† † †
As the lights from the airport terminal faded, Eva gave another Uber driver her Mercer Island address and tried to calm her rolling stomach. She hadn’t been home since her mom’s funeral. What would it be like rattling around their empty house? Being reminded every day that the only family she’d ever had was gone.
She’d keep busy, she reminded herself around a yawn. Get a job right away so she wouldn’t be home that often. Shouldn’t be too hard now that she had her MBA.
She looked out the window, thinking how hollow that accomplishment seemed now when at one time it had been so important to them. She hadn’t even attended her graduation ceremony. She’d thought about it, wondered if someday she’d regret not going, but in the end, she hadn’t wanted to cross the stage, her classmates looking out into the proud faces of their loved ones, while she searched in vain for the one face she wanted to see. Caleb would have been there, of course, but her mom wouldn’t have.
Straightening in her seat, she shoved away her melancholy thoughts and tried to find something positive kicking around in her head.
Maybe she wouldn’t have to search for a job. She had, after all, interviewed for that position at TarMor Inc. Perhaps she’d get a call back.
She bit her lip. And then? If she got that job, she’d what, sell the house she’d grown up in and walk away from her life in Seattle as if none of it mattered? It was bad enough she’d sold her mom’s dress shop, which she’d only done when Kathryn’s lawyer had called to tell Eva someone had shown an interest.
But their house?
And what about Nika?
She rubbed at her brow with the tips of her fingers. If she got the job, she could always think of it as a temporary position. It wasn’t what she was looking for anyway. The only reason she’d applied was because the headhunter who’d interviewed members from her graduating class had pushed her into “seriously considering” his lead on the “wonderful learning experience” at TarMor, a “most sought-after placement” in one of the “fastest growing building contractors in the US.” When Eva had balked at the title of associate business manager, seeing herself doing nothing more than grunt work for someone with a secure place on the board, the headhunter had encouraged her to see it more as a stepping-stone. In what other position could she get such an overview of the workings of such a large company? There was also room for quick growth. If she proved herself, the company had guaranteed a promotion to manager after her first year of employment, which was more in line with her credentials. And to have the chance to actually shadow a CEO—even if his name did cause her teeth to grind a little. Alekzander Tarasov. Ugh. Could it get anymore Russian?
Aside from his heritage, shadowing him had been the one selling point that wasn’t part of any other job she or her classmates had heard of.
She really couldn’t afford not to at least consider the opportunity. Even if by accepting the job, she’d have to return to New York because that was where Mr. Tarasov was relocating within the month.
As she leaned her head on the window while the cab crossed the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge from Seattle onto Mercer island, perks and drawbacks continued to drift through her mind. Two stood out. One was frivolous, the other, not so much.
The first was a silly perk that involved some eye-candy she’d seen in the lobby after finishing up with the chief human resources officer the day of her interview. Beyond tall, dark, and handsome, Eva had thought about the man much too often since. She’d even gone so far as to wonder if the company had planted him, knowing four of the candidates competing for the job were women.
The second was the possible drawback that had occupied her mind during much of her flight home. The interaction she’d had today with a known organized crime figure. Stefano Moretti had known her by name. And he’d seemed damn sure they’d meet again. Why?
“This it?”
Eva’s head came up at the driver’s query, and she looked out to see they’d stopped in front of her house.
With her heart lodged in her throat, she got out and waited while the woman popped the trunk and placed Eva’s bags on the driveway. She continued to dawdle as the driver got back into her car and drove away, watching until the vehicle disappeared up the street.
Okay. She could do this.
Taking a deep breath, ultra-conscious of the silence of the night—no traffic, sirens, drunken conversations—she picked up her things and used the glow from the streetlight to make her way up the front walk. Shoving her key into the lock, she swung the door wide and paused to turn off the beeping alarm before hitting the switch to illuminate the entrance. She squinted in the sudden brightness as she dropped her luggage at the foot of the stairs…
Tears burned behind her lids as the familiar, if stuffy, smell of home hit her. “Mom,” she whispered, blinking hard, half expecting to see a beautiful blonde head pop out from the kitchen.
“Hey, boo-boo!” her mom would say with a welcoming smile that adored from any distance. “Come tell me about your day. Coffee’s on.”
Treasuring the memory, Eva backstepped, hovering just outside the door where she gulped in some fresh air. Too bad Nika hadn’t made it over to air the place out, she thought as she took the brunt of her grief amid the loneliness she now lived with. She turned, her blurry gaze skimming over the front yard…
She stilled as a coming-to-be-familiar sensation tickled her nape. Like she was being watched. She’d felt it in New York, so often lately, and even on the flight back to Seattle. It wasn’t as disturbing as it should be, considering what had happened that morning, but brought with it an odd sense of peace.
Maybe it was her mom’s spirit—
Eva jumped when she felt a vibration against her left buttock. Blowing out an annoyed breath, she took her phone out to see a text from Caleb. As she read, she flicked the volume button back on.
You home?
Yeah. Just got here.
You okay?
Her lip curved, her heart warming as she typed in a lie. Yup. Did you learn anything about this morning?
She waited almost a minute, staring at the bubble that signified he was responding.
Still working on it. Ttyl
Sending a kissy-face emoji, she tucked her phone away.
Before she could fall back into the pit, a light breeze whispered against her face. The scent of rain and grass mingled with what came from the house, watering down the emotion it evoked.
“I know we didn’t go for the ghosty shit, mom,” she murmured, smiling a little because Kathryn Jacobs, a literal genius, hadn’t been one to believe in anything that hadn’t been studied to death. “But I’ll take you anyway I can get you.”
As night shadows stretched over what would be a brilliant green lawn come morning, hiding the sword ferns and other foliage surrounding the yard, a dog barking in the distance, the sound more a let-me-in-I’m-done-peeing than someone’s-in-the-yard, Eva had to admit being home wasn’t so bad after all.
† † †
Gabriel watched Eva linger in the entrance to her house, her lips curving in a private smile.
Gorgeous.
Who was she texting? Paynne? Her friend Nika? Which one had caused her expression to soften like it had? Hopefully Nika, he thought with a scowl.