Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

***THEO***

T heo picked up a towel and held it out for Eden. "Hurry up, I'm starving," he called. "I haven't eaten in hours, and all this playing in the water made me hungry."

"Okay, you big baby, let's go see what there is to eat," she said, coming out of the surf. "I bet there's something good in the basket Max delivered."

He wrapped the towel around her, then leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I'd complain about him spying on us," he said, taking her hand and leading her away from the water. "But he brought us food, so I won't."

"You two seem close," Eden said, looking over at him. "Have you been friends for a long time?"

"Since college," he said. "There were eight of us in our friend group. We're all still close even if we don't see each other that often."

"That's nice. Barbie is the first real friend I've had since……well……a long time ago," she said. "My mother doesn't approve of wasting time with silly things like friends, and I sp end so much time studying that there isn't really time anyway."

He didn't say anything as they got themselves situated. "Your mother has a lot of strong opinions, doesn't she?" He finally asked, unable to think of a better way to put it. "She sounds like…well……I don't know…"

"A controlling, overbearing, helicopter parent," Eden supplied for him. "Yeah, I know. I try not to think about it too much, but there's not much I can do about it right now. The only reason I'm here alone instead of with one of the horrible companions that she hires to watch me is because of a mix-up with the employment agency and a bunch of lies I told."

He started unpacking the picnic basket. "Eden, you're an adult. You should be able to travel on your own," he finally said, unable to hold his tongue. "I understand being protective, but a companion, that's ridiculous."

Eden let out a long sigh. "You don't have to tell me; I have to live with it every day. I should have put a stop to it a long time ago," she said. "I should have rebelled when I was a teenager, but I was so busy trying to please her, I was graduating from high school before I realized that she'd taken complete control of my life."

He filled a plate of food and handed it to Eden, but she set it aside. "I know what that sounds like, but what you have to understand is that my mother's entire focus; the only thing she wants is for me to become a doctor," she said. "It's a family legacy, and for some reason, she became obsessed with me continuing the tradition, whether I like it or not. By letting her take over my life, I fell right into her trap."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "What did she do?"

"I let myself become so dependent on my parents that without their money, I wouldn't survive," she said. "I'm twenty-two years old and I've never paid a bill, never driven a car. I don't even know how to shop for my own food. The one time I tried to fight my mother and stand up for myself and explain that I didn't want to be a doctor, she threatened to cut me off without a cent. I realized then that my only hope was to do what she wants and go to medical school, but as soon as I'm done and I have a job, I'm done with them."

"Oh, Eden, I'm so sorry you've had to go through all of that," he said, gathering her into his arms, wishing he could fix it for her. "If your mother wasn't there to stop you, what would you do?"

Eden looked up at him, then down into her lap. "You're going to think it's silly, a waste of my intelligence, or something," she said. "But what I'd really like to do is become a teacher. I love kids, and I can't think of anything better than helping them grow and learn. My mother says that would be a total waste of my intelligence."

"I don't think that's silly at all," he said. "In fact, I bet you would make a great teacher, and you already have your degree. I bet it wouldn't take much to get your teaching certificate."

"One more semester of classes," she said, looking up at him. "I checked it out, but it's impossible. I wouldn't have any money to live on."

"Maybe I could help you, give you a loan or something," he said. "It's not like it would make any difference in my bank account. Then you could do what you want, and your mother couldn't say anything about it."

She smiled up at him. "That's a sweet offer, Theo, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea," she said. "If I'm going to break away from my mother, I have to do it on my own. I have a plan; I just have to be patient and do what she says for a little longer. That's why this summer is so important, especially now that I'm on my own for the first time. I don't want to waste a minute of this time, and hopefully, I'll learn something while I'm here."

"Are you asking me to have sex with you again?" he asked, a teasing smile on his face. "Because you've almost convinced me that I should."

Eden's cheeks turned pink. "I wasn't asking…I mean…not this time," she stammered, then laughed. "If I said yes, would you do it?"

"Oh, sweetheart, I'd love to say yes, but until you stop thinking about it as having sex, the answer is still no," he said. "But you might be able to convince me to kiss you if you ask nicely."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to take what I can get," she said, shifting in his lap and sliding her arms around his neck. "Theo, will you please kiss me?"

"It would be my pleasure," he said, before he lowered his mouth to hers.

***Eden***

When Theo finally pulled away, it took Eden a few seconds to emerge from the storm of sensation. "I'll have to remember that asking nicely works much better than demanding anything from you," she said, still a little breathless.

Theo grinned at her. "Just don't push it," he said. "Now, how about we eat this food before it goes bad?"

Her stomach started rumbling loudly. "I guess I am hungry," she said. "And Max went to all the trouble of bringing it all the way out here, so we better not let it go to waste."

They rearranged themselves and began to eat, a comfortable silence between them, but she started to get curious about Theo's life. "What about you?" she asked. "What do you do when you're not on a tropical island?"

"I work in the family business as an investment banker," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Mostly I just shuffle paperwork from one place to another. I'm not exactly high on the corporate ladder. That would be my older brother. He'll take over the bank when my father retires."

She took a few more bites of food, waiting to see if he'd say more. "It doesn't sound like you like your job very much," she finally said. "It must not be very exciting."

He was silent for a second, then looked over at her. "You know, we're not that different when you get right down to it," he finally said. "Only it's not my mother holding me hostage; it's my entire family. Heck, it might be my entire way of life that's keeping me pinned in a place I don't really want to be."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I think you're going to have to explain."

"In my world, sons go into the family business no matter what that is. They marry acceptable women, add as much money as they can to the family fortune, then retire and let the next generation take over," he said. "The people in my circle, as they like to call it, spend all their time trying to impress their friends, have affairs, and cheat on their taxes. All that money doesn't do them a bit of good. They're all miserable, but so busy trying to pretend that everything is perfect I'm not sure they even know how unhappy they are."

"I guess money really doesn't buy happiness," she said, taking his empty plate and slipping into his arms. "What would make you happy?"

Theo was quiet for a second, then shook his head. "Would you believe that I'm thirty years old and I don't know what I want to do with my life?" he said, then let out a long sigh. "I was hoping these two weeks away from everything would help me figure it out. So far, the only thing I've figured out is what I don't want. I don't want the life my parents have, and I don't want to marry someone I don't love because it would be good for business or my social standing. I want real connections with people who truly care about me."

She looked up at him, understanding for the first time why he wouldn't sleep with her. "That's why you won't…well, you know," she said. "I didn't really understand until now."

"There was a time when I would have taken what you're offering me without batting an eye, but I'm too old for that," he said. "Somewhere along the way I grew up, so maybe my resistance isn't just about you. Maybe I want it to mean something even if we never see each other again."

"It would already mean something, Theo," she said. "I wouldn't have chased after you like I did if I thought you were going to hurt me. I trust you, don't ask me why, it's just something I feel deep inside. I'm not trying to rush you, I understand what you want, I'm just telling you that I chose you for a reason."

"Aren't we just the pair?" he asked, grinning down at her. "If you'd told me a week ago that I'd be sitting next to the most beautiful woman in the world and refusing to sleep with her, I would have called you crazy."

"Well, your vacation isn't over yet," she said, grinning at him. "There's still time to prove that you're completely sane."

"Woman, if you don't stop propositioning me, I just might take you up on the offer," he said. "But right now, I think we should go for a walk on the beach and enjoy the rest of the afternoon."

"Darn, I almost had you," she said, then stretched up and gave him a kiss. "You do know that I'm going to wear you down eventually. I can be very stubborn when I want something."

"I'll take that as a warning," he said. "And look forward to the battle."

She laughed, then gave up and started helping him pack the food back into the basket, trying not to let her disappointment show. When they were finished, Theo got to his feet and held his hand out to her. She took it, enjoying the burst of electricity that shot up her arm. She looked up at him, wondering if he felt it, too. He just smiled at her and pulled her toward the water without a word, but a few seconds later, he leaned down and kissed her.

"I felt it, too," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "And a whole lot more than that, but we're not going to discuss that right now."

She opened her mouth to question him, then shut it again, sensing that he wouldn't say more. "That was very mysterious," she finally said. "Should I be worried?"

"Nope," he said, giving her a kiss. "Not at all."