Eve looked down the hall at the men carrying a piece of furniture up the stairs. She had stayed upstairs as long as she could until she’d heard people start going into the rooms, but the moments she had seen the transformation downstairs she’d been shocked. It felt like she had walked into a different house.
Though the furniture was clearly expensive, it was sturdy and comfortable. The spacious living room looked so homey. Nothing like Roman’s house in London. And there was still so much room in there, which was the whole reason they had wanted this house. Her father would have thrived here. But for some reason, Roman had done extensions, making the house bigger and more spacious.
Maybe he wasn’t used to living in small spaces. Would he live here? He had to be thinking about it because why would anyone d
Roman walked around the workmen to grab a bottle of whiskey and shot glass from the cabinet before he went upstairs to the main bedroom. They had already started in this room so he knew they would meet their deadline and get the bonus.But it would probably be all for nothing.“I need the room,” he said.He waited until the last person shut the door before he poured himself a straight shot and downed it quickly. It was early but fuck it. He needed it.How the hell was he supposed to recover from having his heart stomped on all the time? Evelyn was justified in wanting nothing to do with him, but hearing her say those words again felt like she'd wrenched his insides out.
Eve wiped her mouth and pushed her plate away. Roman hadn't touched much of his food even though he insisted it was delicious.He was probably thinking of his family.Though she had seen his father mentioned a few times when she had googled Roman’s name, he had never said anything about him before. She supposed he wouldn’t have, given the type of arrangement they’d had. They must be a close family. She knew she would be worried sick if anything like that was happening in her family.She was worried about her parents now, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She had a feeling something other than the gossip from the morning papers had made those reporters excited enough to congregate outside the gates like that.
The moment Evelyn’s lips touched his, Roman felt all the heaviness in his heart melt away. This was how he’d wanted this to go from the start but... What would this cost him?Evelyn’s lips were so soft as he kissed them and trailed them with his tongue. She didn’t pull away. She let him gently press his lips to her, pleading with her to have mercy on him. And when she responded, when she opened her lips to allow him to taste her, he put aside all the guilt he’d felt all day.He put it aside so easily that he was disgusted with himself. But holy fuck, he was kissing her again.He tried not to get greedy but the moment he started exploring her mouth he was completely lost. He pulled Evelyn across the small space between them until her
Evelyn stretched and tried not to smile when she felt the warm body next to hers.It had been inevitable. She should have realised that the first day she had come to the door to collect her car. Her love for Roman had refused to be hidden any longer the moment he had opened the door.It was her feelings of guilt and shame she had to battle with. She had put herself right back into the situation she had tried so hard to put behind her as if despite everything just because she couldn’t resist him.“Good morning, Evelyn.”His warm breath tickled her ear as Roman pulled her closer against him. And she decided at that moment to leave her shame and guilt for another time. She had craved his touch f
Roman watched Evelyn look at the screen for the millionth time before she tried to call her parents again.“They’re still not answering,” she said.“They’re probably inundated with calls. They probably just switched them off,” he assured her as he took a cup of coffee to her.“But if people are calling them that means it won’t be long until those reporters find them,” she said.Evelyn was biting her fingers as she looked back at the screen. He had done this to her.“I’m getting reports every half hour. So far everything is quiet there. But you’re right, it won’t take long fo
“Evelyn, what are you doing? Why has this man who has been sitting in his car outside my house come in and said he’s with the security team?”The disappointment in her mother’s voice cut her deeply. And she had called her by her full name.Eve sat heavily on a chair at the kitchen table and looked down in shame. Her sex life had caused this. Her inability to say no to Roman. She would never be able to lift her head high again.“I’m sorry mum. Someone at work recognised me and... I didn’t think it would get that far. I thought I could just hide here and the reporters would go away.”“Well, because of that I had to cancel my shift last night and you know we c
Roman unlocked the door and then opened it for Evelyn to walk in first. She hesitated on the threshold. He could see it written all over her face how much she didn’t want to be here. This was the same place she had left in the middle of the night after spending a whole weekend hiding away from him in fear.He should have thought of that. Maybe this place held more bad memories than good. They could drive to his apartment instead if she really wanted to.“Do you want to go to my apartment in the city?”It would be too noisy and busy, and they wouldn’t be able to go outside. But if she wanted to he would have to do it. It would just add a few more extra steps to the plan, the one he had already almost obliterated by telling that girl to reveal Eve
Evelyn sat on the sofa with her feet up after dinner scrolling on her phone. The stories of her and Roman leaving their 'love nest' together were already making the rounds. She had only been reading the headlines because she didn't want to know what people were saying about her.The last time Roman's name had been mentioned so much he had been with Vivian Cartwright when they’d worn their matching outfit and everyone thought they made a perfect couple. She didn't want to read any comparisons or be called the homewrecker.But now her fingers were itching to click on the story Pam had sold. They weren't close but she had assumed she could trust her. Why had she sold her out like this? Turning her whole life upside down just for a few quid?Roman walked into t