Page 11 of The One I Love

“Thank you, Johnny.” Hal took one of the coffee cups her husband offered while Eve accepted the other.

“I’m going to give the two of you some privacy,” Pops told them, his gaze lingering on Eve. “I’ll be in my office if you need me. I have a few calls I want to make.”

“Pops,” Eve called out when he turned to go.

He stopped and looked back. “What is it, Princess?”

The nickname from her childhood had fresh tears spurting. “Thanks for everything.”

Johnny gave a curt nod, then his gaze shifted to his wife. “Take good care of our girl.”

“You can count on that.” Hal turned back to Eve. “Have you spoken yet with your mom and dad?”

Eve resisted the urge to grimace. Her parents held their children to what felt sometimes like impossibly high standards.

Of course, going through life without having a sex tape on the internet was a pretty low bar. “Not yet.”

“I spoke briefly with both of them earlier this morning.” Hal might have offered a reassuring smile, but Eve wasn’t fooled.

“How are they dealing?”

“Marjean is very concerned about the gossip this will bring.” Hal’s expression gave nothing away. “She doesn’t want you to be hurt.”

All true, as far as it went. Eve knew her mother well enough to know that, while there was concern for her, sure, there was also concern for what gossip she might face at the country club.

“And Dad?” Eve found herself holding her breath.

“Ross is angry.”

Eve blanched.

“Oh, honey, not at you. Nyla told him you had no idea you were being taped.” Hal shook her head. “Like your grandfather, my son can be a formidable adversary. Something Jason will quickly discover.”

Eve took a sip of coffee, then set aside the cup. “The thing is, even if he’s charged with a crime, that tape will be out there floating around forever.”

“Probably.” Gran expelled a breath, and a sadness filled her eyes. “We’ve had the original post taken down, but we won’t be able to stop the copies that are already out there.”

“I know. So, what’s the point in Pops and Dad going after Jason?”

Gran brushed a hand over Eve’s hair. “Eve, if Jason taped his, ah, interactions with you, he likely did it to other young women as well. It needs to be made clear to him—and to any other person thinking of doing something similar—that this is wrong, and anyone who does this is risking severe repercussions.”

“I understand.” Eve did understand, but the thought of the press she would face had a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. “I never should have gotten involved with him.”

Hal cocked her head. “Were there warning signs?”

“Like what?”

“Did he seem to push the limits in other areas of his life? Did he tell you stories about things his friends did that he thought were funny, but you found revolting?”

“No, no.” Eve shook her head. “He seemed nice. I’d learned years ago to be careful about who I dated. There were no red flags with Jason.”

“Such behavior is a mystery, then.” Reaching over, Gran squeezed her hand. “The thing to keep in mind is that this will take time to blow over. Will it continue to rear its ugly head in the future? Probably. Will the press have a field day with this? Undoubtedly. At least until something bigger and more interesting comes along.”

“Well,” Eve shot her grandmother a wry smile, “that makes me feel a whole lot better.”

Hal chuckled, then sobered. “The thing is, my dearest Eve, you will survive this and perhaps become even stronger because of it.”

Eve lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “Maybe.”

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