Chapter 5

When she was younger, Eva the heiress never thought twice about getting whatever she wanted as long as she had enough cash on hand to procure it. Growing older – and meeting someone much more "salt of the Earth" like Nadia – quickly taught her to be embarrassed whenever she called up companies like Picnic in Malibu and requested a last-minute lunch.

She didn't care which beach. She didn't care about the menu. All she and Nadia requested was some privacy, some shade, and enough food and drink to last them until dinner.

Naturally, this was a big request. The owner of Picnic in Malibu sucked the air through her teeth so tightly that Eva heard it over the line. I know that not everything can be fixed at the last minute. At least that was one thing she could say about her younger self. If someone came back and said, "No, sorry, we can't do that," Eva didn't throw a fit like some she knew.

The owner of the company made it clear that she wanted to help Eva, whatever the cost, but that it was a matter of manpower and nobody else canceling their bookings that day. She took Eva's number, though, and promised to get back to her if something opened up.

Which meant Eva had the perfect surprise for her wife shortly after she returned from her lunchtime walk. As she surveyed Google Maps for the perfect place to get lunch, the call came from Picnic in Malibu – if Eva didn't mind something more stripped down, it could be done within the hour.

"Where are we heading?" Nadia asked as they left the hotel with the promise of a reservation already awaiting them. "The beach?"

Eva had ensured they both brought their best sunhats and sunscreen before setting out, so that killed part of the surprise. Even so, Nadia was blown-up with shock when she saw the canopy in the distance with decorative tape marking off the spot that asked for privacy. A woman with a flower in her hair and a sarong around her denim shorts met the couple by the tape, where she welcomed them to their "humble picnic on the beach."

Nadia squealed in delight, arm clutched around Eva's as her sandals danced in the Malibu sand. They took their places at the table set for them while the company representative – who turned out to be the owner Eva spoke to on the phone – gave them the spiel about what they would eat that day and where everything came from. Before she left the married couple to their romantic and private lunch, she turned on a speaker that played soft instrumental music that captured the essence of being on the beach.

"Look at all this fresh fruit," Nadia exclaimed as she speared pineapple and cantaloupe onto one utensil. Eva helped herself to carved dragon fruit and a peach slice on her plate. Alongside the platter of fresh local (and not-so-local) fruit was a selection of nuts, dried berries, and sushi prepared at a local restaurant before being delivered to the beach.

The breeze was still dead enough that sand didn't threaten to blow into their food. Yet Eva felt the clock ticking as she picked up a pair of wooden chopsticks and helped herself to the aptly named California rolls. Yes, definitely didn't think there was enough avocado here. At least she knew that some of the best avocados in the world came from Southern California.

"It's weird," Eva said between bites of sushi, "but I don't really ever eat crab. Or lobster, for that matter. Am I a fake heiress?"

Nadia was already half a melon deep into the fruit platter. "Yes."

"I knew it." Eva finished her sushi roll. "To be fair, I prefer crab."

"I'll eat anything."

"That's not true," Eva said with a snort. "You still refuse to try escargot."

"Like you eat it!"

"That's not the point. I've tried it enough to know I hate it."

"You don't like French food at all, do you?"

"The French are grand at many things, but their cuisine exists solely to amuse and impress those around us. We eat French food because it is sophisticated and expected, not because we like it."

"Are you speaking for all people when you say that?"

Eva stole a piece of pineapple from her wife's plate. "Yes."

After Nadia's giggling died down, she adjusted the hat on her head and said, "This does remind me of Hawaii right now. Must be the pineapple."

"Hawaii was a good time earlier this year." Eva dabbed her mouth with a cloth napkin. "We had some fun."

"Had even more fun in Vegas, if we're honest with ourselves."

Eva was only slightly surprised that Nadia brought that up. "Oh? Do tell, what made Vegas more fun?"

"I think you know what."

"Mm, no. You have to be more descriptive than that, my dear. Because I don't think it was the high stakes of gambling that got you all excited."

Nadia gave her such a look that Eva didn't have to interpret it from behind their pairs of sunglasses. Your wife gives you that look, you know what it means, even if you can't see it properly. Eva knew how to push buttons. Even on people she liked.

"The sex was hot."

Granted, Eva didn't expect that. Rarely was Nadia so blunt when they discussed the highlights of their love life.

"Hell yeah, it was." Eva picked up her can of ginger ale. "I'll toast to that."

Nadia reluctantly toasted. "Haven't had it quite like that since then."

Eva almost choked on a cashew. "I gave it to you plenty hard last month." Nadia had given her the opportunity, and Eva didn't turn it down. She seldom did! "You're telling me that Vegas was still hotter than the strap-on spanking I gave you in our home?"

Anymore, Nadia was not shocked by how her wife spoke. Let alone on a public beach where anyone could hear them if they were close enough. "Yeah. Vegas was hotter."

"Now, I wonder why that could be?" Eva tapped her chopsticks against her lips. "Couldn't have been because some woman you had a crush on watched you go to pound town in our hotel room."

"You talking like that doesn't make it any less hot, Eva."

"I should hope not. I'm all about blowing your mind with memories right now."

Nadia put down her fork and contemplated the gentle surf before them. "We've had an interesting relationship from the very beginning."

Eva wondered what she meant, exactly, but didn't begin to question it. "Do you still text with Lacey? Maybe sent her that picture where your nipple is poking out?"

A dried berry landed against Eva's arm. "You'd love that. Hold it over my head for the rest of our lives."

"What? The texting or the accidental nude?"

Nadia held her gaze while Eva pretended to eat more. "I'm surprised you haven't brought it up more often since we left Vegas."

Eva put down her chopsticks. "Brought what up?"

"Your mission for us by the end of the year." Nadia picked up her iced tea, her gaze still unwavering. "Something about a threesome, if I recall correctly."

Both of Eva's arms stretched above her head as she reclined farther into her seat. Even the breeze and the surf couldn't drown out the creaking chair beneath her body. "I'm ready whenever you are, babe. Tell me when. Tell me where. You don't even have to tell me who, but I wouldn't mind if you do." She craned her head toward her wife. "That way I can accurately imagine it in my head when I go to the rendezvous."

"You don't think you'd be the slightest bit jealous? Seeing me with another woman?"

"I like how you think a threesome means I watch."

"See, this is why we can't talk about this." Nadia sighed. "You are a total perv."

"Yet you married me!"

‘I'd do it again, so watch out."

"It's official." Eva leaned over the side of her chair, the salty air the only thing separating her from Nadia's arm. "You loooove pervs."

Nadia sipped her tea and faced forward.

"You date perrrrvs."

Nadia slowly shook her head while sucking in her cheeks.

"You maarrrry pervs."

A grape was plucked from the bottom of the basket. Nadia bit off half. A second later, the rest of it was on Eva's nose.

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Halfway between the beach and their hotel suite, Nadia stepped on a sharp shell and cursed how unlucky she was that it wedged between her skin and sandal. There wasn't enough blood to be overly concerned, but she went ahead to the suite while Eva veered off to the nearest mini-mart that might stock Band-Aids and disinfectant. Shortly after checking out, she received a text proclaiming that the bleeding stopped, and Nadia didn't think she needed them.

Doesn't hurt to have some in our travel bags, though. Eva had already been kicking herself for not having bandages in her overnight bag. How many times did someone she knew break a nail, get a paper cut, or drunkenly split their head open upon exiting a party in Ibiza?

Eva took her time walking back to the hotel from the small but eclectic shopping center. The sun was too bright to text while walking, but it wasn't so bright that she couldn't flip down her sunglasses and take in the sights around her.

In another life, I'd live in a place like this. Eva often didn't see herself living in Hawaii, although there was plenty she liked to do there. Too isolated from the rest of the world. Too humid. Nor was she a fan of making Vegas a permanent residency throughout the year. Too clued-in to the rest of the world. Too dry. Malibu felt like the perfect balance between the two. The beautiful sandy beaches paired well with fresh, cool air. Some of Eva's fondest memories were of the parties she attended at friend's beachfront properties, so she knew what the houses were like and that she preferred them to something like Warren Manor, where she lived now. Eventually, we might want our separate residence away from Henry. Let alone our parents. Granted, Eva's mother and father rarely returned to New England outside of social obligations, but it wasn't like Eva stayed away from there here, either. Still, the more time went on, the more she liked the idea of having her family on the west coast instead of the east. The older Eva got, the more she appreciated the slow-moving side of the country.

She knew that would be a tough sell for Nadia, though. Her family and friends were back on the east coast. So was her job, although Eva couldn't see that lasting more than a few years. When they eventually had kids… where would their children grow up and go to school? If we stay in New England, they have to go to Winchester Academy. Eva shuddered to think of it.

Yet she also knew that the grass was always greener on the other side. Just because she pictured a lovely family life here in Malibu, with the surf on the doorstep and the perfect weather all-year-long, that didn't mean it came without its problems.

"I promise I'm not being stubborn!"

Eva knew it was her fault for passing by the diner on purpose. At that time of day? It was the perfect opportunity for a jilted waitress to be on another "smoke" break without the cigarette. She stood out front by the dumpsters, her apron still on and her phone attached to her ear. When Eva got closer, she finally saw what was written on the waitress's name tag: Kenzie.

Isn't that a delightful name for an Idahoan?

"Come on, Dad, you don't get it. I keep telling you, these things take time." Kenzie looked up the moment Eva approached. "Uh, I gotta go. There's a customer here. Yes!" she then hissed. "I have a ‘real' job! Bye!" She hung up with such gumption that Eva was impressed.

"Boy troubles?" Eva glibly asked.

After a snort, Kenzie put on her customer service mask and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt your break. I was merely passing by and recognized you from the bar last night." That was only half true. The whole truth was the following: "My wife mentioned something about buying you a drink because you had a rough day."

If Kenzie hadn't recognized Eva from yesterday's lunch, then she was forced to face that uncomfortable fact now. I have that effect on women sometimes. It wasn't Eva's favorite. In a perfect world, every woman looked forward to her presence!

"That was her? That's right." Kenzie only slightly relaxed when she realized who Eva was. "You came in here yesterday with her. Wow. I've lost track of time these past twenty-four hours."

"Happens to the best of us. Hope you're taking care. My wife was worried about you."

"Your wife… Nadia, right? That was kind of her to buy me a drink. I don't think anything like that's happened to me since moving here. Kinda funny." Kenzie shrugged. "You see that stuff in movies all the time. Never thought it would be a woman to finally buy me a drink."

"She learned it from me." Eva hoisted her bag over her shoulder. "I'm a terrible flirt."

It took Kenzie another moment to realize what Eva was doing. "I didn't get the impression that she was flirting with me."

"My wife is subtle like that. Unlike me. You always know when I'm flirting with you. I like to cut to the chase."

"Oh… oh." Kenzie turned around so quickly that Eva almost felt bad. Especially when Kenzie lost her balance and fell toward the pavement, catching herself long before Eva reacted.

"Are you okay?" Eva put down her bag and got down next to Kenzie. Good job, Eva. You're off to a great start here. "Everything all right?"

Kenzie got up faster than Eva could rejoin her on two feet. Yet for all of her flurry to get a move on with her day, Kenzie had to stop when she realized there was a bit of gravel in the palm of her hand. Both she and Eva stared at the pebble falling out of Kenzie's skin and leaving a small cut behind.

"This is so embarrassing," Kenzie muttered. "I don't have a…"

Her eyes grew twice their normal size when she saw Eva pull out disinfectant and a package of Band-Aids from her shopping bag. "I'm always prepared, wherever I go," Eva said in the drollest voice she could muster.

By now, the blood was bad enough that Kenzie wanted that bandage sooner rather than later. Eva popped open the tube of disinfectant and offered to apply it to Kenzie's palm. She was met with no resistance.

"Not the suavest way I've ever gotten a woman's attention." Eva was as delicate as possible as she cleaned away the blood with a handkerchief in her pocket and dabbed some disinfectant upon the wound. "Isn't it funny, though? How such a tiny cut can cause so much drama?"

Kenzie said nothing as Eva opened a Band-Aid and applied it to the cut in question. Finally, she snatched her hand away. "Thanks," she muttered. "You know…"

"Yeah?"

Kenzie backed away, hand clutched to her chest. "You're really tall."

She turned and ran back inside the diner. After Eva gathered her bearings, she tidied up the shopping bag and said, "Yeah, she thinks I'm cute." Girls who commented on her appearance before literally running away always did.