One Night with Morelli

‘I’m not hiding.’ She was about to slide the latch when a soft reply made her jump.

‘I know but it’s all right—they’ve gone.’

The kind voice didn’t belong to any of the three faces from the past.

The only person in the otherwise empty ladies’ room was a young girl. Even in her flat ballet pumps she was several inches taller than Eve and slender. The encouraging smile she gave when Eve stepped out lit a face that had perfect features.

Eve could feel the girl’s warm brown eyes as she walked across to the washbasin. ‘Are you all right?’

Eve smiled at the girl’s mirror reflection and turned the tap, allowing the warm water to flow over her hands.

‘Fine, thanks,’ she lied, mortified to hear the wobble in her voice. This was crazy; she was a hard-headed businesswoman, so why was she fighting the sudden and utterly uncharacteristic urge to unburden herself?

The girl continued to look troubled. ‘Are you sure?’

What a nice girl. She reminded Eve a little of Hannah at the same age. Not in colouring, as the teenager had raven-black hair, golden-tinged skin and liquid brown eyes, but in the confidence and innate grace that would set her apart from her contemporaries. Eve nodded and the girl walked towards the door.

Her hand was on the handle when she stopped and turned back, her expression earnest. ‘My dad,’ she began hesitantly. ‘Well, he says you shouldn’t let them get to you, or at least not let them see they get to you. It’s the pack instinct—bullies react to the scent of fear, but underneath they’re insecure and cowards.’

‘Sounds like you have a good dad.’

‘I do.’ A grin flashed that made her look much younger all of a sudden. ‘But he’s not perfect.’ The grin appeared again. ‘Though he thinks he is.’

The girl’s grin was contagious.

‘Do you mind me asking…? Are you…?’

For the first time that day Eve felt the urge to laugh. She swallowed the tickle of hysteria in her throat, horrified to feel tears pricking her eyelids. ‘A lesbian?’ Eve finished for her.

‘It’s fine if you are,’ the girl said.

The kid was so sweet, so kind, the contrast with the women’s malice so profound that Eve felt the tears press hotly against her eyelids. She blinked hard and stretched a hand to lean heavily on the wall.

The mental exercise she’d employed to lock her emotions in a neat box required energy, and Eve’s reserves were severely depleted. If she could have played the scene again she wouldn’t have hidden but old habits once learnt were damned hard to break.

‘No, I’m not.’ The sob when it came emerged from somewhere deep inside her. Eve did not immediately associate it with herself, then another came and another…as all the emotions she had kept under tight control that day suddenly shook loose.

‘Stay there. I’ll get someone.’

‘I’m f-fine…’ Eve hiccoughed but the girl had vanished.

CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_8e4242bf-8ab4-5f65-a6da-4d37481c0604)

EVE DIDN’T REALLY expect the girl to return at all but she did, and with the last person in the world she would have expected to see in a ladies’ room.

Draco Morelli was the wise father— Oh, my God!

Eve backed away waving a warding hand as she fought to swallow a gulping sob. ‘Go away!’

Draco made a swift assessment. ‘Keep an eye on the door, Josie, and don’t let anyone come in.’