Desire by Design - By Paula Altenburg Page 0,68

glanced off his cheek.

“That was for the phone calls,” she was saying, shaking her fingers. “And this,” she added, drawing her fist back again, “is for breaking into my house.”

There was a fine line between self-defense and assault. Matt caught her around the waist and swung her aside. She kicked out with her feet, trying to free herself, but Matt held on tight.

She stopped struggling. “I’m fine. I’m calm. Really. You can let go of me.”

But when Matt did so, she lunged forward. He whipped his arms around her waist again.

“Someone, call the police,” Claude was shouting.

Matt didn’t understand why the other man wasn’t running away. He couldn’t hold Eve back much longer. The flashing of red-and-blue lights turning onto the street came almost as a relief. One of the neighbors must have already called in to report a disturbance.

And then, with a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, Matt thought he knew what Claude had been trying to accomplish.

“Well, well,” said a familiar voice as the officer who had stopped Eve and Matt the night of the fundraiser emerged from the patrol car. He surveyed the scene before him. “You two certainly get around.”

…

“Now you know why it’s important to keep a record of all the phone calls and the break-ins,” Bob said into the silence filling his car.

Did she ever. Eve was still shaking with anger at the injustice of it all. “I can’t believe Claude had the nerve to press charges and ask for a peace bond!”

“Don’t worry, after a year you can always punch him again. A little jail time won’t hurt you,” Bob said cheerfully. “And I think you really scared him.”

Eve hoped so.

“Thanks for bailing us out,” Matt said to his uncle.

“Any time.” Bob glanced into his rearview mirror. “You okay back there, Evie?”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she said.

Bob’s grin was wide and satisfied. “You bet. More than just a little, too. I’m so proud I might burst into tears. I keep telling you, Evie. You’re a bully.”

It didn’t help any to know she’d proven Bob right. She was, indeed, a bully. If Matt hadn’t been having second thoughts about her before, he had to be having them now—even if Claude had deserved another punch in the nose.

Eve slumped back in the cushiony leather seat. But she was feeling just a wee bit frustrated at the reversal of roles. Claude had goaded her into hitting him so he could press charges. Claude had wanted revenge, and she’d let him have it. She hadn’t bothered saying that he pushed her first. When Matt tried to clarify that to the police, she’d shut him down.

Now he was mad.

“Look on the bright side,” Bob added. “Mattie can spend more time on his backlogged business in Toronto. You’ll have your house to yourself again. There’s the silver lining.”

Matt grunted, and Eve contemplated the back of his head. He’d never said a word to her about being backlogged, but what had she thought—that Halifax’s pitiful little City Hall was the crowning glory of his illustrious career?

Bob stopped in front of her house.

“By the way, we’ll be having an information session at City Hall Wednesday morning. The press will be there.” He shot her a thoughtful look over the back of his seat then nudged his nephew. “Seems Evie’s friend Marion tipped them off.”

“She’s not my friend,” Eve said. “If you’ve done something you should be ashamed of, Bob, that’s your problem. Not mine. I’m not lying for you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Eve. You won’t have to say a word. Just show up and look beautiful.”

Matt dropped his head in his hands. “Don’t you know her at all?” Eve heard him mutter to Bob.

Bob sounded surprised. “But she is beautiful.”

She was too tired for this. If she had something to say Wednesday morning, she’d say it. There was nothing Bob could do to stop her.

She and Matt walked around to the back of the house and entered through the open deck door. The adrenaline high she’d been on was definitely starting to wear off. She wished he would put his arms around her. She wanted the clock to go back twenty-four hours so they could make love on the beach again. Her heart twisted.

Correction: there had been no talk of love last night, and she wasn’t hearing any talk of it now. This was the moment when Matt was supposed to take her in his arms and tell her he wasn’t going anywhere, at least not for