“Calm down,” Mrs. Hernandez said, patting the girl’s arm.
“Do you all have passports?” Eve asked.
“I do. Sophia does too, but I’ll have to see if it’s expired. We got it to visit my parents in Chile, but we haven’t been able to afford to go yet.”
“I know Darius would like to do this sooner than later because he’s got some pressing business in October. Is there a chance you could find her passport and check the expiration date while I’m here?” Eve asked. “I know some countries won’t let you enter if your passport’s going to expire within the next six months. If it’s expired, the charity will pay to renew it, but we’d have to rush it.”
Mrs. Hernandez rose from the couch and hurried away. Sophia jumped up and ran over to give Eve a hug.
“Thank you so much for submitting my name for this.” The girl’s happy expression suddenly went gloomy. “Now, as long as I don’t have a flare-up.”
“Let’s think positive about that,” Eve said. “And I’ll be there too.”
“It expires in nine months,” Mrs. Hernandez said, entering the room with an open passport before her.
“Is yours still good?” Eve asked the mother, and Mrs. Hernandez nodded. “I’ll let Darius know then and get you information about the dates. He was hoping in less than three weeks. Do you have any conflicts?”
“No. My cousin owes me a favor, so I’m sure she will be happy to cover for me.”
“And your husband?”
“I will ask him, but I think we cannot both come. It’s too much.”
“I understand. Let me know for sure. Thank you both so much for helping my friend with this.” Eve gave them both a hug and left, feeling incredible. She would love to keep doing this. Now to convince Darius.
* * *
Darius had been disappointedwhen Eve had left right away to go to Boston to contact Sophia and her family. She’d returned the following week with a list of things they needed to do in preparation for the trip. It’d been fortunate that his new assistant Ahri had been working in the CEO’s office when Kayn first proposed the charity, so she was already aware of it and had done some of the prep work for the Ireland trip.
Darius had arranged for Eve to stay at the bed-and-breakfast that belonged to his partner’s mother, Francie. It served two purposes for Darius. The first was that it made sense because it had a weekly rate that was much better than getting a hotel room for her, but also because Ahri was frequently there. The impromptu brainstorming sessions that arose when the three of them got together reminded him of the synergy they had going at the office, and REKD Gaming was known for its creative atmosphere.
On a personal level, it gave Darius an opportunity to spend time with Eve outside of a formal office environment. Francie was the epitome of a Southern hostess, and she had the four partners over for Sunday dinner every week. Those often turned into spontaneous confabs too. He was actually getting excited for the charity, something he hadn’t expected.
He drove up to the bed-and-breakfast two days before the scheduled trip. Francie and her husband had taken their two young children to a movie, so Darius expected to have Eve to himself. He tapped on the front door and let himself in.
“Eve. Where are you?” he called.
“In the kitchen.”
It seemed like everything that happened in this house led to the kitchen. Francie was an incredible cook and had been teaching Ahri while she lived there. Darius wondered if Eve was the newest student.
When he entered the room, he found her loading a casserole into the oven. She looked adorable with her braids piled high on her head and wearing one of Francie’s lacy aprons.
“Francie taught me a new recipe that I thought I’d give a try,” Eve said, glancing at him. “Since I travel around so much, I don’t get many opportunities to cook. Did you know she’s going to do a recipe book?”
“She’s been talking about it for years.” He took off his jacket and put it on a chair, hoping Eve didn’t expect much in the way of culinary talents from him. He was no Rafe, who was a wiz in the kitchen like his mother. “Is she really going to do it?”
“They’re thinking about starting off with a YouTube channel. She can put some of her simpler recipes on there, and when the book is ready, they can advertise it on her webpage,” Eve said, washing her hands at the sink. “I think it’s brilliant. I suggested that she also do a version for people who know absolutely nothing about cooking.”
“You don’t need that. I remember you being quite the baker in high school.”
“But you wouldn’t believe the number of people who don’t know you have to take the egg out of the shell before you whip it.” She gave him a flat look that made him chuckle.
“I’m guessing you’re speaking from experience?”
“One of my roommates in college. Another one had never used a dishwasher and didn’t understand the difference between the low-suds dishwasher detergent and regular dish soap.” Eve rolled her eyes. “What a mess that was. We thought she’d broken the dishwasher when all the bubbles started coming out of the seals.”
He chuckled.
