Chapter Twenty
Callie hadn’t seen Cash in almost two weeks, not since that Monday night she’d fallen asleep on her couch after he’d brought over Chinese food. He’d responded to her texts with terse messages but hadn’t initiated contact with her at all.
She tried to tell herself it didn’t matter, but the truth was, she was dying inside. Everything ached. She hadn’t been sleeping. Hadn’t been eating much. She jumped at every little sound, cried at dog food commercials, and had bitten her lips raw. She missed him.
She tried to focus on Caked. They were open and doing nicely, but it hurt that Cash hadn’t stopped by to see the shop, or even texted a congratulations message. His silence and withdrawal had pulled her down into this heavy darkness, despite how well things were going at the bakery.
Ginnie had started her job with her and was proving invaluable dealing with customers. She’d apparently worked a number of different summer jobs, last year in a flower shop that did a lot of weddings, so she had a handle on the whole bridezilla thing. She was a big help, but having Cash’s sister there every day was also a bitter reminder that he…wasn’t.
They weren’t open long hours, only noon to six Tuesday to Friday, and ten to five on Saturdays, but Callie got there early every morning to do her baking. It should have been fun deciding what kind of macarons she’d make that day or what new cookie creation she’d come up with, but with every day she didn’t hear from Cash, she had to battle the blade twisting in her chest and the overwhelming, paralyzing feeling that without him none of this mattered.
It had to matter. This was what she’d wanted, what she’d worked so hard for. She had to get a grip on her emotions. If she let her feelings for Cash interfere with her business, she’d lose everything. So she kept going. She posted on social media, cheerful photos of the daily specials. And some days there’d been people outside the door at noon waiting for them to open, which was very cool.
But every night, physically tired and emotionally drained, she collapsed on her couch at home, and her thoughts returned to Cash. What had gone wrong? Should she press him to talk about what was going on? Or just let things die, which appeared to be what he wanted? She was confused and bewildered. Had he been that annoyed that she’d fallen asleep and they didn’t have sex?
Her stomach grew tight, thinking that all he wanted from her was sex. And yet, she’d known all along that was all they could have. She was the one who’d made it clear at the start it would be just sex, nothing more, and Beau would never know about it.
Except…she’d fallen in love.
She was an idiot. She’d always known there could never be any long-term relationship between them. How could she have been so damn stupid to start hoping there could be? Cash was so loyal to Beau, and she knew better than ever how important Talmadge Hale Consulting was to him. Of course he would never choose her over Beau and the business that helped support his family.
Story of her life.
Scalding tears threatened, but she fought them back, not wanting to give in to the growing despair, afraid that if she did she’d never battle her way out of it.
It was awkward seeing Cash’s sister every day and pretending things were fine. Exhausted from all the work she’d done on the shop, stressed about sales, and hurt by Cash’s distance, she couldn’t bring herself to ask Ginnie what was going on with him. After all, she was unaware they’d been sleeping together and were more than just friends. So Callie kept a smile in place and determinedly avoided any mention of Cash.
“It amazes me how good you are at this,” Ginnie said one day, watching Callie making gum-paste violets. “They’re so perfect.”
Callie forced a smile. “I don’t think they’re perfect, but then I’m super picky and hard on myself. But I enjoy it.”
“I can help you with things back here, too,” Ginnie offered. “When it’s not busy.”
“That would be awesome.”
“I mean, don’t give me anything too technical.” Ginnie grinned. “But I can take things out of the oven.”
“Good, because those cupcakes are about ready to come out.”
Ginnie crossed over to one of the ovens to check the time.
“So, it’s Friday night—got big plans for the weekend?” Callie asked.
“Mmm. Cash is taking Kevin, Mom, and me to the Astros game tonight. That should be fun.”
Callie’s stomach cramped, and she steadied her hands. “Yeah, should be a nice evening for baseball.”
“I love baseball,” Ginnie said. “And Kevin’s crazy about it, so he’s really jacked about this. I guess Cash’s company has season tickets that they use for clients sometimes, but he invited us tonight.”
Jealousy seared through Callie. Not that she was a huge baseball fan; she’d rather watch football any day. But she wanted to be the one Cash invited to ball games. Or anywhere.
Sadness swelled in her throat, and she blinked back tears.
“How about you?” Ginnie asked. “What are you doing this weekend?”
She swallowed a sigh. “My friends invited me to go to the Crab Festival at Crystal Beach tomorrow, but of course I’m working, so first I said I couldn’t go.”
“Ah. That sucks.” Ginnie frowned. “I guess that’s the downside of having your own business.”
“True.” She wasn’t in the mood for having fun anyway. “But my friend Kristy offered to wait until five when we close here, so probably I’ll go with her and we’ll spend the night there. They got a suite at the Sea Grass Inn.”
“Oh great! That sounds like fun.”
Callie gave a lopsided smile. “Yeah.” Sure. Fun. But she needed something to take her mind off Cash, so she was grateful Kristy had offered to wait for her.
“I haven’t been to the Crab Festival for a few years.” Ginnie opened the oven door as the timer went off and peered inside. “I remember it being great, though. Damn, now I want to go.”
Callie smiled. “Well, you could always go tomorrow night, too. Or there’s Sunday.”
Right now Caked wasn’t open Sundays or Mondays. She reserved Mondays for the business stuff: doing the hated bookkeeping, ordering supplies, and working on cake designs. She’d see how busy things got and whether it would be worthwhile to open those days, but even though she wanted to be busy to distract herself, she needed at least one day off.
…
Kristy picked her up at home at six o’clock Saturday evening. She’d just had time to close the shop and zip home and change. She had a small overnight bag packed and a bag with several bottles of wine.
“Okay, let’s hit the road.” Kristy picked up the wine. “If traffic’s okay we should be there before eight.”
“Sorry to make you wait for me.”
“It’s fine, Cal. Charlotte and Emma went earlier and got us checked in at the hotel. They’ll probably be drunk by the time we get there.”
“And full of gumbo.”
Kristy laughed. “That, too.”
They hit I-10 and sped east through the city, talking about all kinds of things and listening to music.
As they neared Mont Belvieu, Kristy shot her a look and said, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You seem a little down. Business is going well, right?”
“Yeah, it’s going great. Some days I’m selling out of stuff before we close.”
“That’s awesome. How’s your new salesgirl working out?”
“Ginnie’s great.” She sighed and looked down at her hands and tried not to burst into tears at Kristy’s questions. “Oh, Kristy.” Her voice quivered. “I think I’m in big trouble.”
“What’s wrong?” Alarm raised Kristy’s voice, and she shot Callie a sideways glance.
She told Kristy about Cash’s withdrawal. “I don’t understand what happened.”
Kristy was silent, then said quietly, “But you knew you two couldn’t really be together.”
Anguish squeezed her lungs. “I know. But…” She nibbled her thumb nail.
“You fell in love with him.”
She nodded morosely.
“Maybe he decided to end things before Beau found out.”
Callie’s eyes stung, and she squeezed them shut. “But still…we were friends.”
“Who were banging each other’s brains out.”
Callie choked on a half laugh, half sob. “Sort of, yeah. I just… I was getting this feeling that maybe it could be more than that. That maybe it was more than that. I don’t know. It’s just weird that he answers my texts with just a few words and lets my calls go to voicemail.”
“Well, the best way to know what’s going on is to ask him.”
Callie chewed her bottom lip. “I know. I know you’re right. I guess…the truth is, I’m scared.”
“Scared that he’ll say, yes, it’s over?”
“Yeah.” Her heart constricted, and she pulled in a shaky breath through her nose.
“This was what I was worried about,” Kristy murmured. “Shit.” She reached out and gave Callie’s forearm a squeeze. “I don’t know what to say, hon. I only saw you two together that one day, and it wasn’t for long, but he did seem really into you. He’s such a…Southern gentleman, I guess is how I’d describe him. I know he doesn’t come from the same social circles as Beau and your family, but he seems like a great guy.”
Callie’s throat squeezed. “He is a great guy.”
“But it is awkward, him being Beau’s friend.” She paused. “D’you think Beau would ever accept you and Cash being together?”
Callie’s lips pushed out. “I…don’t know.” Yeah, she did know. Beau would be pissed. “I need wine.”
“Hang in, hon, we’ll be there soon. Maybe tequila is what you need.”
“That, too.”
When they neared Crystal Beach, Kristy said, “Text Charlotte and tell them we’re almost there. I know the room number, but we don’t have keys.”
Callie tapped in a message. “Okay, they’re going to wait in the room for us, and then we can all go out together.”
“Perfect.”
Emma threw open the hotel room door when they knocked. “Welcome! We have crabs!”
Callie grinned. “I certainly hope not.”
All four women laughed as Kristy and Callie carried their bags into the suite.
“Clearly you ladies have already been partying.”
Emma grinned. “You bet. Come on, let’s go. There’s a two-step contest tonight.”
“Who are we going to dance with?” Kristy lifted a perfectly groomed eyebrow.
Emma gave her a look. “I think we can find some partners.”
Callie sighed, then pasted on a smile. “Sounds like fun. But I’m starving.”
“And she needs tequila.”
Emma turned and hefted a bottle of Patron from a dresser with a triumphant grin. “Shots all around!”
Callie smiled despite the sadness that weighed her down. She loved her friends. If anyone could cheer her up, it was them.
A few shots later, Charlotte said, “Come on. We’ll go get Callie and Kristy crabs. And then we dance!”
The festival was in full swing, with music and food and dancing. A Ferris wheel rotated slowly in the sky amid other carnival rides, and people tried their hands at various games of skill. The girls devoured a pile of delicious sweet crab claws before the vendor sold out. Callie laughed and drank margaritas out of plastic cups and threw herself into the event.
They checked out the booths with local arts and crafts and tried their hand at the washer board competition. Callie missed every shot, and Kristy threw her arm around her. “You’re too drunk for this.”
“I know.” She leaned into her friend.
“Are you still sad?”
“No. Actually, now I’m pissed.” She straightened and lifted her chin. She’d been mulling things over in the back of her mind all evening. “I’m done wallowing over Cash. If he’s enough of a jerk to blow me off because I was too tired to have sex one night, then he’s not worth my time. I just want to forget about him and have a good time. Let’s go listen to the music.”
“Okay.”
In the falling darkness, they danced on the grass to the tunes of local entertainer Reefer Madness.
Emma, Charlotte, and Kristy started flirting with a bunch of guys as they listened to the music. Callie exchanged a tipsy smile with one of them. She wasn’t interested in actually making something happen, but she laughed along with the others as they talked. Then a few more guys joined them, other friends of theirs, and Callie’s jaw dropped when she saw one of them was…Cash.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart slammed against her ribs. Her insides immediately went so tight she was afraid she was going to throw up all the seafood she’d just eaten.
He had a plastic cup of beer in his hand, wore a loose plaid short-sleeved shirt over cargo shorts, and leather sandals. His face was tanned, like he’d spent the day outside. He looked…amazing. Handsome. Captivating. Her mouth went dry, and she pressed a hand to her stomach.
When his gaze landed on her, his expression changed—eyes widening, then narrowing, then shifting. “Callie.”
“Cash! Hey, what a surprise!” She threw every particle of surprised happiness she could find into her words.
The guys he was with all looked at her. She didn’t know any of them. They weren’t his and Beau’s usual friends. She smiled at them, too. Interest sparked in one guy’s eyes, and Cash scowled.
“Hi, Callie.” Cash gave a tight smile to the others. “Kristy, Charlotte, Emma.” He introduced Callie’s friends to the guys he was with. Callie didn’t even hear their names, her thoughts whirling at seeing Cash here.
“Hey, y’all, we want to enter the two-step contest in a while, but we need partners,” Charlotte said with her charming smile. “Any of you handsome fellows up for that?”
Some of them glanced at each other, grinned, and nodded.
“I’m up for anything if you’re involved,” one guy said.
Charlotte giggled and fluttered her eyelashes at him.
“I’m a pretty good two-stepper,” he continued, and swept Charlotte into his arms to dance a few steps, twirling her around expertly.
She laughed breathlessly when he stopped, setting a hand on his chest. “You are good.”
“That’s what my last girlfriend said.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Laughter rose in the group.
Callie tried not to look at Cash, keeping a smile fixed on her face. It took everything she had to appear unaffected by his presence.
As some sexy banter ensued between her friends and these guys, she stared into her margarita glass. Awareness of Cash made her skin prickle all over. Her heart continued to thud erratically.
Kristy nudged her and murmured in her ear, “You okay, hon?”
She gave a tight nod and guzzled down the rest of her margarita. Oh Lord. The festival was spinning a little around her. She may have overdone things just a teensy bit. “I need another drink.”
Okay, so, bad decision, but whatever, it got her away from the crowd of good-looking guys, and more importantly, away from Cash. She headed toward a drinks tent, a wee bit unsteadily.
She smiled at the guy working and requested a margarita. “Make it a double.” She reached for the money she’d stuffed into her little cross-body purse, peering at the bills.
“Callie.”
Her head jerked up at Cash’s voice next to her. She swallowed, then beamed a smile. “Hey! So surprising to see you here.”
“Yeah.” His eyebrows pulled together. “You okay? You seem a little…”
“Drunk? Hell yeah! That’s what the Crab Festival is for, right?” She paid for her drink and grabbed it. “Cheers!”
“When did you get here?” Cash asked, his forehead still furrowed.
“I dunno. Around eight? Kristy picked me up after work. Hey! I have a job! I had to work until five!”
“I know you have a job.” His face softened. “How’s it going at Caked?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, anger flaring inside her. “Haven’t you heard from Ginnie? She works there, you know.”
His eyes flickered. “I know.”
“Because you haven’t bothered to stop by, or ask me anything about how it’s going.”
His face tensed again.
“But whatever.” She shrugged and guzzled her lime-and-tequila beverage. Wow, you could really taste the cheap tequila in this one. “I know you were pissed when I fell asleep on you that night and we couldn’t fuck.”
He winced. “Callie—”
She waved a hand in a sloppy gesture. “No, no, don’t worry, it’s fine. I get it. I apologized.”
“I wasn’t mad about that,” he began again.
“It kind of seemed that way from the text you sent the next day. And it kind of seemed that way because I haven’t seen or heard from you since.” She couldn’t prevent the bitterness that saturated her voice. She lifted her chin and met his eyes head on. She let the anger burn through her, needing that to stop her from throwing herself into his arms. Asshole.
“I’m not mad. I’m just…” He rubbed his face.
“You’re just blowing me off.”
A guilty look made his gaze drop briefly and his lips dip.
She smiled tightly. “Don’t worry, Cash. I get it. I knew what was happening with us. It could never go anywhere, and I’m just not…” Her throat squeezed, and she couldn’t actually get the words out.
I’m just not good enough.
She pressed a hand to her aching throat, her eyes stinging. All those raw, painful feelings she’d grown up with rushed back over her, nearly sending her to her knees.
She’d never been good enough.
Never good enough for her parents—they cared more about image and money than about her. She remembered longing to hear words of praise for the good report cards or the awards she’d won for her art. Longing just to hear the words “I love you.”
She hadn’t been good enough for Beau—he’d cheated on her with someone else, their marriage a humiliating failure. She remembered sobbing alone in her bed, asking herself why she wasn’t enough for him. What was she lacking that he’d had to find it with another woman?
And now she wasn’t good enough for Cash. Well, maybe good enough for sneaking around having sex. But not good enough to mean more to him than Beau.
She got it.
She flipped her hair back and tried to relax her throat. She stretched her mouth into a smile, a desperation to save face surging inside her. “Never mind. You know what they say.”
The corners of his eyes creased up, and he regarded her somberly. “What?”
“The best way to get back at a man who cheats on you…is to fuck his best friend.”
Cash’s eyes flew open, and his lips parted. Then his eyes narrowed, and his lips tightened into a thin line, his jaw rock hard. She whirled around, thankfully keeping her balance, and bolted across the field back to her friends.