Page 19 of The One I Love

“I got these for you.” He held out the bouquet. “To brighten your day. The bright colors made me think of you.”

Eve’s lips trembled slightly before she bought them under control. “I could use some day-brightening right about now.”

Concern wiped the smile from his face. “What’s wrong?”

He followed her into the kitchen, where she pulled a vase from the cupboard and placed the flowers in water.

“These are lovely, Anson.” She took a moment to arrange them, then looked up. “Thank you.”

She’d barely taken a step away from the table when he enfolded her in his arms, holding her loosely, his gaze searching hers.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

With those green eyes fixed on hers, she felt her defenses crumble.

“Right before you knocked, Jyl called.”

He frowned, then a knowing look filled his eyes. “She’s the coordinator of the event we’re attending this evening.”

“The event wewereattending.” Eve glanced at the bouquet, so bright and cheerful, before looking back at Anson. “She thinks my presence will be too much of a distraction, so she asked that I not attend.”

Anson swore under his breath. “You’ve gone out of your way to hype their event, and this is how they treat you?”

“I believe in their cause, and I don’t regret helping.” Lifting her hand to his face, she stroked his cheek. “Besides, this means I’ll have you to myself the entire evening.”

“Why stop there?” He gestured with his head to a leather overnight bag he’d dropped to the floor when he’d entered. “Why not the whole weekend? I came prepared, hoping you’d say yes.”

“Yes.” She slid her fingers through his hair, and a genuine smile lifted her lips. “That sounds wonderful.”

His lips closed over hers, the sweet heat between them pushing aside all thoughts of the charity event.

* * *

The past two days, Eve concluded, had been exactly what she’d needed. She and Anson had spent the entire weekend together, ordering in an expensive meal from one of Denver’s finest restaurants on Friday night.

They’d considered going out, but had decided to enjoy being together without any distractions. On Saturday night, Britt and JR had come over for a movie, bringing pizza and beer with them.

By the time Anson left Sunday evening, Eve had nearly forgotten her disappointment over missing Friday’s event.

She was readying herself for bed when her phone rang. Anson calling to say good night?

A smile tipped her lips as she scooped up her phone. “Hey, you.”

“I’m glad you answered.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She recognized Jason’s voice instantly.

After making a few quick swipes on her phone to record the call, she dropped onto her bed. “Why are you calling me, Jason? Haven’t you done enough?”

“I’m sorry, Eve.” His words tumbled out, one after the other, as if he was afraid she’d hang up before he got them all out. “Putting that video online was a huge mistake. It’s brought all sorts of hell raining down on me. Suffice it to say, the partners in my firm are not happy with me right now.”

“Why did you do it?” This, Eve realized, was why she hadn’t hung up immediately. She needed the why.

From as far back as she could remember, she’d considered herself to be a good judge of character. How had she been so wrong about Jason?

“I was pissed, that’s why. I thought I meant something to you, but when I mentioned the possibility of us getting together, you know, maybe dating again, if I ended up moving to Denver, you shut me down.” Jason’s tone turned defensive. “I don’t know why I was surprised. You were always too busy for me.”

“That might explain why you posted the video on social media, but why did you make the video in the first place?”

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