He was preparing to leave when he remembered the hotel had a pool large enough for laps. When they entered the pool room, they found her gliding through the water. Darius wondered how many laps she’d already done. She hadn’t noticed them, so he settled on one of the lounge chairs. Joe sat on the one beside him.
“You should have seen her in high school,” Darius said, his voice soft. “She was something else in the water, her figure lithe and elegant. And fast.”
“Did she compete?” The older man watched her with interest.
“Eve was on the swim team, so yes. Their coach suggested she might be fast enough to qualify for the Olympics, but she wasn’t interested.” Darius glanced at Joe. “She said there was more to life than swimming. Being a wannabe Olympian would take too much time from the other things she wanted to do.”
“That was wise for someone so young.” Joe watched her as she began another lap. “It fits what I know of her. She has a solid head on her shoulders.”
“I didn’t think so at the time. I spent an entire month bugging her to reconsider, but she was adamant. Looking back, I agree with you. To make that kind of sacrifice, you have to know for sure that’s what you want. She didn’t. She’s never wanted the limelight.”
“If you two start dating, which is looking likely,” Joe said contemplatively, “will your situation be a problem for her?”
“Mysituation?” Darius chuckled. “I’ve never heard it described as that.”
“I’m just thinking about the increase in paparazzi at headquarters.”
Joe’s reference was to the press they’d received when Kayn’s sister Ahri had come to hide with him after her estranged husband had been murdered. The killers had been caught, and it’d been all over the news. When Ahri and Rafe had become a couple, the press attention had intensified. That had been followed by Kayn announcing the need for all of them to come to Ireland so they could all be at his surprise wedding. Now Ezreal was engaged too.
Was the bodyguard right? Would it bother Eve who’d never liked attention to suddenly be in the spotlight? Darius didn’t want to complicate her life, but he definitely wanted to spend more time with her. Their connection to the charity shouldn’t be a problem, since his future association would be limited. He wasn’t a skittish, insecure teenager anymore, and he hadn’t been this interested in a woman since Melanie.
He winced. In his excitement, he’d let himself forget that fiasco. It was time to try getting in touch with her. The last he’d heard, her husband had gone from being a congressman to a senator, so they’d probably live in the Virginia area. How many years ago had that been? He might be close to finishing his first term. Could it really have been that long?
Darius’s gaze followed Eve’s slender form as it sliced through the water. Too bad he hadn’t thought to bring a sketchpad and pencil. He pulled out his phone and took a picture for later. The next time he woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep, he’d draw.
Eve finally stopped and held on to the edge of the pool, breathing heavily. When she’d been on the swim team, she could easily put in three hours in the pool with barely a blink. She’d said she got a lot of thinking done while swimming. In spite of the arduous physical exercise, it seemed to relax her mentally. Darius had never understood it.
She pulled herself from the pool, the muscles in her arms and back defined, and started squeezing water from her braids. He’d thought the colors of her dress accented her warm, almost toffee-colored skin, but the blues and greens in her swimsuit might be even better. Toffee. Yes, she did look good enough to eat.
“Close your mouth,” Joe said. “You don’t want her to catch you drooling.”
Darius scowled. He hadnotbeen drooling. Much.
Patting her face dry, Eve turned and saw them. She gave him a smile that made Darius want to jump up and get that kiss they’d almost had at the restaurant last night. He resisted. Not self-conscious in the least, she strolled toward them with the casual, easy grace he remembered from school. She was so beautiful and seemed comfortable in her skin, even more now than in high school. He wouldnotforget paper again.
“It looks like you’ve already worked out,” she said as she pressed the towel gently against her braids to soak up the moisture.
“We have.” Darius stood, and Joe did the same.
While Eve wrapped a new towel around her head, Darius picked up a robe lying on another chair. He held it up, and she stepped into it.
“You mentioned having made arrangements for some kind of scooter for Sophia,” Eve said. “I think we should bring it with us today. We’ve got more walking on the schedule.”
“You’ll love what I got for her.” Darius indicated the door and the three of them headed toward it. “I met a guy at a conference a couple of years ago who was doing a fundraiser to build a prototype of a portable scooter. His mother was at that in-between stage where she didn’t need one of those heavy-duty motorized ones except on rare occasions. He thought it’d be useful to have something easy to fold and put in the trunk and yet sturdy enough to handle a reasonably heavy person.”
The elevator door opened, and two middle-aged men exited.
“When I first suggested a chair, Sophia freaked out.” Eve stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for their floor. “She’s really self-conscious and thinks it’ll make her stand out.”
“I did get one, and it’s pretty cool looking. I put Noah in charge of it, and he couldn’t wait to drive it. It’s got three wheels instead of four and has a flashy blue paint job. It’s easy to get on and off, and it can be folded up and pulled like luggage.”
“Is that also going to be Noah’s job?” Joe asked as the elevator doors opened.
The young man was standing there waiting and stared at them in surprise. “What job?”
“You get to drag the scooter along when Sophia’s not using it,” Darius said, stepping out.
“Can’t I just drive it?” Noah asked.
