“Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” African Proverb
The band jammed the latest tunes and the lead singer was amazing. Eva, Avery, and Meesha gossiped and did the fashion police thing about all the guests until Ryker came up, took her by the hand, and whisked Avery to the dance floor. She looked over her shoulder at Eva and Meesha with a smile on her face, shrugging her shoulders happily.
Carlton walked up seconds later and practically did the same to Meesha. Eva was left standing alone with a half-smile plastered on her pretty face. She decided to go to the casita that Peyton had set up for her guests. It had two bathrooms a small living space, and a bedroom.
The way Peyton had the casita arranged for the evening made it the perfect space for the female guests to refresh themselves, use the bathroom, and chill for a minute rather than having to go all the way back inside the main house. She had done the same thing for the men by rearranging the pool house as a space for them, which was a neat idea.
Following the decorated, paved walkway leading to the casita, she eyed the exquisite decorations and marveled at the extent and expense Peyton had gone through to make this evening special and perfect for Derek.
Eva entered the casita, went inside the restroom, relieved herself, and then went to the vanity to wash her hands and refresh her light makeup.
Exiting the casita, she headed back up the lit walkway toward the party tent.
“So, we meet again,” the magnetic voice said, causing Eva to once again stumble. She didn’t have to look around to know that it was him. She felt his arm steady her and she gazed up and into his deep sandy brown eyes. The scent of his cologne, mingled with the gentle breeze of the evening, could easily have taken her breath away, but she placed one hand over her chest as if to calm her rapidly beating heart. Why did this man have this type of effect on her?
“I guess we do,” Eva replied like a bashful schoolgirl.
He flashed a warming smile at her. “So you know these folks, huh?”
“Yes. Peyton is a close friend. And you?”
“Yes, Derek has been my grandmother’s financial advisor and banker for quite some time. She adores the guy.”
“Quentin…Quentin Winters,” he said, as he stopped walking and extended his hand toward Eva.
“Eva Stenberg,” she responded, placing her hand inside his.
“Nice to finally officially meet you,” he said and they continued their walk toward the party tent. “This is a cool party. Looks like his wife went all out for this affair.”
Eva nodded in agreement. “Yes, everything is perfect.”
They arrived at the tent and Eva almost immediately spotted Avery, who gave her a smile and a quick nod as Ryker clung to her like they were fresh newlyweds.
Eva scanned around the space further, and saw Peyton mingling with the guests. Meesha and Carlton were in a circle engaged in conversation with several other couples, and Derek, like his wife, was engaging with the guests. Peyton was the perfect hostess. Whether she thought so or not, she was in her element. She looked happier than she had in a long time, and Eva was happy for her.
When it was time for the five-course dinner to be served, Peyton was escorted to the front of the tent by the party planner. “May I have your attention please,” Peyton said as she stepped up to where the band was located and spoke into the microphone. “We’re going to enjoy another performance by the band. When they’re done please go to your assigned tables and be seated so you can be served.”
The band played a familiar, slow tune.
“May I?”
“May you what?” Eva responded.
“Have this dance?”
Eva raised her hands and shook her head. “Uh, no, I...I’m not the world’s best dancer. You should know that after I’ve stumbled the three times we’ve ran into each other.”
Quentin chuckled. “You mean twice,” he playfully corrected, as he gently placed his hand at the small of her back.
Actually, it has been three times. I first saw you at Central Park about a year ago, she started to say but decided against it. Instead she said, “I don’t know what it is but it seems that when—”
“When you’re around me, you get all weak in the knees.” He flashed another charming smile her way.
“No…that is not what I meant,” she said quickly.
Quentin stood in front of her, and looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. He studied her features, looked at the outline of her face. He thought back to when he saw her across the street from his pet store. When he stood at her car that day, he felt their paths had crossed before, but he couldn’t remember where. He’d seen his share of beautiful women, but this one was different. There was a certain something about her that captivated him and he wanted to learn more about her.
“No need to take offense. I was just kidding, but you’re right. I guess I stand corrected about the number of times you’ve almost fallen around me. The good thing about it is you know what they say about the number three, right?” He grabbed hold of her hand.
“No, actually I don’t. What do they say?”
“It means you can’t say no to dancing with me.” He led her to the dance floor and pulled her gingerly into his arms as the slow jam played.
The band was on point. The lead singer of the group, a Lauren Hill lookalike, song the melodic, love song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack.
Without intentionally doing so, and more out of relaxing and listening to the words of the song, Eva rested her head against Quentin’s broad chest as the space closed between them. Her arms felt secure and safe around his neck, and his hands around her torso made her feel some type of way.
She didn’t see Harper when he appeared and stood outside the tent watching like a lurking voyeur. All she cared about at this moment was this moment. Eyes closed, she listened to the words of the song. It described exactly how she felt. “I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd…”
Harper watched and anger filled his eyes. He had made a horrible mistake marrying a girl like Eva. She was ten years his junior and she was nothing more than the equivalent of poor white trash. He had pulled her out of the gutter from where she came, what had he been thinking. He thought he was being led by God when he met her in Bolivia during his mission trip, but boy had he been wrong. Instead of the perfect wife, he had brought home a cheating, unappreciative, little slut who repaid him by sleeping with his son, and not the beautiful, sweet, innocent young woman who was the woman he’d prayed for God to send him.
Look at her. Guess she’s found her next unsuspecting victim. His jawline twitched and a look of disbelief, rage, and frustration shrouded his face. Eyes hooded, mouth pursed, he looked like an evil villain. An eye for an eye will never be enough.
Harper walked up to Eva and Quentin, took her by her elbow, and gently pulled her out of Quentin’s hold.
“Excuse me, Quentin. If you don’t mind, I’d like to dance with my wife,” he said with a broad smile plastered on his handsome face.
Eva was stunned to see him as she stepped back. She was also quite surprised to hear Harper call Quentin by his name. The two of them knew each other? Was this a setup of some sort to see how she would react to him and then he would run back and tell Harper a bunch of lies?
Quentin nodded and said, “Of course.” He gave Harper dap. “I…uh…didn’t know this was your wife,” Quentin apologized, as if he had some reason to. “I heard you got married a while back. You finally tricked someone into marrying you.” Quentin and Harper laughed.
Harper said, “You mean you didn’t tell this guy you were married?” he looked at Eva quizzically.
“I…”
Quentin quickly spoke up, “It’s the first thing she told me when I asked her to dance. She just didn’t tell me she was married to you, bruh, and I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t tell anyone I was married to you either,” Quentin joked and the men laughed again as Harper pulled Eva in close to him.
“Well, thanks for the dance,” Quentin said, smiled and turned to walk off.
“Hold up, Quentin,” Harper said as the song ended and the band began playing an upbeat tune.
Quentin turned back around and looked at Harper and at Eva. She looked like a frightened kitten.
“You look confused, my darling,” Harper said, looking down at his wife. “Let me explain. Quentin’s grandmother is Emma Winters. She and I are longtime friends. She is one of Adverse General Hospital’s biggest donors. She funded the Winters Cardiology Trauma Center which was a multimillion-dollar addition to Adverse General. She’s also a well-known philanthropist known throughout Adverse City and Miami. And this guy here,” Harper said, pointing to Quentin while the music stopped and people began filing to their assigned seats, “is a renowned chef and an animal activist. I don’t know exactly how he mixes the two but, hey, it is what it is. I guess you could say he’s one of the good guys, but I wouldn’t tell him that,” Harper teased.
“It’s nice to officially meet you, Quentin, and learn so much about you and your grandmother. Harper, I’m so glad you were able to get away from the hospital and come to the party. If you’ll excuse us…Quentin, we should go find our seats,” she said as she grabbed Harper’s hand.
“Well, the lady speaks and I listen,” Harper said to Quentin. “Let’s talk soon. We haven’t had a chance to catch up since I heard you moved back to Adverse City.”
“Sure thing,” Quentin replied. “And thank you, Mrs. Harper for the pleasure of dancing with me.” He smiled and did a half bow before he turned and walked away.
“You arrived just in time for dinner,” Eva remarked as they walked toward the tables with silver nameplates of each guest engraved in deep bold black letters. They found their names and sat at their assigned table, which was the same table that Avery, Ryker, Meesha, and Carlton were seated. Derek and Peyton were seated at a head table along with Emma Winters, her grandsons, and Derek’s brother and grandfather, who were well-respected investment bankers and financial wizards residing in Jacksonville. Peyton’s parents did not attend for whatever reason, but Derek didn’t seem to mind. He looked like he was having the best time of his life.
It was almost two thirty in the morning when the party came to an end. “Did the limo service bring you?” Eva asked Harper.
“No, I didn’t park in the designated garage. Since I knew the party was well underway, I drove directly here and parked on the grounds. You can ride home with me. We’ll pick up your car from the garage tomorrow after church.”
“Okay,” Eva agreed. “She would have rather taken the ride back to the garage with the limo service and drive her own car home, but now was not the time to ruffle Harper’s feathers. He could wear the perfect mask for others but she never knew what real colors were laying underneath his public persona. She could tell from the tug on her elbow when she was dancing with Quentin that he was perturbed, but again he put on a real first class act in front of him. She prayed that tonight he would be kind, sweet Harper, and not the monster she had discovered he could swiftly turn into.
The drive home started off with the both of them being quiet. It was minutes before three o’clock in the morning, so there wasn’t much to say. They were both exhausted. “It was a nice party,” Harper said, breaking the thick, uneasy wall of silence between them.
“Yes, I think Derek really enjoyed himself. He and Peyton were all over the place, dancing, laughing, mingling, and having fun. I can’t believe she was able to dance like that with those things on her legs.” Eva chuckled.
“Yeah, she was getting her dance on for sure,” Harper said and smiled as he stopped for the red traffic light. “And the food was perfect. Maybe you’ll be able to have your own catering company one day. You are still enjoying your culinary classes, right?”
“Yes, I love school. I’m learning so much. We’ve started preparing a variety of meat dishes. It’s so much fun. I can’t wait until I can have my own restaurant.”
“You haven’t mentioned having your own restaurant before,” Harper replied and looked at Eva before driving off after the light turned green.
He was right; she hadn’t said anything to him about opening up a restaurant and that was her intention since this monster side of him had revealed itself. She didn’t want him to know any of her future plans, but she had said it before she knew it. “Yeah, it’s just something I’ve thought about after one of our instructors brought it up. She was telling us some of the avenues we could take as a chef.”
“As long as you have the proper financing, I’m sure you could do it. But I know you, Eva, I’m sure you’re going to make sure you have the money you need.”
“What does that mean?” Eva asked, looking at him and hoping this wasn’t going to lead to where she thought it might.
“Did you know Quentin Winters is a five-star chef? He owns several highly successful restaurants both in Paris and in New York?”
“No, really? Then again, how would I know any of that? I mean, I barely know the man’s name. We had one dance, Harper. We didn’t discuss our life history. I didn’t know you were friends with Emma Winters. I’ve heard you mention her name a time or two, but I didn’t know you had a relationship with her.”
“Yes, Lady Winters, that’s what I call her, and I are very good friends. I am also her cardiologist. I don’t have a private practice anymore because of my other responsibilities, but who will turn away Emma Winters? The woman has done so much for my medical career and for Adverse General. Heck, she’s done a lot for Adverse City period. I performed open-heart surgery on her, saving her life about twenty years ago. She’s never forgotten it.”
“I’m sure she hasn’t. You’re a great doctor, Harper.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Harper looked at Eva again, reached over and kneaded her hand with his, and smiled before refocusing his attention back on the road. The car became silent once again and Eva relaxed her head against the seat of the car, closed her eyes, and drifted off into a light sleep.
She woke up as they entered their community and Harper turned onto their street. He drove into their driveway, pushed the remote above his head to open the garage, and steered his black on black Range Rover inside.
Turning off the vehicle, he looked over at Eva.
“What?” she said.
“Oh, nothing. I was thinking about the first time I saw you. You were beautiful. So innocent looking. I think I fell in love with you instantly,” he said.
Eva smiled but inside she was cautious, wondering where this was leading.
Harper opened his door and hurried around to Eva’s side, and opened the door wider just as she opened it for herself.
“Tell me something, sweetheart.”
Eva stepped down out of the car. “Yes, what is it?”
“How long have you been doing Quentin Winters?”