Finding Eva (Highland Creek Series) (10 page)

“Oh my goodness,” came out involuntarily, not knowing how they were even going to begin to put a dent in that food.

“Glad you approve. Let me know if ya’ll need anything else.”

Eva didn’t know where to begin, so she just stared. Aaron didn’t share the same issue, as he heaped food greedily onto his plate.

“Help yourself. Everything’s great,” he said then closed his eyes in sheer pleasure as he ate a hunk of biscuit.

Ellen had outdone herself as always. He opened his eyes to see that she had placed food on her plate, taking tentative bites of the fried chicken. She looked up with wide eyes, nodded her head approvingly, and went back to the chicken.

“Told you.”

She stared at him, not amused with his joke as he grinned back. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you that it’s not nice to brag?”

“I think I missed that lesson.” He smirked, enjoying the company and the food. She was a spunky little thing and he found himself loving it.

“Whatever,” she muttered before going back to her food. He looked at her—this beautiful woman who happened to land in this place through a series of unbelievable events—and couldn’t help but be amazed by her. Now if only he could make her his …

“What are you staring at?” she asked, finally noticing his scrutiny.

“Nothing. I like that you eat.” He couldn’t tell her that she was one of the most beautiful girls he had seen in a while, so he fell back into the fact that she clearly seemed to be enjoying her food.

“Of course I eat. Why wouldn’t I eat?” She seemed confused by the question, and he figured he should clarify.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Most girls don’t.”

“What does that mean?” she asked as she wiped her fingers, having finished eating her chicken before she moved on to her mashed potatoes.

“Well most of the girls I’ve gone out with …”

She held up her hand, swallowing her mashed potatoes before speaking, “Stop right there. It is not smart to mention the other girls you’ve gone out with, especially when you are trying to get in my pants.”
Well damn, way to be smooth, Casanova.
He didn’t know what he was thinking; he just started talking.

“Let’s be honest, you aren’t most girls.”

This wasn’t anything new, so she didn’t bother denying his statement. “True.”

He felt like he always had to redirect the conversation to the topic at hand with her. She was like that dog in the movie
Up
that was distracted by squirrels. “So back to what I was saying. Most girls try to eat very little on dates, and I have always wondered why. I mean, I know you girls eat, so why not do it when I am around?”

She rolled her eyes. Why was he talking about her weight in the middle of her eating with gusto? “Because girls are always trying to impress the guy and no one is impressed by a fatty.”

“But that’s the thing. No guy is going to think you are a fatty, especially since we know what you look like going into the situation. And who cares if you eat or not?”

“Just know that it is one of those things that you will never understand and chalk it up one of the mysteries of life.”

He shook his head because she was probably right—that was one of the great mysteries of life women would never divulge. Like how they smelled so good, or got their skin so soft, but those were ways he would be forever grateful that they were different than men.

“So how is it?” He leaned in, nodding at what was left of the food on the table. He was interested to know if he picked the right restaurant, desperately seeking her approval, surprised he wanted it. It was never something he was concerned about before. He always wanted to make sure a woman enjoyed their time together and liked everything about the date, but he never actively sought approval. She was too busy eating to answer him right away, but if the way she was killing the mashed potatoes was any indication, he didn’t have to worry. If he didn’t know any better, he would think this was her last meal. She had already devoured a piece of chicken, the mashed potatoes, and was currently eyeing the biscuit like it was next on the hit list. He didn’t know where she put it; she wasn’t really fat but had a glorious maze of curves that he couldn’t wait to explore. If the taste that he got last night was any indication, he was along for an amazingly luscious beautiful ride.

“It is delicious. I must admit that despite my earlier doubts, of which there were plenty, I am really enjoying the dinner and the company.” She looked at him like she had last night, as though he was next on her list of things to eat. Her tongue darted across her lips, causing him to shift uncomfortably in his seat, picturing that tongue wrapped around his cock. She leaned closer, boobs spilling over the top of her dress.

He adjusted himself, his pants suddenly too tight. “I told you this was the best place to eat. And as far as the company, who can beat my awesome presence?”

She smiled slyly, looking down pointedly, knowing exactly what she was doing. “Have I mentioned how I admire your humility?”

He leaned toward her, deciding to see her bet and raise it. He glanced down at her breasts, still on display, slowly working his way toward her mouth. He could see her chest rising and falling more rapidly, cocking his eyebrow when he looked at her. He knew he was turning her on—hell, he was turning himself on—but short of throwing her on the table and taking her in the middle of the restaurant, his desire would have to wait, so he changed the subject to something that didn’t involve foreplay. “A time or two. I forgot to ask, how was it with Conner today?”

She blinked, trying to focus on the question at hand, and he saw when the haze of lust cleared from her eyes. As much as he wanted to get her in bed, right fucking now, he knew the wait would be worth it. When they finally got into bed, it was going to be damn good.

Leaning back, making him want to pout because her beautiful breasts went with her, she answered his question about Conner. “Messy…” she crinkled her face in response “…and very noisy. But your brother’s really nice, and he tried to make it as painless as possible.”

“That’s Conner. He will do the best work for you, and if you don’t like it, he’ll fix it until you do.”

“Yeah, I got that vibe from him.”

“Glad you like him. Did you get a chance to go through the house?” he asked casually, staring at the fork he turned over repeatedly.

He was trying not to ask, but he really wanted to know if she found out anything about why her mother would want her to think she was dead. He was trying not to push her because she seemed a bit irritated the other night, so he figured if he was sneaky about it she wouldn’t know.

It worked, because she answered the question without any snide comments or gestures. “I went through some of it. I found these letters the other night that my father had written to my mother. She had them in her bedside table and some of them were really old, which surprised me. You know what I am talking about, when the paper is yellow and really soft because you have folded it and unfolded it numerous times? Well, the other night I found one he had written like right after he received the signed divorce papers, and he was telling her about me and my stepmother. He had just met her and he talked about how taken I was with her and how I was doing. It was really sweet, and it made me think about what would make her leave me. She clearly loved me, I know that, but something held her back from giving herself to me, and that makes me feel unloved. Right or wrong, even though I
know
she loved me, I can’t seem to see how abandonment equals love.” Her mouth turned down in a frown while she stared down at the table. He didn’t know what to do with her, but he grabbed her hands and squeezed them to let her know he was here for her.

He leaned over and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, rubbing his hand along her jaw to lift her chin. Her eyes, alight only minutes before, now looked dull. All he wanted to do was reassure her, regardless of whether she wanted him to help or not. “Honey, sometimes we do stupid stuff. There are always things that I wish I could turn around and do over, and maybe your mom felt the same way.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “But over twenty years? At any time I would have welcomed her back.” He brought her hands to his lips, kissing them lightly in comfort.

“I know, but maybe she didn’t know that. You have to stop doing this to yourself. You have the key in your house right now and you choose to ignore it. If you want to know her reasoning, read the letter that she left for you.”

Her lips pursed curiously. “How do you know about the letter?”

He knew he stepped in it and moved quickly to reassure her so she didn’t think she was talking about her behind her back. “My mom may have mentioned it the other night.”

She smirked. “After she yelled at you?”

He scratched his head, not liking to be in the hot seat. “Who told you that?” How the hell did she know that his mother chastised him like he was five years old?

Eva held up her soda, glass clinking against the side as she shook it. “Conner,” she said before drinking, wanting to see his reaction.

He could feel his face getting red. He was going kill Conner the next time he saw him. “Of course, little brother is always willing to help out.”

She wagged her finger at him. “Don’t blame your brother for you being an ass.”

“As I was saying …” He changed the subject back to the topic of the envelope, not liking the direction that conversation was going. “You can’t continue to live in this limbo— did she or didn’t she? Why did she do it?—that you’ve created for yourself. It’s not healthy for anyone, you especially, and it brings you no less peace than if you knew for sure.”

She sighed heavily, figuring she might as well come clean. “But I’m scared of what I will find out.”

“We all get scared. What really counts is what the hell you do
when
you get scared.” He gave her a slight smile before raising his hand for Ellen. “Now what do you say we put your mother out of your mind for the time being and go back to your place?”

This time the smile reached her eyes. “I would like that.”

Even though she tried to put the situation with her mother out of her mind, Aaron could tell she was still worried in the limited conversation that they had in the car. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to truly engage her in conversation, so when they pulled up to the house, he wasn’t surprised she didn’t really want him to come inside.

“Do you mind if we just say goodnight here,” she said, looking everywhere but him.

She shouldn’t have been uncomfortable, especially given their make out session yesterday, but he moved to comfort her. “Yeah, baby, that’s fine.”

“Ok.” She seemed to sigh in relief before she realized what kind of impression she was giving him. She put her hand on his arm to reassure her. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I loved last night, and as much as I would love for you to come inside and continue where we left off, I am just not in the mood for it.”

“You don’t have to explain. I knew what you meant. How about we just say goodbye in the car, and I will call you tomorrow.” He leaned in and kissed her tonight, sweetly laying his lips on hers.

It took about thirty seconds before Eva decided that wasn’t enough and opened her lips to him while she reached up and grabbed him on the side of the head. They never seemed to be able to take it slow, their kisses running hot the minute their lips touched. Aaron pulled her closer, trying to get her hips as close as he could despite the tight spot in the car. She assisted, half straddling him as she struggled to get all the way on his lap, pressing her thigh into his arousal. They continued to kiss until she moved to get more comfortable, accidently kneeing his dick with her knee.

“Oh shit,” he said, jerking his lips and pushing her to the side while he moved his legs together, trying to protect his dick.

“Oh my gosh!” She gasped, hands over her mouth, moving toward him to help but when he turned away from her to cup his abused penis, she backed away. “I’m so sorry; I don’t know how that happened.”

“It’s … ok …” he struggled to say, his face a surprising shade of red as he tried to breathe through the pain. She kneed the shit out of him, and the pain was horrible. He thought he was dying and wished that something would mercifully cut it off.

“Is there something I can do?” She looked lost, normally not kneeing a guy that she was trying to have sex with. The way he was acting, you would think she had crushed it.

“No, no,” he said, waving her off as he continued to take deep breaths in an attempt to help the constant shooting pain.

He rested his head on the window, cupping his penis and breathing deep for what seemed like hours but was probably closer to minutes before he felt like he could talk again. He looked at Eva to see her watching him wide-eyed, not knowing what to say.

“Ok,” he said, feeling like he could breathe normally and move gingerly without feeling like he should wish for death.

“How about we call it a night because my jewels can’t take any more attention tonight?” She laughed at his question, causing him to stare at her in wonder. “Are you seriously laughing at me? You did this!”