“She wouldn’t leave the kids.” He was a hundred percent sure about that. He saw the love she had for them every day.
Nina shifted in her seat. “So does that mean you’re pursuing something?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.” He looked around the table at his friends. These people had his back. They had for years. If anyone could help him navigate the muddied waters of his current situation, it would be them. “She kissed me.”
“And?” Evelyn asked, leaning forward, suddenly interested in the conversation at his end of the table.
“Then she said we should forget it happened.”
Owen scoffed. “Dude. Are you so out of practice you don’t know how to kiss?”
He shot Owen a dirty look. “I can kiss just fine. It was a damn good kiss.”
“But it’s complicated,” Tess supplied.
“Understatement of the year.”
“What are you going to do?” Nina asked.
“Hell if I know.” As if on cue, his phone buzzed with a text from Callie. She wanted to know about an air conditioner. His friends’ staring distracted him, so he couldn’t quite grasp what she wanted.
“Ooo… That’s Callie, isn’t it?” Evelyn sang.
He nodded. “Her AC went out last night.” He looked back at his screen. Callie continued in another text that he actually had to scroll through. She wrote a text the same way she talked, and it made him dizzy.
He stood and tossed some bills on the table. “I need to take care of this.”
Tess reached out and touched his arm. “Call if you need anything.”
“And have juicier details for breakfast next time,” Evelyn called after him as he walked out the door.
Instead of reading the long text, he called Callie.
“Hello.”
“What do you need to know about the AC?”
She sighed. “Didn’t you read my text?”
“No. It would take you a minute to explain this, but probably five for me to wade through that thing you call a text. By the way, a text is supposed to be short.”
“Whatever.”
He could picture her wrinkling her nose and sticking her tongue out at him, and he smiled as if she were standing in front of him.
“I looked online before leaving the house this morning, and after dropping Hannah off, I went to two different stores. These people are crazy with what they want to charge. I thought maybe you might know someone who could get me a deal.”
At least she hadn’t wasted her money.
“I don’t know if I can get one cheap. I’ll look around.”
“The weather says it’s going to stay in the nineties all week. It’s not dropping, so I kind of need to get one now.”
“No, you don’t. It doesn’t make sense to get screwed on the price because they have you over a barrel. Just stay at the house.”
“That’s a generous offer, but I need to work.”
“So?”
“My darkroom is in my spare room.”
He hadn’t thought about her developing her pictures. He hadn’t walked through the coach house when he’d been there. “I didn’t know you developed pictures.”
“Most of what I do for jobs is digital, but sometimes, I want the feel of film, you know?”
No, he had no idea, but she was passionate about it. “Set up in the basement. It’s cool and dark down there.”
“I can’t take over your space, Trevor.”
He sighed again and rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re picking up my kids and dropping them off. Helping with homework. The least I can do is make sure you’re comfortable. Use whatever space you need.”
“But—”
“But nothing. Let me do this for you. It’ll give me time to look around and decide whether it makes more sense to get another window unit or invest in forced heat and air for the coach house.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Just so I can finish the job I’m working on now. A couple days—tops.”
“Like I said last night, stay as long as you need.” His offer was heartfelt, but in the back of his mind, he knew he was only adding to the complexity of their situation.
“Thanks again.”
“It’s the least I can do.” He drove to the job. Even though he’d be spending his day in a space that was dungeon-like, he whistled as he entered the jobsite. Complicated or not, he liked having Callie in his life.
…
They made it. The Booths had been borderline homicidal for the last week. The kids had been uptight about finals. Trevor’s job had hit snags. Callie had done her best to stop anyone from lashing out unnecessarily.
But they’d done it. They ordered in for a celebratory dinner. Callie sat at the table and listened to the kids laugh while Trevor tried to nag them about packing for their trip to see their grandparents. Callie couldn’t imagine them being gone. Granted, it was only going to be a week, and she’d often traveled for at least that long. But it was different when she was the one being left behind.
Although she had work to do and jobs to pitch, she hadn’t had much free time since Lisa’s death. She and Trevor had become close. Every night after the kids went to bed, they stayed up and watched TV or talked about their days. She loved hearing the crazy stories from Trevor’s jobsites. She’d thought about asking if she could tag along one day to take pictures. She had little doubt she could find a fascinating story.
Trevor waved a hand in front of her face. “Where’d you go?”
She blinked. “Sorry. Just thinking.” She pointed at Hannah and Evan. “With them gone, it’ll be so quiet. And the free time…”
“I didn’t even think about those perks,” Trevor continued, picking up on her teasing tone. “I could walk around naked all the time.”
Evan groaned, and Hannah said, “Eww, gross.”
Callie and Trevor laughed.
But the image stayed in her head. The reality of the kids’ leaving tugged at her. Not only would she miss them, she’d miss this—the whole family experience.
And her alone time with Trevor.
Maybe the kids’ being gone was a blessing. She wouldn’t feel obligated to be here, so she could go out, meet people, socialize with someone other than Trevor, who was not her husband. Or boyfriend. Or anything, really.
The kids rambled on about what they might get to do at their grandparents’ house, and Trevor just nodded at their excitement.
“Not to burst your bubble, guys, but I grew up there. Although things have probably changed, it’s about as boring as it gets. The town has one movie theater and a couple of restaurants. There’s not much to do for fun.”
Hannah sighed with a sweet smile on her face. “But Grandma and Grandpa moved farther out from town. They’re surrounded by farms.”
“Ugh. That’s even worse.” Callie hated that damn town. It was so confining.
Hannah laughed again. “That’s because you don’t like the peace and quiet of nature.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but the girl was right. If Callie had her choice of assignments, she always chose urban areas. “Well, I hope you have a great time.”
She stood and began cleaning their dinner mess. Trevor told the kids to go pack. Evan and Hannah ran upstairs, arguing over how much they could take.
Trevor joined Callie at the sink where she washed dishes. “You don’t have to do that. Evan will be back.”
She shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
He leaned against the counter and studied her. “What’re you thinking about? Something’s been bugging you all night.”
“I don’t know. My life feels a little unsettled right now.”
“Work?”
“That’s part of it. It’s like I’ve gotten used to the routine of being here with you and the kids, and I’ve done some local work, but I need to pitch new ideas and get steady work. But at the same time, they’re going to be gone and it messes with the routine I’
ve had since…”
She realized she was babbling and clamped her mouth shut. Resting her forearms on the edge of the sink, she leaned forward and prayed for clarity. Which was not likely to come as long as Trevor was standing so close and had been talking about walking around naked. Lord, what is wrong with me?
His hand landed on her shoulder, and he squeezed before rubbing her back. “I’m a shitty friend.”
She looked at him over her shoulder. “Huh?”
“I’ve been leaning on you so much, and I never stopped to even ask how you were doing, how you’re holding up. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. We’ve been leaning on each other. Lisa’s death just has me thinking about my life and where I want to go from here. Being with the kids is a reminder of things I’ve missed out on.”
“Regrets?”
“Not really. I never thought of myself as mother material. The crying and diapers and sticky fingers. Not my thing.” She straightened and turned so she stood hip to hip with Trevor. “But the good parts. Like dinner tonight. The bickering banter and teasing. The family thing. I never considered it. At bare minimum I took it for granted.”
“You have family here. Always.”
She appreciated his words, but she still felt itchy. “It’s more than that. It’s having someone to lean on, share my life with. I’ve been traveling and moving around for so long. When I came back, Lisa was my family connection. But these past weeks, hanging out with you, talking about our days… It’s been a reminder of what I don’t have.”
Trevor didn’t say anything, but he wrapped his heavy arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. It wasn’t sexual or flirtatious, but it made her blood race all the same.
“We’re packed, Dad,” Hannah yelled from the top of the stairs. “Can we go for ice cream?”
Trevor moved away from her slowly, allowing his arm to caress the entire span of her shoulders. “What do you say? Ice cream?” he asked her.
“Who can say no to double chocolate fudge brownie?”
His face contorted. “How do you still have your teeth? Mine hurt just thinking about how sweet that is.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.” She winked and pushed off the counter.
The look he gave seared into her, letting her know that he’d been thinking about what he’d been missing, too.
Chapter Eight
Trevor was late to work the following morning because he waited until Diane showed up to get the kids. Callie was conveniently gone. He double-checked to make sure Evan and Hannah had everything they needed, and he offered Diane some cash, which she brushed off. By the time they were in the car, he needed another cup of coffee.
The basement job was running behind because the plumber hadn’t passed his inspection. Now that they were approved, everything rested on his shoulders to get them caught up. As if it were his fault they were behind. Jerry had been on site to accept the drywall delivery, and by the time Trevor walked into the basement, the crew had an entire wall done.
“How’s it going?” he asked his foreman.
“Fine,” Jerry answered gruffly.
Trevor raised an eyebrow. Jerry tilted his chin toward the door, and Trevor walked out with him.
“What’s the problem?”
Jerry stood close and spoke with a low voice. “The new guys are working out okay, but this homeowner is killing me. He’s been down here three times checking our progress. He doesn’t understand why it’s taking so long.”
Trevor shook his head. There wasn’t much you could do with a customer like that. “Let’s get out of here, so we don’t need to put up with him.”
“Crap,” Jerry muttered.
“What?” Trevor followed Jerry’s gaze to the window above them, where the curtain fluttered.
“He’s probably going to complain that he’s paying us to stand around and talk.”
“I’ll handle him.”
Jerry was an excellent employee and had worked for Trevor for years. He could run the job as well as Trevor, but he sucked at dealing with people. The man liked to work with wood and drywall. Social interactions with customers rarely went well.
They turned toward the basement stairs again. “Realistically, you think we could have this done by the weekend? If I give him a deadline, it’ll be easier to keep him off our backs.”
They took stock of what they needed to do. If they rocked out the drywall and spent the next two days taping and painting, they’d be ready for trim this weekend. But Trevor couldn’t ask the guys to work their weekend away, and there wasn’t room in the budget to pay them overtime.
Normally, Trevor liked to put in weekend hours by himself. It helped structure his time, and he liked the solitude. Lately, though, he hadn’t been logging the hours, not during the week or on the weekends. Time with his family had taken precedence over work.
It was the first time in many, many years that was true.
With the kids gone until Sunday, though, he could put a dent in the trim Friday night and Saturday. Then he thought of Callie.
The woman made his head spin. He didn’t understand what was brewing between them. They’d hit a solid stride as friends, but there was a constant undercurrent. Sexual tension? Attraction? He didn’t know what to call it, but it was getting worse. Or stronger.
Fuck.
Thinking about Callie kept him hard in ways no one had in a long time. It didn’t help that for the past week, they’d shared the same living space. Her scent was everywhere. He couldn’t escape it, other than to sit in his room. Even then, he still had thoughts of her in her skimpy shorts and tank top. And being alone with those images didn’t relieve the hard-on situation.
Not knowing what to do about Callie was a problem for later. Right now, he needed to drywall the hell out of this basement so he could move on to more lucrative jobs. He turned to the work that always occupied his hands and soothed his mind.
By the time he got back home, he was covered in a fine white dust and his clothes were glued to his body. But the drywall was up. He walked into the house and was met with eerie silence. He’d lived alone in his house for years, but now he suddenly missed the regular noise of his kids.
“Callie?” he called, because despite teasing Hannah, he didn’t really plan to walk around naked if Callie was there. No one answered. He left his boots near the door and peeled off his shirt on the way to the bathroom.
He felt a million times better after his shower. After pulling on a pair of shorts, he gathered his dirty clothes and took them to the basement. As soon as he opened the basement door he remembered telling Callie she could use the space for a darkroom, so he called out again. Still no answer, so he ventured down to the washing machine. He got his clothes started, and on his way back toward the stairs, he looked around.
Callie hadn’t brought in much. She had some trays spread out on a cheap folding table. Bottles of chemicals sat off to the side. Then she had a clothesline hung up, just like in the movies. He couldn’t help but see what she’d been developing. She had shots of the kids and some random pictures of flowers. The last few, though, took him by surprise.
She’d taken pictures of him working on the bathrooms here in the house. How had he not known she’d done that? Some photos were crisp, clear, and bright enough that he could use them in a brochure. Then she had a couple of him in black and white. It had been early on in the project, maybe even the first day she’d helped him.
“Hey.” Her voice carried quietly across the basement.
“What’s this?”
She squinted at him in confusion. “It’s what I do.”
“How were you so sneaky that I didn’t even know you were taking pictures of me?”
“I’ve learned to be stealthy. The best way to get a natural shot is to take it when the subject is unaware. That’s when he’s at his most vulnerable.” Her cheeks flushed, and she pushed past him. “This was just for fun. I had a few frames left on the roll, and I
needed to use it up. You weren’t supposed to see them.”
“Your work is really good. Not that my opinion means much.”
“Thanks,” she said, not making eye contact as she tugged the photos off the line and stacked them up. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll leave this stuff here until after I get the new AC unit.”
“I told you that’s fine. You ready for dinner?”
“Uh…” She stared at his bare chest and dragged her eyes up to his face.
How was he supposed to ignore such blatant attraction?
“I figured you’d want your space to be alone,” she mumbled.
He crossed his arms. “You’re here, so I’m not alone.”
“I planned to head back to my place.”
“Why? It’s gotta be a hundred degrees in there.”
“The kids are gone for the week, and I thought you’d appreciate your freedom.” She shifted, clearly uncomfortable.
He shook his head. “Callie, I don’t know how else to say this. I thought I was being clear. I like you being in my space.”
She slowly licked her lips, and he followed the line of her tongue. She might not have meant to tease, but every nerve in his body perked up.
He stepped closer. She backed up until she bumped the table. Trevor caged her in with his arms. He kept his body back, lowering his face so they were eye to eye.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Something we both want. Something we’d both enjoy.”
She gulped as he moved closer. He waited to give her a chance to push him away, tell him no, refuse in some way. But she didn’t.
He brushed his lips against hers. He took his time kissing her softly, exploring her taste, her texture, her desires. With each swipe of his lips or tongue, his body inched forward, longing to press against her, feel her soft body. But he held back, leaving her space.
Her participation was slow, but once their tongues touched, she angled her head to deepen the kiss, and her hands became busy stroking his shoulders and neck and chest. There was nothing hurried about their interaction.
It was the best fucking kiss he’d had in years.
Callie finally pressed against his shoulder and pulled away from him. Their chests were heaving, and she looked up at him with heavy eyelids.
My Best Friend's Ex (Daring Divorcees) Page 11
