Winter's Touch (Immortal Touch Series) (18 page)

“It’s a very small community,” he
r chaperon explained. “I prefer solitude, as you well know.”

Why wasn’t she surprised?

He parked in front of a rustic wooden building that sparkled with white Christmas lights. A quaint hanging sign proclaimed it to be the Phantom Ridge Inn, a name Eva found enchanting. Once escorted inside, she discovered the interior to be far more upscale than expected, with spotless linen tablecloths and gleaming glassware. From the lack of competition in the area she hadn’t counted on much, and was pleasantly surprised.

Julian
himself was equally surprising, playing the role of charming host as if he were her paramour rather than warden. He looked captivating in an apricot shirt and chocolate brown sport coat, and it mystified her how he always managed to appear so impeccably elegant. His smooth confidence and physical perfection were intimidating, even if she did know the truth behind them. She felt inferior in his presence, which rankled her to no end.

He ordered a bottle of
wine while she pretended to inspect the menu, taking in their surroundings out of her peripheral vision. The place was far from empty. There were several couples dining at various tables nearby, not to mention the hostess, sommelier, two waiters, and of course there would be the kitchen staff. All told, at least twenty people. She wasn’t alone by any means. If she had a notion to...

There was barely time to form the thought. From across the table his eyes were locked on hers, warning her with a look.
These people were expendable. One wrong move, and she knew she wouldn’t be the only one to suffer the consequences.

“I recommend the sea bass,” he suggested
, his mild tone betraying nothing.

“All right then.” She closed
the menu and tasted her wine, trying her best to avoid ogling him. It wasn’t easy, even under the circumstances. He made all other men seem so...
bourgeois
. Even the choicest of men would be dull by comparison. It was a struggle to remind herself that he was lethal poison masquerading as an exotic flower.

“Good evening, Mr. Winter! So nice to see you
again. Will you be having your usual?”

“Yes, thank you, Gerard. And for the lady as well.”

“Excellent, sir.” The young waiter nodded politely to Eva. She was taken aback that he seemed to know Julian so well. It made sense though, of course. After all, in a tiny community like this, you couldn’t hide in the shadows indefinitely.

“I didn’t expect such a
classy restaurant to be in a remote location like this,” she admitted. “How do they stay in business here?”

“Tourists from the resorts nearby.
The chef here is quite well known. You can find hidden gems in the most unlikely places.” The corners of his tempting mouth tugged upwards. “I found
you
tucked away in a suburb in Nebraska.”

Not even two months had passed, and
her former life already seemed like a fading dream. How was that possible? She felt like a traitor, defecting to the enemy. “You could hardly compare me to a gem,” she protested weakly.

“
How very true. There could be no comparison. You are...something infinitely more valuable than even the most flawless of red diamonds.” He lifted his glass, smiling in a way that caused her heart to flutter. Spellbound, she found it impossible to pull her gaze away from his. Those eyes, they seemed to be speaking to her...she could almost hear his enticing voice in her ear. Was that how he’d done it then? The night she’d thought she was hearing things. Could he actually speak to her without saying a word?

“Julian! Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you
, hon?” The spell was broken as an attractive brunette passing by their table stopped long enough to flutter long false eyelashes in his direction.

For a split second Eva thought she detected anger
over this interruption, but he quickly masked it with the ever-present charm. “Fine, thank you, Antoinette. Do you know Evangeline Spencer?”

“No, I don’t believe we’ve met.” The woman evaluated her curiously. “Are you
staying at one of the lodges?”

“She is here
as my guest,” Julian informed the woman, before Eva had a chance to respond.

“Oh, I see.” The
shrewd glimmer in her eyes was knowing. “Hey, we’re doing some night skiing later tonight if you two want to join us after dinner.”

“Thank you, but I’m afraid we’ve already made other plans.” Julian flashed her an apologetic smile. “
Some other time perhaps.”

“
I’ll look forward to it. Well, it was good seeing you again. Nice meeting you, Angela.”

Eva
nodded, not bothering to correct her. This one was way too wrapped up in her own world to care about some insignificant other woman. Antoinette breezed away on a cloud of expensive perfume to join her friends, a group of well-dressed women who all appeared to be in their mid-thirties. So, she’d now seen
two
cougars up close. The one from the forest was probably less dangerous than the brunette.

“Old girlfriend of yours?” She hoped she didn’t sound catty.

“Certainly not. The very idea.”

“Why do you sound so offended? She’s
really pretty.”

“She has the intelligence of a
garden slug.”

“Since when does
that matter?” Eva grinned playfully, secretly relieved that he was astute enough to see beyond the woman’s painted exterior.

“
Don’t be ridiculous. I have no interest in procreation.”

“Sex, English professor. It’s called sex.”

“Thank you
so
much for clearing that up.”

“You’re telling me you don’t
...you know, date?”

“
What an inane concept. And what would be the point of that? I don’t require physical intimacy, if that’s what you’re referring to.”

“
Never?
” Was he serious?

“Not since I was reborn, no. And you?”

“Me? What about me?”

“
You must have had your share of suitors. Tell me, were you shagging on a regular basis?”

The crude question was so completely out of character for him that she
came perilously close to spilling her chablis on the pristine tablecloth. “Was...I...
damn
, Julian!”

“
You have no qualms about prying into every aspect of my life. Is it not fair that I should extend the same courtesy?”

She realized then that he was teasing her, baiting her
yet again, and she had to laugh at his sly candor. “Fine. You win this round, my worthy adversary.”

“And who do you suppose will emerge the victor in this game?”

“That remains to be seen.” Her eyes challenged him. She would not be the one to forfeit and her intention was to make that fact crystal clear.

Gerard appeared with the food
that looked and smelled absolutely scrumptious. It occurred to her that she hadn’t eaten anything all day, and by all accounts the chef was certainly to be commended. The dish tasted as wonderful as it looked.

“I
gave your letter to Lainie, by the way,” Julian impassively commented once the waiter was out of earshot. “I forgot to tell you. She was to mail it during her layover in Seattle. Your mother should have received it by now.”

She dropped her fork
, and it clattered onto the plate. “Really?”

“
Really. I hope this pleases you.”

“Yes! Yes
, of course.” Eva sighed contentedly, satisfied that this small gesture would help to alleviate some of her mother’s worry. Not all surely, but at least it could provide comfort in the reassurance that Abby’s only child hadn’t permanently vanished from the face of the earth. Technically anyway.

They ate in silence for a while before she asked
him, “So,
do
you ski?”

“Not
recently.”

“But you used to
.”

“Yes.
Many years ago, while vacationing in Switzerland.”

“Why don’t you now?
You’re in a prime area for it.”

“I suppose it’s because I prefer to avoid people whenever possible.”

“You could probably ski all day long around here without running into another living soul,” she mused, before realizing the irony of her words.

He didn’t seem to notice. “Not
so. The resorts around here are popular. They pull in quite a crowd.”

“I’ve never been skiing,” she told him. “
Tried ice skating once, though.
Only
once. The professionals make it look so easy, I thought it would be a cinch. Turns out I could barely even balance on the blades. I don’t know how they do it.”

“
Some things aren’t as effortless as they appear to be.”

Was there some subtle meaning behind his words? If so, she wasn’t sure what it was. He had an
inherent way of talking in riddles sometimes.

And speaking of things that weren’t as they appeared
...

“That
was
you messing with me the other night, wasn’t it?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” he said innocently, but the glint in his
dark eyes betrayed him.

“How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“You know very well what!”

His smile could no longer be restrained. “Trade secret. If I told you I’d have to kill you.”

“Is that supposed to be funny?”

“Yes. It is. Lighten up, Eva.”

Oh, he was a regular riot, he was. And
also hard as hell to figure out. If it was true that he wasn’t interested in “procreation”, as he so eloquently put it, then why had he said those things to her? Unless he somehow knew what she’d been thinking, and decided to trifle with her. It was just the sort of maddening thing that he would do. He loved antagonizing her. The very idea that he might have guessed what had been running through her mind was utterly humiliating. She preferred not to think about it, sweeping it instead into the more secluded recesses of her brain as one of those
let’s-just-pretend-this-never-happened
incidents.

In the meantime, maybe he was right - maybe she should just relax and enjoy the evening out. Who knew when she’d wrangle another reprieve? For now, her surroundings
and her host were both entrancing.

She
gazed out the frosty window at the clear, starry sky. “It must be beautiful on the slopes at night.”

Julian watched her staring dreamily at the stars, emerald eyes shining. His own eyes softened.

“Tonight, my dear, the beauty is in Brightwood.”

~
*~*~

“Abby called here earlier for you.”

Lounging in his favorite recliner, Edwin reluctantly pulled his attention from the football game on television and tried to feign interest. “Yeah?”

“While you were in the shower.”

He waited for Michelle to say something else, but she just looked at him with a vacant expression.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“What did she want?” Damn,
but that woman was dense sometimes! Her lack of substance had been easy to overlook when she was a smoking hot twenty-year-old, but ultimately time had begun to take its toll on her. She was beginning to look like every other soccer mom out there, rather than the voluptuous arm candy he once proudly displayed. And now she was pregnant again, something he was less than thrilled about. He still suspected she’d lied to him about whether she was taking her birth control pills.

“She wanted me to tell you she heard from Eva.”

“So where was she?”

“I don’t know. At home, I guess.”

Edwin sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Not Abby.
Eva
. Where was Eva?”

“Oh. She didn’t say.”

“What
did
she say?”

“That she got a letter from
her and she’s okay.”

Of
course
she was okay. Why wouldn’t she be? Abby was just trying to create drama where there was none. Typical female crap. “Huh. I told her she was overreacting. Girl’s probably shacked up somewhere with some guy.”

Michelle had already lost interest in the topic at hand. “I need the debit card. I want to get some new maternity clothes tomorrow.”

“What’s wrong with your old ones?”

“I gave them away. I didn’t know we’d be having another baby.”

“That makes two of us.”

The sarcasm went straight over her head. “I can’t fit into most of my clothes anymore.”

“That’s not because you’re pregnant. It’s because you constantly stuff your face.”