Cupid's Contract

Tina Fey over Beyonce

As Eve weaved her way through the crowd, happy to put distance between herself and the hostile pair, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy, and something else, for Drew.

Did she hate him for stealing her job? Yes. Of course. Definitely.

Well... Not really. Not anymore, anyway. At first? Maybe. When she had thought he was nothing more than the snobby, lucky heir to a misogynistic boss. However the longer she remained in his vicinity the harder it was to maintain such negative feelings.

To be quite frank, the guy was all right.

More than all right, really.

A bit fit, if she was honest.

But she wasn't. She was dreadfully dishonest. So she would just ignore the dimples and focus on the fact that as much as she disliked Harper Senior's treatment of women, it was nothing compared to the way he seemed to treat his own son. The little she had overheard was disconcerting, but not particularly horrible. But the way Andrew had retreated within himself physically, drawing his shoulders in and ducking his head, spoke volumes.

If he could have crawled within himself he would have tried, she suspected.

The image reminded her of her mother, oddly enough. Not because Eve's grandfather had been anything like Richard Harper. Roy Higgins was a cuddly teddybear in comparison.

No, the crumbling visage reminded Eve of her mother every time another man had broken her heart. Barbara would retreat within herself too, and while she would always re-emerge eventually, it was a bit more tattered and battered and bruised.

It was like looking at a butterfly with a crumpled wing.

Eve wanted to straighten Andrew's little bug antenna and give him a hug.

Still weaving through the crowd, Eve spotted her mother just on the other side of the stage. She was smiling and looking nothing like a smushed butterfly. In fact, she looked pretty radiant.

Her outfit was still mental, but for once it wasn't overwhelmingly so.

Probably because her smile was so bright it muted the garish colours.

As Eve pushed through another group, she realised that Barbara wasn't just smiling, she was smiling at Edwin. Eve faltered slightly, missing a step and landing awkwardly on her heel. Just like that, she felt her ankle twinge, and she began to wobble as her shoe sank into a soft patch of grass.

She threw out her arms, squealing, and instinctively squeezed her eyes shut as she prepared to hit the hard ground.

Her landing was solid, but not as uncomfortable as she had anticipated.

"It is ludicrous how clumsy you are."

Eve reluctantly opened her eyes, her cheeks already glowing as she tried to ignore the fact that she was surrounded by Drew's masculine cologne and his rather strong arms.

Muscley, but not like he spent ages taking selfies while admiring his own veins.

"Eve?"

"Sorry?" Her voice came out whispery and dream-like, and she tried to clear her throat while she pulled, reluctantly, out of his arms.

But Drew didn't fully release her. He kept one arm around her, controlling her away from the crowd and off to the side of the stage, away from her mother.

Her ankle was slightly tender, but by no means injured, and she had no choice but to let him guide her to a less noisy spot.

"Are you ok?" He stopped shuffling her along now and turned to face her, concern wrinkling his brow.