I close my eyes and fall victim to sleep.

*********

I hear my cell phone ringing and I roll around, reaching for it with my eyes shut. "Spade," I answer.

"I wanted to see how you made out last night," Jack tells me.

"Fine so far. I just woke up. Thank you very much."

"It's ten-thirty."

"I'd have slept till eleven, if you hadn't called." I point out.

"I did a background check on Eva, and she's clean. I'm still waiting for any information on past owners for your apartment complex. They're faxing over anything they have."

"You know I could have done that," I remind him.

"Consider it another Christmas gift," he chuckles softly.

"Thanks, Jack."

"I'll call you back this afternoon, or if I find something sooner."

"All right." I hang up the phone and head out to the living room to see Eva on the couch watching TV.

"Who was that?" she eyes me curiously.

"My boss."

"Oh," Eva's eyes light up and I can't hide the smile playing on my lips.

"He's looking into the whereabouts of your aunt," I answer. "I'm going to grab some cereal. You want anything?"

"I already helped myself," she answers, turning her head back to the TV.

I shake my head with a laugh, amazed at how comfortable she's become in my apartment overnight.

After I finish eating, I head down the hall. "I'm going to take a quick shower. When I get done, we can go out. Let me know what you want to do." I shut the bedroom door and make my way into the bathroom.

I run the water and slip out of my clothes. I hear the phone ringing and let out a sigh, figuring the answering machine will pick it up. I take a fairly quick shower and once I finish, I pull on a robe and head to the living room to check my messages.

I glance over towards the phone to see Eva chatting away. I eye her curiously as she hands me the phone. "It's for you," she states with a satisfied grin.

"Hello?"

"Samantha," I hear Martin's voice and quickly take the phone and turn my back to Eva. "Are we still on for tonight? Or do you have company that I should know about?"

"Just giving someone a place to crash," I answer. "Um tonight?" I cringe and toss the idea around in my head. "You want to spend it over here, watching a movie or something?"

"I thought I would get to take you out?"

"It's still a date," I answer with a nervous laugh.

"All right, but next time we're going out. I won't take no for an answer," he laughs softly.

"Can you get here around eight?" I question.

"At night?"

"Yeah," I laugh with a wicked grin. "Bring clothes and a toothbrush."

"Samantha," his voice catches in his throat, "I thought we were going to take things slow."

"That doesn't mean I don't want to have you over for the night," I tease and glance around to see Eva with a huge grin on her face. "See you at eight?"

"Yes," he croaks out, and I hang up the phone.

"So who's this Martin guy?"

"Someone I work with."

"He's not your boss, is he? Because that's just evil."

"No," I nod towards her. "My boss is married. Martin is one of my colleagues, we're just friends."

Eva laughs with amusement, "Friends? Like I haven't heard that line before," she shakes her head. "You're more than friends."

"No," I shake my head softly, the smile on my lips fading away.

"Why not? He's definitely into you."

"What makes you say that?"

"I just spent the past twenty minutes on the phone with the man," she eyes me intently. "I wouldn't have answered, but he started leaving this really sweet message on the machine, and I had to find out more about who he was. Sorry," she grimaces.

"What'd he say?" I take a seat beside her, curious as ever.

"He mentioned that you two work together, and I told him about my aunt. He seemed really sweet and caring, very genuine."

"What else?"

"He wanted to know why I was over. So I told him the truth. He also started to become concerned and interrogate me. It was fun," she grins and licks her lips. "We finally got to talking about you."

"And?"

"He really seems to like you. He's worried you're not over a certain someone else. He wouldn't divulge who, but I have a feeling it's tearing him up inside."

"It's doing the same to me."

"Well, who do you love?" Eva whispers.

I shake my head no, "The man I'm not supposed to."

"This other guy? Does he not reciprocate?"

"No, he does."

"So, what's the problem?"

"He's married," I answer with a slight frown.

"Bummer," she pauses and lets out a breath, "--so why won't he divorce her?"

"He's got kids and, besides, I think he's afraid of the ramifications of divorce---what it'll mean to him."

"As in being a failure?" she questions. "You've told him he's not, right?"

"Do you think it matters to him what I say?" I eye her to end the conversation now.

"So what movie are we watching tonight?" Eva's smile widens.

"What'd you have in mind?" I eye Eva. "We can stop by the video store tonight."

"Oh sounds good," her eyes light up as she sits up on the sofa. "Thanks for letting me crash with you, Samantha."

I nod my head. "Yeah I know how hard it can be," I answer. "Listen, you want to get out for a few hours? I'm sure there's a few things you could use."

"Yeah, although I don't have any money," she grimaces.

"I'll cover it," I remind her, gently placing my hand on her shoulder, "but when you become rich and famous, don't forget about me, ok?"

"I won't," she smiles softly, standing up and I grab some cash before we head out.

We finish shopping to get the things we need and we stop off at the nearby video store, browsing through the aisles to decide what movies to rent for the night.

"Do you have popcorn?" Eva questions, glancing through the lists of titles.

"Of course. We can stop by the grocery store on the way home if you want to get any other snack food."

"I don't plan on being with you that long," she emphasizes.

"I know," I nod. "It'd be nice, though, if you found some food you like munching on."

"Oh, your cabinets are filled with plenty I'll eat," Eva grins in response.

We grab a couple movies and make our way to a small restaurant uptown. It's not incredibly expensive, but it's certainly nicer then eating pizza again. After we finish eating, we make our way into the car and head back to my place.

"Thanks again for everything, Samantha. You're like the big sister I never had."

I glance over towards Eva, seeing her eyes sparkle with tears. I'm not sure what to say, if anything at all. We pull up in front of my place and head inside. She quietly heads back towards the bathroom and I allow her some privacy, as I glance towards the clock and see that Martin will be here within the hour.

I patter around my living room, feeling slightly anxious, but I'm not sure why. I pick up my cell phone, dialing the one person I can think of to call.