Darius had finished his food and was about to stand when she returned.
“I guess I should eat my lunch now.” She sat and started putting things on her scone. “Sophia’s done really well, better than her mother thought she would. They’re going to check out the Crown Jewels here and then call it a day. I’m not excited about making a round-trip flight back-to-back.”
“We were just talking about that.” Darius explained his idea. “Or we could hire a nurse here to fly with them. Which do you think is best for Sophia?”
“She’s doing so well I think your crew would be fine. I’ll ask her mother what she prefers. If Sophia’s still feeling well, she might find it awkward making the flight home with a stranger.”
Darius’s phone pinged. It was his mother.
Why aren’t you telling me? It’s a girl for sure.
“Who’s making you frown,” Eve asked.
“It’s my mother.” Darius pocketed his phone. He’d deal with her later.
“Your mom’s a sweetheart. Why is she making you frown?”
“I told her I was staying a few extra days, and she assumes it’s because of a girl.”
“So tell her the truth; itisbecause of a girl.” Eve put on that saucy grin he’d loved so much in high school.
“I’m going to tell my Greek mother that her thirty-year-old son is staying extra days in Scotland because of a woman, and she’snotgoing to start making wedding plans?” Darius let the sarcasm show in his tone.
“Ah, good point. She wants her baby to get busy with babies of his own, I suppose. It’s a good thing my younger brother is married already and has a child, or my mother would be doing the same to me.” Eve took a bite of her scone and said around the food, “This clotted cream is to die for.”
Darius pulled out the notebook he’d brought and started sketching, watching her surreptitiously. He’d thought he’d seen a flash of something when she’d made the comment about babies. As he drew the curve of her face and the lines of her long neck, he wondered what it’d be like to raise a family with her.
Eve had been a loving and demonstrative person, always touching her friends. His mother’d had to teach the importance of touch to his father who’d grown up in a hands-off family. He’d never gotten comfortable with it, but he could greet family members now with a quick hug.
“What are you drawing?” Eve asked, leaning closer.
Darius blinked, pulled from his reverie. He held up a picture of her in the bright flowered dress she’d worn to the restaurant. She was glancing to the side and laughing.
“I always thought you had natural talent, but with your education and what I imagine is a lot of experience, you’re amazing at this.” She handed back the sketchpad. “At one time you talked about wanting to see your work on display. Have you given up on that now that you’re doing more fantasy-themed art with your champions?”
“I still do some traditional work, but it’s more a hobby since I spend so much time with my day job.” He added a few more touches to the sketch. “I gave up that dream a long time ago. I’m still a professional artist, but in a different way than I imagined when I was younger.”
“That’s true. My mother’s favorite saying when I complain about how things don’t work out is that life has a habit of happening while we’re making other plans.”
“Where did you think you’d be at this time in your life?” Darius asked.
“I thought I’d be married and have a kid or two by now, maybe working in a doctor’s office so I could have a consistent schedule.” Eve glanced off in the distance. “But I’ve had a good run with the jobs I’ve taken, met interesting people, and visited fun places. It’s just been a lonely life.”
“Do you think you’re ready for a change?”
She turned to meet Darius’s gaze. “I do.”
He started to reach to take her hand, but paused, glancing over to where Noah was helping Sophia rise from their table. Eve gave him a soft smile as though to let him know she understood.
“He’s handling her crush pretty well,” she said.
“What?” Darius asked.
“You taught high school and you can’t tell when a girl likes a boy?” Eve shot him a disbelieving glance.
“I’ve been dealing with my own.” He winked at her.
The photographer had been busily taking all kinds of photos. She approached Darius.
