True Love (Volume 4) (Now and Forever) (5 page)

“Of course, it would be Becca,
my sister and of course me.”

The officer nodded. “D
o you have any doubts about them?”

“I can tell you right now that my sister would have nothing to do with this. As for Becca, I can’t understand why she would do something like this. But, I would like to be there when you question her.”

“I would highly recommend that you let us do our job, sir. We are trained professionals. We will have a word with her and of course, we will need to talk with your sister.”

“I will contact her right now.”

Alex looked over his shoulder at Becca as she paced around the front lobby. He worried that he may have misjudged her. He allowed the officers to detain her for questioning and called Eve to see if she could pick him up.

Eve showed up about thirty minutes later and picked Alex up in front of
the gallery.

“Thank you
for lending me your car,” Eve said as she smiled.

He nodded. “No problem, I didn’t want you to have to
wait around for me.”

“How’s it going?” she asked as she drove him back towards his house.

“The alarm was turned off before the break in. Only a few people have the codes. I’m worried that Becca has a connection with this.”

Eve pouted slightly. “That sucks. Though from a girl’s perspective, I think she was very
put off when she caught us kissing at the bar last night.”

Alex shook his head. “No way, she doesn’t care about that. She never made a pass at me or made me feel
uncomfortable. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“I’m sure the police will get to the bottom of it, Alex. In the meantime, why don’t you shower and I can make us some lunch if you don’t mind me raiding your kitchen.”

Alex laughed. “I actually have someone who does that for me.”

Eve’s laughter filled the car. “Man, how rich are you?”

He couldn’t help but blush and look out the car window. “I live comfortably.”

“I guess so,” Eve said as they pulled into his driveway. “Do you mind if I stick around since I don’t have a ride back to the hotel?”

“Of course you can and you can make lunch. I would love that.”

Eve smiled and followed him into the house. “Wow, this is amazing.”

“Thank you, I love this place.”

“I can understand why. You have great taste, Alex.”

He smiled. “If you would excuse me, I need to shower. Have a look around, explore and if you run into Mrs. Bennett, just tell her you are making lunch today so she can take the afternoon off.”

Eve chuckled. “
Got it, enjoy your shower.”

Alex disappeared up the stairs and into his bedroom. He pulled off his sweaty running clothes and threw them into the hamper. He walked into his large shower and turned on the hot water.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the break in. He didn’t understand why someone would want to destroy a few portraits just for the fun of it. He dreaded the phone call to Emily to tell her that the painting of Emma was destroyed. That painting meant so much to him.

His fingers slid through his wet hair
as he rinsed the shampoo from it. His thoughts drifted to Eve. He smiled as he realized just a simple thought made his worry disappear. She had already turned into a good friend. He looked forward to exploring his feelings towards her. He knew that he shouldn’t jump into a relationship but he always followed his heart.

He stepped from his shower
and grabbed a towel from the rack. He walked into the bedroom as the door opened and Eve gasped. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” She quickly turned around so her back was towards him.

Alex chuckled. “Are you trying to sneak a peek
at me, Eve? You could have just asked.”

“Oh my God, don’t make this worse.”
Eve grimaced.

Alex grinned. “It’s ok. At least I’m in a towel.” He thought he heard her mumble that she could see that.
“Were you just exploring the house?”

Eve nodded. “Yes, I thought this was a spare bedroom. I never imagined it being the master bedroom.”

“Eve, we are adults. You can turn around.”

She turned around and he could feel the heat from her eyes as they trailed over his body. He groaned softly and shook his head. “Ok, maybe that was bad idea.”

Eve chuckled. “It’s your fault. I tried being a lady.”

He nodded. “You are right.”

“So, this is the master bedroom, huh?  It’s gorgeous, Alex. I love your fireplace. This house is just spectacular.”

“Thank you. You can step onto
my balcony and see the pool.”

Eve opened the french doors and stepped onto the small balcony.
“Wow, your yard is breathtaking. I love the gazebo. Do you rent out this space because if you don’t, you should?”
Alex nodded. “I only did once. A favor for...” His words trailed off.

Eve turned towards him and quickly finished his thoughts. “Emily.”

He nodded. “Her best friend needed a venue for her wedding reception and I offered to have it arranged here.”

“That was nice of you. I can tell that you have a kind heart, Alex. I like that.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I guess I should get dressed. Did you find Mrs. Bennett?”

She nodded and looked at the floor.
“Yeah, she said that she would have lunch ready shortly.”

Alex walked over to her and tilted her chin up to face him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think she likes me.”

“I’m sure that’s
not it. She’s very protective of me. I probably should have introduced you to her. We will fix that later.”

Eve nodded and smiled at him. “Kiss me.”

Alex took a deep breath because he loved her confidence. He lowered his lips to her and kissed her gently. He felt her lips mold around his and heard a faint moan. Her fingers reached for his chest and he felt the warmth of her hands on his bare skin. He groaned as he deepened the kiss and she came along for the ride.

Alex ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her tighter against him. His body responded to her and he knew that she could feel it through the thin material of his towel but he didn’t care. He wanted more of her. He felt her nails run down his chest as he groaned. “I have never lost control this fast with someone. What are you doing to me?”

“Maybe you just needed the right person,” Eve explained as he could hear her light panting.

Alex
licked his lips, swollen from their kiss. “We should probably stop before we reach the point of no return.”

Eve nodded. “Yeah, I agree. Do you want to go out tonight after my show?”

Alex nodded quickly. “Yes, I know the perfect place to celebrate.”

Eve backed away slightly as Alex found himself grabbing her waist and pulling her back to him. “We will continue this
at a later date, Eve.” He kissed her again.

Eve stepped a
way and walked towards the door but before she left the room she turned towards him and smiled. “I like you, Alex.” She disappeared from the room.

Alex changed into a pair of dress slacks with a wh
ite button shirt. He grabbed a tie and jacket from his closet and headed downstairs. He rounded the corner and found Eve sitting at the breakfast counter.

“H
ow’s lunch coming?” Alex asked.

Mrs. Bennett
finished up the sandwiches and placed the plates on the counter. “You are all set. Alex, I taught you better manners than this. You allowed a stranger to come into my kitchen to introduce herself.”

Alex smirked. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Bennett. I had a very rough morning, I wasn’t thinking clearly. Eve is displaying her artwork at my gallery for the next two
evenings so you will see a lot of her around the house.”

The older lady nodded. “Should I make myself scarce for awhile?”

“You don’t need to do that but if you would like to take a few days off, I’m fine with that. I’m sure my mother would love to see you.”

She nodded again. “How’s Emily? I miss her.”

Alex frowned and looked at Eve as he noticed the disapproving look as it appeared on her face. “Mrs. Bennett, why don’t you head home for day? I need to go back to the gallery and take Eve back to her hotel.”

She nodded as she left the kitchen leaving Alex with Eve. “I told you that she didn’t like
me.”

Alex sat down next to her and
put her face in his hands. “It’s not that. She loved Emily. She wanted us to work out so badly and they bonded with each other in that short period of time. When I came home and told her that Emily had chosen Eric, she was heartbroken.”

Eve nodded. “I can understand that. How was she with the next girlfriend?”

Alex chuckled. “Are we having this conversation already?”

Eve blushed. “Yeah, I guess it’s a little early to talk about our ex’s.”

Alex grabbed his sandwich and took a bite. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t have a problem telling her about the one real relationship that he had since Emily but would she judge him that it was only the one?

Eve grabbed his hand and traced her nails over the back of it. “You can tell me whatever you want, whenever you want.
I’m a good listener and I’m dying to know more about you.”

Alex grinned as he swallowed and looked back at her. “I only had one real relationship after Emily. Her name was Sue and everyone hated her,” Alex laughed. “She was nice but just not my type. I’ve been on dates but nothing worked out. I was still healing.”

Eve nodded. “My last boyfriend was in a well known band. He would fly me to whichever city he was in that night, we would hook up and then I would head back home in the morning.”

Alex couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sounds like a great relationship.”

“Oh, it was nothing more than great sex. I got that from the beginning but who doesn’t want to hook up with a rock star, right?”

Alex grinned. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Before him, Ethan was my last serious relationship. We were inseparable. I loved him with every ounce of my being. It hurts to even talk about him.”

Alex grabbed her hand. “You don’t have to, believe me, I understand that pain.”

Eve smiled at him. “No, it’s ok. You shared, so will I. Ethan and I were together for years. We went to college together and shared everything. I knew his family, he knew mine. Life was easy. The night that he asked me to join him at his family’s estate I thought it would be the night of our engagement.”

Alex noticed Eve’s face sadden as she looked at her plate. He wanted to support her but wasn’t sure how
to get close to her. He moved his hand across her back and massaged it as she spoke.

“When I arrived, Ethan was standing on the
back patio. He looked so sad. I ran over to him and asked him what had happened. I was afraid that a family member was sick. But, it wasn’t that. He revealed to me that he was about to have a child.”

Alex
stopped massaging her back and looked at her stunned. “I’m sorry, a child?”

“He was having an affair with my best friend at the time. They had been sleeping together for almost a year. She wanted him to break it off with me and he didn’t want that so my lovely ex-best friend didn’t take her birth control
which allowed her to get pregnant. She tricked him into the relationship that she wanted with him.”

Alex couldn’t speak. He didn’t have the right words for her. He stared at her in disbelief. “Eve, that is so horrible, what did you do?”

“What could I do? I stood there as he told me what he had done. He claims he thought he loved her too but after the stunt that she played he didn’t know how to handle the situation. I cried, he cried and then I told him where he could stick it and I left.”

Alex stood up and pulled her from h
er chair. He moved his fingers across her cheek. He looked into her eyes and frowned. “I don’t know how any man does that to another woman. But, I hope you know I would never do anything like that. Though, your friend isn’t much better. I have to say I was in a very similar situation and it hurt like hell.”

Eve nodded as he saw a tear run down her cheek. “I promised myself that I wouldn’t allow for that to happen again. So, I have been with guys who only wanted a flin
g.”

Alex wiped h
er tear away and grinned. “Well if I have a say in this, we are going to change your way of thinking.”

Eve smiled and leaned in to kiss his lips lightly. “I told you that I like
d you, right?”

Alex nodded as he grabbed his suit jacket. “I need to get you back to your hotel so I can get back to the gallery and see how the investigation is going.”

She nodded as she grabbed her purse and headed out the front door with him. As they reached his car and got in, Alex put the key into the ignition and sat there for a moment.