Beyond Eden by Kele Moon Page B

looking at the beautiful bouquet of wildflowers in Danny’s hand that was filled with every color in the rainbow. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I love them.”
    “I saw them and had to get them,” he said, pushing the door open with his back, inviting her to walk in. “They fill the world with beauty and color, just like you.”
    Eve rolled her eyes and took the bouquet as she walked into the house. “They’re quite unique. Where’d you get them?”
    “I was in Ybor this afternoon.” Danny tilted his head to look at her as he stood with his back still against the door. “I thought I’d cook for you instead of going out. I picked up some fresh Cuban bread. It’d go well with ropa vieja . Sound good?”
    “Sounds great,” Eve said, staring at the bouquet of flowers that were beautifully arranged in a wild, untamed way that appealed to her. “When’s Paul getting home?”
    “He’s working late tonight,” Danny said, closing the door and avoiding her eyes suspiciously. “He’ll probably be gone until midnight.”
    “Convenient,” Eve said skeptically as she eyed Danny in his tight black jeans and fitted black shirt, making him look dark and tempting in a way very few could achieve. She admired his long, lithely muscular body and then lifted her gaze to his face that was as gorgeous as any male model. Yet the way he stared at her, his eyes running over her body the same as she had done to him left her feeling exposed and nervous in a way she hadn’t in a very long time. “This is probably a mistake.”
    “You’re thinking too much,” he said, taking the flowers back from her and walking into the kitchen, leaving Eve standing there with her eyebrows raised as she admired the way he walked with a predatory grace that both scared and thrilled her. He grabbed a vase out of the cabinet under the sink and started filling it with water. “We’re friends. We’ll eat dinner and hang out. If you don’t feel like doing anything else, that’s fine by me. I just like being with you.”
    Eve heard the sincerity in his voice and felt a warm hum of happiness roll over her. She considered the empty house and the fact that Paul worked late most nights. Danny really was lonely. Eve was lonely too. Finding him again was a nice treat she hadn’t counted on because his company had always been enjoyable to her.
    “Okay.” Eve kicked off her sandals by the front door and followed him into the kitchen. She sat down at the table as Danny set the flowers in the center of it. “Does that mean you don’t want to see my report card like you asked?”
    He smirked as his gaze ran over her hotly once more. “You’re looking pretty sexy this evening. You should probably show them to me just in case.”
    “You’re really something,” Eve said with a shake of her head as she set her purse on the table and pulled out an envelope she had brought with her. She handed it to him. “Here you go.”
    “Thank you,” he said as he walked over to the counter and grabbed his own envelope and handed it to her. “Here’s mine.”
    Eve took it and tossed it on the counter as Danny sat down across from her and pulled his cigarettes out of his pocket. He lit one casually and then actually pulled the papers out of her envelope and started reading them. Eve watched him in amazement as he sat there smoking and reading her blood tests with actual interest he didn’t bother to hide.
    “These are eight months old,” Danny mused, a dark look passing over his face. “You don’t have any more recent?”
    “No, I don’t,” Eve snapped at him. “The only reason I got those was because I found out that my fiancé was fucking around on me. I’ve never had a man actually ask to look at my blood tests. My word should be good enough for you.”
    “The circles I swing in have made me cautious. I can’t risk getting anything, even for you,” he said, lifting his eyes to her. “How do you know you’re clean if you haven’t had