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Always.
Grandpa Pete often said that Matt was like a snapping turtle: when he got his teeth in something, he wouldn’t let go. Grandpa Pete was right. All his life, Matt had been fascinated with airplanes and flying. He’d ached to learn to fly, but he couldn’t pass the vision test. The first thing he’d done when he got his million from his grandfather was have laser surgery. He hadn’t told a soul his plans—especially his mother—but he was determined to learn to fly. And, despite the odds against it, he had.
Somehow Matt managed to keep his mind on business during the rest of lunch—switching to coffee instead of guzzling that third margarita helped—but he wasn’t able to keep his eyes off Eve. Once, when she glanced up from eating and caught him staring at her, he winked. She turned as red as the spiced tomato on her fork and quickly turned her attention back to her salad.
He grinned. Charlie or no Charlie, the chemistry was still there.
Watch out, sugar. Here I come.
The food was probably delicious—was indeed outstanding, according to Bart and Gene—but everything Eve tried to swallow seemed to get stuck in her throat. And she was suddenly painfully aware of her appearance.
Had she combed her hair? Was she wearing lipstick? She couldn’t remember. She had worn a purple jacket that Irish said was a ghastly color for her and totally out of style, but since it was still serviceable, Eve hadn’t tossed it as her sister had suggested. And she was painfully aware that one of the dogs—Gomez, she suspected—had chewed on the toe of her left black pump. She’d covered the teeth marks reasonably well with a felt marker, and, besides, she could keep her feet under the table. But there was nothing she could do about the jacket. She couldn’t take it off because while she was chasing Gomez through the pasture that morning, she’d ripped the underarm seam of her blouse and gotten a grass stain on her elbow. She hadn’t had time to change.
Anyhow, Matt Crow really wasn’t interested in her. He hadn’t even recognized her at first. So much for lasting impressions. Hers on him, not vice versa. His face, his voice, his touch had lingered in her mind and her heart. Now, seeing him in person again, she realized that her memories hadn’t done him justice. His charisma enveloped her with its power and sent tendrils deep into hidden nooks of her awareness.
She felt almost naked before him.
When he’d winked at her, she knew that he knew, and she’d felt her face flame. How could she work with this man feeling as she did? Heaven only knew how long she could keep from throwing herself into his arms and saying, “Take me. I’m yours.”
Thankfully Matt Crow was the president of a busy company, and naturally he wouldn’t have time to be personally involved with every phase of the ad campaign. Eve would be working with one of his associates, she was sure. That would be her salvation—or else she would probably make a complete fool of herself and embarrass the entire family as well.
After Matt signed the check, he turned to Eve, smiled and said, “I intend to clear my calendar as much as possible so that I can be personally involved with every phase of the ad campaign. In fact, I’d like to take you to dinner tonight and discuss some of your plans.”
Panic shot through her. “Dinner? Tonight?”
She glanced back and forth between Bart and Gene. Bart was smiling expectantly. Gene was smiling expectantly. She glanced at Matt.
Matt was smiling expectantly.
“Yes,” he said. “Dinner. Tonight. I’ll pick you up at your office, and we can have drinks first.”
“Uh, well, uh...I have animals.”
“Good, I like animals. What time shall I pick you up?”
“I can’t...I mean...I have to go home and feed the animals. You see, being in a new place makes them nervous, and...well, I had to lock Gomez in the barn this morning. He was chasing the neighbor’s cows and making them berserk. I pray he’s still there.”
“Gomez?”
“He’s a dog. Part golden retriever and part tunnel rat. He’s a digger. The fence hasn’t been made that can hold him.”
Matt chuckled. “I had a dog like that once when I was a kid. Drove my mother crazy. Can’t Charlie handle Gomez?”
“Charlie? No.”
“Tell you what. You go home and tend to the animals this evening, and I’ll stop by the deli and pick up some dinner. What’s your address?”
“Oh, I live a long way out of town, a long way. Almost to Forney. I wouldn’t want you to drive so far.”
“I like to drive,” Matt said. He smiled again, and she melted like a Popsicle on hot pavement “Give me directions.”
With no other options in her mushy brain, she gave him directions to the farm.
“What does Charlie like?”
“Charlie?”
“Yes. I thought I’d bring enough food for him. He like pasta?”
Blood drained from her face. A feeling of impending doom filled her. He was going to find out that she had lied. “Fish. Charlie likes fish.”
Four
Heavy rain pelted the windshield like hailstones. Eve leaned forward and squinted, trying to see the highway through the slap of the wipers. Even though she’d left the office in plenty of time to get home, feed the animals and freshen up, she hadn’t counted on the jack-knifed moving van that had blocked two lanes and caused a humongous snarl. Or on the sudden deluge from the sky. Traffic inched along.
Matt Crow was due at the farm in fifteen minutes. No way would she be home by then. Her stomach knotted tighter. She gripped the steering wheel, peered at the endless strings of red lights in front of her, and worried about her animals. They were bound to be wet and hungry. Hopefully they’d taken shelter on the porch or under the barn’s shed.
She was particularly concerned about Lonesome and Sukie, the old mule and cow that had come with the place. Lonesome was half-bund and Sukie needed to be milked. They were used to going to the barn in the evening, but she’d locked Gomez inside that morning, not thinking that she would be so late getting home.
Eve turned on the radio, trying to find some music to soothe her jangled nerves.
It didn’t help.
After what seemed like hours, she finally made it to the outskirts of Dallas, past Mesquite, which abutted the city, then onto open highway. The traffic thinned, and she was able to increase her speed. Home wasn’t far now.
A few minutes later, she turned onto the rutted drive to the farm and bumped over the cattle guard. Her headlights swept over a sleek black sports car parked by the front gate.
“Oh, no,” she moaned. “He’s here.” How had Matt made it through the same traffic she’d been cursing? She didn’t have time to worry about that now, she thought as she pulled to a stop beside him.
As soon as she threw open the door, Matt was there with a golf umbrella and a large flashlight. “I figured you got stuck in traffic,” he said.
“I did, and you’ll have to excuse me. I have to see about the animals. Poor Lonesome and Sukie are locked out of the barn. And Gomez must be having a fit. Sorry, you’ll have to come back another time.”
Ignoring the downpour, she dashed through the front gate, out the back gate and toward the barn where the vapor light had come on. The dogs had begun barking like crazy and ran after her, circling and dancing around as if it were a game.
“I’ll help,” Matt yelled.
“Come back another time!” She half turned to wave him off, stumbled, and took a header into a deep puddle. The dogs splashed around her, licking and nudging, wanting to play. “Stop it, you guys. Back to the house. Now!” Thankfully, they obeyed.
Mumbling, she pushed herself to her feet and wiped the mud from her face. She was covered with guck. Irish wouldn’t have to worry about the purple jacket again. It was ruined.
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