egg, sausage and cheese casserole. “Is she still alive?”
Graham swallowed and shook his head. “No.”
That one word, full of sadness, had Eve pausing with her fork midway to her mouth. “Oh. Um...sorry. I didn’t think.”
Graham barely spared glance look her way. “No reason for you to be sorry. She passed away several years back. But she was like a second mother to us. Mom met Gerty at a coffee shop. Gerty was retiring, but she’d already taken a liking to Mom. The two were close and Mom moved in with Gerty because she needed help.”
A single, pregnant woman. Eve’s fork clattered to her plate as she thought of the parallel between Graham’s mother’s situation and hers. Did he see it? Is that why he was so adamant about helping her? Did he want to make up for the sins of some faceless man? Graham was so loyal, so noble where his family was concerned.
“Don’t go there.”
Eve jerked her gaze to Graham, who had shifted on his stool to face her.
“Don’t let your mind betray you,” he added. “I’m not pitying you because of my mother’s circumstances. I’m sure she was scared being single and pregnant, but that’s not why I’m here.”
Resting her palms on the edge of the counter, Eve tipped her head. “Why are you here? What do you want, Graham? Just say it.”
His aqua eyes sparkled, and his lips pursed just slightly, reminding her of what she’d been missing out on the past few days. “Maybe I want to get to know you more. Maybe I think you need to know me better, as well. We need to be strong together, for the sake of our baby and our families.”
Eve couldn’t agree more, but the way he looked at her said he wanted more than just pleasantries. Could she deny him? Probably not, but she did wholeheartedly agree with him that they needed to work together.
“Then you’ll have to stop eye-flirting with me,” she told him, resuming her amazing breakfast.
“Eye-flirting?”
“Yes.” She stabbed another apple with her fork. “You look at me and I can see you undressing me in your mind, but you haven’t made any attempt to do so. I can’t figure you out, but I can’t be on the receiving end of that stare anymore.”
Eve froze midchew as Graham’s fingertip slid along her jawbone. Quickly, she finished her bite so she didn’t choke. Her body responded instantly and he’d barely touched her. Why did she have to still want him? Why couldn’t she get him out of her system?
“I’ll strip you right now and take you on this counter.” He turned her head toward him, his eyes darting to her mouth. “Say the word.”
Oh, she wanted to say the word. Any word. Anything that would turn this passion into action. But she had to think straight...didn’t she? She’d told herself not to fall back into the pattern of sleeping with him. That would be all too easy...and all too amazingly delicious.
No. She couldn’t. They couldn’t work as a team to figure out how to deal with the pregnancy and their families if their clothes were always falling off.
“Oh, my word, that wind is...”
Eve and Graham jerked their attention to the back door where Nora stood, her hair blown around her face, her mouth wide, her eyes even wider. There was a toss-up as to who was more shocked.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Nora finally stated, shaking her long hair away from her face.
There was no reason to deny anything. Seriously. What could Eve say? Graham was sitting right here, shirtless, and Eve had clearly just crawled out of bed. Denying anything at this point would only make Eve look like a fool and insult her sister’s intelligence.
“Plenty of breakfast if you want some,” Graham supplied with that darn sexy grin. Clearly he was going the hospitable route instead of the awkward one.
Eve couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her.
Nora’s eyes narrowed on Graham before she turned to Eve. “You think this is funny? I thought you two were done...whatever it was you were doing.”
Eve started to stand, but Graham put a hand on her arm. “We’re not done, as a matter of fact.”
Eve cringed. If he said anything about the baby, there would be nothing to stop Nora from telling Grace. Eve really needed to be the one to tell her sisters...and not in front of Graham. This was definitely a private matter she needed to handle on her own.
“Eve, come on.” Nora stepped into the kitchen, her eyes locked on Eve’s. “They’re trying to destroy Dad’s name, his reputation. You of all people should get how damning that could be, not only to our family, but to the company. They think he’s hiding secrets, but he’s a dying man. Why would he keep secrets at this point?”
Nora had just wrapped up and delivered the crux of the entire situation in that one question. Why indeed? That the matter was out of her control made this whole pregnancy even scarier. There had to be a way to keep this baby safe from family backlash.
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know,” Eve replied, purposely keeping her voice calm, though her heart was pounding hard in her chest. “Graham and I are keeping everything private.” For now. “So this doesn’t need to go any further.” Also, for now. “Did you need something from me?”
Nora blinked, then shook her head. “Seriously? You’re going to brush this off?”
“There’s nothing to brush off,” Eve corrected. Now she did slide out from beneath Graham’s touch so she could stand and approach her sister. “What Graham and I are doing, or not doing, is really only our business.”
Was she honestly going to put Graham above her sisters’ feelings right now? Eve was dangerously close to relationship territory, to an area neither of them ever wanted to be. But he’d stood firm against Brooks regarding the media backlash; that much was obvious from the pullback in the coverage. Perhaps they had already crossed that line and that was something she’d have to think about later.
“Eve wasn’t feeling well last night, so I stayed to make sure she was okay,” Graham chimed in. “Then I made breakfast and was going to head home after we ate. Now that I know she’s feeling better, I’m comfortable leaving.”
The weight on her chest vanished as she realized he wasn’t about to share their secret.
Nora gave him a suspicious look. “You mean you stayed and took care of her because...why? You care about her? Eve, come on. You have to see he’s using you. He’s using you to get closer to Dad.”
The accusation hurt. She knew for a fact Graham wasn’t using her. He wasn’t. He wouldn’t take what they shared and turn it against her. Just because he hated her father didn’t mean he’d be so cruel to her. And she hated that her sister didn’t think someone like Graham would want to be with Eve simply because he found her attractive.
“I’m not using her. In fact, I asked Brooks to retract the media statements he made regarding your father.”
Nora’s eyes narrowed once again. Eve couldn’t blame her sister for being so skeptical. Eve would feel the same way if the roles were reversed. Nora wouldn’t understand there was much more to Eve and Graham than met the eye. And Nora wouldn’t understand because Eve didn’t fully understand it herself.
Another wave of nausea swept over her and Eve swayed on her feet. She gripped the stool and closed her eyes. Instantly Graham had his strong hands around her waist.
“Eve? What?”
She squeezed her eyes tighter, willing the unwanted nausea away. She couldn’t answer for fear of getting sick right here. She hoped staying still for just a moment would help...
“Eve, talk to me,” Graham urged. “Is it the baby?”
“Baby?”