Rachel
On Friday afternoon, I took more time than usual getting ready. I’d always liked school. It gave me things to focus on when I was feeling unsteady. But these days, it definitely wasn’t my studies that I looked forward to.
Caine’s office door was open when I dropped by unannounced. We made eye contact, and he used the hand not holding the cell to his ear to point to a chair opposite him in front of his desk. I listened to one side of his conversation while I looked around his office.
“Yes. I’ll be there.”
He listened and then rolled his eyes. “I would prefer you didn’t do that.”
There was a woman on the other end of the phone. I could hear the pitch of her voice even if I couldn’t make out her words. I tried to act like I wasn’t paying attention, checking out the art on his walls and the books on his shelf, but I was definitely listening.
“Ellen Werman and I are not going to be a couple no matter what table you seat her at.”
Pause.
“Because I have a penis, and Ellen doesn’t care for them, Mother.”
Pause.
“Okay. I have to go now. Someone just came into my office. I’ll see you soon.”
After he hung up, Caine let out a deep breath and tossed his phone on the desk.
“Is it just your penis Ellen doesn’t like, or penises, in general?”
He smirked. “Ellen has been out since eighth grade. My mother is the only person on the planet who still doesn’t get it. She’s my father’s business partner’s daughter. We’re good friends, but my mother’s had her heart set on us getting married for the last thirty-three years. She’s called me four times to talk about the seating chart at some charity event my parents host every year, and it’s not for two months. I should have just told her I couldn’t wait to sit next to Ellen and left it at that.” His phone started to buzz again, and he swiped to ignore it. “Do you have an extra-help session this afternoon? I thought that was on Thursdays.”
“It is. I just wanted to come by and tell you, if the offer is still open, I’d really appreciate if you would take over as my thesis advisor.”
Caine leaned back in his chair. “It’s about time. I was starting to think you were going to turn me down.”
More like I didn’t want to look desperate. “Well,” I teased. “I did have to consider my other offers.”
“Is that so? Guess I should consider myself lucky then.”
I grinned. “Guess so.”
“Why don’t you email me what you’ve done so far. I’ll take a look at it, and we can sit down and go over it one day next week.”
“Okay.” I dug my iPhone out of my purse. “What’s your email?”
He slid his phone over to me on the desk. “Put your number in. I’ll text you my contact information to save.”
After we exchanged details, I caught the time on my phone. “I better run.”
Caine eyed me suspiciously. “Date?”
“No. They’re having a TA get-together tonight, and I told Ava I’d go with her.”
He nodded. “Have fun. Be safe.”
The next morning, I’d just gotten out of the shower when my phone buzzed, indicating a new text. I finished towel-drying my hair and grabbed my glasses. I was surprised to find it was from Caine. It was the first text we’d ever exchanged, and my body stirred as I read it.
Caine: Do you still visit Umberto on Sundays?
Even though I’d emailed him my thesis-in-progress last night before going out, I hadn’t expected him to read it so soon. It made me excited and nervous at the same time. I was proud of my work with Umberto, but my rough draft contained a lot of personal thoughts and notes. Having Caine read it made me feel vulnerable.
Rachel: Yes, every Sunday.
Caine: I’d like to join you, see the study you’ve been working on first hand.
My pulse increased. Get a hold of yourself, Rachel. It’s Professor West working on a thesis with a graduate student, not a sexy man asking you on a date. He didn’t even find it proper for me to fraternize with undergraduate students. Yet any contact from him made me feel like an excited teenager whose phone finally rang after hours of waiting for the cute boy to call. God, I’m pathetic.
Rachel: That would be great. You’re welcome any time.
The dots jumped around as I waited for his response.
Caine: How about tomorrow?
Rachel: Sure. I usually try to arrive at ten so I don’t interrupt his daily activities.
Caine: Try to arrive at ten…is that code for somewhere between ten and noon?
Maybe. I grinned down at my phone.
Rachel: Lucky for me, Umberto isn’t such a stickler for punctuality.
Caine: I’ll pick you up at nine-thirty.
Rachel: At my apartment?
Caine: Unless that’s a problem. If you prefer to take two cars, I can meet you there.
Rachel: No. One car is great. I’d like that.
I gave Caine my address and then got dressed and ready for work. Though the day seemed to drag on forever, the smile I wore didn’t leave my face at all.
I wasn’t sure of the proper protocol for your boss picking you up at home. Did I go outside at nine-thirty or wait for him to ring the bell and invite him up? The answer was decided for me at twenty after nine when my buzzer sounded, and I wasn’t finished getting ready yet.
I pressed the intercom. “Caine?”
“Yes.”
“Third floor. I’ll buzz you up.”
I hit the button that unlocked the main door to my building and opened the door to my apartment. When Caine stepped off the elevator, I took a deep breath to try to hide my reaction to his appearance. He was dressed more casually than I’d ever seen, but even in a simple, fitted navy polo and jeans, he still managed to look sexy as hell. I realized it wasn’t the clothes he wore, but the way he wore them that seemed to work for me. He had a quiet confidence and casual elegance that I found extremely attractive. The stubble he tended to sport by mid afternoon was clean-shaven, and even though I really liked the scruff, his tanned skin and the strong lines of his jaw were just as hot.
He looked at my wet hair. “I can see you’re ready on time, as usual.”
“You’re early.”
Checking his watch, he raised a brow. “It’s nine twenty-four. You’re going to be ready in six minutes?”
I opened the door and stepped aside, rolling my eyes. “Just come in.”
Caine grinned and stepped inside. Of course, the man always smelled amazing, too. I wasn’t sure if it was aftershave or cologne, but he had a masculine scent that was distinct and woodsy. It sparked a desire I hadn’t felt in a really long time, and for a second, I considered sticking my nose in a can of coffee beans to stop the assault on my body. That would have been interesting to explain my way out of.
My apartment wasn’t very big, but it was clean and decorated in a shabby chic way that I loved. Caine looked around, taking in the crazy different patterns all over the place. Each chair at my small kitchen table was different. Two of the walls in the living room were painted deep red and lined with art or photos framed in matte black, while the other walls were nude and stark.
After a minute, he nodded.
“What?”
“This fits you.” His tone didn’t indicate whether that was a good thing or bad.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. It just feels like you should live here.”
“Because it’s a little crazy?”
His lip twitched. “Maybe.”
My hands went to my hips. “What exactly does your apartment look like?”
Still surveying everything around him, he seemed to give my question some thought. “It looks like anyone could live in the place. Lots of white, black, and stainless steel. I’ve lived in my house for five years and never realized it says nothing about me until I walked in here.”
Hmm. No idea what to make of that. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
Caine smiled. “You should. It was meant that way.”
I had been just about to get dressed when the bell rang, and I completely forgot what I was wearing until Caine’s eyes reminded me. He wasn’t leering or anything, but I watched as his eyes did a sweep up and down my body, and I felt exactly where they lingered. The sheer T-shirt I was wearing left little to the imagination, and my nipples had hardened as he stepped off the elevator. Watching him check me out, I could feel them saluting through the fabric.
“Okay…I’ll…uh…go finish getting ready. There’s coffee brewed in the kitchen, if you want.”
I disappeared into my bedroom. The outfit I’d planned on wearing seemed suddenly not good enough for Caine West to appreciate, and I wound up changing three times before I even started to dry my hair and swipe on some makeup. When I was finally ready, it was close to ten o’clock. I thought I’d find Caine tapping his foot, but instead he still seemed intrigued by my apartment. I found him studying the framed pictures on the wall.
“I’m so sorry. I lost track of time.”
“It’s fine. I helped myself to two cups of coffee.”
“Oh, good.”
As I dumped my thesis files and notes into an old leather tote, I noticed Caine had stopped in front of a framed black and white photo.
“Is this your mother?”
I’d looked at it so often that I knew every nuance in the photo, even without looking. She was sitting on a swing in the yard of the house I grew up in, a white daisy tucked behind her ear. Her smile sparkled so wide, I sometimes used it to brighten my day.
“Yes.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“Thank you. She was.”
He turned to me and studied my face. “You look just like her.”
“Cancer,” I blurted out.
I had no idea what possessed me to say it. To this day, I don’t think I’ve spoken about her to anyone but my sister. I’ve been friends with Ava since we started undergraduate school five years ago, she was my roommate for years, and she has no idea what my mother died from. It wasn’t a secret; I just kept a lot of things bottled up.
I stared at the photo. “Ovarian.”
Caine put his hand on my back and gently rubbed. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat and pointed to a different picture. “This is my Aunt Rose and Uncle Nate—my mom’s sister and her husband. They raised me and my sister after…well, they raised us as their own after Mom died. My father wasn’t in the picture from the time I was an infant.” Even though I’d opened the bottle voluntarily, I wanted to cork it. “You ready? They serve lunch at twelve-thirty, and I don’t like to interrupt Umberto’s routine.”
“Just waiting on you. As usual.”
“Do you need to be back at any specific time? Sometimes I take a break and write my notes while he has lunch and does an activity or two. Then I go back and finish up.”
“Nope. I’m yours for the entire day.”
I liked the sound of that.