The Surprise of Her Life

“I didn’t mean—”

“Did you transfer to the Denver office, Mr. Roland?” she asked before he could finish. Back in Texas he’d been the most whispered-about person on their block. It wasn’t every day you had an FBI agent as a neighbor.

“Please, make that Derek, and, yes, something like that. I’m the S.A.C. here.”

“Excuse me, I’m terrible with abbreviations.”

“Special Agent-in-Charge.”

“Oh. Oh. Wow. Congratulations.” Without trying, he’d succeeded in making her feel even younger and less accomplished than she already did.

The stereotype continued to hold true; even in his gray suit and two-tone silver tie, he looked “government,” just as he had back in Texas when he and his then-wife Sam had moved in next door to her and Wes. It was when she brought over a peach cobbler she’d baked herself that Samantha Roland confided that her Derek was with “the Agency.” Derek had always struck Eve as a serious man, and you’d have to be obtuse not to notice that his job demanded much of his time. He’d almost never been around for small talk, even when outside mowing the lawn or cleaning up the branch-littered yard after a strong storm. Every chore or project was achieved at a brisk pace that suggested he had more important things to do and places to be. They were speaking more now than they had in all of the time that they’d been neighbors.

Eve doubted that she could bring herself to call him by his first name. He might only be five or so years her senior, but his whole bearing made her feel a full decade deficit in experience. “Rae will be thrilled,” she assured him, with a death hold on her role as assistant to one of the most talked-about women in Denver. “I think you’ve managed to put a new feather in her cap. With the weather as unrelenting as it is, I know she’s grateful if the D.A. or a judge will come up here. It’s usually the show business and sports people who are brave enough to take on the mountains in these conditions.”

“I’m glad I could make it. The place is spectacular.” As he spoke, Derek gave the state-of-the-art yet creative room a more thorough and admiring look. “I actually came with D.A. Maines.”

She literally bit her tongue to avoid saying, “Oh,” and spread her hands in a well-there-you-have-it gesture. If D.A. Maines remembered her, it would be as the coat check girl, when she’d actually handed him a program and glass of champagne at the pre-party to the opening of the theater’s yearly premiere of The Nutcracker ballet.

“His wife is with their daughter on a school-related trip to Italy, and he wasn’t up for ringing in the New Year with a TV dinner and case files.”

Never mind trying to picture the district attorney eating a frozen dinner, Eve had to force her gaze from Derek’s mouth. Slightly curved into a smile, his lips weren’t as thin as she used to believe, now that they weren’t fixed in that tight, white line they usually were back in Texas. In fact they seemed kind, and—tempting.

“You cut your hair.”

The unexpected observation had her self-consciously smoothing the short wisps at her nape. A year ago, her naturally blond locks had almost reached her waist. “There’s an understatement if I ever heard one. My ex—and probably yours—would say that I look scalped.”

“You look … great. Very chic, or is that an archaic expression these days?”

At first, she’d worried that the style made her look like a street urchin out of Oliver Twist, but heartened by his seemingly sincere admiration a bit of her impish humor surfaced. “Full disclosure? All I was doing was indulging a little immature spite. Typical southern male, Wes would complain at the slightest trimming I’d do to get rid of split ends.”

The truth was, once past her high school cheerleading years, she felt the weight of her hair too much for her slight frame. The first thing she did, after finding the apartment in Denver, was to walk into a full-service salon and ask for it all to be cut off. It not only felt liberating in ways she hadn’t imagined, but donating her shorn locks to an organization that would turn it into a wig for a child with cancer gave her a quiet joy. Interestingly, her migraine-size headaches soon stopped, too.

“I can top that.” Derek pretended to glance around before sliding her a conspiratorial look. “As I was moving out, I came upon Samantha’s engagement ring in the bathroom. I ‘accidentally’ flipped it into the commode.”

Eve couldn’t keep from sucking in her breath at the image. Sam’s ring was only half the size of Rae’s, but it was one hundred percent more than Eve had ever worn. Too grateful for this moment to resist, she asked, “Did she notice before … you know?”

With a negligent shrug, he replied, “She must have, she signed the divorce papers.”

Eve laughed with relief. Incredible, she thought, they were actually making small talk—and it was fun. The few times they’d exchanged greetings back in Texas, she’d hesitated and stuttered like a nine-year-old, finding herself in front of the school principal.

“Are you liking Colorado?” she ventured.

“So far, so good, although it took me a while to adjust to the altitude.”

“As physically fit as you people have to be?” Eve didn’t hide her surprise. “I thought I was going to have to buy my own personal oxygen tank. And it was a good thing I wasn’t wearing a ring anymore because my fingers swelled like sausages on a grill.”

Derek’s answering glance exposed his amusement but disbelief. “I knew you’d moved, Eve. I just had no idea it was here. I hope this isn’t too awkward for you, but I was merely looking for a secluded spot to check my BlackBerry for calls without appearing rude or attracting too much attention.”

Sensing he was turning back into FBI Agent Roland, Eve pointed to the sunroom at the back of the kitchen. It was a rather romantic nook with the outdoor lights from the patio twinkling through the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Consider me gone. If you need more light, there’s a switch to your left as soon as you enter. You’ll have the kitchen to yourself. I’m off to deliver this,” she said, gesturing to the bowl that had started their conversation.

Frowning, he reached out to stay her retreat. “Give me a second and I’ll carry that beast for you.”

With that he removed the BlackBerry from its belt clip, exposing his badge, and focused on the small screen. After only a few seconds and fewer clicks, he replaced it.

“Lead the way,” he said, reaching for the heavy receptacle.

She did, acutely aware of his gaze following her every step. Although she thought she looked the best she had in a year, she would have passed on this glove of a dress if not for Rae’s insistence when they’d gone on a shopping spree together. Granted, she’d admitted that she was frustrated with her harmless, girl-next-door image, but blatant-vamp persona felt a ridiculous reach. Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, she wasn’t. But the knee-length dress was a contradiction, as well. It had a demure, high front, but Derek had the real view—a seriously low, cowl neck in back exposing just about every inch of her from nape to waist, all of which was prickling—and not because the temperature in the house was too low. She wasn’t a gambler, but she could feel Derek’s gaze contemplating what she was and wasn’t wearing beneath the thing.

At the long buffet in the dining room, Eve indicated the spot where the bowl should go and stepped aside for him to put his hefty load in its place. “I do appreciate this,” she said as discreetly as she could, counting how many pairs of eyes had noticed.

“My pleasure. Besides, that dress doesn’t look like anything you can machine wash and I’m fast concluding that eau de shrimp isn’t the right fragrance for you.”

She heard a few chuckles from people overhearing the exchange and felt a betraying heat creep into her face. Special Agent Roland was flirting … with her. The man whom she last saw angry enough to bite inch-thick bolts in two when he’d come to confront Wes about his affair with Samantha. She couldn’t begin to wrap her mind around that idea.

“Eve, introduce me to this gallant gentleman,” Rae said, joining them. “I thought I’d greeted all of our guests, but I’m obviously remiss in welcoming you,” she added to Derek. She extended her beautifully manicured hand in a way that best displayed her French-tipped fingernails and several carats of diamonds.

Almost as tall as Derek and luscious in a silver-sequined, full-length gown, Rae’s personality was cranked tonight to radiate mach charm. Her reputation in Denver was at once admired and resented due to her ambition and fearlessness. She never questioned her taste or decisions and if a client did, they didn’t need to hire Rae Grainger for their function. That matched her bold appearance—flaming red hair and matching lips, permanent liner and eyebrows, and teeth that any TV personality would kill for.

With wry circumspection that played well to her brashness, Derek picked up a napkin, wiped his right hand and took hers. “Mrs. Grainger. Thank you for allowing me to join you.”

“You don’t look like a golfing buddy or business associate of my husband’s. And you have better manners.”

“More like an associate of D.A. Maines, who is taking pity on someone relatively new in town. Derek Roland.”

Rae’s face radiated her recognition and she nodded approvingly, which almost ended suspiciously like a royal bow. “I remember now. How lovely to have you, Special Agent-in-Charge Roland.”

Eve resisted the urge to roll her eyes by respecting her incredible memory. Rae could recite event quotes, guest lists and her daily phone log from a month back.

“Call me Derek, please … unless I come bearing a warrant.”

With a throaty laugh, Rae replied, “Well, Derek, you are obviously blessed with as much good taste as you are with chivalry and wit. I’ve about given myself an ulcer at the idea of all this loveliness going to waste.” As she spoke, she swept her hand toward Eve.

For the briefest moment, Eve thought the groan in her mind actually burst from her lips. But unable to stay silent out of fear total humiliation was forthcoming, she stage-whispered, “This was my former neighbor, Rae. My ex and his are now married.”

Rarely rattled, the resilient redhead muttered a brief, “Crap” through a frozen smile.

“Or something to that effect,” Eve muttered, wishing for a glass of anything to swig down. Crawling under the twenty-thousand-dollar dining table was out of the question. “I’m going to get the last of the sushi now,” she said to the room at large. “With luck, I’ll trip along the way, knock myself out and come to with amnesia.”

Once back in the kitchen, she leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the refrigerator. What had she done to deserve this? Even though Derek was being an absolute gentleman, he was a reminder of everything she’d been trying to put behind her, namely her failure as a wife and as a woman.

Hearing the door creak open behind her, she quickly made her way to the sink where she pumped soap into her palm and then ran water to wash her hands before setting to work again. She wasn’t surprised to see Derek’s image suddenly reflected beside hers in the sink window.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Sure. This happens to me every day.”

“You don’t sound okay.”