The Heart of Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

pulled me away,” Cheyenne clarified. “His brothers were arguing with their father and stepmother, and we were trying to act as intermediaries.”
    “Well, helping in that situation was more important than hanging out with me last night,” Eve said. “Trust me, what I did wasn’t your fault. It was mine. As I said, I was drinking. And this guy was...”
    Worry creased Cheyenne’s forehead. “Pushy? He didn’t press you too hard or...or make you feel you had no choice....”
    “Not at all,” she said. “The moment I noticed him, I wanted him—more than I’ve ever wanted anyone else. It had to be the booze. I’m not usually like that, not with a stranger. But everything—my mood, the alcohol, the fact that I was alone and the handsomest guy I’d ever seen was sitting at the bar... It all sort of undermined my good sense.”
    Cheyenne bit her lip. “So you invited him over?”
    “More or less. We wound up together. Let’s just say that.”
    “I’m happy you met someone you were attracted to. But taking a stranger home... That’s so dangerous, Eve. He could’ve hurt you or...worse.”
    Eve had swallowed two ibuprofen tablets to help her recover from her hangover. She’d been feeling better since then, but the tension of having to confess to something she’d much rather forget was bringing back the pain. “He didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to, so there’s nothing to worry about there. I made a mistake. It’s that simple. I was stupid and foolhardy, but it’s over now, and I can’t take it back.”
    She returned to her computer, hoping the discussion was now at an end. But Cheyenne didn’t go back to work.
    “So you’re okay?”
    “As okay as I can be when I’m embarrassed and humiliated,” Eve replied. “I’m hoping my parents won’t hear about it once they’re home. They’d be just as embarrassed. And disappointed. They don’t need that at their age.”
    “Did they get the RV fixed?”
    “Not yet. They had to order one of the parts.”
    “Lucky for you. Hopefully, this will blow over before they return.”
    “From your lips to God’s ears.”
    Cheyenne groaned as she stretched. Then, obviously attempting to be nonchalant about it, she asked, “Do you think you’ll be seeing this guy again?”
    “No. He’s only in town temporarily.” She didn’t want to add that he’d also made clear he wasn’t interested, which was hitting her hard after Ted’s defection. Until the past few years, she’d been the one to call the shots with the men she dated. But maybe she’d been too picky for too long and deserved the reversal. Maybe karma was coming back to bite her. It certainly seemed that way, because there’d been Joe DeMarco, who’d dated her just once—by his choice—and Ted, who’d done
more
than date her, only to break it off right when she’d decided she was finally falling in love.
    Counting this guy, she was zero for three.
    “What brought him here?”
    Eve felt herself flush. “We didn’t do much talking.”
    “Apparently not.” Cheyenne seemed to be fighting a smile.
    “Stop!” Eve scowled at her. “This isn’t funny. Let’s just...pretend it never happened.”
    “
We
can do that. And I’m confident we can convince Kyle to keep
his
mouth shut. He knows what it’s like to make that kind of mistake. But Noelle? If you take someone home with you, don’t ever do it in front of her.”
    Eve didn’t volunteer that Noelle was the one who’d given them a ride. “If I’d had any brain cells that were still functioning, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!”
    Cheyenne came up behind her and began to massage her shoulders. “Everything will be okay. Try not to let it ruin your birthday.”
    Turning thirty-five had already done that. But she had more to worry about than the memory of a birthday gone sour. Even if she could forget what she’d done, she couldn’t escape what had caused her to act that way in the first place. There was a void in