bed read 11:07 a.m.
Eve pulled the pillow over her head, intending to wait until whoever it was had the decency to get lost, then remembered Matt was asleep, too, and needed the rest far more than she did.
She said a few rude words as she swung her feet to the floor, hauled on her bathrobe, then stumbled down the stairs.
Not even in her worst nightmare would she have expected to find Bob Anderson on her doorstep, wielding an armful of red roses. She clutched the neck of her bathrobe and blinked up at him, but Bob didn’t comment on her appearance, although she knew quite well how she looked—like she’d just crawled out of bed.
“These are yours,” he said, thrusting the roses at her, the clear cellophane wrapping crackling. “Is Mattie here?”
She was speechless. Why was Bob Anderson bringing her flowers?
He stepped past her into the foyer, casually inspecting his surroundings, and straightened a framed watercolor hanging on the wall. The small gesture irritated Eve. First Claude, now Bob. Men kept touching her private things without permission.
But Bob had every right to visit his nephew, and Eve was determined to be nice, because for some strange reason, Matt actually liked the mayor.
Bob was looking at her, waiting for some sort of response. What had he asked her?
Something hit the floor above their heads.
“Eve!” Matt shouted. “Where are my pants?”
A ball of ice tumbled into the pit of her stomach as she scanned her memory. They were at the foot of her bed, right where she’d left them.
No way was she going to yell that out in front of Bob.
“How should I know?” she called back.
“Because you had them last.”
This would be a good time for some natural disaster to hit. An earthquake, perhaps.
“Matt,” she choked out, her voice cracking. “Your uncle’s here.”
Scuffling and swearing could be heard, and she assumed the Demerol had worn off and his leg was hurting. Either that, or Matt was as excited about Bob’s being here as she was. A few seconds later he hobbled to the top of the stairs, zipping his torn, bloodstained trousers over his Jockeys.
Bob’s eyes widened. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I shot him,” Eve said, tilting her chin up to peer over the fragrant petals in her arms.
“With a nail gun,” Matt added. “She was working late last night at a job site. Alone. I surprised her.”
Bob frowned at Eve. “You shouldn’t be working alone at night,” he said. “What’s the matter with you?”
Be nice, Eve reminded herself. Bob had a right to be here. But wait until Matt moved out.
“I was working on the Internet café renovations.” The ones Bob seemed to have forgotten he’d volunteered her for, she wanted to remind him. “Nights are the only spare time I have. Most of the time I’m not usually alone, but everyone else had to leave early.” They all had families. And lives.
The fine lines around Bob’s eyes deepened. “They left you alone? Well, it won’t be happening again. I’ll make sure someone stays with you if you need to work nights.”
Matt carefully descended the stairs, favoring his sore leg. “Don’t worry about it. For the next little while, Eve and I can operate as a team. Where she goes, I’ll go.”
Wait just a minute. She had to share her home with him, work with him all day, and now her free time had to be spent with him, too?
No way. Eve had a bad feeling about this. She and Matt spent too much time together as it was, and she wanted more distance. They were crossing that fine line between colleagues and friends, and that line was important. She already liked what she knew of him; she didn’t need to know anything more.
Like the fact that he looked incredibly hot in navy blue boxer briefs.
“Or I could just call if I need you,” she suggested.
Matt’s blue gaze locked with hers.
“Thanks, but I don’t have a death wish,” he said.
Although right now, death held a certain appeal.
Matt’s leg hurt, his mouth was dry from the medication, and he could have used a few more hours of sleep.
He hadn’t liked letting her go off alone to the office earlier, and liked it even less that he hadn’t been in a position to stop her. Now that the drugs had worn off, however, circumstances had changed. Let Eve argue all she wanted. He was in no mood to listen.
He looked her over, reassuring himself she was okay. Her hair was a