“Dude, I wouldn’t bother,” I say before Eve can respond.
Both Eve and the kid turn to stare at me.Eve’s expression could freeze hell.
“Excuse me?”she says, her voice dangerously quiet.
“Trust me, man.You don’t want to date her.”I shake my head sympathetically at the kid.“She’s like a beautiful cactus.Nice to look at, but touch her and you’ll be picking out spines for weeks.”
The kid looks confused.Eve looks homicidal.
“What did you just say?”Her voice drops to a whisper, somehow sounding more threatening than shouting.
“I’m doing him a favor,” I say innocently.“Saving him from certain emotional destruction.You should thank me.”
“Thank you?”Her eyes are practically shooting sparks.“THANK YOU?”
“You’re welcome.Though really, I should be thanking you.The entertainment value alone?—”
“You arrogant, condescending piece of?—”
“Order for Eve!”the counter guy calls out hastily, clearly wanting to escape whatever’s about to happen.Eve grabs the drink carrier while I take the bags, grinning at the fury radiating off her in waves.
“You’re enjoying this,” she accuses as we leave the shop.
“Immensely.”
“Why?What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing’s wrong with me.I just like watching you get all fired up.Your nostrils flare when you’re angry.It’s adorable.”
“Adorable??”She freezes mid-step, forcing me to stumble to a halt behind her.“Did you just call me adorable?”
“Like a rabid squirrel.”
For a second, I think she might actually throw the drinks at me.The way she’s gripping the carrier, her knuckles white with restraint, makes me want to smile.Pissing Eve Lopez off is slowly becoming one of my favorite hobbies.
“You are the most infuriating human being I have ever met,” she hisses.
“Right back at you, Princess.”
She makes that frustrated sound again and starts walking, muttering what sounds like creative threats in Spanish under her breath.
We’re walking back, loaded down with food and drinks, when I notice the woman.
She’s standing across the street from our building, pacing back and forth like a caged animal.Mid-thirties, blonde hair that looks like it hasn’t seen a brush in days, wearing jeans and a coat that’s too thin for the weather.But it’s the wild look in her eyes and the way she’s staring directly at Eve that sets off alarm bells.
I keep walking, but my attention is split between Eve’s continued muttering and the woman who’s now crossing the street with jerky, determined movements.She’s pulling something from her purse—a bottle of some kind.Eve’s completely oblivious, still ranting about my ‘prehistoric attitudes toward women’ when the woman breaks into a run.
“You!”she screams.“You ruined everything!” The bottle has some red liquid in it, and it’s already in the air before Eve even turns around.Without thinking, I drop the bags and throw myself between them, the back of my coat taking the brunt of liquid explosion as I pull Eve against my chest.
“What the hell—” Eve starts, but then the woman is on us, screaming like a banshee.
“He’s mine!Joshua is mine!”The woman lunges at Eve with her nails extended like claws.“You made him choose you over me!”
“Melissa?”Eve recognizes her immediately, blood streaming from the scratches on her neck where Melissa’s nails connected.“You crazy bitch!”
I grab Melissa’s wrists before she can strike again.“That’s enough!”
“Get out of the way, Caleb!”Eve snaps, wiping blood from a deep scratch across her cheek that’s already swelling.“I can handle this!”
