She held his gaze. “I’m sorry about… well, I–I’m sorry, Darrak.”
He nodded. “Me, too.”
Well, that was a start. Just because they argued, or disagreed, or got angry with each other, didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. It wasn’t like they could break up — not like normal couples could, anyway. They were bound together whether they were romantically involved or not.
She really would prefer to have a choice about that. But, much like who her mother was, fate hadn’t given Eden much of a choice in anything in her life.
So be it. She’d deal.
There was a jingle as the door opened, and Eden glanced over her shoulder.
Great, she thought. Speak of the devil.
Caroline Riley peeked her head in. “Hey there.”
“Hello,” Andy greeted her cheerily. “Come in. We’re about to close, but we have a couple minutes left.”
Caroline grinned. “Andy McCoy.” Her gaze slid down the front of him. “You’re still looking rather delicious, even after all this time.”
His eyebrows went up. “Why, thank you. I have to say that the feeling is utterly mutual.” He held out his hand. “And you are?”
She smiled and took his hand to squeeze it in hers. “Let me give you a clue. Vegas. New Year’s Eve, five years ago. Strip poker. You lost.”
He blinked. “But, I — uh. That was… I mean, I remember… vividly… but…”
Eden wanted to move this along. “Yeah, that’s my mother, Andy. She’s back from the grave and renting the body of a lingerie model.”
Caroline looked at her sharply. “Aspiring actress, actually.”
“Whatever you say.”
Andy gaped at her. “You’re kidding me. Caroline? Is that really you?”
“In the flesh.” She turned in a slow circle.
“Christ on a cracker!” Andy exclaimed. “You’re alive!”
Caroline grimaced. “Sort of. My original body is gone for good. I’m stuck on earth until I redeem myself. It’s proving to be a challenge. Apparently, I was more of a bad girl than I ever gave myself credit for.”
“But… but this is wonderful. Just wonderful!”
“I’m glad someone finally thinks so.”
Andy always had a thing for her mother. It had never really been discussed between them, but Eden was fairly certain there had been more than just a poker game during the fateful night when Andy had lost 49 percent of Triple-A to her, which she’d left in her will to Eden.
But strip poker? There were some things she really didn’t need to know.
For Andy it might have been love. For her mother — it had been yet another fling with a man who paid her some attention.
Frankly, Eden wanted better for Andy than that.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
“I want to talk to you,” Caroline said, then flicked a disapproving glance at Darrak. “In private. Can you do that for me, honey? Five minutes of your time is all I’m asking for. Please.”
Eden looked at Darrak, who nodded.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Let her give you an earful about why you should have me exorcised at your earliest convenience. I’ll keep Andy company.”
“Five minutes,” she assured him. “Then I’ll be back and we’ll… you know… do what we have to do.”
“Sounds good.”
There was still a lot left unsaid between them. Later that night they would have a serious conversation and Eden would force herself to get into it. She’d tell Darrak why she wasn’t able to give her heart to him completely. He’d understand. He’d give her time to get comfortable with everything. After all, time together was one thing they could count on.
She looked at her mother. “I’ll buy you a quick coffee. Have your say. And then I’m really sorry but I have other important business to deal with.”
Caroline shook her head. “My daughter, always so serious. Must come from her father’s side.” At Eden’s sharp look, she huffed out, “What? It’s true. I’m way more laid-back than you are. Always have been.”
“Too laid-back, if you ask me,” Eden mumbled as she did her coat up.
“Bye, now. Have fun with mommy dearest,” Darrak said dryly.
She met his gaze. “I’ll be back.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
She reluctantly left the office, leading her mother right next door to Hot Stuff. Nancy quickly prepared their coffees, and they sat down at a booth.
Eden looked across at her mother’s borrowed face. “Okay, we’re here. You have the floor.”
“You know how much I love you, Eden,” Caroline began.
Eden sighed. “I know. And I know you mean well, but you don’t know Darrak like I do.”
“He’s a demon from Hell.”
“This is an argument that is going to go in circles, so let me stop you right there. He’s great. He’s wonderful. If he was a human guy I’d just met on the street I’d be damn lucky if he’d even look in my direction.”
“But you’re not happy, are you?”
“My current level of happiness actually has very little to do with Darrak himself. It’s complicated. I know you’re trying to help, but you have to give me space to deal with this.” She glanced at her watch. “I don’t have much time. What’s your plan? Are you going to stay here in Toronto?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” Caroline took a sip from her coffee, black with two sweeteners, just like Eden remembered.
Her mother had always been on a diet to keep her figure as fat-free as possible. She’d saved up money when Eden was just a little girl to buy herself breast implants. She’d looked exactly like a Vegas showgirl, blonde and glamorous — everything that Eden knew she herself wasn’t.
Not that she ever wanted breast implants. And Eden never had a great desire to be a size zero. She was a six. Sometimes an eight. She didn’t overeat, but she didn’t really pay too much attention to it. She figured if she did pay too much attention she might become like Caroline, concerned with every calorie. Finding her pleasure with a diet of cocktails instead of a good meal.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise that Caroline had chosen the svelte, beautiful, young body she had. Eden would have been able to call that particular decision from a mile away.
Caroline had always valued beauty and her outward appearance because it bought her what she needed — men to take care of her when the tables didn’t pay out right. Beauty was a commodity, and she’d had it in spades. Eden knew, at the time of Caroline’s death when she’d been pushing fifty, that her fading beauty was an issue for her.
“So now what?” Eden asked when Caroline didn’t say anything for a moment. “Do you need money?”
Caroline laughed. “I can take care of myself.”
“Half of Triple-A is yours. Maybe you want it back.”
“No, I don’t want anything from you, Eden.” Her expression shadowed. “I know I was a lousy mother. It’s time for me to make up for that. I’m here for you in your greatest time of need.”
Eden reached across the table and took Caroline’s hand. “Things weren’t always the best between us, but I know you meant well. And I was really sorry to lose you like that, especially after we hadn’t spoken in a while.”
“That was totally my fault.” Caroline shook her head and took another sip of her coffee. “I should have stayed in touch. I got mixed up with an acrobat from Cirque du Soleil. Half my age. He was very… flexible.”
“Sounds interesting.”
She grinned. “It had its moments. And about your father… I honestly didn’t know what he was. I had no idea about anything supernatural in the world until after I died.”
Eden grew concerned again. “Were you okay? I know you were in… in Hell for a while.”