how many times a person could discuss the weather at a party without doing something odd, like breaking out in a crazy singing stunt or jumping from sofa to chair and seeing how many heads she could turn. Eva almost laughed out loud at that last thought, knowing she’d never do anything so insane, but it kept the smile on her face.
She was on her fourth weather conversation and yes, the weather was abnormally warm for this time of the year and no, rain wasn’t expected this week, and so on and so on. She reached for her glass of seltzer water and took a long sip, relishing the cold as it slid down her throat. The bubbles at least gave her mind something to focus on, something that was more stimulating than the conversation.
She was circumspectly glancing around when she saw her father out of the corner of her eye. He had broken away from the group of men he’d been talking with a moment ago and was now slowly approaching their group and pulling along a tall, intimidating man beside him. As circumspectly as possible, she watched the other man carefully, wondering who he was. He was extremely tall with broad shoulders but wasn’t built like a bull dog like so many other tall men she knew. As he moved, his suit jacket slid open slightly and she could see that he had a flat stomach and very long legs. He was at least a head taller than most of the people in the room so he was easy to watch. His eyes were dark, dangerous almost and his strong, square jaw had a slight five o’clock shadow, even though she suspected he’d just shaved prior to arriving at the party.
His tuxedo fit him well, she thought, but what did she care about something like that? She knew how well a well designed dress could hide many flaws, she thought as she unconsciously ran a hand down her left hip. She’d always wanted to lose those last ten pounds but they stubbornly kept to her like glue on a school kid’s fingers.
When her father continued to approach, Eva became nervous. The almost possessive look in the man’s eyes made her very wary and her heart started pounding. She looked away, trying to concentrate on the conversation around her but her eyes strayed once again to the taller man, surprised to find that they’d made so much progress crossing the room.
For some reason she couldn’t understand, she didn’t want to meet this man. He was still halfway across the room and already her heart was pounding and her palms felt damp. How juvenile, she thought with exasperation at her own body’s reaction to a man who was still too far away to be a threat in any kind of way.
Regardless, she didn’t like the look about him, and she could tell that her father was bringing him over to introduce to her. She had to escape, considering that action an urgent mission she suddenly had to make happen.
Someone in another cluster of guests put a hand on her father’s arm, slowing him down slightly. When her father looked away, she smiled to the rest of the group around her and patted the elderly woman’s arm next to her. “Excuse me. I think my mother needs me.” She gracefully stood up and quickly moved in the opposite direction, not bothering to glance back towards her father, just in case that man was still watching her.
She efficiently worked her way around the perimeter of the room, smiling and waving to her parents’ friends and guests, weaving in and out of groups but making sure to look like she was on a mission, which deterred people from stopping her. She made it all the way into the kitchen and was grateful for the reprieve, feeling trapped and frightened simply because her father wanted to introduce her to another man. He did this all the time at these kinds of functions, so what was different about this one? Okay, so he was much more handsome than the others, and definitely taller, more muscular. But that only indicated that he was probably gay, which should have relieved her mind.
But she knew he wasn’t. The man with the intent gaze and amusement lurking on his firm lips was definitely heterosexual. There was too much male interest in his gaze for her to dismiss the man as innocuous. He was dangerous and she was determined to