His jaw sets hard as he turns toward me. “About what?”
“For God’s sake, Caleb—this isn’t some generic worry about fraternization. You’ve been at this company for seven years, but suddenly, after seeing me with Wyatt, you’re trying to change the policy so people can’t date? There’s not a chance in hell you just happened to—”
His hands go to my hips and suddenly my back is against the wall and he’s standing so close that his exhale brushes my forehead, his chest rising and falling more quickly than normal.
His eyes are on my mouth. “I. Shouldn’t. Have. To. Fucking. Watch. It. Happen.”
Before I can reply, before I can even process it…he’s gone, walking out the front doors of his own building to escape me.
“MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE SAID yes to Wyatt,” I tell Molly, draining the last of my wine.
It’s been seven hours since Caleb pushed me to the wall, and I’m just as mad now as I was then.
No, actually, I’m angrier. If he doesn’t want me, that’s fine. If he wants me but refuses to go for it, that’s okay too. But it’s not okay for him to stand in my way simply because it bothers him.
“Of course you should have said yes,” Molly says, signaling to the waiter for our check.
I reach for my credit card. “That’s funny because I don’t see you saying yes to anyone. Those guys who offered to buy us a round, for instance.”
She flicks a hand in the air, dismissing the idea. “I’m offended by the suggestion that I need a man to buy my drinks. I make more money than either of those assholes. But anyway, Caleb, as ridiculously hot as he is, is a dead end. And when you reach a dead end, it won’t do you any good to just sit there, honking your horn.”
I smile. “Is that what you’re doing with Michael? Sitting there honking your horn? Because it seems to me you’re simply idling one street away, hidden from view.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “I’m still working out how best to honk my horn, and Michael is not a dead end. He’s simply a superhot multimillionaire who doesn’t yet realize he’s meant to settle down with me.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been there for two years and I’ve never even seen this guy.”
“Picture Christian Grey, but smarter and better looking.”
I bite my lip. “Guys like Christian Grey only settle down in books, Molly. Real-life Christian Greys marry a model and cheat on her until they’re ready to marry a new model.”
“I believe you’re describing your father,” she says, “and Michael isn’t like that.”
I worry that he’s just a story she tells herself because it’s easier than risking something in real life, but there’s not much I can say. Especially when Caleb may just be a story I’m telling myself too.
We leave the bar in our sexy dresses without having said much to anyone but our waiter.
It’s pouring rain outside, lightning flashing through the sky so close that we both scream as we run to the car.
“This was stupid,” Molly says, cranking the heat once we’re inside.
“Going out in this weather?”
She shakes her head. “Going out at all. You’re in as deep as I am. Neither of us wanted to meet anyone.”
Yeah. And I’m not sure how we move past it.
I navigate around broken tree limbs the whole way to Molly’s condo and wait until she’s safely inside before I turn back toward the lake—where every light in the neighborhood is out. I want a hot shower in the worst way, but I’m not taking one by candlelight in an otherwise empty house.
I run inside, using my phone’s flashlight to make my way to the kitchen. I’ve just located a candle and matches when a knock on the door makes me jump.
That knock is so much creepier with the power out than it would be otherwise.
I struggle to get the candle lit and the knocking starts up again, louder and more impatient.
When I reach the door and look through the peephole, I discover Caleb standing in the pouring rain with his arms folded across his chest. He isn’t forgiven, but I’m also not going to leave him out there getting soaked. I open the door and move aside to let him in.
“I saw your car pull up,” he says, pushing his hair off his forehead. His eyes fall to my dress. “I was just checking to make sure you guys didn’t need anything.”
It was sweet of him to check. I’m already softening against my will.
“The kids are gone,” I reply.