Page 57 of Fall Into Temptation
“Eva, what we like to do here with potential members is really try to get to know them and make sure they’re a good fit for our committee,” Bruce explained. “If you’re ready, we’ll just start our interview. Anyone can ask a question at any time. If it’s something you’re not comfortable answering you are free to pass on answering it.”
“Oh, good. Okay,” Eva nodded, relieved.
“Of course, if you do that, we’ll have no choice but to deny your application.” Bruce chuckled, and the rest of the table joined him.
“Okaaaaay,” Eva said through the gritted teeth of her terrified smile.
Amethyst raised her hand. “Eva, if you could, please tell us do you think happy relationships strengthen or weaken a community?”
Whew. Okay, a softball. Maybe they were all like this?“Happy relationships strengthen the communities they exist within,” she said with confidence.
Everyone bent over their notebooks and began to scribble.
“When did you first realize the value of true love?” Wilson Abramovich asked, pointing his pen in her direction.
“How much time do I have for answers?” Eva asked, stalling.
“Take all the time you need,” Bruce said jovially. “Of course, if you need more than say, thirty seconds to answer, we’ll most likely be forced to deny your application.”
“I guess it was at my father’s wedding to Phoebe,” Eva blurted out. “Here is a man I’ve loved my entire life who is finally happy. It’s like Phoebe’s love erased all those hard years for him or at least made them worthwhile.”
The pens scratched over paper again, and Willa ducked back into the room. She paused to whisper in Bruce’s ear and Eva thought she heard “essay.”
Poor Gia.
“When did you lose your virginity, and what are your thoughts on premarital sex?” Bobby asked as if she was wondering what time it was.
“Uh, well, that’s rather personal,” Eva squeaked.
“You’re more than welcome to pass,” Bruce reminded her.
“I was seventeen, and I think people should do what works best for themselves and their relationships. Personally, I would find it hard to commit my life to a man when I didn’t know how… uh, compatible we were in that specific area.” She blurted the words out as her cheeks flamed.
“Has anyone ever told you to mind your own business, and what was your response?” Bruce asked.
She was doing this for Donovan and Ellery, Eva reminded herself. A Beautification Committee member had to be nosy by nature, but they prided themselves on their romantic ninja skills.
“No,” she said. Everyone stopped writing and looked at her and then each other. “Because my prying is so stealthy people never know I’m doing it.”
There was a collective sigh of relief that went up around the table and Bruce nodded his approval.
“Are you currently romantically involved with anyone?” Rainbow demanded.
Uh-oh. They’d thrown Ellery out for getting engaged to someone they hadn’t set her up with. Maybe they wouldn’t let her in? But she wasn’t going to lie. Not with half the town seeing Donovan’s police cruiser parked overnight in Beckett’s driveway. The rumors had to already be flying.
“I’m seeing Donovan Cardona,” she said. They probably had a dossier on Donovan since he grew up here.
The committee members exchanged a look and then began to flip through their binders.
“Is that a problem?” Eva asked.
“Got it. Potential Match fifty-nine on page thirty-eight,” Willa, announced triumphantly.
Everyone furiously turned pages.
“I guess technically we haven’t had our first date yet,” Eva said, her fingers digging into her knees under the table. “We’ve been trying, but he keeps getting called away. I mean, we’ve kissed. And wow, can that guy kiss. I mean, fireworks every time. But that’s all. And really all this could just be because of the planetary crossing.” She was blabbering like a raving lunatic and couldn’t shut herself up.
She heard anotherthunkfrom the air vent, and her phone vibrated in her lap. Eva glanced down.
