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That afternoon when she arrived back at her house, paying Birdie for babysitting a suddenly very energetic Charlie for the morning, she set out to give herself a much-needed spa day.
With Charlie napping to old-school Bugs Bunny videos, Eva planned to sink into a bubble bath and read a raunchy erotic novel on her Kindle. She'd been daydreaming about Jake and making love to him for the past few days... well, when she wasn't changing bedding, making chicken noodle soup, and spraying everything she owned with Lysol. She would be happy if she never smelled "clean cotton" spray again.
Usually she didn't fuss with painting her nails or waxing her bikini area, but she had promised Jake she'd cook dinner, assuring him the place was decontaminated, and wanted to feel pretty rather than like a flu survivor. Last night when she'd texted him from the station, he'd been a bit terse, but she figured he'd felt a little ignored by her. They'd essentially made love, declared a sort of undefined commitment to one another, and then... crickets.
Okay, a sick kid and a job were good reasons for those crickets, but tonight she'd show Jake exactly how much she'd missed him. As soon as her nail polish dried and the steaks finished marinating.
Her phone rang and she saw it was her friend Jenny.
She let it go to voice mail because the Pink Sensation still hadn't dried. Jenny probably wanted to go out, forgetting that Eva had Charlie now.
The voice mail dinged.
Eva padded into her bedroom and slipped on a robe.
"Charlie," she called.
"I'm watching the Road Runner,” he called back.
“Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I feel like a million bucks. You can stop asking me that now.” He sounded a bit peevish, but it made Eva smile. Getting Charlie through a scary sickness and I04-degree fever had not only stretched her mothering abilities but had also challenged her emotions. Guess there was just something about nurturing a kid when he had his defenses down. She could still feel the way he clung to her, still ache at his little cries when they'd drawn blood at the clinic. Luckily, the Tamiflu they'd given him had helped him get better much faster. The only upside to the whole crazy Monday morning had been Melba Gunter seeing her true parenting skills in action... and ignoring the dirty socks on the living room floor and the empty pizza box in the kitchen. Nails finally dry, Eva padded back into the bathroom, dropped her robe, and climbed into her soaker tub full of bubbles.
Leaning back, Eva closed her eyes. She was doing okay. No, better than okay. The man she'd loved for years had told her he was falling for her. A position was up for grabs at the station, which could result in a much-needed raise.
Kids were sorta expensive. And with Charlie finally getting settled in and Claren, who had sent her an apology via email, admitting she needed help and had to stay at the facility a while longer, things were on the upswing. Life was good.
Her phone on the counter buzzed again. Another voice mail.
Maybe she should check it. Maybe something was going on. Water sluiced off her body as she stood and grabbed a towel, drying her hands.
This message was from Jake.
Can't make it tonight. Sorry.
Eva lowered the phone. What the hell kind of message was that?
Disappointment struck hard. Damn it. She wanted to curl up next to him on the couch and watch a movie, like she was his girlfriend. And then once Charlie was asleep, take him to her bed and show him how much she'd missed him. But this was a weird message. No teasing. No flirting. Maybe Jake had already changed his mind.
No. Something had to have come up. She texted:
Everything okay?
Little bubbles appeared.
Yeah. Will talk later.
Dripping on the carpet, she stood there naked, wondering if she should text back or let it go.
She did neither. Instead, she called him... the old-fashioned way. It took him a long time before he answered, and when he said hello it sounded empty.
"Hey, what's going on? I thought we had a date with two ribeyes tonight?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but I have something I have to do. Can't wait.”
Eva didn't know what to say to that. Pry? Or...
"Look, Eva," Jake said, clearing his throat, ''uh, I think I was a bit premature in saying-"
