Eve
**
Eve looked out at the palm trees zipping by as the black Mercedes SUV accelerated on Florida’s Turnpike.
“Where are we going?”
“A place called Sixty Vines. My sister is picking up my parents from the airport and bringing them straight there for brunch.”
She looked up at the blue sky and the white, puffy clouds that looked like cotton candy.
It was so strange to be in Florida again, although the Larssen family version was so different from her own. Theirs was a luxurious gated community with mansions and lakefront properties. Hers had been tiny two-room starter homes with barely any yard and malfunctioning air conditioning. That these people had accepted her so readily told her a lot about their love for Adam. He had brought her with him, so they had welcomed her with open arms, without reservation.
“What about Ian?”
she asked.
“On his way to the house to change. He just finished playing golf at the club. He’ll drive there by himself.”
Adam checked his watch. “They should be landing any minute.”
Eve was in awe of his big family and, even more, of their closeness and support of one another, something she’d never had.
She turned her gaze to Adam. His left hand gripped the wheel, his right holding hers.
He’d held her hand a lot these past few days.
He also held her a lot.
Last night, although they’d only gone to bed to sleep, he’d pulled her close, chin on top of her head, something that was becoming a natural thing for him to do. She’d drifted off in his arms. That happened often lately, and oftentimes, she woke up that way too. Sometimes, she wrapped herself around his back, inhaling his familiar scent, feeling that all was right with her world.
It was a new and very comforting feeling. She’d never relied on another human being in her life. That required trust.
She slanted him a glance. Sensing her gaze on him, he looked over at her and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Jannie and Ian really like you. I know my parents will like you too.”
This time, he hadn’t read her mind. He thought she was uncertain about his family, when she had been wondering about him.
Did she trust Adam?
Yes, she realized. She trusted him completely.
She smiled back at him. “What’s not to like?”
she quipped.
He chuckled. “What’s not to like, indeed.”
**
“Larssen. Party of six.”
Two young women stood behind the hostess stand, both furtively checking out Adam instead of checking their computer screen. Another thing Eve was becoming accustomed to.
It was unavoidable. In the past, it had annoyed her, but nowadays, she found it amusing, especially since he was oblivious. She couldn’t help feeling a little smug. After all, it was she who got to take him home.
The taller of the two, a redhead, finally found the reservation. “Yes, Larssen. Right this way.”
She picked up two menus, her gaze lingering a bit too long on Adam’s face before she turned.
She led them to an airy patio, enclosed in glass, with stainless steel tables and multiple baskets of ferns hanging from the ceiling.
At the far end, Jannie stood, smiling and waving. Beside her, an older man and woman, who Eve immediately recognized were Adam’s parents.
The woman jumped up, sprinting to them. “Oh, my goodness!”
She beamed at Adam but immediately turned to look down at Eve, reaching out and taking both her hands.
“You must be Eve. Jannie was just telling me all about you. I’m Frida, otherwise known as Adam’s mother.”
Eve felt the warmth radiating from this woman. “Happy to meet you.”
She meant it. After all, this was the woman she could thank for bringing Adam into the world and raising him so well.
Mrs. Larssen held her gaze, beaming, for a moment longer before turning to her son.
Identical blue eyes met, and, for a split second, Adam looked just like a mischievous little boy.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Adam! Look at you, so tall and handsome. Give your mom a hug.”
Eve watched the two, fascinated. She’d never seen that expression on Adam’s face before.
He hugged her, and she stepped back with a huge smile. “It’s so good to see you.”
Behind her, Mr. Larssen approached, looking like Adam twenty years from now. His eyes were lighter, but the resemblance was striking.
“I’m Olaf. The dad.”
He smiled, nodding politely. “Nice to meet you, young lady.”
He turned to Adam. “Son.”
They did the half-hug-slap thing men did.
Mr. Larssen winked. “She’s even prettier than you told me.”
For some reason, Eve felt her cheeks grow warm.
Adam placed an arm around her shoulders, then glanced over her head. “Cat dragged in something.”
Mrs. Larssen looked to see Ian walk in. “Adam!”
she scolded. “They’ll never stop, I’m afraid,”
she said to Eve.
She went to greet her younger son with just as much enthusiasm, Mr. Larssen right behind her.
Placing his hand at Eve’s lower back, Adam guided her to the table. On it, Eve spotted familiar-looking utensils.
Adam raised one eyebrow. “Brought your own again, Freak?”
Jannie shrugged. “I know mine are clean.”
“It’s comforting to know some things never change.”
“I would say something back, but Eve is here.”
Jannie watched Adam pull out a chair one spot away from where she was sitting. “No, you take that one. Eve sits next to me.”
She patted the seat beside her.
Adam put a hand on his heart. “You wound me.”
“I’ve seen your mug enough to last a lifetime, Ug. Sit on her other side.”
Adam pulled out the chair beside Jannie’s, and Eve eased into it. Curiosity finally got the best of her. “Why do you call him Ug?”
She glanced at Adam, who looked about to roll his eyes as he sat down.
Jannie gave him a sidelong look. “It’s short for Ugly.”
Eve was stunned silent.
Jannie noticed. “Yeah, well, it’s because he annoyed me. Rather, the girls at our elementary school annoyed me. They tried to be my friend so they could come to our house and ogle him. Gave me notes to pass on to him, little gifts… Don’t even ask about requests for sleepovers. I got so sick of hearing about him and his ugly mug, Adam this, Adam that, how gorgeous he was. I didn’t see it but whatever.”
Eve looked at Adam, whose lips were curved into a really cocky smirk, and she burst out laughing.
The other three Larssens reached the table.
“What’s so funny?”
Ian asked.
Jannie pointed at him. “It was even worse with you.”
“Whoa,”
Ian muttered.
“She told Eve about the time you got locked out of the hotel buck naked,”
Adam deadpanned.
“Yup, and he’s been Buck ever since,”
Jannie informed her.
Ian’s eyes widened. Everyone laughed except for him. Mr. Larssen guffawed the loudest.
Throughout the meal, Eve enjoyed herself tremendously, watching them talk and laugh at the same time, sometimes defaulting to Norwegian. As a little girl, she had dreamed of a family like the Larssens. She’d never even had the chance to observe one, and this was a dream come true for her.
Another dream come true, courtesy of Adam. She leaned into him, and he pushed back, a silent gesture of affection.
She turned her attention back to Jannie, who had decided to thoroughly embarrass Ian by recounting the story of him at sixteen, stranded naked outside a Mexican hotel.
“…and then, this genius decided to go skinny-dipping with some girls after all of us fell asleep,”
Jannie told her. “Left his clothes on the beach, and someone stole them, including the key card in his pocket. He had to walk from the beach all the way to our bungalow. The entire resort was treated to his junk.”
Adam looked into his glass of iced tea, smirking. “Not much to see,”
he muttered.
“I heard that!” Ian said.
Jannie snorted. “The water was cold.”
Mrs. Larssen cleared her throat.
“Eve, Adam tells us you’re a Gator.”
She helped herself to a slice of pizza.
“Yes.”
“We must’ve gone to school around the same time,”
Jannie interjected.
“I didn’t finish, though. I’ve recently been working on completing my undergraduate degree in Las Vegas. The University of Nevada has a program, and I take courses there.”
Jannie nodded excitedly. “That’s great! And your doctorate?”
“I plan to do that there too. It’s another three years.”
She glanced at Adam, and her heart kicked up a little at the pride she saw in his eyes.
“Smart girl,”
Jannie said. “I should’ve done what you’re doing. I’m a gynecologist, and I look at vaginas all day long.”
Ian snorted right in the middle of taking a sip of iced tea. He started coughing, and Adam slapped his back, a little too aggressively, Eve thought.
“Jannie!”
Mrs. Larssen admonished, albeit with smiling eyes.
“That’s my girl,”
Mr. Larssen said, grinning big.
“Jeez, Freak, we’re eating!”
Ian grumbled.
“What? It’s true! I wish I could just deliver babies. That’s what I love and why I went into it in the first place.”
A soft smile curved her lips, and her blue eyes glowed.
Eve thought it must be wonderful to love your profession. She hoped it was in the cards for her too. “How long did it take you?”
“Twelve years.”
Eve’s brow furrowed a bit. The math didn’t add up. “Adam is the oldest, right?”
“He is. Our Jannie finished high school and started college early.”
Mr. Larssen gazed at her with pride, then looked to his oldest son. “How is the modern Concorde going?”
“It’s finally starting to go well. They think they figured out the problem with the engine. New round of testing is scheduled for a week from Monday.”
“Good to hear. Got kind of hairy for a while there, right?”
Mrs. Larssen beamed. “I am so proud of you.”
Adam seemed slightly embarrassed by her enthusiasm, but Eve could tell he was also basking in the praise.
Jannie sipped her Pellegrino. “When are we going to be able to fly in this rocket plane of yours? Will it be hot inside, like it was in the Concorde?”
“If everything goes according to plan, next year, and, no, this isn’t 1975. We’ve got the AC handled.”
“Good! I’d rather fly eleven hours in comfort than roast for three.”
“You live in Florida. I thought roasting was a state pastime,”
Ian said dryly.
“Very funny. I guess it wasn’t you calling last year, asking if you could come down and visit because you had two feet of the white stuff on the ground in Fargo. Yeah, summers are hell here, but our weather is great when everybody else is buried under snow. More than makes up for it. Plus, air conditioning is your friend.”
They started talking all at once again, making Eve smile. She sipped her iced tea, looking toward the back of the patio. A tall, slim blond man paused in the doorway and surveyed the enclosure, a bulky, square black bag slung over his shoulder. By his looks, it was apparent: he had to be a Larssen.
She elbowed Adam and motioned with her chin.
He followed her gaze. “Well, I’ll be damned. It’s Erik.”
The men’s gazes connected, and Erik’s face instantly lit up in a mischievous half-smile, revealing a dimple on his left cheek.
Good Lord, this one has dimples.
Adam grinned back. “I think I know that guy.”
“The runt!”
Ian exclaimed.
Everyone turned, and for a moment, there was stunned silence.
Then Erik started toward their table.
“Oh my God,”
Mrs. Larssen said softly, her voice trembling a little. She pushed back her chair with a loud scrape, then rushed to her youngest, stopping him in his tracks and wrapping her arms tightly around him, rocking side to side.
She hugged him for so long that he looked to the others, sapphire eyes pleading.
Help, he mouthed, lips twitching.
Adam pretended to give him a stern look. “Hug your mother, Runt. You’re over a year late.”
Mrs. Larssen finally released him. She took his hand, beaming as she led him to the table, and Eve saw her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Look what I found!”
she told her husband.
“I see.”
He smiled and gave his son a man-hug. “Happy you made it this year, son.”
“Hey, Dad.”
Erik slapped him on the shoulder. “You’re looking good.”
He turned to Ian, who hugged him and whispered something, making Erik flash both dimples.
Eve imagined he had slain his share of hearts with those. Although, in her opinion, none of them could match Adam in looks, the sight of all these people with similar features in one place was something.
Erik’s sapphire gaze landed on Eve. “Hello,”
he said in a voice nearly identical to Adam’s. He held out his hand. “Eve, right? I’m Erik. Related to this bunch.”
His hand felt rough, very different from Adam’s smooth fingers. Eve immediately liked him too.
The waitress brought two extra chairs, one for Erik and one for his bag, which he carefully placed on the seat.
Soon, the Larssens were catching up, plying Erik with questions about his latest trip, which happened to be to Norway. Erik answered them as best he could while trying to eat everything still on the table, which was a lot.
“I guess that’s everyone, then,”
Eve said, smiling at Adam.
Adam shook his head. “If you think this is a lot, you should see Thanksgiving.”
“Runt hates Norway,”
Ian declared. “Why would he go there of his own free will?”
Erik looked to Jannie, who shrugged. “Can’t help you, Runt. I want to know too. And don’t tell me it’s polar bears.”
Erik took a huge bite of pizza.
Ian studied him through narrowed eyes. “Yeah, there could be only one reason for you going there and freezing. What’s her name?”
Erik took his time chewing, then swallowed and took up his glass of iced tea, lashes lowered. His mannerisms were so close to Adam’s when he didn’t want to talk about something that Eve almost laughed out loud.
“Let him eat, Buck,”
Adam said. “Can’t you see he’s skin and bones? Turn him sideways, and he disappears.”
Eve pressed her lips together to suppress laughter. It was obvious that Erik didn’t work out like Adam and Ian did. Although the same height as his brothers, Erik had the slightest build.
“The whole family, together,”
Mrs. Larssen said, looking from one of her children to the other. “Thank you, Erik. You’ve made your mom happy.”
A waitress came up behind Jannie, leaning close to ask a question. Jannie nodded, then started twisting the napkin in her lap. Eve thought that Adam’s sister suddenly looked a little stressed.
Several servers appeared, beginning to clear the dishes. Erik had piled most of the leftovers on his plate and was working diligently to demolish them.
“How long are you staying?”
Mr. Larssen asked.
“The weekend,”
Erik replied. “I’ve got a red-eye booked for Sunday night.”
His mother looked disappointed but said nothing.
Two waiters approached, wheeling a wooden cart. On it was a tall, giant white box.
“Oh, yeah, dessert cart,”
Ian said. “Bring it on.”
“I’ve never seen that at this restaurant,”
Adam muttered.
Beside Eve, Jannie shifted in her chair. Under the table, she’d twisted the napkin into an unrecognizable shape.
The waiters grasped the top of the box.
Jannie tossed the mangled napkin on the table, then raised her chin and stood, squaring her shoulders. “I have an announcement.”
Eve felt Adam’s leg press against hers, hard.
All eyes were on Jannie now.
She nodded to the servers.
They raised the top.
Two towers of cupcakes came into view, one pink, the other sky blue.
You could have heard a pin drop.
“What’s this?”
asked Mr. Larssen.
Jannie smiled, blue eyes glowing with emotion as she looked around at her stunned family. “I’m having twins.”