A Gentleman's Agreement (5 page)

Blake tossed a subtle
glance in Eunice’s direction that quickly morphed into an ogle. She was damn
good at this playing his lover thing. Almost like she’d been practicing for
months. But he knew that wasn’t the case. He’d only sprung the idea on her days
ago. It was still hard to believe she’d agreed without him getting down on
bended knee. As if he would have gone to that extent. Her lips curved into a
tempting smile as she responded to something his cousin said. Then again, maybe
he would have.

Their interaction in
the bedroom a few hours earlier played in his head. Did she really expect him
to sleep on the floor? The bed was large enough for both of them to occupy
without ever even touching one another. A flash of him trailing a finger along
the curve of her naked body consumed him. On second thought, sleeping on the
floor might not be such a bad idea after all.

Shake it off, man
.
Clearing his naughty thoughts, Blake eyed his cousin Shelly as she mulled over
what card to toss down next. By the number of times the woman had reneged, it
was obvious she had no clue how to play spades. Luckily, he hadn’t been saddled
with her as a partner.

Eunice glanced up from
her cards and winked at him. He knew it meant she was working with a good hand.
He returned the gesture

Shelly slapped her
cards on the table. “That’s why I can’t concentrate. You two have been screwing
each other with your eyes for the past hour. It’s throwing off my
concentration.”

Twala, Shelly’s older
sister, scoffed. “That’s not the problem. Your ass just can’t play. How do I
get stuck with you every time? Let’s trade Blake. I want Eunice as my partner.”
Twala shrugged when Shelly gave her the evil eye. “What? I want to win for a
change.”

Shelly rolled her eyes
away. “Anyway. So, how did you two meet?”

Blake placed his cards
down and lifted his glass to his lips. “I’ll let Eunice answer that. She tells
the story so well.” All eyes slid to Eunice, and hers settled hard on him. If
the smirk on her face was any indication, he’d pay for throwing her under the
bus. What was she worried about? They’d gone over every detail. Plus, she
needed to earn that office. He’d had big plans for it.

“But,
sweetie
, you
always say I tell it inaccurately. Why don’t you give us your account?”

Good comeback
.
“Okay. I mean, if you insist.” It was his turn to smirk. “We were—”

“On second thought. I’m
sure your cousins want to hear an adequate account.”

Shelly tossed her hands
in the air. “Will somebody please tell us? The suspense is killing me.”

Eunice eyed Blake. “I
was enjoying my lunch in Central Park one afternoon when this jerk—who wouldn’t
take no for an answer—kept harassing me.”

Twala swatted his arm.
“Blake! No means no.”

Eunice laughed. “Blake
actually rescued me from the idiot.”

Shelly flashed a look
of admiration at him. “Aww. You were her black knight.”

The room filled with laughter.

“I guess so,” Blake
said, taking a swig from his cup, never breaking eye contact with Eunice. The
way her eyes danced at him caused a tightening in his gut.

“Was it love at first
sight?” asked Twala, who rested her chin on her hands and stared at Eunice
starry-eyed.

When Eunice slid her
eyes away from him and to her cards, Blake found himself really interested in
Eunice’s response to the question. Despite understanding none of what she would
say was factual, her odd reaction peaked his curiosity.

“Actually…” Eunice’s
eyes rose to his again. “It was. My aunt always says you can see into a person’s
soul by looking into their eyes. I guess I saw something in Blake’s that drew
me in and held me there.” She shrugged. “Plus, he wouldn’t stop stalking me until
I agreed to go out with him.”

This garnered more
laughter in the room.

Blake chuckled along
with the others, but something about what Eunice had said—
how
she’d said
it—toyed with him. She’d said it with such conviction that had he not known the
story was fabricated—and ad-libbed—he would have actually believed it. Damn,
she was good. Even inspired him to play his part better.

Shelly glanced between
him and Eunice. “I could feel the chemistry between you two the second you
walked in. You make an adorable couple. That last girl you dated, Prat, was a
b—”

Twala smacked her hand
against the table. “Shelly! You have absolutely no filter at all, do you?”

“I just call it how I
see it. The b— The
woman
was crazy. And had the nerve to insult my Aunt
Thelma’s turnip greens because Auntie used ham hock and she didn’t eat meat.
Crazy.”

Yep, that had made for
a very tense moment in the kitchen. Luckily, his mother had laughed it off.
He’d gotten the feeling it’d only been on his account she hadn’t strangled
Sasha.

Twala shook her head,
then faced Blake. “What attracted you to Eunice, Prat?”

Shelly laughed. “As if you
really need to ask. She’s gorgeous. If things don’t work out between you two…”
She placed an imaginary phone to her ear and mouthed, “Call me.”

Blake tossed one of the
cookies that’d been wagering at Shelly. “Hands off.”

Shelly bit into the
cookie, “All right. All right. Can’t fault a girl from trying.” She winked at
Eunice.

“I’m flattered,” Eunice
said, then set her gaze on Blake. “You didn’t answer the question, Prat. What
attracted you to me?”

So she wanted to put
him on the hot seat? Okay. Blake slid his chair from under the table, stood,
and moved to Eunice. Taking her hand, he guided her out of her chair. The look
of victory she wore moments earlier was replaced by an uneasy smile.

Cradling her face
between his hands, he said, “The first time I saw her in Central Park, I
watched her give her lunch to a homeless man. The second time I saw her, she
helped a complete stranger chase down their wind scattered papers. By the third
time, I knew I had to meet this woman.”

Eunice bit at the
corner of her lip, but remained silent.

“Not only was I attracted
to her good looks, I was attracted to her compassion. I was attracted to her selflessness.”
He paused a moment when Eunice swallowed hard. “When I finally approached her
in the park, I guess you can say something drew me in and kept me there, too. To
be honest, I think our paths were destined to cross. I’m so glad they did. I
haven’t regretted a single minute or hour with this woman. I hope she can say
the same.”

Eunice stumbled over
her words as she tried to speak. “Yes. I mean, no. I mean… I don’t regret
anything, either.”

Blake’s eyes slid to
her lips. It would be a lie to say he didn’t want to seal this moment with a kiss
that would leave Eunice breathless and wanting more. But he chose not to cross
that line. He wasn’t sure if he could come back from it.

Breaking their
connection, he captured Eunice’s hand, then faced his dropped jawed cousins. “Well,
ladies. It has been a pleasure taking all of your Chips Ahoy cookies, but I
think me and my lady are going to call it a night. It’s been a long day.”

“Yes. Yes,” Eunice
said, finally recovering, “It’s been a long day. Good… goodnight.”

The second they rounded
the corner, Eunice snatched her hand away. “What the hell was that?” she asked
in a whisper.

“What?” He wasn’t truly
that clueless, but played so.

She released a heavy
sigh and hiked up the stairs. Inside the bedroom, he was on her heels—right
until the moment she stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door in his
face.

Blake leaned against
the door jamb. “Are you upset?”

“Yes. No. I mean—” She
cursed under her breath.

He couldn’t understand
why she’d gotten so distressed. Okay, maybe he’d gone a little overboard, but…

Eunice continued. “I
don’t know. Did you—”

She yelped once the
door slung open and he was standing there. He flashed one of his award-winning
smiles in hopes of lightening the mood. She pushed him out of the way and moved
toward the bed. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she wore a simple
white nightgown shirt. It was sexy as hell.

“Did you have to take
it that far?” she said.

“We’re supposed to be a
believable couple, right?” She narrowed her eyes at him. Had she been a bull,
he had a feeling this was the moment she would have charged. “I’m sorry. I
didn’t realize my words would affect you so…deeply. They were pretty poetic,
huh?”

Eunice snatched a
pillow from the bed and hurled it at him. What was with him and women with
pillows?

“Enjoy the floor, Mr.
Poetic.”

Blake barked a laugh.

Eunice climbed in bed.

He sobered.

She pulled the covers
to her chin.

Blake pulled his hands
to his waist. “Eunice?” When she didn’t answer, he rested his hand on the back
of his neck. “Come on. You can’t be serious. You’re really making me sleep on
the floor?”

“Goodnight, Prat. Sweet
dreams.”

There was a hint of
laughter in her tone. Frankly, he didn’t find anything funny. “Seriously, that
bed is the size of a small island.”

“In that case, you
should feel privileged. You have the entire ocean to yourself.”

Every damn body is a
comedian in this house. “Okay. I’ll remember this.” This time, humor played in
his tone. “See if you get a Christmas bonus.” He escaped into the bathroom, did
his before bed rituals, then returned and made a pallet on the floor. Using the
remote, he shut off the lights, then attempted to find a comfortable position.

“Blake?”

Ah-ha. I knew she’d
feel sorry for me
. “Mmm-hmm,” he hummed.

“Your story… This is
going to sound strange, but it actually happened to me in Central Park. Weird,
huh?”

Not weird at all.
Unlike her story, his had been steeped in truth. All except for the approaching
her part. Unbeknownst to Eunice, he’d seen her in the park doing exactly what
he’d stated. He’d also wanted to ask her out. But before he could, he discovered
she’d recently started working for his company. Imagine his surprise when they’d
bumped into each other at the annual Spring Fling he threw for his staff.

“Huh. Yeah. That is weird.”

***

Blake jolted from his
sleep at the sound of a monstrous clap of thunder. He rotated his head toward
the window, then cussed under his breath at the sharp pain that shot through
his neck. Why in the hell had he allowed Eunice to banish him to the floor? He
searched out the clock on the nightstand.

3:17
.

Collapsing back to the
floor, he draped his forearm across his forehead and groaned. He wouldn’t
survive eight more days of this. By the stiffness in his joints, he wouldn’t
survive eight more hours. To hell with this. What could Eunice possibly do if
he climbed into the bed, throw him out of the room? He had no doubt she would
try.

A vibrant flash
illuminated the room, and he jerked from the silhouette settled inches from
him.
What the hell…?
It took him a couple of seconds to gather his
thoughts. “Eunice?” With his hand, he searched the darkness for the remote.
Finally locating it, he turned the lights on. A dull glow lit the room.

Eunice sat on the floor
with her back against the footboard and knees hugged to her chest. With her
head tucked, her body trembled. A sense of urgency unlike anything he’d ever
felt rushed over him. Slinging the covers off, he crawled toward her, ignoring
the ache in his knee.

Blake positioned
himself in front of her. “Eunice,” he said delicately, “what’s wrong?” He
hesitated touching her, but when he did, she flinched. “Talk to me, Eunice. Are
you sick? Please, say something.”

Swollen, blood-shot
eyes greeted him when Eunice finally lifted her head. His heart pound against
his ribcage and his stomach knotted. Without giving it any thought, he ran the
pad of his thumb across her tear-stained cheek. Her face was warm to the touch,
but the rest of her body was ice cold. He snatched a quilt from the bed and
draped it around her, then used another remote to increase the flames in the
fireplace.

“Tell me what’s wrong,”
he said.

“I hate thunderstorms.”

Judging by her response
to the turmoil outside their window, there was clearly a story behind her
hatred. Instead of inquiring, Blake eased down next to her and draped his arm
around her. She rested her head onto his shoulder.

A short time later,
Eunice’s trembling subdued. Silent minutes passed and so did the storm, until
only faint rumbles could be heard in the distance.

“My mother didn’t die
in an accident, Blake. She was murdered. The day before Thanksgiving.”

Blake froze, then
relaxed.
Murdered
?

“When I was twelve, my
mother rushed into my bedroom and locked the door. I was half asleep and had no
idea what was going on.”

When Eunice’s body
started to tremble again, he glided his hand up and down her arm.

“I could hear him
coming up the stairs.”

Him
? Did that
mean she knew her mother’s killer? Then something far more awful occurred to
him. Had she
witnessed
her mother’s murder?

“I asked my mother what
was happening, but she shushed me. Then she led me into my closet and tossed a
bunch of clothes on top of me.” She dragged her hand across her cheek. “Even
scared out of my mind, I thought how nice the clothes smelled. Like lavender.
God, how I hate the smell of lavender.”

Blake made a mental
note. He would have been okay if she’d ended the story there, but she didn’t.

“My bedroom door
splintered just as my mom closed my closet door. When she told him he was
violating a restraining order, I knew it was my stepfather she was talking to.
He said nothing, simply laughed at my mother’s words as if she’d told the best
joke in the world. Then started calling her awful names. I remember thinking…he
would fill the swear jar we kept on top of the refrigerator. Ridiculous, huh?
At a time like that to have such a silly thought.”