Eve stood and hugged the girls. “It’s been so long.”
“We tried to call you, but your dad always said you were too busy to talk,” Brylee murmured.
Eve’s smile fell from her face. “My dad doesn’t like me to have outside influences.”
“What does that mean?” Larkin asked.
Eve shrugged. “He doesn’t want me to have friends.”
“But why?” Brylee asked.
Eve looked down and bit her lip.
Brylee quickly glanced at Larkin and then back at Eve. “What happened to your hair?”
Eve self-consciously touched her head. “My dad cut it.”
Larkin gasped. “Why?”
“He said I was being too vain.”
Larkin and Brylee looked at each other, confused.
“Eve,” a stern voice said behind them, making them all jump.
“Father, these are two girls I knew from high school…”
Eve’s father sat and pulled his napkin into his lap. “Sit down, Eve.”
Eve plopped down in her chair and kept her gaze on her lap.
“Sir, would it be okay if we visited Eve?” Larkin asked.
The man scowled and shook his head. “Absolutely not. You need to go away and stay away.”
“But—” Brylee stopped suddenly when a hand landed on her shoulder.
“Is everything okay here, girls?”
“Yes,” Larkin said to Darian, who stood slightly behind them. “We just asked if Eve…”
“Sir, I don’t want your girls around my daughter. Could you please take them and keep them away from her?”
****
Darian stared at the older man. He’d never seen a more cold, rigid person in his life. He glanced down at the pretty young woman and felt his heart twist at the sorrow and despair on her face.
“These two ladies are very nice…” Darian started to say.
“I don’t care,” the man interrupted. “My daughter does not need to be around any outside influences.”
“I see. Okay, we’ll be on our way.”
Eve’s father dismissed them.
Darian grabbed both girls by the hand, pulled them back over to their table, and sat them back into their chairs.
Gage curled an arm around Brylee the moment he spied the tears running down her face.