The Promise of Paradise - By Allie Boniface Page 0,5
late at night. Eddie’s hands looked like that.
The warmth reached her cheeks again, and she willed it away, afraid it would betray her.
“So how’d you end up moving in here?” Jen asked him.
“Mmm…long story.”
She propped one elbow on the back of the couch. “We’ve got time.”
Eddie’s face changed a little, and he switched the subject, smooth as cream. “What about you, Jen?”
“What about me?”
“You and Ashley. What’s your story? You guys from around here?”
Ash cringed a little when he said the name. Ashley. Her alias. The one she’d just made up to take the place of her true identity for the next few months. Already she felt guilty about lying to the guy who would be sharing her house. Damn. Why couldn’t things ever work out the way she planned?
“Not really,” she began, with a quick glance at Jen. How did she answer his question without revealing too much? “I mean, we just graduated and…”
“I grew up in Connecticut,” Jen finished for her. “Ash is from outside Boston. I'm starting my residency next month, but the smart one here decided to take a summer to herself. You know, enjoy some peace and quiet. I just came along today for the ride.” She leaned in closer. “That, and to interview any housemates she might have. To make sure they pass inspection.”
Eddie looked at Ash. “And do I pass?”
Her cheeks got even hotter, and she wondered if that was answer enough.
Jen smiled. “Oh, I’d say you do.”
He shook his head. “Good. I guess.”
“Do you work in town?” Ash asked.
“Yep. Frank’s Imports. It’s a repair shop out by the highway. Some high-end stuff, Mercedes and Beamers, but mostly family cars. Hondas, Toyotas…lotta minivans.” He grinned, and Ash nearly lost herself again.
“I think we passed it on the way in. Didn’t we?” Jen asked.
A repair shop? Something tugged at the corners of Ash’s mouth. Wouldn’t her father die if he knew who his youngest daughter was living with? Not exactly the Stepford Club, she thought, and then was sorry, as if she’d somehow betrayed Eddie though she’d only just met him.
“I think I saw it,” she said. “Big place. Red sign.” Lawyer’s eyes noticed everything, Ash’s father used to tell her. Even the details. Especially the details.
Eddie nodded. “That’s the place.”
Her gaze returned to his face as he and Jen continued to talk, and Ash noticed with surprise that it was scarred in places. Besides a crooked nose, three thin scars ran almost parallel down the left side of his jaw. A thicker scar underlined his right eye, and peeking from beneath the left side of his goatee, a tiny spider web of lines faded into his upper lip.
God, what happened to him? Pain immeasurable echoed on that skin, and she was surprised she hadn’t noticed the scars sooner. Ash shifted in the loveseat. Somehow, though, they didn’t mar Eddie’s appearance. Rather, they added character to eyes that danced and a voice that caressed like deep cello tones, mellow and laughing through the low notes on the scale.
After a few minutes, he stood. “I have a lot more to unpack,” he said. “Sorry. Just wanted to say hi.”
“Well, nice meeting you,” Jen said. “You’ll have to come back up later on.”
His smile widened at the invitation, and a dimple winked below his deepest scar. “Sounds good.” Eddie backed across the threshold. The door swung shut behind him, and the room seemed emptier than ever.
“Wow.” Jen dropped onto the loveseat beside Ash and feigned lightheadedness. “If you don’t find a way to sleep with that guy by the end of the summer, I give up.”
“Good God, Jen. I’m not here to sleep with anyone.” Ash tried to sound convincing. “This is my summer to heal, to get away from my parents. To forget about Colin. And figure out what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
Jen opened one eye. “Speaking of which, when are you going to tell them?”
Ash studied her short, bare fingernails. “Which part? That I’m living in a no-name town instead of taking the job at Deacon and Mathers? Or that I’m thinking of changing my last name because my father can’t keep his zipper closed? Or that precious Colin Parker isn’t going to be their son-in-law after all?” She chewed at a hangnail. “I was kind of hoping to make it until July, at least.”
“You talk to your parents every week.”
“I know.” The hangnail began to bleed.
Jen jumped up. “Let’s get this room set up, anyway. Then I’ll