Beyond Eden Read Online Free PDF Page B

sight of the girl who had run away with his heart to New York when he was still too young to understand he could lose it so easily.
    As Danny silently studied them, white-hot jealousy swirled up from a dormant place inside him where he’d kept the dark, painful feelings of his youth locked away for the past ten years. It seemed like a lifetime ago he felt the crushing weight of envy and hurt but his body and soul remembered it easily. He was older, he was wiser but it made no difference as turbulent emotions swirled inside him.
    “Thanks to you, she drank way too much,” Paul said as he stood and looked to Danny leaning casually against the doorway. “And the smoke bothers her. It’ll make her nauseated.”
    “No, it doesn’t.” Eve turned onto her side, giving Danny a bright smile. She had deep dimples in both cheeks. When she smiled, it made her so beautiful and precious Danny actually felt a stab of pain in his chest from the feelings rushing through him. Still smiling, she said in a whimsical voice, “I like the way you smell, Danny Boy. You smell like Tampa.”
    Danny frowned. “Is that a good thing?”
    “Very good.” Eve yawned, putting a hand over her mouth. “T-tomorrow, Paul Guy… We’ll catch up tomorrow. It’s Saturday. You don’t work on Saturdays, do you?”
    “Sometimes, but not this Saturday.” Paul ran a hand through his hair as he looked down at Eve. “We’ll catch up tomorrow. That’s a good plan.”
    Danny glared at Paul, knowing he hadn’t taken a Saturday off in at least six months but said nothing. Instead he turned to look at Eve, whose eyes were closed. She was humming under her breath, making her seem young and innocent. She looked like a goddess right then with her hair the color of dark copper, falling like a veil around her and standing out starkly against the white sheets in their guestroom. Her eye makeup was smudged, accentuating her long eyelashes resting like twin half-moons on her pale cheeks. Her hand was tucked under her cheek as she relaxed in near sleep. The scene was endearingly sweet, if not full of contradictions, which was something Danny had
    missed profoundly about Eve. Once again, he reeled over the level of emotions finding her had caused. There was just something about Eve that made him want to snatch her up and keep her as his own forever.
    “Night, Evie Girl,” Danny whispered, still staring at her longingly as he walked over and tapped his cigarette against an ashtray on the dresser. “My bedroom is just down the hall if you need anything.”
    Eve hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t say anything.
    “If you start feeling sick, come wake one of us up. You’re not a bother,” Paul said in a tender voice. He turned to walk out the door, pulling at his tie and leaving it hanging loose in his collar. His suit jacket had been discarded the moment he walked into the house but his shirt and tie had stayed on when Paul became distracted with caring for Eve. He walked into the hallway with one final glance back at Eve and then he turned back to Danny, giving him a look that made it obvious he expected Danny to follow him. “We need to talk.”
    Danny rolled his eyes and grabbed his ashtray as he walked out of the guest bedroom, leaving Eve behind despite his body’s protest against it. He smoked his cigarette as he followed behind Paul, who had un-tucked his shirt and unbuttoned it as he walked.
    “How was work?” Danny asked in a light, casual manner, hoping to avoid any conversation more serious than the mundane.
    “Work was work,” Paul said blandly, his voice barely above a whisper as he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He looked around at the dirty dishes still on the table with disdain, then lifted his gaze to Danny, his blue eyes pulsing furiously in the semidarkness of the kitchen. “Do you have a personal vendetta against me?”
    “Yes, it’s all about you.” Danny sat across from Paul, setting his ashtray on the table