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Chris had not reacted well to her declaration. She didn’t trust Ames, didn’t think he was showing signs of taking Eva seriously enough, and had added the cheery note that if they decided to keep dating long-distance, he’d probably dump her for the first supermodel who showed interest. He was a type, and had been raised among people of that type and was programmed to settle down with that type eventually, even if he really enjoyed Eva’s novelty in the meantime.
Yeah, well, Eva hadn’t wanted to fall in love with Ames. She hadn’t wanted to be in love with anyone. She wanted to grow comfortably old with Zac, who was the most lovely man on the planet but who never made her pale with fear and insecurity and vulnerability. Of course, he never made her tremble with passion, either, but she’d take that over being a basket case.
Love made you bipolar! Up and down, manic then depressed. She wanted to be steadily, lightly and happily carefree, not bogged down by angst. Look at her: she’d only just admitted to herself that she was falling in love, and she was more depressed than she’d been in years.
Her phone rang.
Adrenaline shot through her system. She bounded up from the bed and grabbed her cell.
Ames! A smile burst onto her face; she wanted to break into a jig.
See? Crazy! Up and down and up and down. Crazy and exhausting.
She considered not answering, but that was utterly impossible. She had to hear his voice.
“Hi, Ames.”
“Eva.”
She closed her eyes. His deep voice. Saying her name. Oh, man. “What’s going on?”
“Just thinking about you.”
“Nice thoughts?”
“Very. And I had two questions. One, I would really like you to go with me to the Boyce dinner next week.”
Eva held her breath. He wanted her there! Even though she looked nothing like Natalie or Chris! Unless...oh, God. Was he about to bring up the salon visit and clothes-shopping trip?
“That’s not a question.”
His low chuckle thrilled her. At the same time, she was gripping the phone so hard her fingers were starting to hurt.
“Eva. Would you please come with me to dinner next week with all my stuffy and boring clients and colleagues and give me some hope of enjoying the evening with your spirit and beauty and insane hairstyles and hummingbird tattoo and wacky clothes on an amazing body that can make mine forget there are any other women in the world?”
Eva closed her eyes blissfully. Oh, my. What girl could resist that? He might dump her for a supermodel someday, but for now, he was accepting her, loving her exactly as she was. She could barely make her throat open enough to speak. “Yes. I would love to. Thank you, Ames.”
He exhaled as if he’d been holding his breath, and she decided if this next question was as complicated and overwrought as the first one, she would probably explode.
“And second, Eva, I want you to eat chicken gumbo with me.”
She made a dismissive noise. “That’s not a question, either.”
“Hey, you want to give me a break here?”
“Is that your question?” She was grinning now, having emerged from the emotional moment into another round of giddiness. They’d crossed another threshold together just now, an important one. Where this would take them was anyone’s guess, but when had she done anything but dive in and find out?
“I’m trying to ask you to come over and spend the night with me.”
“Okay.” She did a stupid dance around the room, which took all of about four steps. “Go ahead.”
“Go ahead what?”
“Well, duh, ask me the question.” She probably wouldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night, already thinking of what clothes to bring and how fast she could throw them together.
“Eva.”
“Mmm?”
“Would you like to come over and spend the night with me?”
“Wow, Ames, that is a question. You’re right!”
His growl of annoyance was like an aphrodisiac. She couldn’t find it in her to tease him anymore. Not when all she wanted was to rush over there as quickly as possible and into his bed.
“Yes, please, Ames. There’s nothing else in the world I’d rather do.”
12
EVA WIPED DOWN the counter after the latest batch of customers. Slowly but surely, midmorning and midafternoon business had been picking up. A few customers had come in asking about the specials listed on the sidewalk chalkboard. A few customers had even played some games, and with more tables filled it seemed like more people were comfortable stopping in. The Stay Mellow decaf options had been selling well. If Eva had more time here, she’d try out some of her herbal tea blends that had been popular at Slow Pour. And she’d look into nonprofit events coming up in the city and try to become a sponsor, to get NYEspresso’s name out in public.
