Isn't it sweet how Mason remembered Pippa?
Eva cracked her eyes open to find Mason staring down at her. Smiling, she lifted her head to kiss him good morning but halfway through, she froze. Her memory flooding in. Hadn't she left his house? Why was she back there? Holy shit, was she in a time loop? Where no matter what she did, she would still end up in bed with him? He closed the distance, kissed her then asked, "Are you sober now?" "Was I drunk?" "Selective amnesia is a wonderful thing. Don't you think?" So not a time loop. She racked her brain until she found yesterday's events. Leaving his house, Pippa convincing her to go drinking. They'd spent the whole day going to a spa, doing their nails and hair and having champagne in between. Then they'd gone shopping and finally dolled themselves up. By the time they arrived at Style Loft, they were already tipsy. Pippa suggested a drinking game and the rest was a blur. She couldn't remember what happened after that. How much had she drunk? Was she the one who called him?
What was she up to now? At the mention of a cat, she'd known something was up. With the excuse of going home to change, Pippa had quickly left and taken a cab to Eva's house. A cat? She wasn't an animal person. Pets like cats and dogs shed their fur and she wouldn't be caught dead raising one. That had to be code for something. After working for Eva for a few years, Pippa had known to take things as they came. She didn't question or judge anything her boss did. Her job was to help her. It was the reason she'd kept that job for so long. The cab stopped outside Eva's house. After paying the driver, she jumped out and rushed in. Starting from the kitchen, she looked for anything out of the ordinary. Opening and closing cabinets as she went. With Eva, one wouldn't know what they were looking for. If she was really keeping a stray cat, why was there no cat food? Pippa moved to the pantry. Nothing. She went back to the living room, continuing her search. There had to be something. A clue,
"Why are you here?" "Hello, Evangeline" Rosslyn said knowing how much Eva hated her full name "How have you been? Aren't you glad to see me?" She threw her bag on couch snarling "Who let you inside my house?" "Why are you so angry Eva?" "Because you came here unannounced and went through my things. What gives you the right? This is my house. You don't see me going to your house and rummaging through your things. That is being disrespectful, Rosslyn" "Who said I touched anything?" Getting up from where she was seated, she slowly approached her "I just came by to see if you were fine. My meeting ended early and I thought of seeing you before I left. Now explain to me why my presence in your house pisses you so much? Is there something you don't want me to see?" "Like what? Don't be ridiculous. You know how much I despise other people coming to my house unannounced" Rosslyn studied her. If she woke up in Eva's body, she wasn't sure how long it would take her to realize she w
"Would you..." He walked away, pretending he hadn't heard her. Sabrina sighed. A week had passed since he caught her breaking into Eva's house and after she'd told him of her suspicions, he hadn't spoken to her again. Every time she tried to start a conversation or ask him something, he would walk away. They slept on the same bed but he came in late and woke up early to avoid her. This was the reason she hadn't wanted to say anything. He got so defensive of Eva that she was afraid of telling him anything. Which made her wonder if they were truly ready to get married. He was supposed to be the one person she could trust with everything but he'd made it clear that there were topics they couldn't touch. How was their marriage going to survive if he refused to listen to her? She wasn't asking him to take her side. All she wanted was for him to keep an open mind. To realize that his niece might not be perfect and that it wasn't his fault. She knew the reason he refused to acknowledge Eva'
"Evangeline, how about you? What do you want this year?" She swept her eyes over the interior of the car. Why was it so familiar? She was sure she'd seen it somewhere. But where? She only drove fancy cars. Maybe it was the one she'd borrowed from her fan? No, this was an older model. No one drove it these days. She turned her head to the right and noticed a little girl sitting next to her. Even though the resemblance to her younger self was striking, she knew it wasn't her. Eva went to open her mouth and ask why she'd gone back to being a child but someone cut her off. "Evangeline, are you listening?" God, she hated that name. "Don't call me that!" She snapped looking at the person in the front seat. All she saw was the woman's smile. "What did you say? I can't hear you" "Who the fuck are you and why am I in this car?" Had she migrated to another world? That would make sense. If Rosslyn was twelve years old here, it meant she was older. Just as it should have been. Younger
"Come on in" she said stepping aside to let her pass "I don't know who is who so you have to identify yourself" "Don't do it!" Rosslyn or was it Eva yelled from the living room "Let them sweat a little" Sabrina huffed. For everyone's peace of mind, she needed to know who was who. They were both in dresses. One blue the other green and their hair, although straight, was styled differently. She tried to guess who was Rosslyn... Or maybe she didn't have to. Pretending to close the door, she quickly took out her phone and called. The one in the living room rang "Gotcha" "That's cheating" Rosslyn complained. She was in a blue wrap dress and heels. For the hundredth time, she wondered why they hadn't gone out. It would have been fun, saved her from cooking -even though she was the one who'd suggested doing it- and it guaranteed her a drama free evening. No one could throw a tantrum or start a fight in public. Both girls had successful careers, with Eva being famous locally and Rosslyn
"So? How was it?" "How was what?" He answered but his gaze kept swinging from his phone to his laptop then back. He expected a call or at least a message explaining why she was ignoring his calls this time. Had something happened? Was he overreacting? At some point, Mason had started wondering if he was being too clingy. Was a call a day too much? Besides, she'd been angry when she left. Surely a little update wasn't too much to ask. "The surprise Eva had prepared for you. I just had this feeling that you two would suit each other and I was right. Wasn't I? She lights up your dim world and brings out the freak in you. Doesn't she?" "Yes" "And you can see yourself marrying her in the near future. Right?" "Yes" "And have ten children" "Yes" "MACE!" He snapped his head up "What mom? You don't have to yell when I'm sitting right next to you" "You just agreed to marry Eva and have ten children with her. You can't take that back" "Last I checked, weren't you a feminist?
"Eew, you reek of alcohol. Were you drinking?" Mason cracked one eye open and then closed it "Get me a glass of water before you leave" "Why would I leave? I just got here" "Because I'm not in the mood to talk to you today" "Are you sulking?" "No. I'm pissed" and glad that she was there but he couldn't let her know that yet. He'd ended up spending the entire afternoon ranting to Alden then went back to the office. Thinking he could get some work done but he'd been too wound up to concentrate. So he'd come back home and drunk a few bottles of beer. The stench Eva was complaining about came from his shirt. He'd spilled some on himself and forgot to take his clothes off. That was how disoriented he had been. "I brought you flowers and chocolate to apologize," she said shaking him. "Cut it..." Pink rose petals blocked his line of vision "Are you kidding me?" "I'm sorry. The day before yesterday was just a hard day for me and I wanted to be alone. If I hadn't buried myself i
"If that call has lasted more than five seconds, consider yourself..." "What? Fired?" Eva retorted, reminding him of the first time he'd met her. She'd changed but at the same time, she was still the same person who had changed her clothes in his office while he watched. Back then, he'd known he would never forget her. "In trouble. Who are you talking to?" She took the phone off her ear and pressed a button. A woman's voice came through "... decide which cover you want. I've emailed you the samples" "Yes, Miranda. Thank you for calling. Please email her the rest of the conversation, she'll get back to you when she isn't busy" Mason cut the call. "I still had a few questions to ask" "You were supposed to join me in the shower ten minutes ago" he said his hands busy unbuttoning the summer dress then pushing it off her shoulders. She only wore panties underneath which he also slid down her legs. On his way up, he palmed the little bump. Soon she was going to start showing. He
"Hey" she whispered through the crack in the door. "Let's go" "Where?" "Hurry up before..." Mason trailed off when he spotted someone else standing behind her. "Before what? Also, this is her sister. Eva is busy. She's not going anywhere with you" "I can't sleep without her, mom," he said ignoring a grinning Rosslyn. Sometimes he forgot Eva had a carbon copy of herself. Aside from the hair, he couldn't tell them apart. But he was confident that with time, he would be able to find that one difference between them without relying on their physical looks. "He sounds like when he was five insisting he couldn't sleep without his stuffed animal. Would you like me to put you to bed Mace?" "No, I want my wife. Stop hiding her from me" two days. He hadn't seen her for two days and he was getting antsy. It wasn't as if it was their first time getting married or sleeping in the same bed. Why were they preventing him from seeing her? "You'll get to see her tomorrow after the wedding
"A spanking?" Why did her voice sound so small? It was supposed to be sexy and seductive. It had taken her a long time to settle on that particular piece of lingerie. The lace garter covered half of her stomach which was supposed to hide her belly and make her feel confident but instead, she felt ready to bolt. Mason's eyes were on her, his gaze dark and burning. In the past, it used to make her feel empowered. Beautiful. Strong. But now, she wanted nothing more than to pull the blinds of the tall windows, so she could hide behind the dark. The sky outside was grey, lights already shining in the city below them. Eva moved towards him. Telling herself that if he loved her, he would have to accept her imperfections. She was done trying to be perfect. When she stopped beside him, he hooked a finger on the strap behind her thigh and gruffly commanded "Turn around" she obeyed, turning her back to him "Fuck Eva, your ass looks even better than I remember" she startled when his teeth sunk i
"Now what?" He'd held her as she cried, assured her there was no one else then her stomach decided it wanted food so they were sitting in her small dining room while she moved the salad she'd ordered for herself around the plate. "You should eat, Eva, and don't tell me you're not hungry" she was glad to see he was back to his bossy self. He hadn't changed one bit. He was still handsome and fit and so breathtakingly gorgeous while she'd let herself go. She didn't care what she wore, indulged too much in unhealthy food and it showed. She grabbed a salad once in a while and went worked out when she felt like it. But she was happy. After living under so much pressure, she liked not caring about her public image or what people would say. Until she saw Mason. Now all the doubts were creeping in. What if he didn't like this version of her? She'd worked on getting it back. Had been forced to peel away the so many layers she'd stacked on top of each other in order to get to that one. If he did
"Why don't they deliver?" "Their delivery guy was run over yesterday and they're looking for a new one. The guy isn't dead. He's at the hospital. Imagine how sorry they were that they felt the need to explain themselves. Poor guys" "Get to the point, Pippa" "So, yeah, that's what happened. I would pick up the food but I have an appointment with my OB/GYN. Cravings are a bitch, Eva. Please just pick up the order for me. I'll owe you big time" it sounded like bullshit. "I haven't been back for long but you're already a pain in my ass" "I love you too. I'll text you the order details. Thank you" she hung up. Eva removed the phone from her ear and stared at it. Wondering how she'd gone from Pippa's boss to her assistant. She'd ordered from the restaurant they'd gone to four days ago and she wanted her to pick it up for her because their delivery guy was unavailable. If she wasn't pregnant, Eva would have rolled her eyes and gone back to working. Shaking her head, she grabbed her
Tick. Tack. Tick. Tack. "Sir?" "Something's not right with this contract but I can't put my finger on what it is" "Shall I send it back to the legal department?" "Yeah, you do that. Tell them to find out what the problem is" he said pushing the papers away and leaning back on his chair. If he wasn't so distracted, he would have figured out what the problem was. But he couldn't concentrate on anything. Hadn't been able to do it since he bumped into Eva yesterday. It took him a moment to realize his secretary was still standing there "What is it, Marsha?" "You're still holding the pen. Is there something else I should do?" "No. Leave" "Are you sure sir?" "As sure as I am that if you don't close that door behind you in the next five seconds you'll be out of a job" "I'm right outside. Tell me if need something else" she said closing the door. Alden threw the pen on his desk and ran his hands over his face. Why had she come back? Two years had already passed and Mace was ju
"I couldn't go through with it""Why not? I'm sure they would have been happy to see you" Eva snorted "Yeah right. I'm sure anyone in their right mind would be happy to see someone who framed them and almost caused their miscarriage. Let's be real, Rossy" "I asked Linc and he said you were more than welcome to go see them. And before you lose your shit, it was a hypothetical question. He doesn't know I'm in contact with you. But he's an agent, Eva. If he wanted to find you, nothing could stop him" But he hadn't. Because he was still mad at her. "Anyway, I'll go visit them some other time" she'd gone to see them but the moment she arrived, she'd chickened out and drove away from there as if the devil was on her tail. Part of her recovery was being able to handle rejection without ape shit and she believed that she could. Just not at the moment. "Like some time this year or next year?" "Get off my case. I have stuff to unpack" she said eyeing the boxes
TWO YEARS LATER "Morning Ava" she grumbled a response, her mind miles away. But Lilly wouldn't be Lilly if she didn't jump in front of her and command her attention "I said good morning""Good morning to you too. Now can you get out of my way?" She snapped at the young woman who only smiled. Undeterred by her tone."What are you cooking up in that head of yours today? Could it be more adventures of our beloved couple?""Out of my way. I'm in a hurry""If you give me a sneak peek, I'll do your coffee run for the rest of the month""I never should have spoken to you that first day" she had been the first person to speak to her. Showing up at her door with an apple pie as a welcome to the town, then her eyes had gone round. She introduced herself and Eva made the mistake of telling her that she had a niece whose name was Lily. Since then, Lilly had taken it upon herself to introduce her to the rest of the town "Don't let her glare scare you off, she's real
"Why Mr. Adler, are you nervous?" "A little" he admitted sheepishly, feeling like a teenager who was about to do it for the first time. Only Eva could make him feel like that. They'd had sex on every surface of the apartment but it still excited him to know he would be inside her soon. Feel the way her body squeezed him and shook when she came around him. Reacquaint himself with every dip and curve. She took off her sweater laughing, making him smile. He loved it when she laughed. "I'm pretty sure it's not your first time" "Doesn't stop me from being nervous" "Lose the clothes, Adler" she ordered, heading upstairs. He followed her, undressing as he went. At the landing, she stepped out of her skirt, throwing a sultry look over her shoulder before veering off to the bedroom. His cock came alive, reminding him how long it had been since they were together. He'd jerked off to his hand more times than he could remember. Not wanting to pressure her into anything. At some point, he e