As much as Dylan wanted to push his luck, he didn’t want to do anything that would damage the fragile, budding trust Eve felt for him. He wanted to touch her—so much. Instead, he used his words.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I could make excuses for your boss but understanding why Kelly became starry-eyed won’t change the facts of his actions.”
“No big deal,” Eve said with a shrug. “You’d think I would be immune by now. Sometimes, I still forget.”
“Forget?” Wanting to see her face, Dylan glanced away from the road. “What do you mean?”
“As you said, Kelly was careless. He didn’t mean to be, but in the end, I’m not his family. Nor am I his friend. Not really.” Eve’s sigh held a lifetime of disappointment. “The rule of survival is simple. Don’t pin your hopes on anyone. If you do, you’re bound to be hurt. Or suckered out of your money. Or like Ellie, seduced and abandoned.”
“Don’t you get tired?” Dylan asked. “Doesn’t the cynicism you carry around on your shoulders—in your heart—ever weigh down to the point of exhaustion?”
“I’m a woman on her own. Alone,” Eve said. She turned back toward the window. “My shoulders are fine, thank you very much.”
“What about your heart?” Dylan needed to know.
“What about it?” Eve placed a hand on her chest. “I don’t understand why people insist on being fanciful. My heart is an organ inside my body. Vital for life, yes. But whimsy? Romance? Love? Give me a break.”
“Damn, you’re a hard woman,” Dylan said, a little disappointed but not surprised by Eve’s attitude. “You never felt a little catch in your chest—in the vicinity of your heart—when you looked into another person’s eyes? You never melted a little when he said your name? When he touched you?”
“You mean lust?”
“Beyond sex,” Dylan insisted. “Deeper. Stronger. A connection beyond the body.”
“You mean love?” Eve laughed. “How many times have you fallen for someone?”
“Never,” Dylan admitted.
“Ha!” Eve rounded on him. “All talk, no action.”
“Wrong. I admit I haven’t met a woman who’s moved my heart. And, yes, I believe the heart is involved as much as the brain,” Dylan said as Eve’s lip curled into a sneer. “But I believe love is out there. Right time, right place, right woman. I’ll fall. Gladly.”
“You’re serious?” When Dylan nodded, Eve seemed genuinely perplexed. “How can you be so certain?”
“Many of my friends are happily married,” Dylan explained. “I had a ringside seat when my best friend fell in love. You met him.”
“Levi?” Eve asked.
Again, Dylan nodded. The spark of interest he saw in Eve’s eyes did not make him happy.
“Must I remind you again?” he said, irritated beyond what was reasonable or rational. “The ring on Levi’s left hand isn’t a fashion statement. He’s married. Tied to Piper for life.”
“I met Levi for five seconds,” Eve said, her expression puzzled. “I flirted a little. Why are you so obsessed?”
“Then you admit you flirted,” Dylan crowed before he realized he shouldn’t be happy about her confession.
“I’m friendly with the customers at the bar,” she said, shrugging. “Men leave bigger tips if I engage them in a little harmless flirtation.”
“Not with me,” Dylan pointed out. “Never with me.”
Eve didn’t respond—deliberately from Dylan’s point of view. Intrigued by her uncustomary silence, he pressed the point.
“Eve.” When she didn’t look his way, Dylan tapped the edge of her seat, his fingers almost brushing her leg but careful not to cross a line she might find objectionable. “Tell me why. How am I different than everyone else?”
“You want an answer? Really?”
Eve’s gaze seemed to challenge Dylan. The tone of her voice almost dared him to say yes. Never one to back down even when a niggling warning sounded in his head, he looked her straight in the eyes.
“Yes.”
“Fine.” Eve nodded. “The second I saw you, I recognized you as Tanner’s brother. I was predisposed to hate your guts.”
“Ouch.” Direct hit. Dylan cleared his throat. “I’m not my brother. Nor should I be judged by his actions.”
“I’m not a big fan of guilt by association,” Eve admitted. “However, my reaction was visceral. Some things you can’t control.”
“And now?” Dylan wasn’t ready to drop the subject. “In your mind, am I still just Tanner’s brother?”
“No.” Eve lowered her gaze and her voice. “Now you’re the man who plans to take Daisy from me.”
Dylan sighed. To his right, was the specter of his brother’s misdeeds. To the left, Eve saw the man who would separate her from Daisy. Talk about a no-win situation.
“I’ll take care of her.” Dylan didn’t make the promise lightly.
Eve rubbed her palms on the legs of her jeans, a sure sign she wasn’t as calm as she pretended to be.
“I need to believe you.”
Something told Dylan that Eve’s need hadn’t completely crossed over to reality. He searched for the right words to reassure her. What could he say that wouldn’t sound like empty platitudes to her ears?
“Eve—”
“I could fight you.” Her chin rose several inches. “Maybe I wouldn’t win—”
“Maybe?” Dylan shook his head. “Definitely.”
Eve ignored his proclamation.
“Daisy needs me.” A glimmer of desperation entered Eve’s gray eyes. “Your brother made his position clear when he ignored Ellie’s letters begging him to come back. He doesn’t want to be a father. He doesn’t care about his daughter.”
Since Eve’s assessment of Tanner was spot on, Dylan couldn’t argue. What she said was true. Irrefutable. However, he needed her to understand that not every member of the Montgomery family was created equal.
“I care,” he said. “My mother is the one who sent me. She’s over the moon at the idea of showering her granddaughter with love.”
“Shouldn’t what’s best for Daisy come first?” Eve demanded. “Your mother doesn’t know her. You’ve been in her life for all of five seconds. I’m the one who’s been there. Worried. Walked the floors. Me. Not you. And not your mother.”
“Sounds like you’re worried about what’s best for Eve,
