The Blind Date

by Alice Ward

  “Alright then. Let me run in and get my papers.”

  He was back a few minutes, a briefcase in hand. He tossed it in the back, then took hold of my seatbelt and pulled it across me, snapping it in place and running his hand up my abdomen, making my muscles clench, my core wake and want him again already.

  I relaxed against the seat as Caleb expertly drove us toward his place. Letting someone else be in control was about as foreign a thing as I could imagine. But it felt good to be taken care of for a moment, a few hours. Then I’d go home and take up my responsibilities again, renewed and refreshed.

  East of the city, we pulled up to a tall, elegantly lit building, a balance of shining metal and reflective glass. Caleb parked and left his car running and got out, going around to the back to grab my bag. I frowned, confused, until a man in a green and gold vest came and put his hand on the driver’s door, clearly waiting for me to exit before he got in.

  It was a valet. Caleb had a freaking valet at his home.

  “Evening, Mike.” Caleb exchanged greetings with the man then opened my door with a grin and I stumbled out, suddenly self-conscious of my gym clothes and the fact that by now I probably looked like I got jumped in an alley. But he just put his arm around my shoulder and led me right past the well-dressed doorman.

  It felt good to have his arm around me, protecting me from curious eyes. I wasn’t the type of girl who needed someone to watch over her, had too many people to look after for that. I’d forgotten how nice it was to have someone take the brunt of the burden every now and then.

  We crossed an immaculate lobby with black and white tiles that were so shiny I could see my reflection. I wondered if I’d been wearing a skirt if I’d have given everyone a free show.

  The elevator we entered was polished to such a high shine that I could literally do my makeup in the walls of it, which I would need if I wanted to hide the two black eyes that were rapidly forming. I looked away, knowing it would get worse by morning.

  We rode up in a content silence. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so content. On the top floor, we exited to a red-carpeted hall that led to a single mahogany door.

  Caleb removed his arm from my shoulders and strode forward, pulling his keys from his pocket and sliding one into the lock. He opened the door with a flourish and stepped aside for me to enter first.

  “You have the whole floor to yourself?” The words came out as a whisper. I shuffled past him into a cavernous marble foyer, suddenly feeling quite nervous.

  An entire wall of the living area was floor-to-ceiling windows, impossibly clean and modern minimalistic, looking over the East End with a view of Louisville’s nighttime skyline.

  “Wow,” I whispered, walking forward. “You can probably see clear over to Indiana in the daylight.”

  “I like to be able to see the city.” His voice was serious, and when I turned to him, his gaze was fixed on the view, but had an edge to it, as if he was looking for something he hadn’t spied yet. Like an eagle hunting in an expansive field.

  Holding in a shiver, I turned to the kitchen on my right, an open concept with all stainless-steel appliances and a fully stocked bar.

  Caleb headed for the fridge, offering me a glass of water from the digital refrigerator. “If you want to take a shower or soak in the tub, I’ll call in an order for something. You have any preferences?” He gave me that questioning raised eyebrow look that I was coming to know meant he wanted to please me, and this time instead of letting it rub me the wrong way, my knees got a little weak. Silly.

  When I opened my mouth and nothing came out, he stepped over to me, tilted my chin up so I was looking into his eyes. “You aren’t used to someone doing even the most basic things for you, are you?”

  Stupidly, my eyes began to burn, and I blinked several times before I met his gaze and shook my head, whispering, “That’s okay.”

  “No, I’m thinking where I’m concerned, it’s not, Cherry. I’m also thinking steak and maybe some simple roast potatoes. Sound good?”

  Steak? We never had steak, stretching the grocery money as far as it would go didn’t include expensive cuts of meat. “Steak sounds great.”

  “Good. How do you want it?” His lips so close to mine drew my attention.

  “The steak?”

  He laughed then pointed over his shoulder. “I’ll get your steak done medium. I’d like you to enjoy every luxury in the house. Please use my master bath. Straight down the hall.”

  “Gotcha, thanks.” I picked up my bag and headed toward the shower, eager to clean myself up and have a moment to think.

  I slowed as I went through his bedroom, the scent of him punching me low in the gut. The king-sized for sure high-end mattress was draped with a silky-looking comforter, and my mind shot to being tucked between the sheets with Caleb.

  I stopped at his dresser, which held a single photo in a frame. A pretty woman smiled at the camera, her hair a shade lighter than Caleb’s. This must be the sister. My heart twisted to know she had vanished. She looked fun and charismatic, and like her going would have taken a chunk out of anyone who knew her.

  Sighing, I stepped into the bathroom and gasped, then rolled my eyes. I should have known that the bathroom would be just as stunning as the rest of the house. The décor was a mix of dark wood and white tile, with blue accent pieces. It was stylish, complete with a stunning shower in one corner and jacuzzi tub embedded in the floor in the opposite side.

  I stared for a solid minute, in shock. If we had a bathroom like this at my house, not only would our water bill be astronomical, but the facilities would literally never be free. It would be a constant fight for the tub and there would probably be no survivors.

  But before I could relax in that luxuriousness, I needed to wash the day’s filth from my body. I quickly stripped and shuffled to the shower, setting it to the hottest spray it could manage. Post-strenuous activity stiffness was already setting in, and in the mirror, I could see bruises appearing where I had taken blows. I certainly was going to feel it tomorrow, like I’d been in a car wreck, but for the moment I was still high on my victory. And Caleb, truth be told.

  I stepped under the intense spray and groaned like I did in the car, straddling Caleb. My muscles loosened under the heat and I looked over at the bottles perched on a glass shelf. Organic shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, and even a moisturizer were all present, and I eagerly helped myself.

  The whole bathroom took on the heavenly scent of Caleb, crisp and clean with a hint of musk. It was like I was being enveloped by his essence as I thoroughly cleaned myself. I was tempted to just stay in the shower forever, inhaling his scent, but my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I could sniff the man this scent belonged to over a steak he was buying me. So I shut off the water and carefully extricated myself, drying off and stepping gingerly into my change of clothes.

  The moment I opened the door and stepped out, I was hit with the tantalizing odor of an amazing meal. My stomach growled in earnest, and I padded out to the kitchen to see him plating the meal for us.

  “Perfect timing,” he said, looking up at me. His expression flicked to one of concern. “It’s been a couple of hours, you have to be feeling it by now. Do you want some Tylenol?”

  Oh right. My face had taken a direct hit. I had forgotten that I must look pretty busted, and although both the bath and shower had relaxed me, neither of them had done much to help my visage.

  “Yes, please. The shower helped but I do admit I’m sore.”

  “I’m sorry if I made it worse.” When I just looked at him questioningly, he said, “In the car.”

  “Oh.” He slid my plate over the kitchen island, and I perched on one of the stools. “That was all my fault, and I wouldn’t take it back. In fact…”

  He hesitated as he handed over silverware, his eyes going hot.

  “I could go for seconds.” I dug in happily as he grinned, and we fell on our food, sustaining ourselves for what we both kne
w was coming.

  I was struck suddenly by how different it was to eat a meal here, rather than the scarred table I usually shared with five other people. It was relaxing… but also a little lonely.

  Was Caleb lonely?

  The thought stopped me midchew, and I looked up from my plate to see that he was regarding me with a serious expression. “What?” I asked self-consciously.

  “Nothing,” he said, although I could tell that it was definitely something. “Just thinking.”

  “What about?” When his gaze just went to the view behind me, I couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out. “The woman in the picture on your dresser, that’s your sister?”

  He said nothing for several minutes, and then only nodded, his eyes still on the darkness outside, lit by cold, sparkling light.

  “That’s why you like to be able to see the city. You’re still looking.”

  His eyes shot back to mine. “I’ll never stop looking for Lillie.” It came out as nearly a growl.

  I tried to imagine how I would feel if one of my sisters or brothers went missing without a trace. It would be terrifying — a terror that would go on and on, never-ending.

  My heart broke right then for the man sitting in front of me as I watched his jaw tighten. The mystery of him was becoming clearer, and the more it did, the deeper he appeared to be. I wanted to know what was going on in his mind right now, but if he didn’t want to divulge, I wasn’t going to push him. He had already been so generous with opening up his home and understanding my need for space between the fight and my daily life. He really was amazingly thoughtful.

  As he looked back at me, a deadness replaced the passion that had been simmering in his eyes just moments ago. And I understood exactly what his twin sister’s disappearance had done to him.

  I blinked, and his entire countenance was cold as he set down his fork. I did the same.

  He fixed me with one of those impenetrable looks. “I’ll call up my driver, have him get you home.”

  The need for him I’d been feeling just moments ago fled, replaced by a stab of pain. I tried not to be hurt. I had, after all, been the one to jump him in the car. Besides, I did need to go home, decompress, and sort everything out. But I also found myself not wanting to go home at all.

  “I’m sorry, if mentioning her is too painful, I’ll—”

  “No.” He caught my gaze as he took our empty plates and put them in the dishwasher. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m the one who should be doing that.” The look on his face was now carefully blank as he phoned his driver.

  He’d closed up, iced over in a matter of seconds. I was disappointed, and a lot intrigued. For now though, I needed to give him some space.

  “Make sure you get some rest.” His now dark eyes followed me as I said goodnight when his driver called up that he was waiting in front of the building. “No gym until Monday.”

  Monday. That seemed a lifetime away. I missed him as soon as I stepped into the elevator.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Caleb

  I stared blankly at my computer, my mind a thousand miles from the email on the screen as I sifted through everything that happened that fateful night.

  That night, the weeks of summer had been ticking steadily toward the time we would all go off to different colleges — Lillie to Lipscomb in Nashville, Hunter to Cornell, and me to Columbia.

  That’s where my mind had been as I drove, trying to sludge through how I was going to survive the next four years without my best friends in the world. We’d all been thinking about it, we just hadn’t talked about it yet.

  Lillie was next to me in the middle of the front seat, Hunter in the passenger seat. They were fighting over the radio, Hunter switching it to the now memorized and annoying hit, “I’m In Love With Stacy’s Mom” and Lillie immediately turning it back to Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life.”

  The song screamed through the car, the bass thumping through my seat.

  I smiled and shook my head. Sometimes it was annoying that my twin sister and my best friend got along so well, even fighting like brother and sister at times. Well, stepbrother and sister, considering the spark. The one they never mentioned but couldn’t hide. They thought I didn’t know.

  That spark flared now as Hunter wrestled Lillie’s hand from the radio and turned down the volume. “Hey, did anyone bring anything special?”

  “Brought myself, am I not special enough?” Lillie slapped Hunter’s hand and wrenched up the volume. A second later, Hunter gained control and turned it back down.

  “I’m serious. I can make a call—”

  “No,” Lillie said, unclipping her seatbelt, twisting and stretching her upper half into the backseat for her purse. “I’m pretty sure I still have some.”

  Hunter’s eyes were on my sister’s ass, which I was semi used to but was still annoying, and especially annoying tonight maybe because their flirting was reaching fever proportions in line with the amount of summer we had left.

  As a brother I was obligated to show my displeasure, and I did that now by taking a hard right turn that got his attention. His gaze snapped up to mine and his mouth opened to utter words I’d never hear.

  Because at that moment, I ran a stop sign.

  I never saw it. I never saw the car traveling down the cross street that didn’t yield.

  That driver hadn’t been able to stop.

  Hunter and I, we’d been okay. But Lillie, because she was halfway over the seat, had been ejected. She’d been lucky to live, the doctors and nurses said during the days in the hospital then the weeks in a rehab. Lucky to have survived the accident, yes. Not so lucky that the medical profession was giving out pain killers like it was Halloween candy.

  We didn’t know at the time that she was hooked, wouldn’t have been able to leave her and continue on to our respective college educations had we known. But she convinced us that she was as upbeat as she sounded, that she’d finish therapy and start a semester late.

  But she didn’t.

  I’d told Cherry about her but hadn’t been expecting the way Cherry would be able to see into my deepest desires. I didn’t even know what had possessed me to ask her to my place, but I was glad that I had. Her reaction had been exactly what I had hoped for. She was impressed, that was for certain, but she didn’t look at me with any sort of conquest like every other woman I’d dated. Every one-night stand I’d brought there’d instantly had dollar signs appear in their eyes as soon as they stepped into the marble foyer.

  And then there was the distance thing. I got that. It seemed her walls were just as high as mine, if not higher, and twice as thick. She needed to compartmentalize in order to keep her head on straight, just like I did. I knew her interest in me was genuine, even if it was only sexual.

  And I was perfectly fine with only sexual. I hadn’t had a long-term relationship since high school, and I was fine that way. I was better on my own. Couldn’t waste the extra time a girlfriend would suck out of my life. And if I were honest, I couldn’t stand the idea of being blissfully happy while my sister was on the streets. Because of me.

  The weekend dragged, and Monday was going even slower as I waited for the afternoon to come around so I could see Cherry again.

  I looked at the clock on the bottom righthand side of the screen, sighing when it said seven fifteen a.m. I’d headed into work early so I could get to the gym early, but time was now ticking tortuously slow.

  “Hey, hottest sponsor in town,” Hunter said, letting himself into my office with two steaming mugs of coffee. “I know you’ve got your little side project going, but I wanted to remind you that we have a really important meeting at ten with some investors and you absolutely should not skip this one. We’ve already rescheduled them twice, and we risk them thinking we’re too much trouble.”

  I rubbed my temples as I took the coffee he offered. Had I been that wishy-washy lately? Yes, I knew too much of my focus had been on Cherry. My friend was right. If I wanted to k
eep the revenue stream flowing for my side projects, such as Cherry, I had to keep my head on straight. “I’ll be there, bro. I’m sorry I’ve been MIA lately.”

  Hunter studied me with dark eyes over his steaming cup. “So, how’s your fighter doing after the face shot?”

  “Don’t call her that,” I corrected sharply. “She’s not my fighter. Her name is Cherry, Cherry Bomb, or Miss Bowers.”

  Hunter’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t forget, I took you to that fight. You still owe me for that.”

  I leaned back in my chair, scrubbing my hands over my face. Had I forgotten to shave? Fantastic. “I’m sorry, man. My head’s been out there on the streets.”

  “Yeah, I can tell you didn’t sleep. You look like shit.”

  I snorted. I could always rely on Hunter to tell me the truth. “You’re damn right I do,” I agreed, surprising him. “But I look better than Cherry.”

  “Man, you could never look better than her, even if she had two black eyes and a broken nose.”

  I was on the verge of shooting out of my desk with a momentary blinding possessiveness before I reminded myself that Hunter was only making an observation. One that any man with a beating heart would make. Cherry was a knockout, in more than just the ring.

  “So what did you get into over the weekend?” Usually, Hunter was badgering me to go to some club, and I hadn’t heard a thing from him other than at the fight.

  “Ah.” His cheeks colored slightly, and I perked up. “You remember Angela, right?”

  “Yeah. The Italian model who ghosted you after you spent a week together?”

  He slitted his eyes at me. “Well, she’s back in town, and she messaged me on Saturday, so you know how it goes.”

  I shook my head. “You always were a sucker for a pair of designer legs in an even more designer skirt. You let yourself get taken advantage of too easily.”

  “Oh, like your figh…” he cleared his throat, “Cherry isn’t doing the same to you?”

  “She’s not,” I answered sharply. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Sometimes, I feel as if I’m taking advantage of her.”