Page 6 of Falling Over You

The damn woman smelled like apples.

He loved apples.

“Eve was one of the first people who gave me a chance when I opened. She talked this place up and thanks, in no small part because of her, this place is thriving. I can’t have you messing with that.”

“First, you want me to get out more, and now, you refuse to help me when I need you. You can’t have it both ways.” He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated at both his brother and these strong feelings for Eve.

Gordon stared at him for a few seconds before sitting down in his chair. “I can see why you like her. She’s exactly like you. People say opposites attract, but I’m not sure that’s true.”

“This is not helping.” It did make him wonder how they were alike.

“Alright, here's what I know. Eve Stanley is an avid skier. And she’s good. Maybe better than you, and that’s saying something. How you two ever collided, I have no idea. Up until a few years ago, she and her dad used to ski together all the time. Now she mostly comes alone. Until yesterday, I hadn't seen him in a couple of years. From what he told me when I checked them in, his knees are getting bad, and skiing anything more than short runs or small hills causes pain. Which explains his absence. This is the first time I’ve seen Eve’s whole family here, and from what I can tell, none of them ski. Just her.”

That explained why she was annoyed with being hurt. If she couldn't ski, she’d have to hang with her family. “Does she get along with her family?”

“I know she and her dad are close, but I have no information on the rest of them. I can tell you that both of her sisters brought someone with them, and Mr. Stanley introduced them as his daughter-in-law and son-in-law.”

“Older sisters?”

“From what I remember from a few years ago when Eve mentioned it, they are both younger. Why would that matter?”

“In my experience, when younger sisters are married before older ones, it can cause animosity.”

“In your experience doing what? Watching television with Selena?”

“Hey don’t bring Selena into this. She’s the best cat in the world. You’re just jealous she’s not yours.”

“You named your cat after Cat Woman, who’s a fictional character, when I’m out in the real world dating actual women.”

“When was this alleged last date of yours?” Gordon may talk a big game, but he wasn’t much better than Theo was when it came to leaving work behind and being social.

“As a matter of fact, I went on a date last week.” He frowned. “I guess it technically wasn’t a date, but I took a woman to Ray’s for dinner while she waited on her tow truck.”

That had Theo interested. “Excuse me?”

Gordon sighed. “I was driving home from the store when I saw a car stranded on the side of the road. I pulled over to help and it turns out her car had died. I offered to drive her home, but she refused to get in the car with me. The only option was to walk to Ray’s and wait for the truck.”

“You could have left after she got to Ray’s. There was no need for you to stay and wait with her.”

“I wasn’t going to leave her alone and hungry while she waited for Carl to come to tow her car. I could tell from how she was acting that money was tight.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, even though Theo saw something more in his expression. “She also needed a place to stay while she waited for her car.”

“Let me guess, you gave her a room here?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, if you’re doing it out of the goodness of your heart. But, I sort of get the feeling there’s something more here.”

“How did we get the focus on me, when I distinctly remember us talking about you and this weird obsession you have with Eve Stanley?”

“I’m not obsessed with her.” Total lie. Since the moment she’d fallen over him, he’d been in a haze of lust. He’d never had strong feelings like that for anyone in his life. It was sort of ridiculous, and if this were happening to anyone else, he’d absolutely think they were going insane. There was just something about her that made him want her fiercely.

“Tell that to someone who doesn’t know you as well as I do,” Gordon said.

Theo shook his head, but resigned himself to being honest with his brother. “Have you ever just met someone and known they were going to be important to you?”

Gordan scratched his beard. “Uh, yeah, I have as a matter of fact.”

Theo wasn’t going to interrogate his brother yet, but he had a feeling the woman he picked up on the side of the road might be who he was talking about. “That’s how it is with Eve. There was a click the moment I met her. I can’t get her off my mind, and all I want to do is touch her and be near her.”

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