Page 22

Tate

I glance at the long-stem roses lying on the passenger seat of my car. I can’t wait to give them to Eve. I haven’t seen enough of her this last month. She’s been busy with her secret project, but when we’re together, nothing else exists.

“You’re right. I should have told Gemma,” she’d confessed the day after we returned from our trip. “She came home, and I wasn’t here. She spent the night and saw the flowers. She’s definitely suspicious.”

“You didn’t tell her?”

“No,” Eve says, sounding like a guilty two-year-old who stole a piece of candy.

“That was the time, Eve. Do you have any idea how angry she’s going to be now? She’s going to feel betrayed.”

“I know. You’re right. I promise I’ll tell her soon. I just need to do something first.”

“Do what? ”

“It’s a surprise.” Eve’s face lights up, and her eyes twinkle brighter than the stars in the sky.

“Give me a month to get everything in order, sooner if I can swing it.” A grin covers her face.

In the space of one minute, she goes from looking like a guilty toddler to impersonating the Cheshire Cat.

“What surprise? What are you talking about?”

“It’s going to be great. You’ll see.”

Tonight’s the night I get to learn about the big secret. Eve promised I’d be the first to know about it.

EVE OPENS HER FRONT door wearing a tight-fitting pair of jeans that show off her luscious curves and a black V-neck T-shirt. Her hair is swept up into a ponytail, and she’s glowing.

“Did you get bangs?”

She nods. “Yes. And highlights, too.” She turns her head from side to side for me to see. “I needed a physical change to go along with my surprise.”

“Wow.” I love the natural color of her hair, but with the highlights, she looks like strands of gold are woven into her ponytail. “You look super hot.” There’s a huskiness to my voice I don’t recognize.

“You’re just saying that because you think you’re going to get lucky.” She winks. Before I have a chance to respond, Eve launches into my arms and showers me with kisses.

“Careful, baby.” I pull back enough to soak in another long look at her. “The roses have thorns.”

“Tate, you don’t have to keep bringing me roses!” She smiles despite the mock scolding, and my heart grows wings. It’s time I admit it. To myself and to Eve. I love her. I’m madly, deeply in love with Evelyn Robbins.

“I do,” I force the lump in my throat down. “Because . . . because I love you.”

Her eyes widen. Her pupils flare, but she doesn’t say anything.

Eve takes the flowers from me and leads me by the hand into her house.

I expect her to respond or acknowledge what I said as she arranges the flowers in a vase.

She doesn’t, and her silence fillets me.

I question the wisdom of blurting it out the way I did instead of waiting for an intimate moment. Is it possible she didn’t hear me?

I love you isn’t my style. I don’t say it. I don’t feel it. Love is a foreign concept for me. It’s messy and problematic. Somehow, this woman worked her way beneath my skin, whether I liked it or not. I try hard to tamp the panic racing through my veins and play it cool.

“So, this surprise, are you going to give me a hint?”

“Nope. Not until we get there.” She gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now, come on, let’s go!”

ONCE WE PULL OUT OF Eve’s driveway, she’s on her phone, texting with someone. Can she piss me off more right now?

“Sorry, I had to send Gemma a quick message. Now I’m all yours.”

I take a deep breath. I’m overreacting. Right? She doesn’t know that I’ve never told another woman I love her. I had flings. But that’s all they were ever going to be, and I always made sure we both understood my expectations from the outset. Besides, until now, I had no idea what love is.

Okay, I need to get out of my head. With my hand on her thigh, we drive in silence.

There’s so much I want to say right now.

Eve should know better. It’s not fucking polite to ignore someone when they tell you they love you.

Fuck that, it’s downright rude to ignore me when I put myself on the damn line and make that declaration.

Great. I’m so focused on thinking of all the different ways she could’ve handled hearing that I love her that I must not have heard the GPS tell me to turn. “I think I missed a turn.”

“No. You’re going the right way.”

“I’m telling you, there’s nothing down this way.”

“Trust me. About half a mile down the road, there’s a parking lot on the left. Pull in and park.”

I can’t imagine what she wants to do in an empty parking lot. Unless, now that I said I love her, she’s looking to hold me to my promise to fuck her on the hood of my car. There’s a tightening in my pants. Ooh, now it makes sense. That’s how she wants to tell me she loves me.

Feeling better, I rub her thigh and give it a gentle squeeze.

“This is it! Turn here.”

The second the engine stops, she jumps out of the car. I expect her to climb on the hood. Instead, she heads in the opposite direction, toward a brick building. Flood lights shine bright as Eve approaches the door. She punches in a code.

“Eve?” What the hell is going on ?

She opens the door and leads me by the hand. There’s a large open space. Restroom signs and commercial bathrooms are to the right. A concession sign hangs to the left over a counter with an iron gate pulled down from ceiling to floor in front of it.

“Eve, are we allowed to be in here?”

“Of course!”

“Honey, I think we should leave.”

“Not yet. Come on, let’s go look at the field.”

She takes my hand, and I follow in stunned silence. I stop before we go outside of an interior door with an exit sign over it. I can’t tell what’s out there because it’s dark out, but I don’t want to get stuck out there.

“What the hell is going on?”

Her eyes open wide. “Oh, that’s right, the lights! Wait here; I’ll be right back.”

I watch as she heads through a door that says employees only. A dim glow trickles in from outside when she returns.

“It will take a few minutes for the light to get to full strength, but look!”

Confused as a worm in a jar of tomato sauce, I keep my mouth shut and wait for her to explain.

Taking both my hands in hers, Eve smiles ear to ear. “I bought this place. This field.” Her teeth graze over her bottom lip. I listen, hearing her out before I ask how or why. She takes a deep breath, visibly nervous. “It’s the new home of the Ruthless Reapers!”

“Ruthless Reapers?” Our hands separate. My body is tense, rigid. I can sense that whatever she has to tell me is going to piss me off to no end .

She nods, smiling, glowing. “Okay, so I had this idea. The Nurples have a good business model. You agree, right?”

“Yeah.” I let out a long breath. Softening, I explain. “Exhibition baseball has already been done. The Nurples aren’t going to share the market with you.”

“I know. That’s why the Ruthless Reapers are going to be an exhibition rugby team.”