Chapter 3
Eva
"Ithink this is it." I squinted down at my phone, then through the windshield at the little house sitting between two bigger homes. "Pull over here please, Thomas."
The car slowed down and pulled up to the curb. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the new experience, and got out.
"I could have gotten that for you, Lady Desmet." He was standing at the curb, looking at the door I'd opened on my own with a deep frown.
Giving him a disapproving look, I chided, "We talked about this, Thomas. Remember?" When he opened his mouth to say something else, I added, "Please don't call me Lady Desmet, or anything else other than Eva. Nothing, Thomas. I'm just Eva here."
He snapped his mouth closed, but didn't look too happy about it.
Thomas was my concession to my father. He'd refused to allow me to come to America to get my doctorate degree unless I agreed to bring Thomas with me.
He'd tried to send three more men as well, but I put my foot down.
Father was very protective. And while I appreciated it, this was the first time I was getting the chance to spread my wings.
"You can wait here."
"Lady… Eva," he stuttered when I shot him a look. "I should go with you. We have no idea who these people are."
"Well," I told him, "if all goes to plan, they'll be my new roommates." Thomas had a pained expression on his face. "Just wait here, please?" My smile was all charm. Working with Father for years had taught me everything I needed to know about people and how to appease a situation.
Thomas huffed, but went and got back into the car.
He wasn't happy about this. Father had rented a huge house on the northern side of the city for me to stay in, but I wanted to get the full college experience.
The one that had been previously denied to me.
This was the first time away from my parents, for the most part, and I wanted to do things the way the Americans did.
So, as soon as the private jet touched down, I'd started looking for a different place to live.
Thomas would stay in the house at the edge of town, and I would hopefully be living here with two women named Jo Simmons and Brittney Alcott.
I smoothed my hands down the jeans I'd thrown on that morning.
My father would have a coronary if he saw the way I was dressed.
It was always dresses, skirts, or pant suits when I worked.
Boring. Stuffy. A little thrill raced through me knowing that I was in charge now.
Mother had been an integral part of this.
She was the one who'd convinced Father to allow me to come on this little adventure. It hadn't been easy, but here I was.
My hand shook a little with excitement as I knocked on the door. After a brief wait, the door was ripped open, making me take a small step backward. The woman standing there smiled at me.
"Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you. Are you Eva?"
"I am, and you must be J-"
"I'm Jo Simmons." She reached her hand out and snagged mine before I could even lift it, pumping it up and down. "It's so nice to meet you!"
"You as well," I told her, returning her bright smile. I already liked her. She was energy incarnate. I could tell she would be one of those people who had trouble sitting still for extended amounts of time.
"This is perfect," she said, yanking on my hand until I was dragged into the house. "I couldn't believe our luck when you called. Marie was moving out that day and it really works best when we have three of us in here. Cheaper," she told me with a sobering look.
"Understandable," I replied, looking around.
"It's nothing fancy," Jo continued, finally letting go of my hand and beginning the tour with the living room, then the kitchen. "But it's home, for now."
"It's lovely," I assured her as we went down the hall and she showed me the bathroom, then two bedrooms.
"This one is mine," she said, opening the door to reveal a room covered in clothes. They littered every available surface inside the room and it made me smile.
The place was a far cry from where I'd grown up and I couldn't be happier about it.
"Brit will be back later," she said, bumping open another door, "but this would be your room. It has the ensuite bathroom, so the rent would be a bit more since it's the master bedroom." She sounded worried, as though that could be a deal breaker.
"That's no problem," I assured her, stepping into the space. "It's perfect." I already had a really good feeling about Jo. And if this didn't work out, I still had the other home. "I'll take it."
Jo squealed, grabbing my arms and wiggling her hips.
She was a bit younger than me, if I had to guess, but she was so sweet.
This was what I'd wanted the first time around in my college experience, but it had been impossible to get out from under my father's rigid expectations.
Coming halfway around the world seemed to be my only option.
I loved my parents, and my siblings, but that life was so...
stifling. I wanted something more. Freedom.
A chance to choose what I wanted to do with my life.
And, if I could help it, to never hear about my obligations and duties again.
"I really like your accent," Jo said, a bit more shy now. "Where's it from?"
"Luxembourg," I told her.
She blinked at me, making a face as she tried to figure out where that was.
"It's near Belgium," I offered.
"Oh! That's really cool." She motioned for me to follow her back into the living room and we sat down across from one another, me on a couch, and her in a reclining chair. "So, you're here for school?"
I nodded. "I'm getting my PhD."
"That's amazing. What are you studying?"
"Political Science."
"You must be wicked smart."
I blinked, considering her words. "I don't know about that.
" I wasn't stupid, but this was just what was expected of me.
It would go toward helping my father with his business.
I'd been traveling with him to various meetings and functions since I turned twenty-one.
"It's to help me in a career I already have," I hedged.
"That's cool. Hopefully it'll help you get a promotion or something. Brit and I are taking extra classes this semester, so don't be surprised if we're not around as much. Oh, and our boyfriends tend to stop by a lot." She gave me an apologetic look. "I hope you don't mind?"
"Not at all." I shifted and pulled a wad of American bills out of my pocket. Jo's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "This is what I owe for rent, I think? I'd like to move in today if that's possible?"
"S-sure," she said, taking the cash. "Thanks. Brad will be by around six, if you need help bringing things in?"
"That would be great. Thomas can get most of it, but the bigger things would be better with two people."
"Is Thomas your boyfriend?" Her eyes sparkled with glee at the thought of me having a lover.
I had a feeling Jo was a romantic. Which meant I was in good company because for so long, I'd dreamed of meeting a handsome man and having him sweep me off my feet.
So far, that hadn't happened, much to my dismay.
"No," I said with a laugh. "He's..." I hadn't considered how to explain Thomas's place in my life.
I couldn't very well tell everyone he was my bodyguard. "He's my cousin."
It was a lie, but I didn't know what else to say. "He's visited America before, so he came along to help me settle in."
"Oh. Okay," she said, sounding a little disappointed. She shook it off fairly quickly. "Well, in the meantime, I don't have class for another hour, so let me know if you need anything." She got up and picked up an envelope that was sitting on the coffee table. "This is your key."
"Thank you," I murmured, opening the envelope and looking down at the little silver house key. "I'm going to go get the first round of my things." I stood up as well and Jo wrung her fingers together.
She seemed to make a decision and she pulled me in for a hug. "I'm happy to have you here, Eva. I hope we can become good friends."
"Thank you," I told her, my eyes misting over.
I didn't have friends. Or boyfriends. And at twenty-nine years old I was lonely and tired of only ever hanging around my family and our staff.
My youth had nearly been taken from me, always attending to my father's needs.
I felt like life was passing me by, and being here might help me get back the years I'd lost. I needed to get to know new people and begin to live.
This was the first step toward my new life.
Moving my things in went smoothly. I got to meet my second roommate, and Brittney was just as sweet as Jo.
They were both young and peppy and it was exactly the kind of environment I needed to be in.
Brad, Jo's boyfriend, showed up on time and he and Thomas easily moved in my bedroom set from the moving truck I'd rented.
Brittney's boyfriend, Paul, showed up near the end of the moving, apologizing for missing the opportunity to help.
I was amazed at how kind these people were.
I was used to people helping to do nearly everything in the household, and outside of it, that my family needed, but they were paid to do so.
Not that I didn't say thank you anytime one of the staff did something for me, but still these people doing me favors just because I needed the help felt different.
"We're going to go out to a bar," Jo told me, giving me a smile. "Would you like to come?"
I shook my head, but returned the smile. "Thank you, but I need to get settled." I had my first class early in the morning.
"Okay! We'll see you later," she said with a wave. They left the house and piled into Brad's car.
I had followed them out the door, and now leaned against the frame, watching them drive off. Turning, I put my hands on my hips. "Well, thank you so much for moving my stuff for me, Thomas."
He looked uncomfortable. "Of course, Lady Desmet." I frowned, but didn't get a chance to correct him. "I can sleep on the couch."
I chuckled and shook my head. "I'm paying to live here, not for both of us to live here."
"Your father isn't going to like this," he cautioned.
"And that's why we're not going to tell him," I warned. "Please?"
He sighed, looking around. "I can't leave you here alone."
"Why not?" I gave him a charming smile. "What's the worst that could happen?"
He glowered at me, but eventually let me shoo him out the door.
I locked the bolt at the top of the door and soaked in the silence.
I was never, ever alone. I let out a squeal and did a little dance in place inside my new home.
The move would have had my mother scolding me and my father telling me, 'be a lady.
' That was the beauty of my plan. There were no parents.
No expectations. I was here on my own and could do anything I wanted.
This was going to be so much fun and I couldn't wait to start.