Page 31 of The One I Love

“Yes.” Eve could have wept with relief. He understood. She’d finally made him see what he would be risking. “Keeping our distance doesn’t have to be forever. Just until this blows over.”

Pushing to his feet, he strode across the room, then whirled. “Let me ask you a question, Eve.”

The warmth that had been in the air only seconds earlier now held a decided chill.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she nodded.

“You want to push me away, just when you need me the most, in an effort to protect me.”

Something about the words didn’t sit right, but she couldn’t pinpoint the issue. She hesitated, then nodded again.

“I appreciate your honesty.” He blew out a breath. “You could have easily found something to fight with me about rather than being honest.”

“I always want to be honest with you.” She hesitated. “I worried that you wouldn’t understand.”

“I do understand. If the situations were reversed, I’d want to protect you.” Anson met her gaze. “I also know that you’re doing this out of fear, but also out of love.”

Tears slipped down Eve’s cheeks. She swiped at them and gave a jerky nod.

Moving to her side, he gently kissed her cheeks. “I’ll see you—and Miles—tomorrow at the party.”

* * *

On Saturday night, Eve sat in the back seat of a sleek town car with her brother.

Miles looked like one of the Grizzlies linebackers in a tux. In terms of looks, he was the outlier in the Driskill family. His sandy hair and hazel eyes had set him apart from his dark-haired, blue-eyed siblings since he’d been a kid. Not only that, but he was hairy. The sandy strands reaching his shoulders and the full beard—although always neatly trimmed—gave off a mountain man vibe. Still, the man could rock a tux.

Of all her siblings, Miles was the only one to still live in the town where they’d spent so much time as children. He wasn’t a fan of these types of social events, but understood that, because of his family’s prominence in the Denver community, attending such functions was a necessary evil.

Eve saw attending the Autumn Ball with her brother as a win-win. She and Miles both would have someone to hang out with, and the press wouldn’t see her walking the red carpet with Anson.

Miles gave her a speculative look. “Tell me again why you’re not with Hawkins this evening.”

Eve thought of all the excuses she could give her brother, some that might even sound plausible. But this was Miles, and he was family.

Before she could answer, he held up a hand. “Don’t give me that bullshit about not wanting me to go alone.”

Eve had to chuckle. That had been a pretty lame excuse.

Miles only continued to gaze at her.

“I’m sure you’ve heard I’m an online pariah because of the sex tape.”

“Those people need to get a life.”

“I agree. The problem is, even though I’ve been trying to tell myself that the threats and nasty comments don’t matter, they’ve caused enough problems that I’ve had to postpone the cosmetics launch.” Eve glanced out the window for a second, using the time to steady her emotions. “I love Anson, Miles.”

Miles appeared mildly interested. “He’s a good guy.”

“I don’t want the online trolls to go after him because of his association with me.” When she glanced at him and saw his skeptical gaze, she added, “They would, Miles. They absolutely would. If they went after him, it could easily cost him his chance to be on the city council.”

Her brother didn’t argue, simply continued to stare thoughtfully at her. “That council seat, you think it’s more important than him standing by you?”

“I don’t need him at my side. I can handle the fallout on my own.”

The car pulled to a stop in front of the luxury downtown hotel. They’d reached their destination, but when the driver opened the door, Eve made no move to get out.

“Hawkins is cool with that?”

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