the whole truth with.
Fortunately, because her engagement to Carter hadn’t yet become official—there’d been no ring, no party and no public announcement—there would be fewer questions. She also knew the last thing Carter would want to admit was that he’d been dumped by the heiress to the Tremont fortune because he’d been cheating on her.
Now she faced her father squarely. “I got rid of Carter, but you’re my father and I can’t change that.”
Her father went still.
“So I’m just here to say,” she continued, “don’t interfere in my life again.”
“Evangeline—”
“And to use Griffin Slater, of all people.”
Her father shook his head. “I never understood your aversion to Griffin.”
“You know, I’ve never quite understood it myself. After all,” she said sarcastically, “he’s done me a favor by taking on the role for the Tremont heir that I’m not inclined to—or should I say, I’m not capable of?”
“I never said you were incapable.”
“You didn’t have to,” she responded.
Her father looked stormy, while her mother simply seemed distressed.
“The reason I never pushed you toward Tremont REH,” her father said, “is that I wanted you to be able to choose your own path and follow your own dreams.”
The admission was a balm to raw feelings. Still, she wasn’t letting him off the hook as far as Griffin was concerned.
“You may never have pushed me toward Tremont REH, but you’re happy to push me at Griffin,” she accused.
“Not because of Tremont REH,” her father replied stubbornly, “but because he’s a good man.”
“Stop it, the both of you,” her mother said, then turned her head toward her. “Eva, I hope you’ll spend the night here. I hate to think of you being alone right now.”
She was grateful for her mother’s invitation, but she had one more thing to say to her father.
“Well, know this. Griffin Slater is the last man on earth I’d marry.”
She thought it was a good parting shot. Especially since the risk of having to eat her words was zero.
Five
Two days after Griffin went to see Eva at her apartment, he looked up to see Marcus in the doorway of his office at work.
Usually Marcus’s appearance at Tremont REH and Evkit’s shared headquarters wasn’t noteworthy. Only semiretired, he was in the habit of dropping in on a regular basis.
But this time Griffin knew better than to think Marcus’s presence at work was unremarkable.
As Marcus shut the door behind him, his face turned into a glower. “That bastard, Newell.”
His sentiments exactly, Griffin thought.
“Still, I’m glad Eva called off the wedding.”
Griffin let the news of the cancelled nuptials wash over him like a cool wave on a blistering day. As mad as she’d been, at least Eva had had the good sense to give Carter the kiss-off.
He stood and came around his desk. “Glad you’re focusing on the bottom line, Marcus.”
“She said Ron found evidence Carter was marrying her for her money,” the older man stated.
“Yes,” Griffin said, not knowing how much Eva had revealed.
“How did he draw that conclusion?”
Griffin forced himself to shrug nonchalantly. “The usual stuff. A financial profile that showed Carter’s living on a borrowed dime. Some interesting conversations caught on tape.”
Since Marcus hadn’t yet said anything about Carter two-timing Eva, Griffin kept his mouth shut on the topic.
Marcus nodded, looking, in fact, as if he didn’t want Griffin to go into further detail.
Griffin didn’t blame him. He wished he didn’t know the particulars. He could only assume the situation was even more uncomfortable for Marcus, given that Eva was his daughter and only child.
“I went to Eva first,” Griffin explained, skirting the issue of when exactly he’d gotten news from Ron, “because I thought she was entitled to hear the information before anyone else. I figured she’d want to tell you herself.”
“I appreciate your sticking your neck out here, Griffin.” The older man gave him a wry smile. “Eva probably wants to have us both fried, so I’m glad she got the news first, at least. There’s no sense jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, eh?”
“Hang on to the thought.”
“That’s not the only thought I’m hanging on to,” the older man continued. “She told her mother she threw wine in Newell’s face when she confronted him.”
Griffin took grim satisfaction in the knowledge Eva had rallied and shown the grit he knew her capable of instead of moping over Newell.
He worried about her, even though she sometimes made him nuts. His concern for her was ultimately what had made him comfortable with Marcus’s request to have Newell investigated.
And that was also why he’d kissed her in her apartment—or so he’d told himself.
Let her think he was despicable, grabbing her for an inexplicable kiss at her vulnerable moment. At least it had kept her from spilling more unnecessary tears and engaging in misspent heartache.
When Marcus left his office moments later, Griffin’s phone rang.
He picked up, and the voice at the other end said, “Just where I thought I’d find you—tied to your desk. Working too hard still?”
Griffin rubbed his neck. It was always good to hear from his brother.
“Just moving pieces around the Monopoly board,” he quipped. “How are things going in the OR, kid?”
His brother laughed. “Seen one appendix, seen them all. But that’s not why I’m calling.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Tessa is pregnant.”
“Good Lord.” He faked a groan. “You a father.”
“From you, I’ll take that as a compliment,” his brother shot back.
Griffin found himself smiling. “Seriously, congratulations. Fantastic news.”
“Thanks. We’re thrilled.”
“First Monica,
