on Maxwell’s face, his mocking scowl disguising it. “I always loved Kevin…since I was about fourteen,” Eva added ruefully, a little embarrassed at her admission of youthful devotion to one person. “I never thought of marrying anyone else.” She looked up at the grunt and deep-chested chuckle from the man across from her.
“It sounds more like a habit than love.”
