With a grumble, the man lumbered away from the table. She caught Sadia’s attention and ignored the woman’s look of surprise. Livvy pointed to her eyes and then the back of the large guy, and Sadia’s mouth tightened. She leaned over and whispered something to the man working next to her, who cast an assessing eye at the dude she’d ejected.
Assured that Sadia would keep an eye on things, Livvy turned her attention to Eve. She couldn’t exactly get up and leave now, not when the bro was still hovering.
They stared at each other for a long minute. Finally, Evangeline removed her sunglasses and placed them on the table, and unwound the scarf, letting it hang around her neck. Dark eyes met dark and Livvy had to control her flinch. Eve had always favored her mom in looks, but now that she was older, that likeness had gone into doppelganger territory. Eve’s hair was stick straight, unlike Maria’s curls, and her cheeks were rounder and rosier, but other than that, they could have been twins.
Livvy spoke first. “I’m surprised after you dressed up like a 1920s lady spy, you’d give that guy your real name.”
Eve tugged at her scarf. “I was caught off-guard. Dumb.”
Livvy shifted, feeling every inch of the years that separated the two of them. “Not dumb. Naive, maybe.”
“You’re not naive,” Eve replied, with no inflection in her voice. She picked up her drink, a pink liquid in a large martini glass, and took a sip. An empty glass sat at her elbow. She’d been here awhile before Livvy had noticed her.
“I’m not. But I’m also much older than you.”
“Not that much.” Eve straightened and looked her in the eye. “Hello, Olivia.”
“Hi, Eve. I still prefer Livvy.”
“Most people call me Evangeline now.”
Nicholas didn’t, Livvy bet. He’d always hauled Eve in close, affectionately squeezing her.Evangeline is too big of a name for a little squirt like you.Livvy and the rest of the family had followed suit.
She inhaled.Rest of the family.She’d been a part of that family then, yes, but no longer. “I’ll remember that.”
“I have no preference.”
“You should have a preference on your name.”
The girl took another sip of her drink. “Whatever’s easier.”
Livvy bet that was Eve’s response to a lot of things. The girl had always been shy, but now, with her downcast eyes and hunched shoulders, she seemed like she was trying to make herself invisible.
“Do you come here often?” Livvy asked, because what else could she ask? Small talk wasn’t her forte at the best of times, and that was when she didn’t have to navigate the landmine of their past.
“Here? Oh. Oh yes.” Eve looked down at her glass.
She was lying.“Probably not what you’re used to.”
“How do you know what I’m used to?”
The hint of a bite in the words surprised Livvy. Okay. Maybe not so timid. “Because I was used to it too. How’s the country club?” Her dad had demanded they join the most elite country club in the area after Brendan did. The snobs there had barely tolerated them, but they hadn’t been able to turn them away. The green of their money had trumped the melanin in their skin.
The club was a safe topic. Livvy had never cared about the place.
“The same. Nothing changes there.”
“I assume you’re chairing a committee or two. Some sort of charity work.”
Eve stared at her for a long moment. “Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s what this social circle expects of those of us with two X chromosomes who have no interest in the family business.” Tani had done her stint on a few boards. Maria Chandler had cranked it into high gear by establishing her own foundation.
Though, Livvy could admit, her parents had never tried to shove the gender roles of the rich and mildly famous down their children’s throats. They’d figured her desire to be a tattoo artist was a phase, but they’d agreed to art school instead of some fancy degree she wouldn’t use and a lifetime of boring social obligations with people she didn’t like.
“I do always do what’s expected of me,” Eve murmured, half under her breath. “I work for the foundation now.”
Livvy nodded, unsurprised.
