Page 68 of Fall Into Temptation
“Do you cook?” Eva asked as her stomach growled.
“I cook all the time. Leftovers go in the microwave. I push important buttons and the food comes out hot.”
“So, no then.”
“You’re welcome to these appliances that I don’t know how to use anytime you want,” Donovan offered grandly.
“Let’s start with what leftovers you have,” Eva suggested. He let her snoop through his cabinets and fridge, and she considered it a jackpot when she stumbled on containers of day-old Chinese food.
Donovan produced forks and paper towels, but when she made a move toward the table he guided her down a hallway and into the master. “Sorry in advance, but I should warn you we’re going to be living out every fantasy I’ve ever had about you for the next few years.”
Eva laughed as he took the containers from her and pulled her sweater over her head. “First up, naked leftover picnic,” he insisted.
Donovan lit a fire in the gas fireplace, and they ate General Tso’s and sweet and sour pork on the flannel quilt of his sleigh bed and watched the waxing moon through the windows. The room was comfortable and, like him, oh so masculine.
“This is quite the place you have here,” Eva said, pointing with the fork.
“I’m glad you like it,” Donovan said, stealing a forkful from her container. “It’s not finished, yet, but it’s home. Upstairs is two more bedrooms that need to be relieved of their popcorn ceilings and wood paneling. And I haven’t done anything with the loft yet.”
“I like your place,” Eva said, admiring the thick beams in the cathedral ceiling. It wasn’t a huge room, but it didn’t need to be. The space was efficiently used, cozy even.
“I do, too. I have a shower I can stand up in,” he bragged.
She laughed. “I can’t believe I’m here having a naked midnight picnic with Donovan Cardona,” Eva said. She was certain that no matter how long she spent staring at his naked body, eternity wouldn’t be long enough to appreciate every millimeter of his fine male form.
He put a warm hand over her foot. “Neither can I. I’m glad you finally came to your senses.”
“You’re ridiculous. You spring this whole ‘we’re destined to be together’ thing on me and expect me to jump right into bed with you—”
“Permanently,” he cut in.
Incredulous, Eva shook her head. “I wish I could have your confidence. Even just for a day.”
“Maybe your lack of confidence is a result of those abandonment issues the Beautification Committee accused you of having.”
She pointed at him with her fork. “Not nice, Cardona.”
He shrugged his massive shoulders. “You went through something traumatic with one of your parents while the other one had to pick up the pieces. It’s bound to make you stop and think.”
“It is, isn’t it?” she nodded.
“It must be interesting in your head, crafting these romantic stories of true love and then struggling with the reality of relationships in your life.”
“Are you using sneaky cop interrogation skills on me?” Eva asked, nudging him with her foot.
He grinned, and again she was struck by the boyish joy she saw in his gorgeous face.
“I’m just empathizing with you. My parents? After my dad wore down my mother, they were a team. Nothing could come between them, and that’s what I grew up wanting.”
“Not everyone’s that lucky,” Eva pointed out. “My parents were happy once. But people can change and in unexpected ways.”
“How do you think your mother changed?” he asked, hefting a forkful of chicken.
Eva shrugged one shoulder and paid special attention to the carton of sweet and sour pork in her lap.
“We’re having a romantic naked picnic, Eva. There can’t be anything between us.” His eyes, the color of worn denim, seemed to delve beneath the surface and into her.
“Drugs,” she said. Letting loose a secret she’d kept for years made her feel panicky and maybe just a little relieved.
