Her eyes sparkle with delight. “The devil has the best disguises. Sometimes, he even pretends he’s a gentleman.”
“I’m so glad you can see me beyond the cloven hooves.”
Eve throws back her head, her laughter unrestrained. God, she sends my head spinning. Or she might if I were a different kind of man.
The waiter’s arrival is timed well. Drinks are ordered, and menus are delivered.
“Was I right?” Fin then asks. “About Westport?”
“Well, that depends,” she counters. “The rest of the county would say Westport is filled with upstarts. Besides, real old money is often more likeno money leftthese days.”
“Rich in assets, poor in cash. Keep darning those tweeds but hang on to that Rockwell!”
“I don’t own a Rockwell, and there won’t be one in some future inheritance. As for inheriting tweed, my sutures are better than my darning skills.”
“A doctor?” Fin sounds impressed.
“Only for the deserving,” she adds prettily.
“Eve is a veterinarian,” I put it.
“Well, that makes sense.” His hands grip the arms of his chair as he turns to me with a grin, but I head him off.
“If there’s a dog in this company, it’s you, Phineas.”
“Never was a truer word spoken,” Matt agrees.
Eve laughs, and Fin protests, though the reality is he’s as happy as a dog with two dicks that he’s amused my pretty guest.
Wine is ordered and poured, when Eve slants me a provoking look from under her lashes.
“I get to order for myself today?” Her gaze is feisty, her address playful.
“Oh, no. Tell me you did not,” Fin complains. “You pompous ass!”
“I was being chivalrous.”
“It’s really not that bad,” Eve puts in. “It was just a glass of champagne, but I could see how it could become a habit.” She narrows her eyes, as though she’s trying to see inside me. Thankfully, she’s a vet and not a clairvoyant.
“Life would be easier if people listened to me.”
“Says the megalomaniac with the superiority complex,” Matt says, not hearing the suggestion in my tone. “The one we all know and like anyway. Mostly. So, Eve,” he says, turning to her, “do you live in London?”
“Hoxton,” she adds airily, which must be the place her flat was before she moved in withhim. “And I work in a clinic in Knightsbridge.”
“I bet you get a lot of pampered pooches.”
“We get all kinds of pampered everything.”
“Have we met?” Fin puts in suddenly. “I can’t help but think you look familiar.”
“Do you own a pampered pooch?” Her smile seems a little stiff.
“It’ll come to me,” he says with a shake of his finger. “I’m pretty good with faces.”
“And terrible to pretty faces,” Matt mutters, picking up his menu.
“Eve helps out at an animal sanctuary in her spare time,” I add, heading offthattopic of conversation. “This is a concept you won’t be familiar with, Fin, but she does it for free. Out of the goodness of her heart.”
