The girl’s eyes went round and then she did the best happy victory dance Eve had ever seen.
“Good suggestion,” Darius said softly. Then he blinked at some men in kilts who’d come forward to collect their luggage.
“We’re totally going to have to get you one of those,” Eve whispered. He shot her a flat look, and she had to bite back a grin.
“Let’s go.” He headed toward the elevator.
“But you had great calves in high school,” Eve called after him. Darius ignored her, so she slid her arm through Sophia’s, and they followed him.
“Look at all those glass mirrors that have to be cleaned of fingerprints,” Carmen muttered when they entered the elevator.
“I hadn’t thought about that,” Eve said.
“Me either.” Darius stood beside her, his hand at his side, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his skin. The urge to touch his hand, to wrap her little finger around his, almost overwhelmed Eve’s instinct to pull away.
Pull away. That’s what he’d done all those years ago and broken her heart in the process. But her hand wouldn’t move, the battle going on in her mind making her immobile. She couldn’t help wondering what it would feel like now, as an adult, to lace her fingers with his.
No. She shouldn’t think that. He’d shown her rather dramatically what he thought of a romantic entanglement with her. If he knew how often he’d been in her thoughts the last couple of weeks, he’d probably be irritated.
Still, almost of its own volition, her little finger brushed against Darius’s hand, and he stilled, a slight crease appearing between his brows. He didn’t turn to look at her but shot her a sidelong glance before turning his gaze to the front again. Before she could give into temptation again, the elevator door opened. He was the first one out.
All right. Fine. She’d behave. If Eve wanted to continue working with the charity, she couldn’t alienate the boss. Besides, she didn’t know if she could handle being ignored by him for another dozen years.
Darius led them along the brightly lit hallway. He stopped before a door and made a big production of handing the key card to Sophia.
“Look! It’s an owl.” She ran her fingers over the small door knocker before using the keycard and entering the room. She paused and glanced back at the rest of the group in confusion.
“It’s a suite.” Eve stretched her arm past the girl and pointed to an open door visible around the short hallway.
“Go inside so the rest of us can see too.” Carmen slid past Eve and gave her daughter a gentle push forward.
Sophia looked a little breathless as she stepped into the living room. She walked in slowly, past the small dining table and the couch, her eyes finally settling on a desk. She went to it and ran her hands over the worn red desktop.
“This is where she finished the final book,” she said. “I’m touching something thatshetouched.”
Eve glanced up at Darius who’d come to stand beside her.
“Imagine if we’d been able to schedule a meeting with Rowling,” he said, his voice low so only Eve could hear.
“I hope it doesn’t interfere with her being able to eat and sleep well. We need to keep her healthy to enjoy the trip.”
“She certainly feels everything powerfully.”
“Ah, to be a teenager again.” Not. Eve wouldn’t go back to that heartbreak for any price. Unless it was to stop the kiss from happening. What would her life have been like if she and Darius had remained friends all these years?
She pushed the useless thought aside and scanned the room. It was in one of the hotel’s corners and included turrets. She took the sleeve of Darius’s jacket and pulled him over to one near where Sophia sat examining a brochure on the desk.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Come see.”
It was what Eve had expected. The small turret held a marble bust of the Greek god Hermes enclosed in protective glass and sitting on a pedestal. She squeezed over to make room for Darius on the other side.
Eve was struck by how much bigger he seemed now. He’d always been really tall, but in the small space, with his tailored suit jacket fitting his broad shoulders so well, it drove home how much he had filled out from the almost lurpy guy she’d known before. She had a strong sense that he’d be one of those men, like Sean Connery, who just got better looking as he aged.
“Read what’s on it,” she said.
Darius leaned closer and the corners of his mouth curved up. He looked up and met Eve’s gaze.
