Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
SPENCER
I paused, my forehead wrinkling before I slid the chopped parsley toward the boiling broth, suddenly concerned that Eve would hate parsley. It had such little taste, though.
I swallowed hard, frozen by the unforeseen fear that this was a terrible, awful idea.
What if Eve had wanted to cancel the date because she didn’t want to see me? She could have easily lied.
It had happened to me in the past. I’d learned the hard way, then, not to trust people.
The light-colored broth bubbled in front of me, the fragrant steam floating up to my nostrils as I set the cutting board aside, my features crinkling.
I’d busily prepared the soup after Louise had suggested it. Eve had sounded sick on the phone. She could have faked it though.
With a shaky hand, I gave the pot a stir before I dunked a small ladle into it and took a sip. It tasted good to me, but would Eve like it? I didn’t want her to hate it.
But that wasn’t what I was really worried about, to be honest. I stared down at the leafy flakes of parsley on the cutting board before I shook my head.
I was worried I’d go over to her apartment and find out that she was lying. Nightmare scenario after nightmare scenario raced through my mind. I imagined spotting Eve through the window, cuddled on the couch with another man.
Or incessantly knocking at her door only to spot her returning home, fresh from a date.
I swallowed hard, facing the real possibility that either of these scenes may be exactly what I’d find.
What worried me more was the ache in my heart over that fact. I wasn’t indifferent. I wasn’t unfazed. Instead, sweat beaded on my brow and my chest constricted as I considered facing the reality that Eve had zero interest in me.
“She doesn’t have an interest, stupid. She’s your fake girlfriend.” I huffed out a sharp breath as I tried to repeat the mantra to myself over and over so I could lessen my inevitable heartbreak.
With a deep inhale, I slid all the parsley into the pot. I still had to play my part as the doting, albeit fake, boyfriend. And I wanted to make the soup the way I normally did. Louise had liked it, maybe Eve would, too.
Louise’s heels clicked across the floor as I stirred the pot again. She planted a kiss on my cheek, careful to wipe away any of that red lipstick she loved so much. “Good luck, darlin’. But you don’t need it. I bet she’ll be so happy you’re doing this for her.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I forced a nervous smile. “I hope she likes it. Hey, good luck on your date, too.”
“Thanks. But I don’t need it. If this one’s meant to be, we’ll know it.” She winked at me before she spun on a spiked heel and headed for the door.
I blew out a shaky breath, shocked by her confidence. How could she just know ?
I didn’t know a darn thing. I realized I had feelings for Eve, enough to be afraid of them, but I didn’t know Eve was the one for me. Probably because I was fairly certain she wasn’t.
Eve was too sweet and beautiful of a woman to want to be saddled with me. Though many women were enamored with the size of my bank account, Eve didn’t seem to care.
Her reminder in Savannah about our fake relationship still haunted me.
After another check of the soup, I covered it with a lid to let it simmer a little longer as I doffed my apron and hurried upstairs to change.
With my lips tugged into a wince, I stood in my closet, eyeing all the clothes and feeling a sudden kinship with Louise for every time she’d uttered the words, “I have nothing to wear.”
Lou had told me to make the soup and take it to Eve. She hadn’t told me what to wear. Was I supposed to look nice or comfortable?
Did it matter? Was I supposed to just drop the soup and run or stay?
I ran a trembling hand through my hair as I second guessed everything about what I was about to do.
With a sigh, I decided it didn’t matter. “Eve’s not going to break up with you. She can’t. Not until Louise finds love. So…it doesn’t matter what you wear.”
I decided on comfortable, slipping into track pants, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. With my wardrobe selected, for better or worse, I hurried downstairs and gave a final taste test to my soup before I secured the lid on the pot, grabbed a bag of crackers and a pint of ice cream, and loaded everything into my car.
A few minutes later, I arrived at Eve’s apartment. With potholder-clad hands, I carefully carried the pot and bag of goodies to her door.
Carefully, I balanced the still hot pot against me, wincing a little as I banged on the door, my heart in my throat.
I waited for a few moments, convincing myself that she wasn’t answering the door because she wasn’t home until the door popped open.
A red-nosed, open-mouthed Eve stood in a fluffy pink bathrobe, her hair tugged into a messy top knot. Even though she very clearly was sick, I couldn’t help but think she looked cute.
Her features twisted with confusion as she stared up at me. “Spencer?”
“Eve, hi. I’m…I…sorry to show up like this, but I made you some soup.”
Her gaze shifted to the pot in my arms.
“It’s still hot, but I could put it on the stove to warm up a little,” I offered, feeling as awkward as my voice sounded.
“Oh, uh, sure.” She stepped aside and motioned for me to enter the apartment.
I sidestepped past her and headed for her kitchen, setting the pot on the burner and the bag on the counter. After turning the heat on low, I lifted the pint of ice cream from the bag. “I brought this, too. I thought maybe it could help if you have a sore throat.”
Her features finally melted from confused to appreciative. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling warmth rush into my cheeks, “it’s nothing. I hope you like it.”
Awkward silence stretched between us as we stood staring at each other.
“Well, I should go. Let you enjoy the soup and relax. Do you have enough medicine and everything?”
“I do, but umm, you could stay. If you haven’t eaten, I mean. I’m happy to have the company. It may make me feel less awful.”
My eyebrows flicked up as my lips curved into a smile I couldn’t stop. “Oh, if you don’t mind. I’d love to join you for a bowl.”
She nodded with a smile as she shuffled across the room in the fuzzy piggy slippers that I couldn’t help but chuckle at. She pulled two bowls from the cupboard.
“Just tell me where to find the ladle, and I’ll get this for you. Meet you on the couch?”
“It’s in the drawer on your left. And thank you.”
With a nod, I collected the utensil and doled out the soup into two bowls before I waddled into the living room with them, finding Eve wrapped in a blanket on the couch.
I eased into the seat next to her and handed the bowl off. She wrapped her hands around it, closing her eyes and inhaling the aromatic steam. “Mmm, from what I can smell, this should be delicious.”
I chuckled at the statement as she stirred the soup and lifted her first spoonful to her lips.
“So good,” she said with a sigh. “Thank you. Really. I was just about to try to find the energy to make something, but this is much better.”
“Of course. I’m sorry we had to miss our date, though, maybe that’s for the best.”
Her features crinkled as she slid a clean spoon from her mouth. After a swallow, she said, “What do you mean?”
“Oh, uh, the lighthouse isn’t very interesting. You dodged a bullet not having to poke around that dusty old place.”
“What?” she cried with a grin, her raw voice breaking a little. “I love lighthouses.”
“Really?” I did, too, but I thought I was just weird.
She nodded before she slid her half-empty bowl onto the coffee table and leapt from the couch. She disappeared into another room, emerging a few seconds later with a small figurine in her hands. “I bought this when I first moved here. It was a splurge, but I just loved how they did it in the broken tiles. And these actually came from the original floor from a lighthouse.”
The giddiness in her voice betrayed her excitement over the find. She stuck the plug extending from the backend of the object into the wall and flicked a switch. The lighthouse glowed to life, its tiny light spiraling at the top.
“Wow, I like how it actually swivels,” I answered.
She grinned at the statement before she set it aside and grabbed her soup again. “Me too. It was a splurge, but so worth it. It was a hundred and thirty dollars.”
My brow furrowed as I kept my gaze focused on my bowl of soup. That wasn’t a splurge in my world, but I found it sweet that she was careful with her money.
“Oh, gosh,” she said, her features turning sheepish, “that must sound so stupid to someone with your money.”
“Not at all,” I said. “Before I launched Mystic Realms, I could barely afford to play Street Fighter for some downtime.”
“Right,” she said with a soft smile. “So, tell me more about Mystic Realms.”
“Oh, well,” I said, my voice filling with enthusiasm at the topic, “it’s kind of a mix of strategy, world-building, and quests. So, you know, you can build a little space for yourself and fill it with treasures you find. Then you can trade others for different things. Some of those you may need in your quests, and some you just may want to keep.” I poked a finger at her lighthouse. “Like your lighthouse.”
“Oh, neat. I still haven’t tried it. I don’t game a lot.” Her cheeks reddened as she polished off the soup.”
“That’s okay. It’s not for everyone.” Like my game, neither was I. I reminded myself that I wasn’t for Eve. “Can I get you a second bowl?”
She winced as she offered an apologetic smile. “It was really good but…would it be awful if I asked for a bowl of ice cream?”
“No, not at all. You’re sick, you can have anything you want.” I collected our bowls and returned them to the kitchen, searching for the dishwasher. It didn’t exist, so I quickly washed the bowls and set them in the drainer before I opened the cupboard Eve had used before.
I withdrew two more bowls and filled them with a generous helping of ice cream. With spoons in hand, I returned to Eve, finding her searching for my game on her laptop.
“Really, you don’t have to play it.”
She accepted the ice cream and slid the laptop to the side. “I’d like to try it.”
I shifted in my seat, my heart pounding ridiculously fast. “I’m afraid you’ll hate it.”
“I’m sure I won’t,” she answered, licking her spoon clean of ice cream. “But you may need to help me a little.
I eased into the cushions, the tension in my shoulders relaxing a little. “Oh, you think you deserve special treatment, huh?”
She chuckled at me. “Maybe a little. After all, I am sick.”
“Very good point,” I answered as I grabbed her television remote. “Do you have a smart television?”
“Yep,” she answered with a nod. “Thank goodness, because I stream everything.”
“Me too.” I grinned at her as I headed to the App Store to download my game using a secret code that allowed me to get it for free.
“Did you just cheat and download that for free?” she asked.
“I did,” I answered as I rose. “And I want to make sure you get the full experience. Just a sec.”
I hurried from her apartment to my car. I always had a few game controllers lying around in my trunk for…well, I’d never actually had anyone ask me to play Mystic Realms with me, but there was always a first time for everything.
I grabbed them from my trunk and rejoined Eve on the couch, passing one off to her.
“Wow, fancy. I hope I know which buttons to press.”
“I’ll show you,” I said, clicking through the first few screens.
“Hey, I didn’t get to read that.”
I gave her a dismissive wave. “You don’t need to. I promise. I mean, as much as I’d love to say all of this dialogue is imperative to your understanding of the game, it’s not. Now…first thing we need to do is create your avatar.”
“What about you?”
I loaded my own avatar by signing in. A small virtual “me” appeared on the screen. He looked like me only better–with more handsome features and six-pack abs under his hoodie.
“Oh, there you are,” she said as options appeared for her to build her character on the screen. “Uh, let’s see. I just need a ponytail and a t-shirt.”
“There are lots of options there. Louise said I needed to add more female-friendly clothing, so the latest update added dresses and shoes, sunglasses, purses…you name it.”
She giggled as she selected a plain pair of black pants, t-shirt, and sneakers. “I don’t need all of those things. I’m not very good at that anyway. I just want to play.”
“Oh, okay,” I said with a nod. “Usually, Lou doesn’t get past this part. By the time she settles on an outfit, she says she’s lost interest in the game.”
After another spoonful of ice cream, Eve laughed again. “That’s funny. I actually want to play the game part.”
Pride swelled in me at the words as we dropped into the world near my house.
“So, is this where everyone starts?”
“No,” I answered. “This is my house. Most people can’t find it, but since you’re special, you can.”
She smiled before her character wandered around the outside. I explained to her how to open my door and go inside. A few seconds later, she managed to open it, and we headed inside.
My eyes slid sideways to gauge her reaction to my place. She seemed to approve.
“Okay, so, what’s next?”
“Well, we should do a quest, and then build you a little house, maybe near mine.”
“That sounds good.”
We spent another two hours talking and laughing as we solved the mini mystery involving missing rubies and secured a piece of land next to my house on a parcel of land I traded to her for a ruby.
Our conversation flowed easily again as I hacked down trees while Eve refined them into logs for her new cabin. We built the frame, then I gifted her a few items to fill the inside.
After all the work, our little avatars plopped down on the couch I’d bought her, much like our real-life counterparts.
“Whew, that was hard work,” she said with a laugh.
“But I hope fun,” I answered as she reached for a bottle of Tylenol.
“Definitely. Maybe I’ll try another quest tomorrow if I’m feeling up to it.”
I nodded, wondering if I’d overstayed my welcome. Should I bow out now or…
“Can I get you anything else?”
“I hate to be a pain, but some of those oyster crackers you brought would be nice to get these pills moving.”
“Of course,” I said, climbing from my seat as she downed the last of the cold medicine.
I collected the sticky ice cream bowls and shuttled them into the kitchen, washing them quickly before I grabbed the oyster crackers.
When I returned to the living room, I found Eve asleep on the couch.
I carefully returned the noisy bag to the kitchen so I wouldn’t wake her, adjusted her blanket, and then left her a note to tell her I hoped she felt better.
As I set it on the coffee table, I glanced at Eve, a mix of warmth and regret coursing through me. I’d had a lovely evening again. It would be a shame when this all came crashing down around me. But it would. And I would lose everything.