made her laugh, though. He’d dressed up for the guests that would come through. If it weren’t for the oxygen, she’d swear he was back to normal. But he’d never be himself again. He’d never be the man he once was and she was slowly coming to grips with the harsh reality.
“Look at this beautiful goddess who came to visit.” He lifted a hand toward her. “Come on over. You look stunning, Eve. Just like your mother.”
Of course she looked like her mother; everyone told her as much growing up. The honey-brown hair, the bright eyes, curvy figure. Eve had seen enough pictures of her mother in her younger years to know she was practically a clone. But Eve didn’t want to discuss her mother right now. She wanted this evening to be fun, to be filled with love since the entire family would all be under one roof.
“What have you got?”
Eve flipped the frame around. “I had this made for you. It’s from my visit the other day.”
Sutton stared at the picture for several moments before finally reaching for it. With both hands, he gripped the sleek pewter frame and settled it on his lap. Eve waited, watching as her father continued to look at the faces staring back at him. Sutton with his daughters, an image that hadn’t been captured since they were little.
“This means everything to me,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “You’ve always had such a good eye for photos.”
Eve leaned against the side of the chair and laughed. “It was just a selfie, Dad. But I thought it turned out nice and wanted you to have something in your room.”
He glanced up at her, his bushy brows drawn together. “You always know what to do. This is perfect.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
He looked at the image once more before turning his attention back to her. “Tell me about Elite. How are things going?”
The man was on his deathbed and wanted to know about business. He would probably die with his company—his baby—on his mind.
“We’re doing great.” Eve was thrilled with the direction they’d taken since she’d been placed at the helm. “We actually just signed on a Sydney office two days ago.”
Sutton’s smile spread across his face. “I knew you would take a great company and make it even greater. I’m so proud of you, Eve. You’ve not let anything stand in your way.”
“I learned from the best,” she declared, wrapping her arm around his shoulders as she settled a hip on the arm of his chair.
“Some women are cut out for husbands, kids, which is fine. But I knew you were the one to follow in my footsteps. You never had—”
“Let’s not talk about work.” She had to steer him in another direction. Because even though she hadn’t wanted the whole family lifestyle once she’d gotten a taste of corporate world, clearly she wasn’t going to be able to dodge it for long. “Nora said you were feeling pretty well today. You look good.”
He started to laugh, but his robust chuckle quickly turned into a coughing fit. Eve rushed to the wet bar in the corner and refilled his water. She hated seeing him suffer even the slightest bit. For a man who was known to be a ruthless shark in the real estate world, he was now as weak as a baby. The vulnerable side of Sutton Winchester would only be known to his family, though. He’d never let outsiders see him in such shape.
Eve let him hold the cup while she took the framed picture and set it up on the table near the sofa.
“Thank you,” he said after taking a few sips. “Damn disease.”
Eve went back to his side and took his cup. She placed it on the small table next to him.
“You girls don’t have to lie to me,” he went on, taking her hand and squeezing it between both of his. “I know what I look like.”
Eve kissed the top of his head. “Like my handsome father.”
“You’re going to find some man and charm him one day,” her father teased. “Just make sure when you do that you don’t leave my company in a bind.”
As if she’d ever settle down and take the time to nurture a relationship. A global company and a new baby were definitely enough to keep her occupied. “I’ll never leave Elite,” she promised.
“I hate to bring this up—”
“But you will because you’re honest,” she joked. “Go ahead.”
“I know that before all the questions came up about me being the Newport boys’ father, you and Graham were—”
“Nothing,” Eve interrupted. “We were nothing.” And that was the truth. It was after the paternity test results came back that they tore each other’s clothes off.
This conversation was entering dangerous territory, and that was putting it mildly. Guilt squeezed her chest like a vise. There was no way to avoid it much longer, but she wasn’t going to tell anyone about the baby until after the party. No way was she going to ruin Nora and Reid’s evening. There would be enough time to discuss it after the guests were gone and only family remained.
“I saw how he looked at you, Eve,” her father went on. “Getting involved with a Newport would be the biggest mistake you could make.”
Eve bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything. What could she say? She could deny that she was involved, but that would be an obvious lie. She could even pretend they weren’t going to be anything more than parents sharing a child, but since they were still flirting and she couldn’t get him off her mind, it was only a matter of time before her control crumbled and they ended up intimate again.
Pulling her hand from her father’s grasp, she leaned down once more and kissed his head. “I’m going to go see if Nora needs help since the guests should be arriving any minute. I’ll be back in a bit.”
To tell you I’m expecting a Newport’s baby.
“You’d better,” her father winked. “But keep in mind what I said, Eve. Graham and Brooks have an agenda. They think I know their father’s name and they’ll use any means necessary to get it. I wouldn’t put it past him to use you to get to me.”
Eve stilled. She’d never thought for a second that Graham was using her for anything other than a bedmate...and she’d used him right back. But did her father’s words hold any truth? Nora had hinted at the same thing the other day. Was her family just being overly cautious or did they truly believe Graham would use her to get to Sutton?
No. Graham wasn’t the type of man to play games. He was a lethal attorney and when he wanted something, he went straight at it. He wasn’t the type of man to hide behind a woman and let her do the work.
Eve let herself back out into the hallway and pulled in a deep breath. Voices filtered through the house and it was clear guests had started arriving. Giving her cleavage one last glance in a mirror, she gave a mental shrug and headed toward the formal living room.
Grace, Nora and Reid stood near the mantel, talking and laughing. Grace was dressed as a sexy witch with glittery hose, a sparkly black hat and some killer black stilettos. Their guests were dressed
