Safe with Me

“Caleb…”

“I’m fine,” he cuts me off and shoves the car into park when we reach my house. “Don’t worry about it.”

When we get inside the house and Caleb checks the alarm and the windows and doors, he stops in the kitchen, not meeting my gaze. Bix greets us, happy to see us, and enjoys scratches on the head from Caleb, who is still sweaty and dirty from his vigorous workout with Nate.

“Do you want to join me in the shower?” I ask.

He shakes his head and gestures toward the back yard. “I’m going to go out back and work out. Call me if you need me.”

And with that, he marches out back, dog in tow, and straight to the ropes attached to Natalie’s studio, working them vigorously. By the time he stops, his muscles have to be singing in protest, but he moves straight over to the bar he had installed for pull-ups, jumps up and immediately begins raising and lowering himself on the bar.

Bix lays on the deck, keeping watch.

What the hell is going on his head?

“Mommy! Mommy!” The girls come racing through the front door, coats and backpacks on, excited to be home from school. Matt grins from the doorway.

“Did you have fun at the gym today?” He asks.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I respond with a chuckle. “I can do that now.”

“Good to hear.” He nods and then frowns. “Where is Caleb?”

“Out back. He’s cranky,” I reply with a sigh and relieve the girls of their backpacks.

“In that case, I’ll go. See you all later.” Matt waves and leaves and I kiss the girls in turn.

“Did you have a good day?” I ask them.

“Yeah,” Maddie responds. “Why is Caleb cranky?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s go work out with him,” Josie suggests to Maddie who grins and they both make a beeline for the door before I can tell them to leave him be.

I put their bags away and pull the ingredients for dinner out of the fridge just as I hear high-pitched squeals of laughter coming from the girls in the backyard.

I look out the sliding glass door to find Caleb holding onto Maddie’s waist, holding her up to his pull-up bar, helping her raise and lower herself in pull-up form. She tries to look over her shoulder at him, a huge smile on her face, full of trust and love, as Josie and Bix run circles around them, laughing and barking.

“Let me down!” Maddie calls out and Caleb complies, lowering her to her feet and then tackles both girls in his arms, falling to the ground, making sure the girls fall on top of him, while Bix barks and bounces around them, smiling his doggie smile with his tongue flopping out of his mouth.

It’s the sweetest picture I’ve ever seen in my life.

Chapter Fourteen

“The show was ah-mazing!” Stacy exclaims as she settles into Isaac’s side, drink in-hand, smiling widely.

My cousin is well on her way to getting her drunk on.

“It was,” I nod and grin and can’t help but gaze over at Will and Meg who are wrapped up in each other on a couch nearby. “Will,” I call to him, “that was quite possibly the most romantic proposal I’ve ever seen.”

We are all at the after party for Nash’s first concert in their Sunshine Tour, where Will surprised us all by taking the stage and asking Meg to marry him in front of thousands of screaming fans.

“I’m a romantic guy.” He shrugs and grins.

“You’re a lot of things, babe,” Meg responds with a loud laugh, “but romantic isn’t one of them. Did Luke give you pointers?”

“Hey! I have my romantic moments!” Will frowns at her and then whispers something completely inappropriate in her ear, making her blush furiously.

“Oh yeah, that’s right.”

“I don’t want to know,” Matt shakes his head with a laugh and then glances at Caleb, who hasn’t commented all evening, or even looked my way twice. I wore this sexy outfit, and he hasn’t even noticed. Instead, his body is tense, and his eyes are narrowed, watching the room, the people around us, and just generally pissing me off.

I know he’s trying to keep me safe, but for the love of Jesus, I have more muscle surrounding me right now than the president.

“You okay, man?” Matt asks him.

“Fine,” Caleb answers with a nod.

“Are you sure?” I ask, resting my hand on his arm. He doesn’t spare me a glance, just tightens his jaw even more, if that’s possible.

“I’m fine,” he repeats, his voice hard and firm.

“Hey, Sam.” Jules approaches Sam from across the room. “Leo was just looking for you a few minutes ago. You must have been in the restroom.”

Samantha is dating Leo, the lead singer of Nash, and I couldn’t be happier for her. They make a great couple. Leo is all tall and tattooed and sexy as all get-out, but Sam keeps him grounded and isn’t afraid to cut him down to size when his ego gets a bit out of hand.

Not that it does often, I think Sam just likes flipping him shit.

“Do you know which way he went?” Sam asks.

“Out into the hallway,” Jules points toward the door and Sam leaves, off to find her man.

“I bet she’s gonna get orgasms later,” Stacy whispers over to me, making me smirk.

“Definitely,” I confirm and smile to myself.

“Where are the kids and Bix tonight?” Isaac asks.

“They’re all at my mom and dads,” I reply with a grin.

“You two need to get a room,” Jules scowls at Will and Meg who are currently necking on the couch.

“Dude, they just got engaged,” Nat waves Jules off. “Let them have fun.”

“You don’t care because you’ll be joining them any second now,” Jules accuses her with narrowed eyes.

“Good idea,” Luke smirks and dips Nat low, kissing her deeply, earning a loud groan from Jules.

“Yuck,” she murmurs and sips her water. “Meg, I want to see your ring again.”

Meg happily holds out her left hand for Jules to inspect, grinning proudly.

“Did you pick it out by yourself?” Matt asks Will.

“Yep,” Will nods.

“He did good,” Natalie murmurs and smiles warmly. “You have good taste.”

“Of course I do,” Will chuckles and kisses Meg’s cheek.

“And he’s so modest,” Meg shakes her head and pushes her fingers through his hair.

“Were you surprised?” Will asks her, his voice soft and all trace of his arrogance gone.