THE NIGHT WAS SILENT all around him. In the distance the sound of a car horn could be heard and then, silence again. Charlie sat on the porch of his house, a beer in his hand, his feet kicked up on the railing.
He used to love the silence of the outdoors—a thick forest, a desolate mountaintop, a remote beach. No human sounds except for the gentle rhythm of his breathing.
But that had changed. Now, he craved the sound of her voice, her laugh, her footsteps on his front porch. Charlie loved the way she hummed in the morning while making coffee for him or the awful songs she sang in the shower. With every sound Eve made, it reminded him that she was his—at least for the moment.
Since their argument earlier in the day, Charlie had considered calling her at least once every five minutes. But he’d decided to wait, to see if she followed form and showed up at his house after work. He glanced at his watch. She was already an hour overdue.
He cursed softly, then swung his legs down from the railing. If he wasn’t so determined to force her to make the next move, he’d go down to the restaurant, walk into her kitchen and kiss some sense into her. What was she so damned afraid of?
Maybe things wouldn’t work out between them. Maybe they were just fooling themselves. But they wouldn’t know unless they tried and she was too scared to even make an attempt. Either her marriage must have done a real number on her confidence or there was something else at work here.
He stood and walked over to the porch swing. His ankle was still a bit sore but on the mend. The doctor had diagnosed a bad sprain, but could find no permanent damage. Though Charlie had been searching for reasons not to go to Nepal, his ankle wouldn’t be one of them.
He stretched out on the cushioned seat and closed his eyes, letting images of Eve drift through his mind. Though they’d been physically intimate from the start, they still didn’t know each other emotionally. He could tell by the look in her eyes how she was feeling at any given moment. But he couldn’t always tell why.
They hadn’t spent much of their time talking about their pasts. He didn’t know much about her family, only that her parents lived in Arizona, her father loved to golf, her mother taught her to cook, and she was an only child. That wasn’t much—not for two people who loved each other.
He already knew she loved clover honey in her chamomile tea and that she preferred pinot noir over merlot. That she loved every kind of bean except lima beans. That the only thing she wanted after a long day of work was a foot massage. That was a helluva lot more than he knew about her five years ago.
The sound of footsteps on the front walk caught his attention and he held his breath. A moment later, Charlie saw her standing in front of the door. She reached out to knock, then decided to grab the key from its spot behind the mailbox.
“It’s unlocked,” he said.
She jumped at the sound of his voice, spinning around to face him. “You scared me!”
Charlie pushed to his feet. “Sorry.” Slowly, he approached her, trying to read her expression in the feeble light from the street lamps. “Sorry,” he repeated. “I am sorry.”
“I know. You said that.”
“I meant for earlier. The fight we had. I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t a fight,” Eve said. “More like a disagreement. We can’t possibly get along every moment of every day, can we?”
Charlie shook his head and took another step closer. One more step and their bodies touched. He reached down and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. He brushed his lips over hers in a teasing, fleeting kiss, daring her to ask for more. But she just stared up into his eyes.
“Are you going to Nepal?” she asked.
“Not right this minute,” he replied with a grin.
“Are you going next week?”
Charlie knew the job was something he ought to take. And at any other time in his life, he would have jumped at it. So why was he waffling now? Because he finally had a reason to stay in one place for a while—and that reason was standing right in front of him. “Do you want me to go?”
Eve hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity. And when either of us has a wonderful opportunity, we should take it. We were apart for five years and look at what happened when we got back together. I think we could probably stand to be apart for a few months.”
Charlie studied her for a long moment. She was absolutely right. Though he wanted her to beg him to stay, he knew it wasn’t in her nature to make demands on him. Maybe that was part of why he loved her—because she didn’t force him to be anyone but himself. “You’re right. The job is too good to turn down.” He paused. “I should go to Nepal,” Charlie said. “Next week. But right now, I’m going to bed.” He stepped away from her and walked to the door. “Are you coming?” She hesitated for a few seconds, then followed him. Charlie took her hand and drew her inside.
The moment the door closed, they began to shed their clothes, tossing them on the floor at their feet. They were naked before they got through the living room and Charlie pressed her back against the wall, her body warm against his.
He searched her mouth for some reassurance that their argument had been forgotten, but he didn’t find it there. Instead, he found it in her response to his caress. He slid down her body, finding her nipple and drawing it to a peak with his tongue. She moaned softly and he felt her surrender, her body going soft and pliant beneath his touch.
He moved back up to kiss her again, his fingers slipping between her legs and gently teasing at her desire. She reached out to touch him but the moment she did, Charlie had to stop her. He was so close to the edge already. One perfect caress might send him over.
Yet she wouldn’t be denied the pleasure of touching him. She began slowly, knowing exactly how to delay his release. They knew each other’s bodies so well already. But Charlie wanted more.
When he felt her rising toward her orgasm, he picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. A stab of pain shot up his leg from his sore ankle, but Charlie ignored it, focusing on the exquisite anticipation of their joining.
He drew her down on his shaft in one smooth motion. It happened so quickly, so easily, that she gasped in surprise. And then, as if she couldn’t help herself, Eve dissolved into the sweet spasms of her orgasm.
Though Charlie tried to hold back, the sound of her moans made it impossible. He drew back, then drove into her, pressing her against the wall, his hands clutching at her backside. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over him as he lost himself in the heat of her body. His legs suddenly went weak and his ankle began to throb. It was all he could do to keep them both upright.
When the sensations finally subsided, he carried her into his bedroom and gently laid her on the bed, bracing himself above her. He was still hard and he teased her a bit more, slowly sliding in and out of her. At first, she wriggled beneath him, trying to stop him. But then, gradually, he felt her reactions change.
This time Charlie didn’t rush. Instead, they played at lovemaking for a long time. The frantic connection they made against the wall had been purely for physical release. But this was for something more than raw desire. This was affection and trust. And love.
When he brought her to completion again, Charlie kissed her as she tumbled over the edge, her moans swallowed by his mouth covering hers. She did love him. He could feel it in the way she surrendered, the sound of her voice as she said his name.
Charlie had never been a patient man when it came to the opposite sex. He’d indulged his desires more often than he should have, seeking pleasure that was both immediate and intense. But this was different. With Eve, he felt as if they were moving toward something much bigger and better than the next great orgasm.
He pushed up and looked into her pretty face. Eve smiled and Charlie chuckled. “Yeah, I know.
We solve all our problems with sex.”
“I guess it works,” Eve said.
“Then you’re not angry with me?”
“No,” Eve said.
“Maybe we should try talking about it?” Charlie said. That’s what two people were supposed to do if they had a disagreement. It seemed like a logical suggestion.
Eve groaned. “No. I just want to curl up beside you, close my eyes and sleep for the next twelve hours.”
Charlie stood, then drew the covers back. When she’d crawled beneath them, he joined her, pulling her naked body into the curve of his. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he drew a deep breath, then let it out slowly. If there was a perfect spot in all the world, this would have to be it.
Forget mountaintops or beaches or rainforests, forget deserts or canyons or the open ocean. Here, in his bed, with Eve in his arms, he was home. And home was the most perfect place he could imagine.
EVE YAWNED as she scooped freshly ground coffee into the filter basket. She pushed the basket in then flipped the switch, waiting for the coffee to begin trickling into the mug she’d set where the pot belonged.
Charlie was still sound asleep—last night completely exhausted him. But even though Eve wanted to sleep, she couldn’t. All night, her mind had whirled with confusion. She’d come to Charlie’s house to tell him that she wanted a future with him. But in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything but tear off her clothes and allow him to seduce her.
What did that say about the depth of her feelings? That instead of honest conversation, they always resorted to sex? She’d talk to him this morning and clear the air. In between fitful bouts of sleep, she’d managed to formulate a plan, one that didn’t put her heart at risk but offered the chance at a real relationship.
Eve grabbed the mug when it was nearly full, then shoved the pot beneath the stream of coffee. She dumped a spoonful of sugar into the mug, then added milk, preparing it exactly the way Charlie preferred.
She grabbed a peanut butter cookie from the jar on the counter and stuck it in her mouth, then walked back to the bedroom. Charlie hadn’t moved since she’d left him, his naked body tangled in the sheets, a long, muscular leg hanging off the edge of the bed.
Eve sat down, then gently shook his shoulder. He moaned softly, then opened his eyes and stared up at her. “Are you really waking me up?” he murmured.
“I am,” she said, taking the cookie from her mouth. “I need to talk to you.”
“Is that coffee for me?”
Eve nodded. “The cookie, too.”
“Cookies for breakfast?” He pushed up on his elbow and took the coffee mug from her hand. “What would the food police say?”
“Since these cookies aren’t made with refined sugar, the food police would give you a pass. They’re better than a lot of other breakfast choices.”
Charlie took a bite of the cookie and grinned sleepily. “Maybe this is why the sex is so good. I’ve been eating nutritious meals. Just think of how good it could be if I started eating tofu. I could go all night long.”
Eve laughed. “No tofu for you. I have to sleep sometime.”
He set the mug down on the bedside table, then reached out and ran his finger beneath her eye. “You look tired. I shouldn’t keep you up so late. Tonight, I promise, we’ll go to bed as soon as you get home from the restaurant. And we’ll go to sleep.”
“I’m all right,” Eve said. “I was up last night thinking…about us.”
“Why don’t I like the sound of that?” Charlie said, his expression shifting from playful to concerned.
“I’ve made some decisions. About us.” She paused for moment to collect her thoughts, then shook her head. “No, I should explain first.”
“Explain what?”
“I haven’t told you much about my family. In fact, we haven’t spent a lot of time talking about the details of our lives.”
“We have time for that,” Charlie said.
“Now is the time. I want to tell you about my parents’ marriage. And maybe you’ll understand why this is so difficult for me.” Eve tucked her legs beneath the T-shirt she wore, resting her chin on her knees, her arms wrapped around her shins. “My father was a philanderer. He used to cheat on my mother all the time. Maybe he still does, I don’t know. For a long time, she didn’t know. Even after I found out, she still didn’t know. My father used to take me out to the park on Saturday mornings and I’d play on the swings while he’d sit on a park bench with some woman, having coffee. At first, I thought she was just some mom at the playground with her kids. But then, I realized that she was there to meet him.”
Charlie reached out and smoothed his palm over her shoulder. “Eve, I’m sorry.”
“Once I’d figured it out, my father just assumed I’d help him keep his secrets. Which I did, because I was afraid if I told my mother, she’d want to divorce him. And even though he was doing this, I still loved him. By the time I was ten, I was helping to hide the evidence. I’d go into his coat pockets and pick out the credit card receipts before my mother found them. I’d throw out the matchbooks from the bars and phone numbers scribbled on scraps of paper. Then one day, my mother caught me doing this and I thought it was all over.”
“What happened?”
“I think it was the first time she knew for sure. She might have suspected, but at that point, she knew. She told me not to mention this to my father and to go on as if nothing was wrong. And I did.”
“For how long?”
“I was an active enabler until I was thirteen. I begged my father to stop seeing other women, we got in a huge fight, and after that, he stopped for a while. But then it all started again and I did what my mother did. I looked the other way.”
“And when your husband cheated on you?”
“I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t ignore it. Nor could I ever trust him again.”
“And you can’t trust me, can you?”
She turned her gaze away, staring out the window. “I want to. I really do. You don’t know how much.” Eve turned back to him, gathering her resolve. Though she might be taking the biggest risk in her life, Eve was ready to open her heart to him. “I need time. We need time. You seem to know exactly how you feel, but I can’t trust how I feel.”
“I can give you time,” he said. “I have plenty of that. As long as you want. I’ll be here for you.”
“No,” Eve said. “I want you to take the job. We both need to work. In case this doesn’t happen for us.”
“You can’t think that from the start,” Charlie said. “You have to believe in us.”
“I believe in the us that’s here right now. And I believe there might be an us in a month and maybe a year. But this—everything we’ve shared in this bedroom and in this house, and a few other places, too—that’s a fantasy. We have to start to live in the real world.”
“I don’t want the job,” he said. “I don’t want to go back to Everest again. I’ve just barely recovered from the first trip.”
“It’s a wonderful opportunity. You said so yourself. And I’ll miss you when you’re gone. But you’ll come back. This time, I know you’ll be back.”
Charlie searched her face, as if he were hoping to find a trace of uncertainty there, a chink in her logic. This was for the best, Eve mused. He had to see it the way she did. If they continued as they’d begun, the fantasy would slowly fade and they’d be left wondering if the emotions that accompanied it were fading, too. This way, they’d force themselves back into reality, before it was too late.
“All right,” Charlie said. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I won’t always like it, but I’ll do what you want.”
“And if you’re not happy, you’ll tell me. You won’t sneak around with other women, you’ll just tell me so we can end it without any drama.”
“It’s not going to end,” Charlie said.
Eve grabbed the coffee mug from the beside table and took a sip. “I spoke with Lily about your idea. About the dehydrated foods. She’s doing some research, but she thought it was a really good idea.”
“It is,” Charlie said. “Listen, I’ve tasted every brand out there and there just isn’t much variety. The food needs to taste…interesting. And it has to be packed with carbs.”
“I’m going to work on some things while you’re gone,” Eve said. Though the words were difficult to say and even more difficult to imagine, Eve knew she’d be able to get along without him. A month was a long time. Six weeks even worse. But it would never come close to five years.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” he said.
“You’ll be fine.”
“You could always come along,” Charlie said. “We’ll spend a lot of time at base camp and you’ll get a chance to see how the cooking is done there. The Sherpas are amazing cooks. They do a lot of vegetarian dishes. You could get some new recipes.”
“I can’t be away from the restaurant for that long,” Eve said.
“Why not? A lot of great chefs travel. And Asia is a great place to study food.”
Eve had always wanted to experience the culinary world beyond the borders of her own country. She had the money to travel, but there always seemed to be something important keeping her home. “Maybe another time. Things are so busy right now with the investors and the new restaurant in Seattle and the cookbook and the television show. And Nepal isn’t just a quick plane ride with a comfy hotel on the other end. It takes planning.”
“All right,” Charlie said. “But you do have to promise me one thing. That when I get back, we’ll take a trip together. Just a long weekend. Anywhere you want to go. San Francisco. New Orleans. Some place with really great food. And we’ll eat our way through the weekend.”
Eve smiled. It sounded like a perfect plan. Something she could look forward to upon his return. “All right,” she agreed.
For the first time, she allowed herself to believe they had a future. He would come back to Boulder, they would pick up where they’d left off. And maybe, someday, she could say without a trace of hesitation that she loved Charlie Templeton with every fiber of her being, with every molecule in her body and every inch of her soul.
THE DENVER AIRPORT was bustling with travelers as Eve and Charlie wove through the crowd on the way to his gate. Though Eve had known this moment was coming, she found herself completely unprepared for the emotions that accompanied it. Charlie was leaving for Boston and a few days later, he’d be on a plane bound for Nepal. He’d be halfway around the world and difficult to reach.
In the week before his departure, their relationship had continued to edge toward something permanent. She packed up her things at Lily’s and moved into his house, hanging her clothes beside his in the empty closets and filling his kitchen cupboards with all of her cooking utensils and spices.
Though the house had been furnished as a rental, Charlie had urged her to buy new furniture and redecorate while he was gone. He’d brought his friend Jack over to discuss the changes she wanted to make in the kitchen and Jack had agreed to help her find a good contractor.
But Eve hadn’t wanted to think about redecorating. She’d only been interested in knowing where he’d be, what he’d be doing and whether any of it was dangerous. Charlie had tried to calm her fears and to that end, had decided to set up an easy way for them to communicate on a daily basis.
He had a satellite link-up on his laptop, so he’d gone out and bought a brand-new computer and set it up in a corner of his living room, along with a program that operated a video link over the Internet. They’d first tried it with Charlie locked in the bedroom and Eve sitting in the living room.
When the link-up worked, they explored all the possibilities that video calling offered, including those of a sexual nature. Eve felt a blush warm her cheeks. Though sex in the privacy of their bedroom was comfortable for her, she had a difficult time sending images of her naked body out into the world.
“You’re going to call me as soon as you get to Boston, right?” Eve said.
“I will,” Charlie said. “Are you sure you don’t want to come to Boston with me? It’s just a few days. You could fly out there with me now and fly back here when I leave for Nepal.”
“I can’t,” Eve said. “I have to go to Seattle the day after tomorrow to look at a few locations for the restaurant. I’m cooking for my investors and then I have to spend a few days here in Denver, talking to a production company about the cooking show.”
“See, you’ll be so busy, you’ll hardly notice I’m gone. Six weeks will fly by in no time.”
Eve stood next to him as he checked in and dropped off his luggage. They wandered over to a row of seats, then sat down. Charlie reached out to take her hand. He drew it up to his lips and pressed a kiss on the back of her wrist. “God, I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” she said. A shiver skittered through her body and she glanced away. She’d been meaning to talk to Charlie about something before he left, but she hadn’t had the courage to bring up the subject. It was now or never.
“Will there be women where you’re going in Nepal?”
He frowned. “Sure. There are a lot of women involved in climbing expeditions. The season will be winding down on Everest. Why do you—” He paused, then smiled. “Are you worried I’m going to…what do they call it?”
“Stray,” Eve said. “Because, I know you’re used to having women around to satisfy—your—you know, needs?” Charlie laughed out loud and Eve felt her face warm. “It’s not funny. I’m serious.”
“You’re ridiculous. You don’t think I can go six weeks without sex?”
“Have you ever gone six weeks without sex?” she asked. “I mean, during your adult life?”
Charlie thought about it. “No, I guess I haven’t. But that doesn’t mean I can’t.” He grabbed Eve’s arms and turned her to face him. “Eve, listen to me very carefully. I want you and only you. I’m not going to go sleeping around just to scratch an itch. You are the only person I want to be intimate with, do you understand?”
Eve nodded. “I do.”
“Good. Now, can we stop talking about sex? It’s making me really horny and finding a place to take care of my needs in this airport is going to be impossible.”
“See,” Eve said. “You get turned on so easily. I think it’s going to be much harder than you think.”
“It is much harder than you think,” Charlie said, glancing down at his lap. “But that’s all your fault. You’re the one who does this to me. That’s why I set up the video link on your computer. So we could take care of these things when they come…up.” He sat up straighter, wincing slightly as he moved. “Now, can we talk about something else? Tell me about the new sofa you want to buy.”
Eve chatted about her plans to redecorate the house, promising him that she’d clear all her choices with him. But she knew the conversation was just a clever way to distract her from the inevitable.
Charlie looked at his watch, then sighed. “I’d better go. I still have to go through security.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
Eve swallowed hard as his gaze caught hers. “Right,” she muttered. “I guess this is it.”
“It’s all right, Evie. We’ll say goodbye really quick. And before you know it, you’ll be here again, picking me up.”
“You are coming back,” Eve said.
Charlie stood and pulled her to her feet. “I am coming back. I promise.” He leaned forward and kissed her, this kiss filled with so much longing that Eve felt tears well up in her eyes.
“Have fun,” she said, her voice choking with emotion. “But—but not too much fun. Not that kind of fun.”
“Evie, don’t you know? I love you. The only person I want to be with is you.” He reached down and picked up his boarding pass and passport. “I’ll talk to you later tonight after I get settled in Boston.”
Eve nodded. “All right.” She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, then realized she didn’t want to let go. “Go. Before I start blubbering like an idiot.”
“I can’t,” Charlie said. “You’re holding on too tight.”
Eve quickly released her grip. Brushing a tear from her cheek, she gave him a little wave and he started toward the gate. Eve felt panic wash over her. What if she never saw him again? What if he met with an accident on Everest or his plane crashed or—he met some beautiful woman and decided to run off with her? There were things left to be said between them.
“I love you, Charlie Templeton,” Eve shouted.
He stopped, then slowly turned around, a wide grin on his face. “I love you, Eve Keller.” They stared at each other across the waiting area for a long moment. Then applause suddenly broke out among the passengers standing there.
Eve laughed and blew him a kiss and Charlie pretended to catch it and put it in his pocket. He gave her one last wave before heading into the security area.
Walking back toward her car, Eve said a silent prayer that everything would go well with his trip and he’d make it safely home again. This man meant everything to her. Though she found those feelings difficult to admit, that didn’t make them any less intense.
“I do love you, Charlie,” she murmured.