Chapter 3
3
R AIN
The evening finds us in the backyard, sitting at the table, eating dinner under strings of dangling lanterns, surrounded by blooming shrubs, the air imbued with their aroma.
“Mmm... The food was delicious,” she says before setting the fork and knife down and grabbing her glass of wine.
A staff member collects the plates.
“Would you like dessert, Miss?” the woman asks.
Eve looks at me, smiling.
I move my gaze to the woman.
“Chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and strawberries,” I say.
Eve’s eyes light up.
“Am I right?” I ask her.
“Yes.”
The woman nods and retreats before I bring my glass of wine to my lips.
“Life is good,” Eve says, listening to the soothing crickets.
“Yes, it is,” I murmur, setting my drink on the table and shifting my eyes to the house––the mansion I’ve lived in these past four years.
Designed by one of the most reputable architects in the country, the house has been photographed for spreads in high-end lifestyle magazines numerous times, and yet it comes with so many empty rooms.
“Something’s bothering you...” she says.
I move my gaze to Eve.
A soft smile tugs at her lips.
“That’s why you wanted me to be here with you,” she says.
I study her face, my mind drifting away.
“It wasn’t only that.” I hold her gaze. “I knew you hadn’t had a vacation in a while.”
“And what else?”
She smiles.
“I hoped we could spend some time together. And talk...” I add just as the woman brings us the dessert.
She sets the bowls of ice cream on the table and the fruit and whipped cream on the side before walking away.
Eve plops a few dollops of cream onto the ice cream and takes a mouthful of dessert.
She chews slowly, moaning.
“Perfection.”
I sink my spoon into the sweet treat.
“Let me guess...” she says before I get the chance to speak. “From what I’ve gathered before…”
She pauses and dabs her lips with a napkin.
“It must have to do with James.”
I shake my head.
“There’s nothing wrong with James and me. I’ve told you already,” I say, removing that possibility.
Quietly, she observes me.
I leave my spoon in the bowl and sip more wine.
“What makes you say that, anyway?” I ask.
“I didn’t say things were bad between the two of you. I only said it had to do with him,” she says, grinning softly.
“What are you talking about?”
She slips more ice cream into her mouth and speaks.
“I knew something was going on when we met in New York.”
She runs her napkin over her lips, her gaze trained on me.
I’ve barely touched my dessert.
“Regardless of what you said, you didn’t seem happy. And I have the same feeling now. You have everything you could dream of, yet you don’t seem happy.”
“I know. And that’s exactly why I feel so bad about it.”
The guilt I feel is killing me.
“So, I’m right. You’re not happy.”
I look down.
“I can’t say I’m not happy. That would be a lie.”
We lock eyes for a moment.
“You miss him...” she says, a tender smile lighting up her gaze.
Slowly nodding, she takes in my puzzled expression.
“Yes, you do…” she murmurs. “When you say everybody’s gone, and no one is there for you, you’re not talking about them. You’re thinking about him. He’s traveling too much, and you have to wait for him to get home. Then when he’s home, you don’t want to come off as needy and clingy, so you make yourself busy with your stuff when you actually need him.”
“I’m with him all the time... But he’s been swamped. And I am busy too. It’s just that I’m home, and he’s out there, traveling. And even when he’s home, he always has to go somewhere or leaves unexpectedly––like this morning. I didn’t know he had to go back to Singapore. He just came back. He said he’d gotten a phone call the night before, and I believed him, but he also said he’d be here with us this week. Anyway, I shouldn’t feel bad about it. It makes no sense.”
Frustrated, I crash back in my chair, forgetting about the ice cream.
“He’s not supposed to be home all the time. This is his life. His work. I’d be mad if I needed to do some important stuff, and someone would guilt me into changing my life for them.”
Quietly, she eats her ice cream.
“How is Dahlia coping with Lex’s schedule?”
“Working with Lex has its advantages, I guess. I don’t know.”
I gesture, irritated.
“What bothers me the most is that I understand. Having different schedules is normal, especially when running a multinational corporation. You live on planes. I know that. And I’m not needy. Trust me–– I’m not. I’m busy with my books and company, but even that no longer holds my interest. I loved it in the beginning. I loved my work, the people—the concept. The firm is bigger than it was at its inception. I could be at the helm like James is, but I’m not that kind of person. That’s why I’ve hired people to do that.”
“How are your books doing?”
“If things go as planned, I have another release this fall. I’m supposed to finish the manuscript at the end of the month, and here I am complaining about my life,” I say, laughing bitterly.
She finishes eating her dessert and picks up a strawberry from the bowl.
“I don’t know what to say other than... It’s a nice problem to have,” Eve says, smiling.
Her grin makes me feel even worse.
I know what she’s saying and have no right to complain.
I have a dream life and everything I imagined. That’s why I’m so torn.
“Not only that,” she goes on. “You’re married to the man of your dreams, and you’re still in love with him after all these years. And he loves you just as much.”
I wait for her to continue.
“You can’t get enough of him, Rain. That’s the problem, but most people don’t get any of these things.”
She laughs softly while a grin creeps across my lips.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“You should count your blessings. You have no idea how bad it is to be still working on finding a man, any man, forget about the one, and coercing him into anything resembling something romantic. Not to say something lasting longer than a weekend.”
We both laugh, realizing this is much more serious than I thought.
“Is it that bad out there?”
She nods a few times.
“You have no idea.”
“Even in New York?”
“Even in New York.”
I look at her, baffled.
“I thought there was a lot of fish in the sea,” I say.
“Yes, there is a lot of fish in the sea. That doesn’t mean I can find someone.”
“I can’t believe it’s that bad.”
“It is. And trust me. I’ve tried everything. Casual hookups, blind dates, dating sites–everything that's out there––and it all ended the same way. Or we couldn’t get anything started. I don’t want to talk about it. It would ruin this lovely evening. All I can say is that I’m willing to try something new.”
“Like what?”
“Being single?”
“Oh... Okay.”
“Yeah. I’m sick of wasting my time. I’ll let fate pick a man for me if it wants to. If not, so be it. I’m not going to go crazy over it.”
“You have your whole life ahead of you, Eve,” I say, soaking in her beautiful face, having a hard time understanding why men can’t see her for who she is.
She pops another strawberry into her mouth.
“Anyway,” she murmurs, trying to be at peace with it. “Back to your problem. I don’t know what to say. Considering that your relationship with him is good, I can only imagine it’s a matter of time, patience, and better circumstances.”
“Yeah. Probably,” I say, tipping my gaze down.
“He didn’t use to work that much back in the day,” she says. “How was your life back then?”
I raise my eyes
“It was good,” I say, my voice softening as sweet memories come back to me. “We used to travel, see things, and do stuff. It was fantastic, but even then, I knew it wouldn’t last. He’s not the kind of man who kicks back and does nothing.”
I pause, contemplating my situation.
She doesn’t say a word.
“Anyway... We’ll see. I’m trying to find a balance. I wish he’d see value in spending time with me.”
“I’m sure he does.”
I gesture at her, sick of whining about it.
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” I say.
She takes a long breath, sets her elbows on the table, and rests her chin on her steepled fingers.
“So, what’s the plan for the week?” she asks, her eyes glinting with curiosity.
A soft grin tugs at my lips.
“The plan is… A drum roll, please. We’re flying to Monte Carlo tomorrow.”
Her eyebrows rise in surprise.
“Oh, my… Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
A scream of joy tears into the evening silence as she claps her hands like she used to do when we were teenagers.
She jumps out of her seat, hugs me, and kisses my cheek.
Emotions course through me as I witness her happiness.
“If I knew you’d be so happy, I would’ve told you at the airport.”
“Of course, I’m happy. I never thought I’d spend my vacation over there. Wait till I get back, boast about the trip, and show pictures to my co-workers. Oh, my... Do I have enough clothes for the entire week?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll shop for clothes at some point.”
She ponders.
“They must have a nice selection over there, but I’m not so sure I can afford it.”
“Don’t worry about the money.”
“Easy for you to say,” she says, laughing before I gesture at her.
“No, no… I invited you, so please don’t worry about the money.”
“I don’t, but relying on your cash doesn’t feel right. If I need to, I’ll tap into my escort money.”
She says it with a straight face, and I don’t know what to make of it.
Is she serious?
“Escort money? What are you talking about?”
I grin.
She breathes a laugh.
“Are you still thinking about doing that?” I ask.
“Of course I am. It’s my only option.”
“To have hot sex?”
She nods, smiling, her eyes locked on mine.
“That’s pretty much all there is for me. I can’t think of anything else. As I said before, if I can’t find a man...”
My hand flicks up.
“Got it.”
“It wasn’t my intention to make you feel bad,” she murmurs, saddened.
I gesture at her again.
“No, no. You’re right. We’ll take it one step at a time. You find your man, and I’ll try to keep my man happy.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Perfect. Now let's get some sleep. We leave early in the morning.”