Page 49 of Fall Into Temptation
“Not even the slightest challenge here,” Gia announced working her way down the application.
“Oh, boy,” Eva whispered to Lydia. “I think your mama is going to be part of the problem.”
Lydia giggled and threw a glob of pureed carrots onto the floor. Diesel snarfed it up and then spit it back out. Tripod Jr., the three-legged cat, meandered over and rubbed against Gia’s legs meowing.
“Not now, Tripod. Mama has to rank these movies in order of most romantic.”
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Eva texted Donovan on her way across the back yard.
Eva: Mission accomplished. The Merills will attempt a takeover of the B.C.
Her phone rang, and she got a little jolt at the picture of the winking Donovan Cardona that popped up on her screen.
“When did you find time to sneak a selfie and add a contact photo to my phone?” she asked in lieu of a greeting.
“A law enforcement officer never reveals his secrets,” Donovan told her. She could hear the smile in his voice. “We’re supposed to be sneaky. That’s how we catch the bad guys.”
“You sound like you’re in a good mood,” she teased.
“Waking up with a beautiful redhead snoring in my ear has that effect on me.”
“I wasn’t snoring!” She let herself in the door.
“Like a lumberjack. It’s amazing I got any sleep at all.”
“You slept for ten hours,” Eva reminded him. “So, should I wear a wire for the Beautification Committee meeting tonight? Because I have this fantasy of you taping a microphone between my—”
“Stop right there, Evangelina, or I’ll leave this town to fend for itself and drive through Beckett’s yard to get to you.” His voice was rusty, rough.
She blew out a breath. A hot rush of lust and something else, something softer, scarier, swept over her. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”
He growled and that made it even worse.
“Changing the subject before I get any harder and have to get out of my car in front of the entire town. Thank you for last night.”
Eva picked up her laptop and wandered out to the skinny stretch of sunroom off her living room. She flopped down on the god-awful flower print couch that looked as though it had barely survived since its heyday in the seventies. “What exactly about last night was gratitude worthy? We both stayed mostly clothed,” she said lightly.
“You knew I needed a break, and you took care of me. And when I felt guilty about taking a break, you told me I was being an idiot.”
What was that warmth in her chest? Was it heart burn?
“That’s not exactly how I remember it. I think I was much more delicate than calling you an idiot to your face.”
“You took care of me, and I appreciate it.”
“Any time, Sheriff. Just try not to push yourself so hard that you pass out on a mailbox again.”
She heard the chirp of his radio on his end and the sigh that he bit back. “I have to go, Eva. I’ll call you later.”
“Bye, Donovan.”
“Bye, beautiful.”
Eva let her breath out in a rush when she disconnected.What was it about that man that made her feel so damn much?
He was so honest, putting things out there as if it were completely natural to share feelings and thoughts. To be fair, he’d grown up in Blue Moon, the small-town answer to talk therapy. She’d grown up in a family that tried to protect each other by not ever blabbing about their feelings. It wasn’t that the Merills weren’t close. It’s just that, after the trauma her mother had caused, no one wanted to open old wounds. No one wanted to hurt anymore.
