The Surprise of Her Life. Helen Myers R.

for her peace of mind. “Rae has no sense of boundaries where her affections are concerned. She expects us to recognize that what she does is for our own good. Just ask Gus,” Eve added with a chuckle. “But she’s been the equivalent of that college degree I never got as she’s mentored me. And she’s generous to a fault.”

      “Then I’m glad you found her. Has this been your first position since moving up here?”

      “My second, actually. My first was a secretarial position in the front office of the Broncos, but that was all too much of a reminder of what I’d just left.” Trying to think of a segue out of this line of conversation, she stroked the cool edge of the smooth goblet. Glass was one of her favorite mediums, but she had no artistic passion to do something creative herself. She was beginning to wonder if she had any passion whatsoever. She had Wes to thank for that self-doubt, as well.

      “Doesn’t the D.A. want a little of your time?” she asked a little too brightly. “I thought when someone invites you to something like this, it’s because there are things they want to talk about. Or there’s someone you needed assistance in meeting at the function.”

      As he tasted his wine, Derek’s gray eyes lit with amusement. “That’s mostly the case in fiction when you have to fill the pages between action scenes. If it wasn’t for my swollen ego, I’d worry that you’re trying to get rid of me.”

      “No,” she lied. “But I just wanted you to know that I understood if you wanted to get back to mingling or—I don’t know what’s off-limits to talk about given your job?” Our past. Did you ever have a clue as to what was going on? Was Wes as friendly to you as Sam was to me pretending that everything was normal?

      “Ask what you’d like—except for the number of the red phone on the president’s desk. Also, if there really are aliens at Area 51.”

      Suddenly, Eve got it—she was fluff to him. Harmless. Her makeover may have upgraded her sex appeal, but he undoubtedly knew better and just saw her as an easy route to getting through his own difficult holiday break before returning to his real world. That compelled her to ask a question that would have annoyed her if their places were reversed.

      “Have you heard anything from Samantha since your divorce?”

      “No,” he said, without hesitation. “But I’d made it clear to her that I expected not to, except through our attorneys. Are you hoping to hear from Wes?”

      “Good grief, no. I think that’s the one thing that would make my family disown me.”

      “Whatever it takes,” he mused.

      While his lips curved in that appealing way, Eve thought she read something in his smoke-colored eyes that made her think of secrets. She grew immediately apprehensive. “But you … know … something?”

      “Eve, it’s New Year’s. Do you really want to do this?”

      “The fool got fired, didn’t he? It serves him right. I was always baking brownies and fried pies to soothe the assistant coaches he’d offend—”

      “I hear through reliable sources that our exes are expecting.”

      She didn’t gasp, she had that much control. But otherwise, Eve was shocked into just staring at him.

      “There lies the lesson,” Derek said quietly, almost apologetic. “Sometimes flirting with the idea that you want information ends up teaching you that you don’t.”

      Summoning what pride she could, she straightened her spine and squared her shoulders and insisted, “I’m only surprised at how fast it happened.”

      “I suspect, being several years older than you, Samantha’s biological clock was sounding like Big Ben’s toll to her.”

      “You didn’t want children?” she asked, without thinking.

      His look was enigmatic, but he replied, “A child isn’t always the solution to problems.”

      Eve looked out into the magical night and watched the lights twinkle on the shrubbery and trees. “I’m so clueless, I didn’t know we had problems. We were married for almost eight years, and I believed him when he reasoned that we should wait before starting a family.” Until he had job security, then it was a larger nest egg, then it was something else.

      “Well, if money was one of the reasons, they don’t have that concern now. I gave Sam the house, and she’ll get close to half of my pension to date.”

      Eve slid him a sympathetic look. “You were very generous.”

      After something close to a growl, he replied, “Legally, there wasn’t much I could do about the pension, and I ended up giving her my equity in the house to keep from having to liquidate a few other things that I inherited from my side of the family.”

      “You don’t have anyone left, do you? I think I remember Sam saying you were an only child, too?”

      “That’s right.”

      “Thankfully all of my family is still alive.” Eve almost felt guilty for having so much when he had so little. What’s more, she had a reliable vehicle and a modest nest egg from her share of the equity that had come from the sale of their house, and Wes’s college debt was paid off. “I’m sorry that you have to think about Wes living in your house.”

      “That happens less than you might think.”

      Seeing his eyes try to hold her gaze, she admitted, “You know, back when we were neighbors, I was intimidated by you. So much so that I delayed going outside if you were mowing or something.”

      He leaned forward and offered a conspiratorial, “We train to have that effect on people. Keeps everyone but reporters and politicians at arm’s length.” Lifting his glass again he waited for her to lift hers and gently touched rim to rim. “Allow me to make amends.”

      Eve’s heart skittered at his subtle flirtation. “Amends” were not necessary and those feelings were part of a past she really was trying to put behind her. On top of that, she reminded herself, while he was handling her with kid gloves, she was still being handled. He’d admitted as much. He was a control-oriented man. Hadn’t she just divorced one of those? Maybe Wes was an amateur compared to someone trained by a government agency, but Wes had carried some clout in their community as he’d risen to the post of head coach of consistently winning football, basketball and baseball teams. Increasingly, he’d carried that persona home with him. She’d parried it with some success through her sense of humor and the reminder that “For better or worse” didn’t necessarily mean illness, it meant someone dropping the ball relationship-wise. No, hindsight told her that she hadn’t been completely blindsided by the divorce.

      “You have to appease my curiosity,” Derek said, breaking into her thoughts. “What brought you to Colorado? I think Samantha said you were born and raised in Texas.”

      “That’s true. All of the senior members of the family live near a retirement community north of Houston. That’s where both sets of my grandparents are. My parents joke that they live off campus.” At Derek’s surprised look, she grinned with pleasure. “Yeah, the Eastons and Leelands are a bunch of tough old birds. Plus I have an older brother, Nicholas, in Houston. He’s a cardiac surgeon, and my middle sibling, Sela, is a corporate attorney in San Antonio. To answer your question, I just needed some space. It’s true that my grandparents are getting frail, but I thought I could catch a flight anytime and spend a long weekend with everyone. What I didn’t count on was how busy Rae would keep me. And I must admit the cold makes me question part of my decision. Don’t get me wrong, I like the outdoors but winters aren’t as long in Texas as they are here.”

      “You’ve got that right. Do you ski?”

      She couldn’t quite stifle a giggle as she thought of her answer. “I’m deemed expert on the kids’ beginner slope, and I’ve humiliated myself twice by taking the 360-degree excursion tour via the lift to the adult slope. Just ask Rae and Gus.”