Chapter Five
The first month ofdatingwas not what Eden imagined.
For the first week, there was absolutely no sign of Razor.He didn’t stop by the house, but he did text to let her know something had come up, and he would call her the moment he got back to town.It all seemed reasonable.
Maeve had to also leave town, as she had a couple of jobs that had come up.She had a couple of author websites she needed to redo and work through.It was a lot of work getting the books into the categories requested, resetting the whole website, making it easier and more accessible.Rather than constantly looking at her cell phone, she worked from morning to night, taking short breaks to have breakfast and dinner.She was not much of a snack person.She had gotten out of eating snacks long ago.
By the second week, the same thing happened, as did the third and fourth week, and then they were into March.
Razor was not cold, though, he called every single day, asking how she was.She talked about the elements of work she could.She asked him about his day, and he was always vague, but that came as no surprise to her, seeing as Mac had also been.
After four weeks, and her sister moving from job to job and not returning home, she ran out of food and had no choice but to make her way to the grocery store.Usually, she and Maeve went shopping together.She sent her sister a quick text to find out exactly what she wanted when she came home.
This was not unusual for Maeve to spend weeks, if not months at a time, working.She would be on one job and get a call to go and do another.Eden knew she had traveled from the States to the UK, to France, and then on to Italy, all in the name of work, and her sister loved it.
Ten minutes later, Maeve had sent her a text with all the stuff she wanted, including ice cream.If ice cream was on the menu, that meant it wasn’t long before she would call time-out and come home for a break.They were both workaholics, but they also knew balance was everything.
They had both witnessed their parents do nothing but work.One had been a lawyer, and the other an accountant, damn good at their jobs, respected, and they earned a good living.However, they had also seen how tired they had gotten, how they rarely had time for family.It’s why she and Maeve had been able to slip into a routine while living together.It was the same back home, when their parents were alive.They rarely saw them.
When they were killed, they had both been devastated.They had spent a lot of time talking about intervening, trying to talk to their parents, to spend time with them.They never did, and their parents never got the chance to know them.
Eden missed that chance to get to know them, but it was something she and Maeve were conscious of and tried not to fall into the same trap.Money made life easier, but it didn’t make anyone happy.Work could be enjoyable and fulfilling, but it wasn’t the end-all of life.Balance was the key.Taking time.Living life.
Grabbing her cart, she made her way into the grocery store and started to gather ingredients.First, she went to the produce aisle, because whatever she could get there would then determine what went with it.She was a sucker for fresh vegetables, and with spring already taking a grip on town, the produce section was loaded with amazing products.
Fresh peppers were a must.She spotted some eggplant and zucchini, which she wasn’t a massive fan of, but in small quantities she enjoyed them.They all looked amazing, and she knew some stir-fry was in her future.
Once she had loaded up on vegetables, herbs, and salad ingredients, it was then off to the meat section.She loaded up on chicken, though she was a lot more reserved with the beef and pork.There was no way she was cooking lamb, as she was not a big fan of it.
Next, she looked at the fresh fish but then decided to check the frozen section.She was not a woman who liked to prepare whole fillets of fish.She liked that work done for her, and the bagged stuff was just as easy to deal with.
Once that was done, she went to the baking section, because she was out of chocolate chips.It was there that she gasped and spun around.
“Those better be for your brownies,” Razor said.
She looked at him and was shocked.He’d grown a beard and looked a little rough around the edges.She didn’t know why, but she threw her arms around his neck, then pulled back.
“I had no idea you’d returned home,” she said, and then felt a little awkward hugging him.
They were just seeing each other.Holding hands, kissing, and hugging were supposed to be built up.
“I got in an hour ago.I had to talk to Doc and the rest of the guys, but I came as soon as I could.”
“How did you know I was at the grocery store?”she asked with a frown.
“Texted your sister.”
“You have my sister’s number?”
“She insisted I have it now that I’ve shown an interest in you.”
Eden frowned.“How is that possible, when I’ve not really told my sister that we’re ...seeing each other?”
The truth was, she didn’t know how to label it.She also didn’t want to put that much emphasis on a label, so she had just kept it to herself.It was a first for her as she usually told her sister everything.
“I asked your sister,” Razor said.
“What?”