Read Online Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evie by Marianne Stillings - Free Book Online

her, sort of like nesting tables, you know?” She demonstrated this by cupping one hand over the other. “Then, very gently, he uses all his legs to turn her onto her back, underneath him. He has to be extremely gentle, because she doesn’t have her shell anymore to protect her. Then he lowers himself onto her until their bodies are touching, um, intimately.”
    Max willed Evie to look up at him, but she wouldn’t.
    “As they m-mate,” she stumbled softly, “he curls his legs around her body, sort of like an embrace. Then he, you know, um, deposits his sperm.”
    Max took another slug of wine, but said nothing. Was it getting hot in here, or was it just him? Who would have thought the sex life of some ugly-assed crabs could be so erotic?
    “When he’s done,” she continued, “very, very gently, he uses all his legs to turn her right side up again, then he stands over her, guarding her, with his legs acting as a sort of bulwark against predators. They stay like that until her new shell hardens. It’s the most vulnerable time of her life. She has completely let her guard down, and must rely totally on him for protection, and somehow they both know it.”
    Lorna reached out and patted Evie’s hand, sympathy plain to see in her eyes. “And then?”
    Evie lifted her chin to stare at Max. “He leaves her, of course, pregnant, to fend for herself. Just goes on his merry way, feetloose and fancy free.”
    Madame Grovda shook her head then knocked back the rest of her wine. “So typical. Men. Phooey.” She made a rude noise with her lips.
    Lorna’s mouth flattened. “How true.”
    “Wait just a minute,” Max said. “He probably thought she used protection. Besides, just how many baby crabs does she have?”
    “Two million.”
    His brows shot up. “Well there you go. What guy crab in his right mind would stay? Two million ? What if the little crablettes needed braces or glasses?” He grinned at her. “Why, the cost of bac k- to-school shoes alone would be staggering.”
    Shifting her gaze to the rose-and-cream flocked wallpaper, Evie murmured, “That’s beside the point. A decent crab would have stayed. They were half his responsibility, after al l, whether he loved her or not. ”
    Max studied Evie’s profile as she continued to ignore him. He’d been mistaken when he first saw her and thought she was passably pretty. She was absolutely stunning, in a fresh and unassuming way. The dock out front should be crammed with motorboats from her hoards of suitors, but there were none. Just why was that? he wondered.
    With a wistful smile, she said, “Well, you’d have to have seen it, I suppose. It was a beautiful thing, really. I mean, he knows to protect her, and she knows she needs to let h im because at that very mo ment she’s completely vulnerable. I … I sort of thought it was romantic.”
    Romantic? Horny crustaceans, romantic ? “It’s ridiculous, I guess,” she continued, “but ever since I saw that documentary, I can’t eat crab.” As she took a sip of water, Max studied her. Sure, her story was silly, but it was also very tender, and enormously revealing.
    He wondered if she had any idea just how revealing.

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
    D ear D iary:
    A dam Bl a n e is like, a total sn ot. h e t h inks h e’s s 00000 g reat just because h is daddy’s a cop. Adam said that h is daddy told him t h at h e knows my mommy really well. h e said s he ha s a reputas h an. T he way h e said that made m e so mad, I punched him in the n ose, h e squealed and even cried just like a bi g baby. I know you’re not supposed t o h it, but I just couldn’t h elp it!
    Evang eli ne—ag e 9
    T he atrium garden at Mayhem Manor was exquisite. As Max meandered down flagstone pathways, through thick stands of leafy palms, around tropical ferns and flowers, he was amazed at the visual beauty of the place, the mix of heady scents. The warm, damp air made him want to strip off his clothes and dive into the deep