Free Change of Harte (Harte, #2) (Harte Series) by Brooke Harris Page A

pretty wasted last night after we…you know.’
    Julian laughed and Eva knew that he was poking fun at her inability to say that they’d had sex out loud.
    ‘Ouch, the fuck.’
    It was Eva’s turn to laugh as she sat onto the edge of the bed. Julian flipped onto his side to make room for her and rested his head on her thighs.
    ‘I think if I don’t move I’ll be okay. Or breathe.’ Julian put his hand flat across his forehead. ‘Or blink. I didn’t actually have that much. I think it was a combination of jet lag and a lot on my mind.’
    ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
    Eva could feel Julian’s body become heavier with the weight of the question.
    ‘If you’re going to go all Dr. Freud on me, Miss Andrews, at least give me a fighting chance.’
    Julian pulled himself upright. ‘Coffee first.’
    Eva nodded. She passed Julian a cup, but the clasp of her bracelet caught in the sheet and tugged her arm, showering the sheets with piping hot coffee. Julian jumped up and quickly pulled the sheet away from them to minimise the damage. Eva was upright, with her back against the wall before she had time to think. It was a natural reaction. Suddenly, she was five years old again and memories of spilling her father’s beer at a neighbourhood barbeque plagued her mind. She’d paid the price with a broken collarbone. But she wasn’t a child anymore and her father couldn’t hurt her now. 
    ‘Hey there.’ Julian edged slowly closer to her. ‘There’s no use in crying over spilt milk. I’m pretty sure that extends to all beverages…coffee included.’
    Eva laughed and grabbed him so tight she almost winded herself.
    ‘Would you like to talk about it?’ Julian asked.
    Eva threw him a playful smirk at the irony of having her own words echoed back at her. Up your game , Eva told herself. She remembered Julian’s flippant reply the first time she’d offered her shoulder to lean on.
    ‘Talking helps?’ she asked, tilting her head. ‘And I thought sex was a much better answer.’
    Julian raised both eyebrows and laughed. He rubbed his thumb and index finger along each side of his chin.
    ‘Well, Miss Andrews, that might be the first time any of your psychology mumbo jumbo has made any damn sense to me.’
    ‘I was being sarcastic,’ Eva said, shoving her hands against her hips for dramatic effect.
    ‘I know. But I wasn’t.’
    ‘I know that, too,’ Eva said pushing herself onto her tippy toes and kissing him hard.
    ‘Are you busy today or can we hang out?’
    ‘Hang out?’ Eva giggled. ‘Since when does Julian Harte hang out?’
    Julian raised an eyebrow. Eva jerked her lips to the side, suspecting the air quotes might have been poking a little too much fun for Julian’s taste.
    ‘Since we’re friends, Evangeline. Don’t friends hang out?’
    Eva poked her tongue between her lips. And Julian wins again. He always had to have the last word.
    ‘So, Miss Andrews, how does this friend’s thing work?’ Julian said.
    ‘Well, we could start by just talking.’
    ‘Talking?’
    ‘Yeah, you know, the open your mouth and words come out thing.’ Eva couldn’t keep a straight face.
    ‘Okay, smartarse, what would you like to talk about?’
    Eva’s cheesy grin straightened and she looked at him with serious eyes. She knew just how to approach this. She wanted to know why he was here, and since he’d technically brought it up, it was the perfect opportunity to investigate. It would most likely get pretty difficult pretty quick, she decided. But she had learned from the master, after all… ‘Let’s play a game?’
    ‘A talking game?’ Julian looked less than impressed.
    ‘Just a game, Julian. Can you do that? Can you play my game?’
    Julian tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Sure, let’s see what you’ve got.’
    Eva exhaled slowly. This was either all going to explode in her face or she was going to push him into revealing something about his past. Knowing Julian and his layer upon