Page 18 of Unbreak My Heart

Chapter Four

Eva grabbed Simon’sshirt and tried to muffle her sobs in the soft fabric. It was so wrong to stand there with him like that, soverywrong to feel so safe in his arms, but heck!

Vance? Here?

Why?

She almost laughed at that. She knew exactly why. The man spent money like water running through his sticky fingers. He’d probably run out of cash and saw that she’d won the Vendeeras-Frank Prize and thought it equalled dollars.

It had. And it would.

She had a good job, with a good salary, and now they had all those new projects being signed she was well on her way to where she wanted her career to be. Winning the prize meant prestige for her and the firm, and now Isaac could charge accordingly, which meant higher commissions for her, too. It also meant she now had a substantial deposit to buy or build her own home, something she’d been saving toward for years.

But it wasn’t just about the money. She loved what she did. And would have continued to do so, whether she’d won the prize or not.

Simon’s warm hand went to her back and goosebumps erupted all over her body. She gasped in a deep breath and tensed to pull back.

“Evangeline? Are you all right?”

Eva glanced up to find three worried female faces staring at her as they reached her and Simon, then looked away just as fast. She swiped the telltale tears from her face, feeling it heatup to volcanic levels, and nodded. She was being so damned unprofessional.

“I’ll be okay.”

She gasped and jerked her attention back to the women as an arm encircled her waist.

“It’s pretty obvious you’re not okay. Come with us.”

The dark-haired woman who’d been carrying the small boy tugged gently but insistently at her waist. Simon’s sister?

Yes. Darby.

Eva looked at Simon, his hands having not left her arms. He was frowning at his sister.

“It’s all right, Si. We’ll take care of her.”

He abruptly let her go, his own face tingeing pink. Nodding as he stepped back, he said, “Of course. I’ll, ah…” He motioned behind him toward where Max stood talking with Isaac and a few people she didn’t recognise.

Eva sent him a tentative smile and let Darby lead her away toward the public toilets on the block next door. She kept her head down, not wanting undue attention or having to explain to random strangers why she’d been crying.

The blonde woman held the door open, and she dutifully filed in. The other brunette sat what looked like a nappy bag on the clean counter and pulled out some items.

Darby’s gentle voice interrupted her thoughts. “Wash your face. The toilets here have hot and cold water. If you need a quick rebuild, I’m sure one of us will have something to patch up your make-up.”

Eva stepped toward the basin and glanced at three concerned faces in the mirror as she turned on the tap. “Why are you doing this?”

The other brunette replied, “Because it’s the right thing to do. You’re obviously upset, and we couldn’t leave you there like that. I’m glad Simon was there, but, well, he’s a guy…”

Eva let out a strangled huff of a laugh. “He was surprisingly useful.”

That got a few laughs, but then Darby’s face sobered. “I understand if you don’t want to tell us what happened, but we saw that guy. The one who upset you. The way Simon burred up, it was obvious he told him to bugger off, but…” Darby held up a hand, palm up. “We’re here if you need to talk.”

Eva belatedly realised the water was gurgling down the drain as she stared in surprise. She didn’t have a lot of friends, just Sam, really. She was always too darned busy with either work or Matty to create those kinds of connections, even though it was something she really missed.

She cupped the cool water in her hands and splashed it over her face a few times, then took the offered paper towel before answering.

As she patted her face dry, she spoke around the wet paper. She may as well tell them the truth. It wasn’t exactly a secret.

“That was my ex-husband. I haven’t seen him in over three years and certainly didn’t expect him here today.” She turned and leaned against the counter, staring at her shoes, crumpling the paper in her hand. “He left me when I was six months pregnant with our son, Matty. Matthew,” she clarified. “I haven’t seen Vance since the divorce proceedings.”

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