Chapter Ten #2
“I gathered that after you hired Full Bush Rhonda.” Veda thought for a second. “What if I crowdsourced it? Like a GoFundMe?”
Eve was already shaking her head. “I don’t like asking for handouts.”
“We could frame it as a separate venture. I don’t mind being the face of the charity case. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Ooh.” She dug her phone out of her back pocket. “That rhymed. I need to put that in my notes. I write songs for the band,
you know.”
“What is the name of your band, by the way?”
Veda grinned. “The All-Nighters.”
“Fitting.” Eve sighed while pacing her kitchen slowly, from one end to the other. Dammit. Veda’s idea was in its infancy,
but it was a good one. And it could bring in a whole new—and younger—clientele to the burlesque club. “Let me think about
it.” Madden’s face materialized in her mind, his jaw set, eyes following her every movement. “I’ve had a lot of proposals
in the last twelve hours.”
Veda paused. “You have another proposal for the backyard space?”
What was it about this girl that made Eve less guarded? “Um, no. A marriage one.”
“Wow. I can’t even get matched on Tinder.” She stared at Eve. “This is a legit marriage proposal we’re talking about?”
“Yes.”
“Is he hot?”
Why water down the truth? “Extremely.”
“Is he a criminal?”
“No.”
Veda blinked. “Sounds like a resounding yes to me.”
Eve drained the last of her coffee. “It’s complicated.
” She chewed her bottom lip, visions of an outdoor dance floor floating through her mind.
“Why don’t we make an appointment with the town inspector to make sure we’re zoned for an outdoor space and find out what the requirements are.
It doesn’t hurt to find out. We’ll see what they say and take it from there. But no promises. Sound good?”
“Yeah.” Veda ducked her head, seemingly to hide a smile. “Yeah, sounds perfect.”
“I’ll text you with the details.” Eve put her mug back beneath the brewer. It was a multiple cup kind of morning. “Right now,
I have to find a pulmonologist for Landon.”
“Why?” Veda paused on her way to the door. “Does someone have asthma?”
“Landon, apparently.”
“I’ve had asthma my whole life,” Veda said, going through her phone. A second later, Eve’s phone dinged with a text message.
“That’s my doctor. She’s a little bit of a drive, but she’s good with kids.”
“Okay, great. Thanks.”
Veda opened the door and let it swing shut. “I’ll be back later to babysit,” she called through the closed door. “But you’re
paying me this time.”
“Roger that,” Eve said, dryly, pressing the button on the coffee maker for the maximum number of ounces. “Guess she’s here
to stay.” Waiting for her next cup to brew, Eve opened her laptop on the breakfast bar and started doing some research. The
deeper she got, the heavier the weight in her stomach became.
An out-of-pocket pulmonology appointment could be six hundred dollars if Landon required tests—which he would, if he hadn’t been diagnosed previously.
Inhalers. Backup inhalers. Follow-up appointments.
This was going to be expensive. She’d sell everything she owned to get the kid the medical treatment he needed, but he also needed a roof over his head.
Both those things would stretch Eve’s funds to the limit.
Asthma could only be the beginning too. Other conditions could present themselves in him or his sister, right? Kids broke
arms. They swallowed magnets and goldfish. A trip to the emergency room could break the bank. Already, the school trips and
class dues, extra food, clothes were adding up. Throw in medical costs?
No way around it. Eve needed insurance for them.
They needed security.
A brief search told her a family plan, using the club as her employer, could be well over a grand every month. Holy shit.
How did people afford this? Was everyone just struggling and keeping quiet about it?
Eve closed her laptop and picked up her phone, weighing it in her hand. Not only the device, but the decision she was about
to make. Normally, there would be nothing on this green earth that would induce her to take this megalevel of help from someone,
but she couldn’t wait until she was drowning to reach for the lifeline.
And if she had to reach for someone, it would always and forever be Madden, wouldn’t it? She wanted desperately to be pragmatic
about this decision, but it was easier said than done when her pulse was going haywire at the prospect of being his wife.
Madden Donahue’s wife. A secret dream she’d been harboring since age fourteen. Even if they were marrying for security, what
if she pretended otherwise? Just for a moment.
When Eve closed her eyes, the inundation of images almost buried her.
Madden standing at the altar. Eve dozing in the crook of his arm while waves rolled up lazily on the shore nearby.
Him raking up fall leaves in a front yard.
Their eyes meeting across a table set for the holidays. His hair silvering. Laughter. Peace.
She opened her eyes on a gasp, demanding the twist in her chest to abate.
Usually, when she let her fantasies get the best of her, Eve used Skylar as the oar to paddle her to safety. Never mind her
other reasons for denying the romantic feelings between herself and Madden. Her friendship with Skylar was at stake. She’d
leaned on Skylar’s crush so many times that it had become a habit. One she apparently hadn’t quite broken, because she was
dialing her best friend before she could stop herself.
“Eve!” Skylar answered midway through the second ring. “I was just thinking about you! How are the kids? How are you? I have a million questions, but I’m running out the door to practice.”
“Sorry, bad timing—”
“Rocket,” a very deep, very male voice called in the background. “Don’t forget your cleats are in my back seat.”
“Oh, um. Right. I’ll probably need my cleats for practice . . .” Skylar mumbled, suspiciously breathless. “Don’t ask me why
they’re in Robbie’s back seat.”
“I’m afraid I must,” Eve said on a rush of breath, her eyes stinging at the sound of her friend so happy. Surprised to find
out . . . she wasn’t surprised at all. Not after the way Skylar had spoken about Robbie with such tenderness the last time
they’d seen each other. Deep down she’d known their relationship was special, hadn’t she?
Accepting it was harder.
“What can I say? He likes a girl in uniform.” Skylar sighed. “And out.”
Their laughter mingled on the line. “Things are going strong with Robbie, then?”
“Yes.” Eve had never heard Skylar’s laugh so carefree before. “Yes, they are.”
Eve closed her eyes and swallowed the fist-size lump in her throat. Part of her didn’t want to ask the next question, because
she already knew the answer. Already knew in her bones that Skylar had moved on from Madden. And that meant what now?
The only obstacle was Eve.
Eve wet her lips. “It almost sounds like the torch you’ve been carrying for Madden is . . .”
“Extinguished. Yeah.” Something passed between them in that moment and Eve got the suspicion that Skylar might have finally
realized Eve had been carrying a torch of her own. Thankfully, Skylar didn’t say it out loud, because Eve wouldn’t have known
how to handle that revelation, in addition to everything else. “He’s an amazing guy, you know? He’s just not my guy.”
“Yeah.” He can’t be mine either. “Listen, I don’t want to hold you up. Go to practice and we’ll talk soon.”
A minute later, Eve straightened her spine and texted Madden.
Can we talk?