WHEN I GOT back home, I felt anxious. Cale had gotten my blood boiling, but he was so damn good-looking that it had been hard to stay mad. He’d had my emotions battling with each other the entire time I’d spent with him. And his body. God, his body. I could stare at that chiseled chest for hours. The way his sculpted abs had dripped with water from the shower had made me want to lick up each droplet. He wasn’t what I needed though. I needed to stay in the safety and sanctuary of my comfortable life, which meant that guys in general weren’t to be a part of that picture. He just confused things for me.
Why didn’t the typical fears seem to surface when I was around him?
He just left me feeling embarrassed or pissed or flustered from one moment to the next but never scared. Unfortunately, it’s a small town, and I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be the last I’d see of him. Not all of me was upset by that notion.
The doorbell rang and pulled me from my juicy thoughts of Cale sans a shirt. When I peeked through the peephole, I saw the deliveryman. I excitedly unlocked all three locks and flung open the door.
“Whatcha got for me today, Sam?” I asked my frequent deliveryman.
“Looks like a box from Saks and one from Jimmy Choo,” he replied with a smile as he scanned the bar codes on the boxes.
“Sweet! My new suede pumps are finally here!” I exclaimed with a little too much joy than one should use when talking about shoes.
Shoes had always been a part of my life. From as far back as I could remember, my mom had helped feed my shoe addiction. Now that I had a well-paying job, I took care of my needs myself. She still surprised me every now and again with a killer pair. My past horrors might have snuffed out a good portion of who I’d once been, but it hadn’t taken out my greatest love. Shoes.
Sam handed the two boxes to me but didn’t make any moves to leave like he normally did. He delivered shoes to me pretty often, and we’d had friendly chats over weather and local sports, but he’d never tried to be anything other than a nice guy. Rubbing both hands over the back of his neck, he looked nervous as he tried to build up the nerve to say something. I watched him curiously as he finally gathered the guts he was searching for.
“So, um, Lia, I was just wondering if maybe you might want to catch a movie or something one day,” he muttered, eyes everywhere but on me. Finally, he met my gaze with his dark-brown, almost-black eyes, waiting on my response.
Under normal circumstances, I might take him up on the offer. He was actually not bad to look at with his boyish grin and too-long hair peeking out from under his hat. But I didn’t live a normal life like most girls. Most girls weren’t afraid of every man they came into contact with. And even though Sam seemed as nice as they come, I still was in no way comfortable with it.
“Sam, that’s so sweet and I am really flattered that you would ask, but I really don’t date. I’m sorry,” I replied, hoping to make him understand.
I briefly saw a flash of something, possibly anger, in his dark eyes, but it was quickly replaced by hurt.
Well, dang. I upset my deliveryguy.
“Lia, hear me out,” he began. “I have been delivering packages here for several years now. We’re practically friends. Surely you can have dinner with a friend. It doesn’t have to be a date. What do you say, friend? Dinner tomorrow night? We both have to eat. I’ll pick you up at seven?” He pulled off his cap and ran his fingers through his longish hair as he waited for my response. Poor guy was acting so nervous.
Can I do this?
Can I be friends with a guy?
Against my better judgment, which I seemed to completely be ignoring today, I nodded my agreement. Sam’s face broke into a huge grin that reached his eyes.
Okay. I can do this. It’s just dinner—nothing more. Maybe having a guy friend would help me come out of some of my fears. I definitely can do this.
The next morning, I proudly clicked my new Choos across the tile as I strode to my desk.
“Girl, you are in a good mood. You get laid?” Anj asked in her usual blunt way.
“Anj! No, I did not get laid. I got a new pair of Choos yesterday,” I replied, sticking out my newest pair for her to see.
She rolled her eyes but smiled at me. “You just wait till you have kids one day, little lady. They’ll suck your Jimmy Choo money dry!” she teased.
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Anj, you know that is never happening. Like never. Ever.”
Anj didn’t know my story. She thought that I’d come to Jonestown a “hot mess,” as she liked to refer to me at times. In the beginning, when I would shake as I got ready to call a client, she’d whisper things like, “Get ‘em, girl,” and “You got this.” I would forever be grateful for her inspirations long ago when I’d needed it most. Now that we’d worked together for several years and I was slowly becoming a fragment of my former self, she’d settled nicely into teasing me for her entertainment. But, God, I love that girl.
Before Anj and I could get into any more discussions about my love life—or lack thereof—Pops burst out of his office. “Lia, Mr. Reeves will be here at ten. Get the conference room ready and put a pot of coffee on. We’ll meet in there. You can take notes for me while he and I discuss the terms of our business,” he barked. “How did the inspections go by the way?” he asked as he approached my desk.
Great. I had completely put yesterday’s events behind me, but now, they were suddenly coming back to me, causing my cheeks to flush.
“Um, well, everything went fine,” I lied, avoiding his penetrating stare.
He studied me a few moments before he nodded, appearing unconvinced, and walked back into the office.
Whew. I’d dodged a bullet there. Pops had an uncanny way of knowing when things were wrong.
I busied myself with the draw requests and the inputting of the inspection results. Since it was nearing ten, I hurried to the coffee maker in the conference room to get a pot started. When I was just finishing setting up the room I heard Pops calling me from his office. I rushed into his office and was nearly knocked off my feet when I ran right smack into my new favorite chiseled chest, his hand instinctively reaching out for my arm to steady me.
What the hell?
“Cale? Did you follow me?” I demanded, angry that he’d found out where I worked.
He captured me in his baby-blue gaze, still rimmed with red from the mace. “Something like that.”
“You two know each other?” Pops inquired, seemingly interested in our exchange.
When I tore myself from Cale’s eyes and looked at Pops, realization hit me. Oh, God, please no…
Pops eyed me knowingly. “Lia, meet Mr. Reeves.”
Shit. Shit. Shit!
“Mr. Reeves and I are going to discuss some matters beforehand, but I’ll call you in when I’m ready for you,” Pops told me.
I nodded dumbly and walked to my desk, quite horrified at the turn of events. I got new shoes, dammit. This was supposed to be a good day. Pops was going to be pissed when he found out how I’d treated his new big client.
Will Cale tell him what I did?
Oh, God. Shoot me now.
“Earth to Lia!” Anj hollered at me, pulling me from thinking that my simple life had just gone to crap in a matter of twenty-four hours. “Hon, did you see that fine specimen of a man walk through here? Mmmm, he is finger-lickin’ good! Yes, ma’am. Sure is. If you don’t think he’s sexy, girl, there is something seriously wrong with you. If I were single, I’d be all over that.”
“Anj, you know I don’t date,” I huffed out, pouting.
She rolled her eyes and went back to tapping her manicured nails on her keyboard.
I was frustrated with the fact that Cale affected me so much. It was really starting to piss me off, definitely reminding me of my former self’s attitude, which rarely came out to play. I couldn’t even look at him without remembering him without his shirt on or the fact that he hadn’t been wearing any underwear yesterday.
I wonder if he’s wearing any today.
Shit!
Task at hand, Lia.
No worries. I was a businesswoman and I could keep this professional. I would apologize for my behavior yesterday and ask that he keep it between us. It was just that simple. I can handle this.
“Lia,” Pops’s familiar voice boomed from down the hallway, “come on in here and take some notes.”
I took a deep breath, looking at my Choos for a last-minute bit of courage, and walked down the hall towards the reason for the recent upset to my carefully structured world.
“Get ‘em, girl,” a sweet, familiar voice called after me, reminding me to be strong.