Passion Fish, page 18
Eve tried to keep things light and could tell he was doing the same—lots of talk about the weather and general work-related stuff. But he had called. As their conversation went on, the thoughts of Julian faded like smoke from a candle. Will was the flame that burned brightly.
After about a half-hour, and ten minutes of playing the “you hang up first” game, they finally found a way to say goodnight.
“I’ve got an idea,” Will said. “Both of us should close our eyes. You picture me standing in front of the elevator, waving good night to you, and I’ll picture you standing in the elevator and waving to me as the doors close. Okay? I’ll count to five, and we’ll both hang up at the same time.”
He counted slowly, allowing the images to filter through her mind—his beautiful face and that crooked smile, both attached to his gorgeous body. But there was so much more. The man standing there in her vision was someone Eve was sure she had fallen in love with.
Chapter Twelve
Eve slept fitfully that first night back in her own bed. Being in the same town as Julian once again was a little frightening to her. She realized she needed to let her friends know what happened as soon as she could. Only then would she feel somewhat safe—not as safe as when she was with Will, but safer than she did right now.
After spending the morning doing her laundry, Eve tried to call both Josie and Skye. Neither answered their phones. Ironically, she could actually hear Skye’s phone ringing on the other side of the wall when she called. Eve was getting a little tired of being ignored by her friends, but she understood the whirlwind of new relationships and couldn’t begrudge them that.
Noelle was working, but promised to call her when her shift ended, adding that she couldn’t wait to hear about Eve’s trip. Eve missed Will more in that moment than she had thought she ever would. They hardly knew each other, but was a void in her life now that she was away from him that she just couldn’t understand.
Figuring she should keep herself busy, Eve went to the library to pick up the book being held for her and ran a few other errands. The whole time she was out, she had the strangest feeling she was being watched, but when she looked around, there was no one even glancing her way.
With her book and a bag of takeout, Eve returned home around six that evening. She checked her messages and was relieved, albeit surprised, to have none from Julian. Curling up on the couch with her book and the Mexican food she had brought home, Eve glanced at the phone, willing it to ring. She wanted to talk to Will—to have him make her feel safe again. She fell asleep on the couch with her book in one hand and the phone in the other. Will never called.
***
“What the hell?” The bright sun of Sunday morning seemed to be shining right on Skye, and she was not ready to leave Gage’s glorious bed.
“Sorry, babe. I was just admiring your hot naked body in the sun.”
Gage stood across the room wearing nothing but a big smile, and Skylar suddenly wanted him back in the bed with her very badly. He very obviously was thinking the same thing.
“Well, stud boy, come back to bed and you can admire a few more of my outstanding attributes.”
Skye didn’t have to ask twice. In two huge steps, Gage was back, pulling her into his arms. The two had spent the entire weekend wrapped in each other’s arms, and Skye still wanted more. Thinking back on that first night, she remembered her vow to make Gage hiss again, and decided this would be a perfect time to give that a try. Reaching up, she wound her hands around the back of Gage’s neck and pulled his mouth to hers.
Gage was a little taken aback as Skye took charge, but he decided he kind of liked it, and just held on for the ride. He eagerly opened his mouth to her and their kisses quickly deepened. Every cell in his body was aching for the beautiful woman seducing him. Skye slowly slid her hands down across his shoulders, tracing every muscle as she went. Gage didn’t think it was possible, but his body hardened even more at her touch.
Skye heard a deep intake of air as her hands worked their way down Gage’s chest, her tongue following the same path. It wasn’t the hiss that she was looking for though, and she was determined. Circling his nipples with her tongue caused a loud exhale. Close, Skye smiled, thinking it wouldn’t be much longer.
Gage slid his hands up and down Skye’s body, leaving a trail of fire over every inch of her skin. She glanced up at him, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and smiled. At the same time, her hands glided down his body again, followed by her tongue. When she lightly brushed Gage’s most sensitive area, and her hands came to rest on his thighs, he moaned Skye’s name.
Closer…almost there. Then she allowed her tongue to flick across his hardness. JACKPOT!
“Pleeease…” The hiss escaped Gage’s lips, and with that one plea, Skye couldn’t help but give him what he was begging for. Crawling back up, she joined their bodies together, and the way the two moved was the most erotic and loving thing either had ever experienced. Skye initially thought those feelings were because what they had was so new, but after two days and nights in bed, it was still perfect.
When they were both once again satisfied, the sun’s rays had moved from the bed, but still lit the entire room. Skye looked at the clock to see how much time she had until she absolutely had to get ready to meet the girls for brunch at Marlowe’s. Gage had a client later, so while he really wanted to, he wasn’t trying to persuade Skye to stay in bed for one more day.
“What time is your appointment, Gage?”
“Noon. Ugh! After having you in my bed all weekend, I’m definitely not looking forward to staring at Melinda’s boobs for an hour.”
“Oh, poor baby. Having to look at a perfect set of double Ds for an hour. Rough career choice, huh?”
“Babe, your beautiful, all-natural boobs are all I ever want to look at.”
“You really are a charmer, Gage. But, it’s nine right now, and I have to meet the girls at 11:30, so we need to get out of bed and get our asses moving.”
“No. Come on, at least just stay in bed and read the paper with me. I always see that in the movies, and I know chicks love that. Please?”
Not the same begging as earlier, but he was just too adorable for Skye to say no.
“Okay, cover that fine naked butt of yours and get the paper. You only have thirty minutes, and then I have to get in the shower.”
Like a little kid told to pick any candy he wanted, Gage jumped out of the bed, found his sweats and started for the door while trying to dress himself. He almost killed himself when he went head-first into the door frame after tripping on the leg of the sweats, so he tossed them aside and opened the door completely naked. Skye hoped he wouldn’t run into Eve in the hallway. She could only imagine how red Eve would be if she got a look at a completely naked Gage.
Within minutes Gage was back in bed opening the paper. He immediately grabbed the sports section. Skye went for the metro section, and there on the front page was the picture of Eve and William Prentiss, accompanied by an article about the SBMA winning the grant from Townsend Industries. She scanned the article to make sure they hadn’t screwed up the copy she’d sent them on Friday.
When they had discovered that William Prentiss, founder of Townsend Industries, was Eve’s fourth fish, she and Josie didn’t know what to do. They were sure he would have recognized her. But had he told her? She never mentioned it to either of them, so they assumed no. The question was…now what? Neither woman had an answer. If he’d wanted to pursue Eve, surely he would have told her, so they thought it better not to mention it.
“Look, Gage. It’s the article I wrote about the grant.”
Skye shoved the paper in front of him after receiving only a grunt at her declaration. He studied the picture for a minute.
“Hey, that’s the guy from Stratus. Wally…or Walter…or Wayne?”
“His name is William Prentiss, and he owns the company providing the grant. Josie and I saw the picture Friday, but we don’t think he told her.”
“Well, no wonder he never called me. He was keeping an eye on her himself,” Gage mumbled, as Skye kept on talking.
“I mean she was with him all week… Hey, wait a minute. How did you know his name?” Skylar’s brain finally caught up with what she had just heard Gage say.
“That Will guy, Eve’s fourth fish. He came back to the club that night because he forgot his cell phone. We talked, and he asked for my card so he could check up on Eve. I hadn’t heard from him, and now I know why.”
Skye reached over and slapped Gage on his bare chest.
“Ow! What was that for? And can you do it again? I think I kind of liked it.”
“Pig.” Skye smiled at him. He was just so hot when he was trying to get some. Again. Skye had to remind herself to focus on what was important: Eve and Will Prentiss. “That was for knowing that Will Prentiss had been asking about Eve and not telling me.”
“I kind of forgot about it. My mind’s been on other things lately.” Gage ran his hands from her knee up to her hip, looking at her with those smoldering eyes.
“Don’t even think about it. This changes so much! I have to call the girls.” Jumping out of bed, Skye grabbed her phone and flipped it open. She could hear Gage silently cursing, as he decided now was as good a time as any to get in the shower.
“Cold again!” he yelled as he made his way to the bathroom. Skye glanced over and was graced with an absolutely wonderful view of his incredible rear end.
“Hello! Skye? Hello!” Josie was yelling through the open phone in Skye’s hand.
“Oh, sorry, Josie. I was, uh, distracted by the best ass I have ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes on.”
“Thanks, Skye. That is just the way I want to start my day–with Gage’s butt in my head.”
“If you only knew. Anyway, I just found out something from Gage that may affect how we handle Will Prentiss being the fourth fish. Call Noelle and have her meet us at 11:00 instead of 11:30. We need to talk this out before Eve gets there.”
“What did Gage tell you?”
“I’ll fill you and Noelle in at Marlowe’s. I have to jump in the shower. Bye.”
Closing her phone, Skye went to join Gage in the shower. She thought she owed him for the chest slap.
***
Skye was already sitting at their usual booth when Josie walked in the door, likely her usual fifteen minutes early. Josie made her way over, gave her friend a quick kiss on the cheek, and took her place on the opposite side.
“Where’s Noelle?” she asked.
“I don’t know. You called her, right?”
“I left a message for her because she didn’t answer.”
Just then, they saw Noelle come through the door, looking a little out of sorts—very unlike their always together friend.
“Morning, girls,” Noelle greeted them in her beautiful sing-song voice. Her chocolate skin and high cheekbones seemed… flushed, was it?
“Noelle, what is wrong with you? You’re never late, and I think you have two different shoes on.” Skye immediately noticed that little detail.
“Nothing. I was just, uh, busy this morning, and I had to rush to get here.”
Both Skye and Josie looked sideways at Noelle. She tried to shift the focus before they could ask any more questions.
“So, why the meeting before Eve shows up?”
“Noelle, you did see the paper this morning, right? The picture of Eve at the ceremony in Boston?” Skye waited a beat before adding, “With the picture of Eve with her fourth fish?”
“What? How…I mean…wait, I’m lost.” Noelle looked from Skye to Josie.
“Okay, Noelle, what were you doing this morning that kept you from dressing properly and from reading the paper? You read the paper front to back every day.”
Noelle lowered her eyes and blushed. “Well, Thomas was home this morning. You have no idea how long it has been since we were able to stay in bed together. And, that’s exactly what we did. We’ve decided it’s time to start a family.” She smiled a shy smile. What she didn’t tell her friends was that they had been trying for almost a year and a half now, with no luck.
“Oh, Noelle. You’re going to be such a great mom!” Josie was so excited for her friend, and she really meant what she had said. Noelle was definitely the most maternal. Of course, she and Beau would be great parents someday, too. And she could see Eve someday, if she could find a decent guy, as a wonderful mother. Skye on the other hand… Because she never had real parents, Josie wondered if she would even want children.
“And, you don’t have to hide the fact that you and Thomas are enjoying each other. We love you and are happy you’re getting some,” said Skye, always the sensitive one. “I mean we all are now, except Eve. Which is why we’re here.”
“Skye, please just tell us what Gage told you,” Josie begged, looking at her watch. Eve would be arriving in less than twenty minutes.
“Oh, right. So, Noelle, basically, Eve has spent the last week in Boston with Will Prentiss, owner of Townsend Industries and her Fish Number Four.”
Noelle’s face lit up. “So why all the covert operations?” she asked, leaning forward on her elbows.
“We don’t think he told her,” Skye continued. “She never said anything to us, so Josie and I decided he didn’t. But here’s the new bit of information to consider: Gage talked with Will that night at Stratus.”
Noelle and Josie looked at one another and said at the same time, “No!”
“Yes. He asked about Eve and took Gage’s number so he could check on her. Gage thinks Julian did something and that’s why Will was worried.”
“Ohhh…this changes things!”
Skye smiled. Josie knew Skye well enough to figure she already had a plan. And that, of course, meant work for her, because while Skylar Montgomery was as devious as they come, the execution usually fell to Josie.
“I think we should keep all of this information from Eve.” Skye had a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“What? No! We have to tell her,” Noelle protested.
“No. Listen. I’m going to call this Megan person who works for Will Prentiss. I’ll try to find out what’s going on. She’s his assistant, and if anyone would know about him, it’s her. Once we have some more information, we can decide what we need to do.”
Finally, they agreed. None of them wanted Eve to get hurt. After watching her go through so many bad relationships over the years, they didn’t want her to get her hopes up. All of this may just have been a coincidence. Kismet. Maybe.
Just then their server came to take their order. She waited on them every Sunday, so all they had to say was “the usual”—and Josie made sure to put in Eve’s normal order as well.
***
When Eve arrived at Marlowe’s, metro section of the newspaper tucked under her arm, Noelle, Josie, and Skye were already huddled in deep discussion. Eve thought it was odd that all three were already waiting, especially when Josie hadn’t been on time for anything since she was born three days early.
“Hey, guys!” Eve plopped down next to Josie.
Josie gave Eve a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome back, Three Million Dollar Grant Winner!”
“I think as soon as I get a cup of coffee in front of me, we need to have a toast to all of us and the work we did to earn that money!” Eve waved to the server, and she immediately brought a coffee with hazelnut creamer.
Eve was really trying to be calm and professional about the grant, but it took only a few seconds before she broke. Laying the newspaper in the middle of the table, she pointed to the picture from the night of the gala.
“Oh, and by the way, that’s him! That’s Will!” Eve felt that uncontrollable teenager-with-a-crush grin return to her face. “Gah! I had the most wonderful time. He is as awesome on the inside as he looks on the outside!”
“So, you did end up finding a broom closet at the airport before you left, then?” Skye had one eyebrow lifted.
“No! He was just so sweet to me this entire week!”
“So, is he gay, then? I mean, hello? You were right there for the taking and he is extraordinarily good looking and impeccably dressed.”
The whole table laughed at that.
“Believe me, Skye, this man is not gay. I can promise you that. No, he was totally focused on business, but at the same time he was definitely flirting with me a lot.”
“Did you at least make out with him then?” Skye wasn’t going to give up.
“No. Not yet.” Eve paused to let that one sink in for a moment.
“Not yet?” Josie squealed. “Spill it, woman. What do you mean ‘not yet’?”
“Well,” Eve said in her most nonchalant and matter-of-fact way, “Will is coming to Santa Barbara next weekend.” She looked at her fingernails as though it wasn’t a big deal.
After about a half-hour, and ten minutes of playing the “you hang up first” game, they finally found a way to say goodnight.
“I’ve got an idea,” Will said. “Both of us should close our eyes. You picture me standing in front of the elevator, waving good night to you, and I’ll picture you standing in the elevator and waving to me as the doors close. Okay? I’ll count to five, and we’ll both hang up at the same time.”
He counted slowly, allowing the images to filter through her mind—his beautiful face and that crooked smile, both attached to his gorgeous body. But there was so much more. The man standing there in her vision was someone Eve was sure she had fallen in love with.
Chapter Twelve
Eve slept fitfully that first night back in her own bed. Being in the same town as Julian once again was a little frightening to her. She realized she needed to let her friends know what happened as soon as she could. Only then would she feel somewhat safe—not as safe as when she was with Will, but safer than she did right now.
After spending the morning doing her laundry, Eve tried to call both Josie and Skye. Neither answered their phones. Ironically, she could actually hear Skye’s phone ringing on the other side of the wall when she called. Eve was getting a little tired of being ignored by her friends, but she understood the whirlwind of new relationships and couldn’t begrudge them that.
Noelle was working, but promised to call her when her shift ended, adding that she couldn’t wait to hear about Eve’s trip. Eve missed Will more in that moment than she had thought she ever would. They hardly knew each other, but was a void in her life now that she was away from him that she just couldn’t understand.
Figuring she should keep herself busy, Eve went to the library to pick up the book being held for her and ran a few other errands. The whole time she was out, she had the strangest feeling she was being watched, but when she looked around, there was no one even glancing her way.
With her book and a bag of takeout, Eve returned home around six that evening. She checked her messages and was relieved, albeit surprised, to have none from Julian. Curling up on the couch with her book and the Mexican food she had brought home, Eve glanced at the phone, willing it to ring. She wanted to talk to Will—to have him make her feel safe again. She fell asleep on the couch with her book in one hand and the phone in the other. Will never called.
***
“What the hell?” The bright sun of Sunday morning seemed to be shining right on Skye, and she was not ready to leave Gage’s glorious bed.
“Sorry, babe. I was just admiring your hot naked body in the sun.”
Gage stood across the room wearing nothing but a big smile, and Skylar suddenly wanted him back in the bed with her very badly. He very obviously was thinking the same thing.
“Well, stud boy, come back to bed and you can admire a few more of my outstanding attributes.”
Skye didn’t have to ask twice. In two huge steps, Gage was back, pulling her into his arms. The two had spent the entire weekend wrapped in each other’s arms, and Skye still wanted more. Thinking back on that first night, she remembered her vow to make Gage hiss again, and decided this would be a perfect time to give that a try. Reaching up, she wound her hands around the back of Gage’s neck and pulled his mouth to hers.
Gage was a little taken aback as Skye took charge, but he decided he kind of liked it, and just held on for the ride. He eagerly opened his mouth to her and their kisses quickly deepened. Every cell in his body was aching for the beautiful woman seducing him. Skye slowly slid her hands down across his shoulders, tracing every muscle as she went. Gage didn’t think it was possible, but his body hardened even more at her touch.
Skye heard a deep intake of air as her hands worked their way down Gage’s chest, her tongue following the same path. It wasn’t the hiss that she was looking for though, and she was determined. Circling his nipples with her tongue caused a loud exhale. Close, Skye smiled, thinking it wouldn’t be much longer.
Gage slid his hands up and down Skye’s body, leaving a trail of fire over every inch of her skin. She glanced up at him, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and smiled. At the same time, her hands glided down his body again, followed by her tongue. When she lightly brushed Gage’s most sensitive area, and her hands came to rest on his thighs, he moaned Skye’s name.
Closer…almost there. Then she allowed her tongue to flick across his hardness. JACKPOT!
“Pleeease…” The hiss escaped Gage’s lips, and with that one plea, Skye couldn’t help but give him what he was begging for. Crawling back up, she joined their bodies together, and the way the two moved was the most erotic and loving thing either had ever experienced. Skye initially thought those feelings were because what they had was so new, but after two days and nights in bed, it was still perfect.
When they were both once again satisfied, the sun’s rays had moved from the bed, but still lit the entire room. Skye looked at the clock to see how much time she had until she absolutely had to get ready to meet the girls for brunch at Marlowe’s. Gage had a client later, so while he really wanted to, he wasn’t trying to persuade Skye to stay in bed for one more day.
“What time is your appointment, Gage?”
“Noon. Ugh! After having you in my bed all weekend, I’m definitely not looking forward to staring at Melinda’s boobs for an hour.”
“Oh, poor baby. Having to look at a perfect set of double Ds for an hour. Rough career choice, huh?”
“Babe, your beautiful, all-natural boobs are all I ever want to look at.”
“You really are a charmer, Gage. But, it’s nine right now, and I have to meet the girls at 11:30, so we need to get out of bed and get our asses moving.”
“No. Come on, at least just stay in bed and read the paper with me. I always see that in the movies, and I know chicks love that. Please?”
Not the same begging as earlier, but he was just too adorable for Skye to say no.
“Okay, cover that fine naked butt of yours and get the paper. You only have thirty minutes, and then I have to get in the shower.”
Like a little kid told to pick any candy he wanted, Gage jumped out of the bed, found his sweats and started for the door while trying to dress himself. He almost killed himself when he went head-first into the door frame after tripping on the leg of the sweats, so he tossed them aside and opened the door completely naked. Skye hoped he wouldn’t run into Eve in the hallway. She could only imagine how red Eve would be if she got a look at a completely naked Gage.
Within minutes Gage was back in bed opening the paper. He immediately grabbed the sports section. Skye went for the metro section, and there on the front page was the picture of Eve and William Prentiss, accompanied by an article about the SBMA winning the grant from Townsend Industries. She scanned the article to make sure they hadn’t screwed up the copy she’d sent them on Friday.
When they had discovered that William Prentiss, founder of Townsend Industries, was Eve’s fourth fish, she and Josie didn’t know what to do. They were sure he would have recognized her. But had he told her? She never mentioned it to either of them, so they assumed no. The question was…now what? Neither woman had an answer. If he’d wanted to pursue Eve, surely he would have told her, so they thought it better not to mention it.
“Look, Gage. It’s the article I wrote about the grant.”
Skye shoved the paper in front of him after receiving only a grunt at her declaration. He studied the picture for a minute.
“Hey, that’s the guy from Stratus. Wally…or Walter…or Wayne?”
“His name is William Prentiss, and he owns the company providing the grant. Josie and I saw the picture Friday, but we don’t think he told her.”
“Well, no wonder he never called me. He was keeping an eye on her himself,” Gage mumbled, as Skye kept on talking.
“I mean she was with him all week… Hey, wait a minute. How did you know his name?” Skylar’s brain finally caught up with what she had just heard Gage say.
“That Will guy, Eve’s fourth fish. He came back to the club that night because he forgot his cell phone. We talked, and he asked for my card so he could check up on Eve. I hadn’t heard from him, and now I know why.”
Skye reached over and slapped Gage on his bare chest.
“Ow! What was that for? And can you do it again? I think I kind of liked it.”
“Pig.” Skye smiled at him. He was just so hot when he was trying to get some. Again. Skye had to remind herself to focus on what was important: Eve and Will Prentiss. “That was for knowing that Will Prentiss had been asking about Eve and not telling me.”
“I kind of forgot about it. My mind’s been on other things lately.” Gage ran his hands from her knee up to her hip, looking at her with those smoldering eyes.
“Don’t even think about it. This changes so much! I have to call the girls.” Jumping out of bed, Skye grabbed her phone and flipped it open. She could hear Gage silently cursing, as he decided now was as good a time as any to get in the shower.
“Cold again!” he yelled as he made his way to the bathroom. Skye glanced over and was graced with an absolutely wonderful view of his incredible rear end.
“Hello! Skye? Hello!” Josie was yelling through the open phone in Skye’s hand.
“Oh, sorry, Josie. I was, uh, distracted by the best ass I have ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes on.”
“Thanks, Skye. That is just the way I want to start my day–with Gage’s butt in my head.”
“If you only knew. Anyway, I just found out something from Gage that may affect how we handle Will Prentiss being the fourth fish. Call Noelle and have her meet us at 11:00 instead of 11:30. We need to talk this out before Eve gets there.”
“What did Gage tell you?”
“I’ll fill you and Noelle in at Marlowe’s. I have to jump in the shower. Bye.”
Closing her phone, Skye went to join Gage in the shower. She thought she owed him for the chest slap.
***
Skye was already sitting at their usual booth when Josie walked in the door, likely her usual fifteen minutes early. Josie made her way over, gave her friend a quick kiss on the cheek, and took her place on the opposite side.
“Where’s Noelle?” she asked.
“I don’t know. You called her, right?”
“I left a message for her because she didn’t answer.”
Just then, they saw Noelle come through the door, looking a little out of sorts—very unlike their always together friend.
“Morning, girls,” Noelle greeted them in her beautiful sing-song voice. Her chocolate skin and high cheekbones seemed… flushed, was it?
“Noelle, what is wrong with you? You’re never late, and I think you have two different shoes on.” Skye immediately noticed that little detail.
“Nothing. I was just, uh, busy this morning, and I had to rush to get here.”
Both Skye and Josie looked sideways at Noelle. She tried to shift the focus before they could ask any more questions.
“So, why the meeting before Eve shows up?”
“Noelle, you did see the paper this morning, right? The picture of Eve at the ceremony in Boston?” Skye waited a beat before adding, “With the picture of Eve with her fourth fish?”
“What? How…I mean…wait, I’m lost.” Noelle looked from Skye to Josie.
“Okay, Noelle, what were you doing this morning that kept you from dressing properly and from reading the paper? You read the paper front to back every day.”
Noelle lowered her eyes and blushed. “Well, Thomas was home this morning. You have no idea how long it has been since we were able to stay in bed together. And, that’s exactly what we did. We’ve decided it’s time to start a family.” She smiled a shy smile. What she didn’t tell her friends was that they had been trying for almost a year and a half now, with no luck.
“Oh, Noelle. You’re going to be such a great mom!” Josie was so excited for her friend, and she really meant what she had said. Noelle was definitely the most maternal. Of course, she and Beau would be great parents someday, too. And she could see Eve someday, if she could find a decent guy, as a wonderful mother. Skye on the other hand… Because she never had real parents, Josie wondered if she would even want children.
“And, you don’t have to hide the fact that you and Thomas are enjoying each other. We love you and are happy you’re getting some,” said Skye, always the sensitive one. “I mean we all are now, except Eve. Which is why we’re here.”
“Skye, please just tell us what Gage told you,” Josie begged, looking at her watch. Eve would be arriving in less than twenty minutes.
“Oh, right. So, Noelle, basically, Eve has spent the last week in Boston with Will Prentiss, owner of Townsend Industries and her Fish Number Four.”
Noelle’s face lit up. “So why all the covert operations?” she asked, leaning forward on her elbows.
“We don’t think he told her,” Skye continued. “She never said anything to us, so Josie and I decided he didn’t. But here’s the new bit of information to consider: Gage talked with Will that night at Stratus.”
Noelle and Josie looked at one another and said at the same time, “No!”
“Yes. He asked about Eve and took Gage’s number so he could check on her. Gage thinks Julian did something and that’s why Will was worried.”
“Ohhh…this changes things!”
Skye smiled. Josie knew Skye well enough to figure she already had a plan. And that, of course, meant work for her, because while Skylar Montgomery was as devious as they come, the execution usually fell to Josie.
“I think we should keep all of this information from Eve.” Skye had a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“What? No! We have to tell her,” Noelle protested.
“No. Listen. I’m going to call this Megan person who works for Will Prentiss. I’ll try to find out what’s going on. She’s his assistant, and if anyone would know about him, it’s her. Once we have some more information, we can decide what we need to do.”
Finally, they agreed. None of them wanted Eve to get hurt. After watching her go through so many bad relationships over the years, they didn’t want her to get her hopes up. All of this may just have been a coincidence. Kismet. Maybe.
Just then their server came to take their order. She waited on them every Sunday, so all they had to say was “the usual”—and Josie made sure to put in Eve’s normal order as well.
***
When Eve arrived at Marlowe’s, metro section of the newspaper tucked under her arm, Noelle, Josie, and Skye were already huddled in deep discussion. Eve thought it was odd that all three were already waiting, especially when Josie hadn’t been on time for anything since she was born three days early.
“Hey, guys!” Eve plopped down next to Josie.
Josie gave Eve a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome back, Three Million Dollar Grant Winner!”
“I think as soon as I get a cup of coffee in front of me, we need to have a toast to all of us and the work we did to earn that money!” Eve waved to the server, and she immediately brought a coffee with hazelnut creamer.
Eve was really trying to be calm and professional about the grant, but it took only a few seconds before she broke. Laying the newspaper in the middle of the table, she pointed to the picture from the night of the gala.
“Oh, and by the way, that’s him! That’s Will!” Eve felt that uncontrollable teenager-with-a-crush grin return to her face. “Gah! I had the most wonderful time. He is as awesome on the inside as he looks on the outside!”
“So, you did end up finding a broom closet at the airport before you left, then?” Skye had one eyebrow lifted.
“No! He was just so sweet to me this entire week!”
“So, is he gay, then? I mean, hello? You were right there for the taking and he is extraordinarily good looking and impeccably dressed.”
The whole table laughed at that.
“Believe me, Skye, this man is not gay. I can promise you that. No, he was totally focused on business, but at the same time he was definitely flirting with me a lot.”
“Did you at least make out with him then?” Skye wasn’t going to give up.
“No. Not yet.” Eve paused to let that one sink in for a moment.
“Not yet?” Josie squealed. “Spill it, woman. What do you mean ‘not yet’?”
“Well,” Eve said in her most nonchalant and matter-of-fact way, “Will is coming to Santa Barbara next weekend.” She looked at her fingernails as though it wasn’t a big deal.
