Wicked Garden by Lorelei James Page A

guilt was obvious.
    “Oh my God. Billy Buchanan? Is that really you?”
    “In the flesh.”
    Tate rushed forward, blond hair flying as she enveloped him in a hug. “It’s good to see you, even though I haven’t forgiven you for leaving Nathan in the lurch all those years ago.” She whapped him lightly on the arm. “Poor man was forced to finish the fire station project all by himself.”
    Billy had the grace to blush. “I wish I’d had another choice.” His troubled gaze connected with Eden’s before he gave Tate a boyish grin. “You look exactly the same.”
    She patted her pregnant belly. “Not exactly.”
    “Dare I ask how many kids make up the LeBeau household these days?”
    “This one is number five.” With pride she rattled off, “Sophie is seven, Ben is five, the twins, Michael and Sasha are three.”
    He whistled. “Been a busy decade. How is Nathan?”
    Tate beamed the pure sunshine of a woman wildly in love. “Wonderful. Business is great. He has four fulltime employees, which means he has time to coach the kids’ various sports teams and knock me up on a regular basis.”
    When Eden attempted to sneak into her office to let them catch up, Tate firmly grabbed her elbow. “Excuse us. Eden and I have some…ah, issues to discuss.” She propelled Eden into the office, slammed the door and clicked the metal blinds shut.
    No escape. Pregnancy hormones seemed to have given Tate super-human strength and eagle-eyed detection skills. “Spill it, girl. How long have you been sleeping with Billy?”
    Eden didn’t bother to lie; Tate knew her too well. “Since about an hour ago.” She skirted the desk but was too wired to sit. “Don’t start.” During Eden’s teenage years, Tate had become her mentor at the community center. Eleven years later, Tate was still a mentor, but also a close friend, so Tate was aware of Eden’s devastation when Billy had abruptly left her life.
    “You expecting a lecture? From me? You know better. No bull. What is going on?”
    “If I tell you I don’t know, will you believe me?”
    “Yes.” Tate’s eyes softened. “Talk to me.”
    The words tumbled out in a rush. “This is all so surreal. Get this: Billy’s working for Feather Light, deciding the future of the community center, which means my future is in his hands.” She inhaled a deep yoga breath to keep the hysteria at bay. “But from the minute Billy walked in the door, it hasn’t been about business, or my future, but our past.”
    “I imagine that drives you crazy.”
    “Not only haven’t I seen any of his notes regarding the center, I have to deal with my stupid hormones wanting to get naked with him. All. The. Damn. Time. When he smiles at me, every professional thought sails right out of my head.” A shiver moved through her. “Maybe I’m more like my mother than I want to admit.”
    Memories of men parading out of her mother’s room in the early morning hours flashed in Eden’s mind. Whenever her mother stared into space, mooning over some new guy she’d met at work, inevitably her mom lost her job.
    “Eden LaCroix, you are nothing like your mother,” Tate muttered. “Although sometimes I wish you were.”
    Her astonished gaze snapped back to Tate. “What?”
    “You’re so caught up in making sure your reputation in this community is beyond reproach, you’ve forgotten there’s more to life than work. No one will begrudge you a relationship.”
    “With the man who’s come here to shut down the community center?” Eden said incredulously. “How could I ever explain my way out of that?”
    “Billy already told you he’s closing you down?”
    “No. Whenever he gets within three feet of me, we both forget the real reason he’s here.” But he’d mentioned concrete concerns in the car. Had he been serious? Or angling for an excuse to relive their delicious lunch? Sad thing was, it wouldn’t take much to convince her she should spend all of her meals with him, stripped bare and