Kate Hoffmann - The Drifter

“You’re going to be on television?” he asked, grabbing a peeled carrot from a nearby bowl. He took a bite, then chewed slowly. “Cool. Are you going to wear that hat? ’Cause it doesn’t do you any favors.”

She snatched off the toque and tossed it aside. “In fact, I might have my own cooking show. I’ve had a couple of offers, one from PBS and another from the Food Channel.”

When he’d first met Eve, she’d been a hired chef at the Garden Gate. Now, she owned the place, had written a vegetarian cookbook and was considering television offers. She’d become a different person in five years, at least on the outside. She had people depending upon her and important things to do. And all he cared about was luring her back into bed.

“We can talk about this later,” he said, closing the appliance brochure and pushing it aside. “I’ll let you get back to work. I’ll see you when you get home.” He turned for the door, but she reached out to stop him.

“I was just going to walk down to the farmer’s market. Do you want to come with me?”

“You want me to come vegetable shopping with you?” Charlie asked. “Wow, I’ve had some thrills in my life, but I’m not sure I can handle something that intense. Are we just going to be buying green vegetables, or will there be other colors, too?”

Eve groaned, shaking her head. “They sell more than veggies there. There’s a really great Mexican food stand at the market and they make the best corn tamales. We could have lunch.” She paused. “And then, I suppose I might want to take a nap afterward.”

“I could use a nap.” Nap. That had become their euphemism for sex in the middle of the day. They’d spent most of yesterday afternoon “napping,” after they returned from camping.

Though he needed to start going over his notes for the lectures he’d be giving tomorrow night, Charlie was more than happy to be distracted by her naked body in his bed.

Eve slipped out of her white chef’s jacket, then grabbed her sweater from the desk in the corner of the kitchen. “Grab those bags,” she said. “I’ve got the list.”

When they stepped out onto the street, the midmorning sun was warm and the breeze gentle. Springtime in Boulder was his favorite time of the year. And he was glad he’d chosen to spend it with Eve. He grabbed her hand and when she looked over at him, he smiled. “Do you have a problem with this?” he said.

“A public display of affection usually requires an explanation.”

“Do you really think we’ll need one?”

She shrugged. “I know a lot of people in this town. I haven’t been dating. Someone is surely going to be curious. What am I supposed to tell them?”

“Tell them I’m your boyfriend,” he said.

“Charlie, I-”

He turned and grabbed her face in his hands, then kissed her, lingering over her mouth for much longer than he should have, his tongue teasing at her lips provocatively. If she was worried about public displays of affection, she needn’t bother. He’d just given the crowd a public display of naked lust. “I’m your boyfriend, Eve. That’s all there is to it. We have a romantic relationship. I don’t know where the hell it’s going, but that doesn’t matter. Now, just say it.”

“Say what?” she asked breathlessly.

“Say, ‘Charlie, you are my boyfriend.’”

“Charlie, you are my boyfriend.”

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

She shook her head. “I guess not.”

“So, now we can hold hands. We’re officially going together.”

“This sounds like high school,” Eve commented wryly.

“Maybe that’s where we should start.”

“I think we’ve gotten a little ahead ourselves. What we’ve been doing wasn’t even a possibility in high school. I was a very naive girl. I didn’t even know that tongues were involved in kissing until I was a junior in high school.” She paused. “But then, I suppose you were quite the Casanova.”

Charlie shook his head. “Actually, no. I didn’t lose my virginity until I was a sophomore in college. I didn’t spend a lot of time with girls in high school. I was too busy climbing rocks and kayaking down rivers. Girls really didn’t like to do that stuff, so until I had my first sexual experience, I didn’t have much use for them.”

“And then?”

“And then I realized how much fun they were,” Charlie said.

“And then you had a lot of sex,” she said.

“And then, I realized that a lot of sex wasn’t necessarily a good thing. When I came back to Boulder, I realized there’s a lot more to like about a woman than what you experience in the bedroom.”

“And what do you like about me?” Eve asked, turning to face him.

He slipped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “I like that you want me to eat better. And that you fold up my clothes when I throw them on the floor. I like how you look when you wear my T-shirt, and only my T-shirt, to make us breakfast. And I love the way you smell when you come out of the shower.”

She seemed taken aback by his rhapsodizing. A pretty blush stained her cheeks and she turned away to stare into a shop window. When she turned back to him, she smiled. “I’m hungry. Are you?”

Maybe he had been a bit too open about his feelings for her, but Charlie was sick of playing games. He liked Eve, a lot more than he’d ever liked any woman before. Hell, he might even love her, though he wasn’t sure he’d recognize the feeling if he did. There was absolutely nothing wrong with telling her what was on his mind.

“Eve!”

A man’s voice brought them both to a stop at the entrance to the farmer’s market. He heard Eve’s voice catch in her throat and she cursed softly.

“What?” Charlie said.

“It’s Dave,” she said. “My ex.”

“Matt,” Charlie corrected.

“Dave, Matt, it doesn’t make a difference what I call him. He’s coming over here right now. I really don’t want to talk to him.”

“Then don’t,” Charlie said.

Charlie had never formally met Matt, though he’d seen him once, five years ago, chatting with Eve in front of her restaurant. The guy looked like an accountant, all buttoned-up and business-like, his hair trimmed short and his shirt pressed perfectly. Charlie didn’t like him for a myriad of reasons, the primary one being that he’d swooped in and married Eve when she’d been most vulnerable. Charlie cursed inwardly. But then, whose fault was that?

“Hello, Eve,” Matt said.

“Hi.” She forced a smile.

“I’m glad we ran into each other. I just wanted to let you know that I met with my lawyer yesterday. I’ve decided to move ahead with what we discussed.”

“Discussed?” Charlie said, glancing between the two of them. “What did you discuss?”

“Nothing,” Eve said.

Matt sent Charlie a dismissive glance. “Who is your friend?”

“I’m not her friend,” Charlie said. “I’m her boyfriend. Charlie Templeton.” He didn’t bother holding out his hand in greeting. He was afraid to move his arm, afraid he might just deck the guy right in the middle of a crowd of onlookers.

“You didn’t mention you were involved, Eve,” Matt said, an uneasy look on his face.

“It’s none of your business,” Eve said. “If you’ll excuse us, we’re going to lunch.” She grabbed Charlie’s arm and pulled him along the sidewalk. “Ugh, he just makes me so angry.”

“What was that thing about his lawyer?”

“He wants to renegotiate our divorce settlement. I bought him out of his share of the restaurant. Now that the restaurant is making money and I’ve got some other things going on, he thinks he was cheated. He thinks he deserves more.”