Page 43 of Elevating Eve

CHAPTER 15

Jonathan

What a fucking mess. The rest of the memorial luncheon passed in awkward near-silence, people staring at him and Eve whenever they thought he wasn’t looking. In the end, everyone gave up and went home early. Even his mom and sisters.

What was supposed to be a celebration of his father’s life turned into a giant clusterfuck.

Eve held his hand as he drove back to Del Mar, her thumb moving back and forth across his skin in a constant, calming rhythm.

“I want to help you,” she said, breaking the silence after more than fifteen minutes.

“You are helping me.” She hadn’t left his side once since he returned to the event hall. He couldn’t think of anything more helpful than that.

Looking over at him from the passenger seat, she studied his face for several seconds. “Not nearly enough,” she said, shaking her head. “You need to let off some steam before you explode.”

Jonathan’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean by that?”

She placed her free hand on his arm, wrapping her warm fingers around his bicep. “You know exactly what I mean by that.”

A ragged breath forced its way out of him. He wanted what she wasoffering. He wanted it so fucking badly. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” It almost killed him to say it.

“I trust you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Yes, I should.” There wasn’t a trace of doubt in her voice. “I can give you what you need. Use me to make yourself feel better.”

He pushed out a harsh sigh. “Eve, you can’t handle that yet.”

“Yes, I can,” she insisted. “Let me show you.”

He hesitated for a little longer, two sides of him at war. It felt like those cartoons where a little angel appeared on one shoulder, while a devil whispered sweet temptations from the other.

The devil won.

Jerking the steering wheel, he swerved across two lanes of the I-5, cutting across the median between the highway and the exit ramp.

“Fuck!” Eve shouted, grabbing the oh-shit handle and holding on for dear life. “What the hell are you—oh.” She’d seen the look in his eyes.

She didn’t say another word as he maneuvered the car onto CA-56, driving faster than entirely advisable. Nine minutes later, as he left highways behind, she sat perfectly straight in her seat, gaze moving from side to side, on the lookout for their mystery destination.

When he pulled through the front gates of the sprawling, Mediterranean-style hotel a few minutes later, her hand jerked in his. Her eyes went wide as she took in the pink stucco walls, red tiled roofs, and high archways.

Jonathan pulled up to the valet stand, handing the car key and a fifty-dollar bill to the young man who rushed out to greet him. “Hold the car here until I come back,” he instructed. “I shouldn’t be more than ten minutes.”

As soon as the kid noticed the fifty in his hand, he perked up. “Yes, sir, no problem at all.”

Jonathan stalked around the car, taking Eve’s hand and pulling her through the enormous entryway into the lobby.

A man in his early twenties with a hipster beard smiled as they approached the registration desk. His little nametag readEthan. “Good evening.” He sounded far too cheerful for it to be real. “How can I help you today? Are you checking in?”

“That depends.” Jonathan slid his driver’s license and black AmEx card across the counter. “Are any of the villas available?”

Ethan’s brows shot up. “You don’t have a reservation, sir?”

“No. I’d prefer a villa, but a suite would be acceptable.”

Picking up the two cards, Ethan glanced down at them before setting them next to his keyboard. “Just a moment, Mr. Hale,” he said, grabbing the white mouse and clicking away at the large screen. “Let me see what we have available.”

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