Mistaken Gifts (11 page)

"Five minutes, sugar." She closed the space between them, took his face between her hands and kissed him hard before he had a chance to react.
 

Her perfume filled his senses, threatening to choke him, and her tongue invaded his mouth in a way he was certain would have worked on him two weeks earlier but now simply felt offensive. Without wanting to provoke her, Jeff carefully broke away from the kiss and managed a smile. He looked up from Marianne, his eyes going directly to Eva. She hadn’t seen him, but that was probably only because Troy had his arm around her, and was greeting her with a kiss of his own. Only his was on the cheek.
 

A flare of jealousy flashed through him. If Eva was his, he certainly wouldn’t be wasting any opportunity to show her how he felt, especially with a chaste kiss on the cheek.
 

"Jeff?"
 

He’d forgotten about Marianne.
 

"Are you coming?"
 

He watched for a minute as Troy slid into the seat across from Eva and her face transformed into a smile. Jealousy burned inside, but there was also something else. Resignation. He’d missed his opportunity, and it no longer mattered. The other man made her happy. Eva was smiling and laughing, and no matter how he felt about her, Jeff didn’t do that for her. He let out a sigh and turned around.
 

"Yes," he said to Marianne. "I’m coming."
 

Eva needed coffee. Lots of coffee. After a long night with more tossing and turning than actual sleeping, she was going to need mega doses of caffeine to keep herself going and the in-room coffee maker wasn’t going to cut it. Especially since she’d finished off those packets hours earlier when she’d finally given up on the idea of getting any sleep at all.

It didn’t matter what she did; every thought was haunted by Jeff and how terribly wrong she’d read the situation with him. She probably should have trusted her first instinct, she thought not for the first time. Everything about him was wrong for her. He liked horses; she was pretty sure they were going to attack her. He was big and muscly; she preferred her men svelte and slim. He was rough around the edges; she’d always gone for a highly polished man. He…made her feel something inside she’d never thought possible.

She grabbed her portfolio full of her to-do lists and left her room behind in search of more coffee. After pushing the elevator button for the lobby, she leaned her head against the wall and slowly counted to ten. She had to get him out of her head. It didn’t matter what he made her feel; he didn’t feel the same way. That was made clear the night before when he couldn’t even be bothered to show up for dinner.

The elevator was mercifully empty, allowing Eva a few more moments of peace. Facing anyone without an appropriate amount of caffeine was a recipe for disaster, especially when her emotions were so jagged.

"I'm glad I found you," Carmen said to her the moment she stepped into the lobby. And then to herself, "I feel like I say that all the time." She shook her head and Eva laughed.
 

"I know the feeling," Eva said. "What's up?"
 

Carmen grabbed Eva by the crook of the arm and led her through the room. "I think something’s wrong with Andi."
 

Eva's internal alarm went off but she let the other woman continue.

"She's not eating and she’s actually complaining about the food, sending things back, even. She never does that and Bruno is not pleased."

Eva groaned. She'd forgotten all about the issue over the wedding menu. She flipped her clipboard open and put an asterisk next to that item on her list. She'd go talk to Bruno right away.
 

"Bruno did say something about that," Eva said. "I'll talk to her and get it sorted out."

"It's not just the food, Eva. She's crying all the time and freaking out over the smallest things. I've never seen her like this. Not even when she's here planning the biggest events."

Eva stopped and gave Carmen her biggest, most reassuring smile. "You've also never seen Andi preparing for her own wedding," she said. "All while dealing with her family, which can be challenging, to say the least." Carmen nodded in agreement. "And without Colin," Eva added. "Has he arrived yet?"

Carmen smiled and nodded. "Yes. Thank goodness. He got here last night and I thought Andi might explode with emotion."

"Let me guess," Eva said. "She cried?"

Carmen raised her eyebrow. "You probably think I'm crazy," she said. "But I just have a feeling that something isn't right, and I think of you girls as more than just guests or business partners. You're friends. And I hate to see my friends unhappy."
 

"I get it," Eva said. And she did. Was Andi really unhappy? Sure, she'd seemed to be stressed out and maybe a bit more emotional than Eva had ever seen her. But unhappy? The thought hit her hard. She'd been so caught up in her own drama with Jeff that she hadn't been paying proper attention to her friend. What kind of best friend was she?

"I'll go see her right now," Eva promised. "And I know Andi would appreciate your concern. Honestly, we both do. You are a good friend, Carmen."
 

For a moment, Eva thought Carmen herself might break into tears, so she pulled her into an impromptu hug. When she released her, Eva took a long look at her friend, and said, "How about you, Carmen? When was the last time you had a break?"

Carmen waved away Eva's concern. "I don't need a break," she said. "All I have to do to recharge is look at the windows. Besides, this place would fall apart without me."
 

True enough, Eva thought as she left Carmen at the front desk. And Andi was going to fall apart if Eva didn't figure out what was going on with her.

~ ~

Grateful for the distraction of the horses, Jeff pulled himself out of bed early and headed for the stables. It's not like he'd slept much anyway. After Marianne had kept him out all night, trying every trick she could think of to get him in bed, he'd managed to fake a headache and get away from her.
 

It was a good thing he’d stuck to only a few beers or he'd be feeling a whole lot worse than he already was.
 

And he was feeling like crap. But not because of what little alcohol he may have drunk. No matter what he might try to tell himself, he knew exactly what had his stomach churning and his chest aching. Eva.

For a split second the night before, he'd let himself get his hopes up and think that she wasn't with Troy, that maybe whatever they'd shared together was real. It sure as hell felt real to him. But Marianne had screwed up whatever chance he might have had to tell Eva how he really felt, and even if he'd had the chance, Eva had a boyfriend. It was a little detail he couldn't ignore. No matter how much he wanted to.
 

The horses greeted him with a chorus of whinnies and snorts, indicating their pleasure.
 

"Well, at least you're happy to see me," he said and patted Clover on the nose.
 

"I'm happy, too." He turned at the tiny voice, but he already knew who it belonged to.
 

"Ella!" He opened his arms just as the little girl crashed into him. "What are you doing here so early?"
 

"She insisted," Bo said.
 

Jeff looked up to see his best friend watching them with a smile on his face. Jeff unwound the little girl’s arms, took her hand and walked towards Bo.

"And what brings you here so early?"

"I promised Andi's father I'd take his family for a trail ride." He held up his hands, warding off Jeff's protests. "Don't worry, you don't have to come. I know you're busy with other things. Including…" Bo wiggled his eyebrows.
 

Jeff handed Ella a carrot and said, "Why don't you give this to Clover? I think she deserves a little treat."

Ella grabbed the carrot and skipped through the stable to find Clover's stall. When she was out of hearing range, Bo tried again. "What have you been busy with, Jeff? I heard you took Eva out into the woods yesterday. What was that all about?"

Jeff shot him a look, grabbed a pitchfork propped up against the wall and started shoveling fresh hay into a nearby stall. "I was doing her a favor," he said. "You weren’t around."

“Yeah, I was leading a snowshoe expedition with the kids," Bo said. He grabbed a piece of hay and started chewing on the end.
 

Jeff didn’t like the way Bo was staring at him, like he knew exactly what he was thinking, which was probably pretty true, since Bo knew Jeff better than anyone. But it didn’t mean he liked it. Jeff jammed the pitchfork deeper into the pile of hay and doubled his efforts. "Well, it doesn’t matter. I was just doing her a favor. She needed something for the wedding and there’s no way I was going to let her go out into the woods alone."

"Especially not when you were handy to keep her warm. Right, buddy?"
 

"Dammit." Jeff tossed the pitchfork against the wall. "It’s not like that with us."

"Whoa." Bo held up his hands and took a step back. "I didn’t mean to hit a nerve."

Jeff took a breath and looked at his friend. "I’m sorry, Bo. I—"

"All good."

"She has a boyfriend." Jeff spoke the words simply, but there was nothing simple about it. He couldn’t get the kiss they’d shared out of his head. It was running on repeat, and every time he thought about it, the urge to re-live it was strong. But it kept coming back to the fact that she’d chosen another man. It didn’t matter what he wanted.

"What? I’m sure Andi and Colin didn’t say anything about Eva having a boyfriend."

Jeff’s heart lifted slightly, but then crashed down when he remembered reality. "It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m not in a situation to start a relationship with anyone, even if I wanted to."

"And you want to?" Bo eyed him with a smirk on his face and Jeff could practically read his mind. Jeff had never wanted a relationship with anyone, ever. He’d always run screaming in the opposite direction, so the very fact he’d used the word probably had Bo’s head spinning.
 

"Like I said.” Jeff reached for the pitchfork again and busied himself cleaning out a vacant stall. "It doesn’t matter. I took the job." The silence in the stables was suffocating as what he’d just said sunk in.

"You did?" Bo said after a moment. "I think it’s great."
 

"You do?" Jeff turned to look at his friend.
 

"Well, yeah. I mean, you know I’m going to miss you, but the opportunity is amazing. You’d be crazy to turn it down. Besides that, there’s nothing for you here. Not really."
 

Jeff’s thoughts flew to Eva. But even if she had chosen him, she was just visiting. The Lodge wasn’t her home either. So why did it feel like he was saying goodbye to her just by taking the job?
 

"Smile," Bo said. He smacked him on the shoulder. "It’s a good thing. When do you leave?"

"Where are you going?"
 

Both men spun around and looked at Ella. Jeff had forgotten she was there, and had probably heard too much of what he didn’t want her to. He crouched down in front of her and took in her little quaking lip as she tried to hide her tears. She was a smart girl, and she’d had too many people leave her in her short life. She knew what was coming.
 

"Ella," Jeff spoke softly. "You know that you’re my special buddy and I’d never leave you, right?"

She nodded. "But you said—"

"I know." He reached up and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "But just because I’m going to be moving away from the Lodge doesn’t mean I’m going to be leaving you, okay?"
 

She nodded but more tears fell.
 

"It’s time for me to try something new, is all," Jeff said. His heart cracked a little watching her try so hard to hide her tears, but he knew he couldn’t change his mind. "And we’ll always be special buddies. No matter what. Promise?"

She nodded again.
 

"And you know what the really cool thing is?" Jeff asked with a smile. "I’m going to be working with actors and actresses. And celebrity horses."
 

"Celebrity horses?"
 

He knew that would pique her interest.
 

"You bet. They’re like super famous horses that have their own dressing rooms and everything."

"No they don’t." She swatted him and turned serious. "Do they?"

He nodded solemnly. "And they only drink bottled water and eat organic carrots."
 

"No they don’t," she said again, this time with a giggle.
 

"Sure they do." Jeff pushed to his feet and took Ella by the hand. "Come on," he said. "Let’s get some horses ready for your trail ride before your dad tries to do it himself."
 

Bo winked at him as they walked past and Jeff managed a smile. He’d miss it. But sometimes you had to move on.

Eva knocked twice on the door of Andi's suite and waited. She could hear movement inside but nobody answered the door. She tried again and this time added, "Andi! I know you're in there. If you don't want me to reschedule your ceremony in an empty stall in the stables, you better answer the door!"
 

The stables. Jeff.
 

She shook her head clear of the thought right as the door opened.
 

Colin stood in the doorway, looking disheveled, exhausted and very much glad to see her. But maybe it was just that he was happy to see back-up of any kind.
 

"Eva." He grabbed her into a hug and squeezed as he drew her inside. "Thank goodness you're here. What’s wrong with your hand?"

Eva brushed off his concern. "It’s nothing. It feels much better. But what’s going on here? I had to knock three times."

Colin released her and ran a hand through his already mussed-up hair. "It's Andi. She's losing her mind and won't let me in the bedroom."