When All Else Fails (9 page)

The car stopped, and the doors slid open. Green eyes shone bright with tears.

“Baby, it’s not what it looked like, I swear.” She darted into the elevator. “She wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“It didn’t seem like you were saying no.” The pain in her baby’s voice killed her, and when she reached for Eva, she flinched away. “I don’t want excuses. I want to go home, and I know I’m probably acting like an emotional idiot, but I’m not used to being picked first. Natalia’s a successful model. I’m just a frumpy soccer mom.”

“That’s bullshit. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you approaching me with Artie. I lov—”

“No! I don’t want to hear it. I’m going home, and I’ll be taking a week’s personal leave. If that isn’t acceptable, you can fire me.”

“Baby, let’s go back upstairs. I’ll kick Natalia out, and we can talk about this. Don’t let her fuck this up. We’ve waited too long. Please.”

Eva shook her head, and her heart sank. The woman she loved ran out of the elevator and rushed to the front door.

“Can I take you home at least?” she called after her. No answer came, and she stood helpless as the door shut. She scrubbed her palms over her face. Helplessness at not being able to get her lover to stay broke her heart. She didn’t have the greatest reputation, but she’d changed since she’d met Eva, wanted different things.

On the heels of the pain of possibly losing Eva, rage seared through her. Slamming the heel of her hand to the button for her floor, she knew Natalia awaited her. If the woman had any sense, she’d be far away from her place. Clenching her jaw and fists, she took deep breaths, attempting to calm herself.

The elevator doors slid open. A smug Natalia stood there with her coat barely closed. “Finally got a fucking clue, huh?”

Exiting the car, she stormed past Natalia.

“You can’t possibly want her.”

She reached her door and spun, Natalia almost bumping into her.

“Yes, I want, need…hell, that woman you just shredded is the woman I love, and I couldn’t even tell her because of the shit you pulled. Are you happy, feel proud?”

Natalia’s bowed. A frown pulled the woman’s lips tight in what appeared to be something close to remorse, but she’d already fooled her once.

“Andrea, it wouldn’t have lasted. She’s got kids, she’s domestic, and that’s not you.”

“You might’ve been right, at one time, but I want all those domestic things with Eva. I can even see adding a few more kids. Moreover, you and your childish little stunt probably fucked it up for me. I’m going to have to do a lot of groveling. I’m not losing her because of you. Now, button your fucking coat up and get the fuck out of my building. I’d better not see you around, especially not near Eva. Do we understand each other?”

Natalia jerked the expensive coat together and buttoned it with quick, angry movements. “I still say you’ll be fucking sorry you did this!”

“Not a damn chance!” she yelled at the retreating woman and moved over the threshold, slamming the door. The messy apartment had made her smile. Now, it made her shoulders slump. She stomped over to the couch, dropping down onto it and resting her head in her hands.

Eva’s clothes still littered the room, and her scent would cling to her sheets. Everything had been going so great—Eva in her life, a partner and girlfriend in her bed. The woman loved her, she didn’t doubt that, except now she had to prove herself all over again. Eva had always been the sweet one, the calming factor in their group of friends, a shoulder when she needed one, and the most self-conscious.

For this battle, she’d need reinforcements. Artemis and Amy would probably kick her ass then help, but it didn’t matter the cost. She didn’t care as long as they helped her get Eva to forgive her. Plans, she needed a plan to get her woman back. She would court her all romantic like. She would prove she didn’t want or need anyone else. She just needed to figure out how to do that.

She surged to her feet, went to grab a cup of coffee, and then headed for the shower. Time to get the ass chewing of a lifetime out of the way.

Fingers tightened almost to the point of pain around her coffee mug. Artie paced across shiny hardwood floors. She knew something was building; her sister was combustible on a good day. Eva released her mug and brushed an invisible crumb from the tabletop. Mentally, she started counting backward from five and wasn’t disappointed when the outburst came. “You’re an idiot!”

Eva did a double take at her sister who glowered down at her with fists planted on hips. She shifted uncomfortably on the chair, Eva’s cheery kitchen suddenly stifling. Opening her mouth, closing it, and then opening it again, she was at a loss for anything to say.

“You didn’t see it!” The words burst forth with an indignant squeak.

“She has worshipped the ground you’ve walked on for years, and some surgically enhanced, mutant Barbie comes along and you throw your hands in the air, saying ‘I quit.’” Artie flailed her hands above her head to highlight her point. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Tell me, because right now I would love to know.”

“I’m not like you or Amy or, hell, even Marley. I’m the boring one, the cool mom all the kids like, the one who bakes cupcakes for bake sales. I spent a good portion of my life married. I know about being a homemaker and a mom.”

“That’s bullshit. You’re the responsible one. You keep our asses out of trouble most of the time, and there’s not a fucking thing wrong with liking the things you do. Mark left, and you stepped up. You got a job, one you do well at, and you have two great kids, confident kids. Just because you’re no supermodel doesn’t mean anything. Mom and Dad would kick your ass. You wait until I call them. They will hop a plane just to come home to do it.”

“Leave Mom and Dad alone. They’re at a nude beach for two months. They’re in heaven right now.”

“See, I don’t get you, Eva. The parental units never once instilled an ounce of shame in us. What happened to the confident woman I looked up to when my ass exploded and my tits failed to inflate?”

The conversation was serious, but the visual in her head produced from Artie’s description made her cackle.

“Eva, it’s not funny.”

“You’re”—she cleared her throat, forcing the smile from her face—“perfect. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with me!”

“Sorry.” Her voice, marked with mirth, seemed to infuriate Artie more.

“No, you’re not. You’re still laughing, and I can hear it.” Artie stomped her foot and glared.

She needed to deflect the oncoming rant. “We were talking about me, remember?”

“Right, right, you’re an idiot!”

“You already said that. Natalia…? She’s perfect, and I have lumps and extra padding. Don’t forget the stretch marks.”

“Shut up! You’re not twenty anymore. You birthed babies…two rather large babies. I witnessed it. I’m still traumatized they fit through the exit.”

She covered a grin with her hand at the exaggerated shudder. “There were drugs, lots of drugs.” She fell back into the couch cushions and sighed. “I’m mad and hurt. She almost told me she loved me, and I pretty much told her it didn’t matter.”

Her sister’s eyes widened comically, her mouth fell open, and she staggered backward. “Andrea Slade, serial dater, Queen of the Hook up, tried to tell you she loved you and you didn’t fall at her feet in adoration? Come on, Eva. Half the women who’ve dated or slept with her would’ve killed to hear it.”

“You said it. She’s the Queen of the Hook up. Why would she want more with me?”

“Because you’re real, loving. We all know what her past is like, with her parents. She’s never once had anything stable…except us, her friends. We became her family. She looked at you and saw what she secretly wanted. The woman couldn’t take her gaze off you when we would go to Sappho. Fuck, Eva, she never left your side. We’d all watch the two of you in that corner booth of yours, all nestled up. Everyone saw what was happening except you two. Are you going to fuck this up because a psycho ex couldn’t get it through her head the relationship had ended?”

At her sister’s words, shame overtook Eva. “I need to think, Artie. It’s not as though we ever talked about the future or what would happen if we made our relationship permanent. There’s Bradley and Jenny to consider.”

“Um, your kids adore her. They would do a fucking happy dance if they thought they were getting a new stepmom, especially if it’s their Aunt Andy.”

“They’ve even told me, but it always seemed in joking. What if they get hurt when she leaves?”

“That’s your problem, Eva. You already have her leaving in your head.” Artie’s voice escalated to yelling. “Those kids of yours weren’t joking. They never batted an eye when you told them you were going on a date with Marley. You have the most open-minded kids on the planet. Give this thing between you and Andrea a chance. I’m warning you, don’t fuck it up over a bag of bones.”

“I told you I needed to think.” The excuse sounded lame, even if she needed to work it all out in her head Eva knew what she wanted. Getting it was the problem. How could she compare to the physically perfect…. She’d compared herself to others for so many years it had become second nature. It had to stop, but she didn’t know how.

“Fine, think yourself to death, but if you let her go because you’re more worried about her reputation and your supposedly lumpy ass, you’re an idiot.” With one last dirty glare, Artie stomped to the door. Her sister did her best impression of a two-year-old in the middle of a tantrum, including, oh yes, the door slam.

The windows rattled, and she slouched in her chair. When had she become one of
those
women? She relived the scene from two days ago, and her cheeks burned. She’d jumped to a conclusion and left without letting Andrea explain. The memory of the way Natalia had spoken and touched Andrea—jealousy had burned in her stomach, and hurt had caused her eyes to sting with unshed tears.

She’d turned away from the way they’d looked together. Similar height, beautiful—they suited one another. Escape had been the only thing she could think about. God, how could she have been so stupid? The truth had shone in her woman’s gaze. She’d tried to get Eva to come back to the apartment, but she hadn’t wanted to hear it.

They’d been friends so long, even before she’d thought anything romantic could happen. Andrea had become her comfort, someone who went out of her way to make her laugh or compliment her. The woman always made her feel beautiful, and she had to admit there hadn’t been a chance for anyone else. From the moment they’d met, loving the other woman hadn’t been a choice. No, she wouldn’t call it love at first sight, but she’d known somewhere in her gut Andrea was the one.

There were still things she needed to think about, issues she hadn’t realized she even needed to get over. She would take her week of vacation, think, talk to her babies, and then she’d go to Andrea. That’s if the woman still wanted her. She had made a mess of the situation and an even bigger fool of herself. A childish tantrum from a grown woman was not the most attractive spectacle, but she’d never wanted anything more than she wanted a life with Andrea and her children.

Andrea held her glass loosely between her fingers and her supposed friend glared at her. Maybe picking Amy to be her partner in the
Win Eva Back
mission hadn’t been such a great idea. She sipped her whiskey, waiting for the woman to stop scowling and speak, but she couldn’t take it anymore. Setting her glass down a little too hard on the bar, she rolled her eyes. “Are you just going to stare or actually be helpful?”

Amy’s dark-blonde brow shot upward. “You should’ve tossed the fat-deficient bitch out on her bare ass instead of letting her in.”

“I didn’t let her in. She barged through the door, and I told her to leave.” She’d relived the morning repeatedly over the last three days and grimaced every time. God, how she missed her. Seeing her empty desk and faking her way through had long passed tiresome. Not being able to call or see her was driving Andrea insane.

“It doesn’t matter. You knew you had her laid out all pretty in your bed, and, if I’m not mistaken, it was a dream come true for you. It doesn’t help she’s seen you leave Sappho with women you barely knew over the years.”

“I didn’t sleep with all of them. After I met Eva, I wanted her, but….” She hung her head with a heavy sigh.

“You were too chicken shit to make a move. How many times do I have to tell you, you aren’t your parents? They fucked up their own lives and that had nothing to do with you. Now, Andrea, you have a nice, sweet girlfriend, a chance at a real family, and you know you’re fucking it up.”

Amy was right. Eva had always been the one, her chance at everything she’d always secretly wanted. Eva had become her world. She loved them, Eva, Bradley, and Jenny. Even the crazy antisocial pets, Samson and Delilah. “What do I do?”

“What you do is you put down your drink, get off your narrow ass, and go get your woman. Don’t come back until you have her. You’ve let this shit go too far. You should never have let her out of your place.”

“You didn’t see her face.”

“I don’t want to know because seeing her hurt would kill me. Now, finish your drink and go get your sexy-ass woman, or I can go seduce her myself, make her forget all about your sorry ass.”

Andrea quirked a brow and snarled at Amy. “Don’t even think about it.” Slamming back the last of her whiskey, she stood up from the stool and reached for her wallet.

“On me. Just fix this mess you made.”

Andrea nodded and shoved her hands in her pockets. Amy was right. Too much time had passed since she’d seen her lover. She could be considered many things, but she refused to be anything like her parents, even if some days she gave it a damn good try. Walking out into the cool night, she took a deep breath and exhaled. She removed her keys from her pocket, pressed to deactivate her alarm, and opened the door.

She didn’t have a plan, so she decided to wing it and hope Eva took her back. Eva loved her. Her woman didn’t do momentary flings, so their relationship had to mean something. The trip through early evening Colton went quickly, everyone had tucked in for the night and the neighborhoods quiet. She took in the perfect lawns, white picket fences—a real-life Rockwell painting.