Page 47 of Yours, Forever

"It makes sense," I said. It really did. "I'm not going to ask you for more than you want to give."

She moved, and her cardigan caressed my arm. A chill ran through me, sprouting from the point of contact. Goosebumps appeared all over; I took my eyes away from them, and hoped Eva wouldn't notice.

"I thought I was opening up," she said. "We spend so much time together. Our lives are entwined. It's fine if it means getting to know each other more... if you're okay with that."

"I would like that. Can I ask something else?"

She smirked. "You can ask. Doesn't mean I'll say yes."

"Fair. I want to talk about the gala my friends mentioned in the call. Any chance of you going with me? I planned to say you were wrapped up in your own business or maybe not going this year, but if you went with me, that would be great. My dad would hear about it, for sure."

"How long would we be there for? And what is the dress code?"

"We don't have to be there for more than a couple of days. We can stay in my condo and buy you a formal dress in New York. But we will have to pretend while at the party."

She thought about it. "Let me ask Ale if she can run rEvalution for me for those dates with the help of my new hires. If so, I'll go. I'm strangely involved with making this work for you, and not only for my money. I want your dad to go down. Hiking up pharma prices and investing in war efforts? Truly evil."

I laughed but kept it quiet to not wake up Javier. "Of course my wife would have to agree with me on that."

"Of course. I'm glad I can be a part of the resistance against billionaires." She bumped my shoulder with her own and gave me a small smile. "Now, did you sleep at all? What with these sleeping arrangements that keep being too short for you."

"I slept some. I'll be fine."

She got up and I instinctively did, too. "Since I'm getting up anyway, why don't you go sleep in my bed? Take a nap. It's going to be empty otherwise, and I'm sure you could use some quality, restorative sleep."

A chill ran down my spine again, but this time I had no excuse for it.

I bit my lip. "Are you sure? Isn't it… intruding?"

"Max. Empty, appropriately sized bed. Knowing each other enough to make this easier. And I offered."

I grinned. "You don't have to offer twice."

"I did, though."

"You don't have to offer thrice. Thank you."

"Just let me get my clothes out. I hope you rest."

But as I fell asleep, comfortable for the first time in a few months, I had to question the wisdom of the choice. Her smell intoxicated me into bliss and a burst of longing.

She may have put me at ease that she didn't mind me too much, but she also set a line: we were meant to get comfortable with each other, and nothing else.

Chapter 15

Eva

Max: Emergency in the office. I have your mom on the landline

Shit.

During the morning rush, the phone at the front kept ringing and, in an impulsive move, I directed all the calls to the office. I forgot to fix it, when Max had set up shop on the tiny desk for a couple of meetings. Now he was on the phone with my mom, apparently. Not good.

I asked Lily to take over and rushed to the office.

Max's deep chuckle resounded in the small space. "Olga. This isn't how I expected to get to know you."

"No, no." My mom's voice responded from the speaker. "It might be the only way I'll get to know mi nuero if Eva keeps ignoring my calls."