Flawed Perfection (An Eve Sumptor Novel) (19 page)

Eve just smiled, and continued. “If something happens to me, help Adam? Be there for him?”

“Eve, you have to stop this, please.”

“I will, Lainey, as soon as I know …”

“Yes! I will be there for Adam.” Good Lord, she hoped Eve was done, because she didn’t know how much more of this she could take without bursting into tears.

But, Eve wasn’t done.

“And, if something happened to … if …” Eve couldn’t finish. She couldn’t imagine a life without Adam, not now. Just the mere thought had her trembling, and her eyes watering.

Lainey laid a hand on Eve’s and squeezed gently. “I’ll be there for you,” she said quietly.

Eve nodded and sniffed. “If something happened to him because of me, I don’t know if I could live with that.” Eve shook herself mentally, and heard Bella’s laughter from the other room. “Don’t let her forget about me.”

“Eve, baby, Bella is going to have you around for a very long time. You’re going to teach her wonderful things, annoy her when she becomes a teenager, and see her grow into a beautiful woman, just like her mom.” Lainey felt Eve’s hand grasp on to hers, and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I will never let her forget you, honey.”

“The locket that my mom gave me is in the top drawer of my desk at the gallery. It belongs to Bella. Give it to her?”

“Okay, that’s enough. Eve, I can’t listen to you talk like this anymore. You’re scaring the hell out of me, not to mention depressing me.” Lainey stood up and walked to the window overlooking the backyard. “I will do what you ask, Eve, because I love Bella and I care very much for Adam. But, did you ever think about how
I
would cope without you?”

Eve’s heart ached. Yes, she thought of that, quite a bit. She just didn’t know what to offer Lainey as comfort. She went to Lainey, touching her lightly, and leaning her body in to hers.

“
I love you. I will always be with you no matter where I am
.”

Lainey trembled as a tear slid down her cheek. She knew it was all Eve could offer her, but to Lainey, it was everything.

Eve had been on edge all day. The gallery was full of people, but she left them in Lainey and Mikey’s capable hands, and retreated to her office. She tried sketching, hoping it would help, only there were more pieces of wadded up paper on the floor than sketches in front of her.

She called Dee, who told her that all the information she came up with she passed to Charlie and James. Eve called Charlie, who told her nothing solid has come up, yet, but he’s working closely with James. She even called Billy to see if his traces produced anything. They didn’t. Son of a bitch, she was becoming one of
those
people. Those annoying, calling constantly for updates, ‘are-we-there-yet’ people. But, she couldn’t help it. If she could just find one piece of this damn puzzle, it would give her something to go on. When Tony was after her, at least she knew her opponent. However, now Eve was completely in the dark, and grasping at straws did nothing to help calm her down.

She hated this feeling. Sickness sat in the pit of her stomach, churning into a fear she couldn’t tame. Even years ago, when she was being brutalized, she’d had a plan. She had survived because she knew she would get out. Eve couldn’t guarantee that she would get out of this one. Nor could she guarantee the safety of those she held so dear. It was a humbling and terrifying feeling.

Unable to sit and basically twiddle her thumbs, Eve got up to pace. She found her feet taking her to the balcony overlooking her gallery. It was clean now, all reminisces of the vandalism were gone with fresh paint and restored art. Everything looked … normal. She could stand here and pretend that everything was normal, if it weren’t for uneasiness she felt inside.

She watched Mikey push his glasses up, and smile genuinely at a customer. He would make the sale, she knew. Being so personable always worked in his favor. Her gaze switched to Lainey, who was also with a customer—a full gallery was the silver lining of all of the drama. Eve knew Lainey would also make a sale, or three. She was charming and witty, and extremely intelligent about the art she spoke of. Of course, being beautiful didn’t hurt with the male—and some female—customers.

Lainey felt a tingle down her spine, and turned to look up. Her eyes locked with Eve’s. She tried to identify all of the emotions she saw flicker across Eve’s features, but was pulled back into the conversation with her customer. When she got the chance to look again, Eve had disappeared.

Eve sat at her desk, pen poised. Maybe it was morbid to do what she was doing, but better safe than sorry. Isn’t that what they say? She turned off the chatter in her mind, and wrote from her heart.

Adam, my love,

When you first came into my life, I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. I told myself over and over again that I didn’t want a relationship. But, one look at you, one touch of your hand, or brush of your lips, and there was no way I could stay away. You enchanted me from the very beginning, and I should have known then that I wouldn’t be able to keep my heart out of it. The first time you kissed me, I fell in love with you. Of course, I denied it, and you, out of fear, but I know now that what I felt for you was pure. I never knew what it was like to be kissed and made love to until I met you. You opened my eyes to so many things, and for that I will always be grateful. I’m sorry it took me so long to let you in, but I can’t tell you how happy you made me by waiting for me. You’ve given me your love, your devotion, your everything, and best of all, you gave me Bella. The gift of our baby girl is like giving me back a part of my soul that I lost when I lost my mom. I will never be able to thank you enough for that. You are my love, my life, and I am completely honored and blessed that you chose to be with me. If you are reading this letter, my love, it means I can no longer be with you or our daughter. I’m sorry I had to leave you, but I will be with you always. I am so in love with you, baby, and I will be for eternity. Take care of yourself, and our baby girl. Tell her how much I love her every day. And, every day, remember how much I love you. Forever and always yours.

Love, Eve

Damn. When she made the decision to write these letters, she didn’t consider how incredibly hard it would be. Eve knew that the next letter would be even more difficult. She drew in a deep breath, and began writing.

My Dearest Bella,

My baby girl. I wish so much that I could be there with you to see you grow into a beautiful woman. Always know that I am here, watching over you. I am proud of you. No matter what you choose to do with your life, I support you as long as you’re happy and healthy. I will give you what my mother gave me.

I give you my strength to triumph through times of adversity and become the woman I know you were meant to be. I give you the courage to walk away from those who hurt you, with your head held high. I give you my heart, full of love, to add to yours so that you can pass it on to the world.

I know you will conquer this world, baby girl, but do it with kindness and dignity. Be generous in heart and soul, and I promise you, you will find happiness. Let yourself love and be loved, because it will be the one thing in life that brings you the most joy. I know that love exists, baby girl, because of your daddy. Find a man like him, and you will have everything you will ever need or want.

I love you, my sweet Bella, and I am there with you, always.

Love,

Mom

A single tear drop fell on the page before Eve folded it, and stuffed it into and envelope and writing Bella’s name on the front. Then, she took out one more piece of paper, and stared at it for a moment, before beginning to write.

Dear Lainey,

What can I say to you that could ever convey the gratitude I have for you? Your friendship came at a time when I desperately needed it. I thought that the only way to keep from getting hurt was to close myself off to anyone and everyone. You showed me how much I was missing, and you did it by loving me for who I was on the inside. You know as well as I do that people tend to only see what they want to see when they look at a beautiful painting. Take Dali, for instance. Your favorite. Someone may look at a Dali and see the picture as a whole. But, you? You see every detail that went in to developing that art. Every nuance, every hidden feature. You did the same with me. No matter how much I tried to keep it from you, you broke through, and saw me.