by SJ McCoy
When she met his gaze, he planted a peck on her lips. “I get what he was trying to do. I hope for his sake that I never have to meet him. But I wanted you to know, I need you to know, that I don’t see you that way—not in the no fun way that he meant. And as for the Grandma and Grandpa thing. I want to be that with you. I want to be your … man. I want you to be my … family. And if you are then Elle and Skye are, too. And so … if I get my way, then I will be her Grandpa someday. You have no idea how much I love you.”
He kissed her again, and she felt as though her heart might melt in her chest. When he lifted his head, she looked into his eyes. “You have no idea how much I love you right back. I told you that first night when you brought me home, that you had the most amazing smile I’ve ever seen. Now that I know you, I can tell you that you’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met. And you are by far the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
He closed his arms around her and rolled onto his back, taking her with him so that she straddled him. She reached down between them, grateful as she always was that he liked to sleep naked. His eyes closed when she curled her fingers around him.
“And as if all of that wasn’t enough, you’re also the best sex I’ve ever had.”
His eyes opened and he grinned at her. “You mean that?”
She nodded happily as she lowered herself onto him. He grasped her hips and thrust up until he was seated deep inside her.
“Cal,” she breathed.
He rocked his hips and she moved with him. Right from the very first time they’d matched each other’s rhythm. They fit together as though he was made for her. And they moved together as if they’d always known how. He linked his fingers through hers and moved faster, thrusting deeper and harder.
“Cal!” He was taking her to the edge, and she wanted him to go with her. “I … I … I …”
Stars exploded behind her eyes as waves of pleasure crashed through her. “I love you,” she gasped. And her words triggered his release. He tensed and let go deep inside her, carrying her higher.
“I love you, Terry,” he gasped as his hands closed around her hips, holding her to him as he gave her everything he had to give.
When they stilled, she buried her face in his neck. “I know making love to Grandma isn’t exactly—”
She didn’t get the chance to finish. His laughter cut her off. She lifted her head to look down at him.
“I was just thinking, Ride ‘em, Grandma! but I didn’t know if you’d appreciate it.”
She laughed with him. “I do! I never thought I’d get horny for a grandpa, but … phew!” She waggled her eyebrows.
She slid down to lie beside him and he wrapped her up in his arms. She laughed again. “I never thought I’d know a grandpa with arms like yours either.”
He tightened them around her. “You’ll only ever know this one.”
She planted a kiss on his lips. “That’s fine by me; you’re the only one I want.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cal pushed hard to get to the top of the rise, his breath coming out in clouds in the chill morning air.
Manny lengthened his stride and pulled ahead, making Cal dig deep to catch him. They pushed each other on and reached the top in a dead tie. Manny held his hand up and Cal high-fived him. That was all the celebrating he’d be able to do until he got his breath back; they slowed to a walk and Cal bent over to stretch out his lower back.
“Is it just me or is that hill getting steeper?” he asked when he straightened up.
Manny laughed. “It’s not the hill. You’re built for strength not for speed.”
Cal rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Whatever. You were gasping for air as hard as I was by the end there.”
“Yep, but I don’t mind admitting it.”
Cal checked his watch.
“You in a hurry to get to work? You know there’s no point in that. They’ll only give you a hard time when you get there.”
Cal smiled. “No. I’m finally getting the hang of that. It’s not work I’m worried about. I have an appointment with Dallas this morning before I go in.”
“Yeah? What’s going on? Are you making progress with the house?”
Cal smiled through pursed lips. “Well … I hate to tell you this, given all the delays you’ve had to deal with on your place, but the appointment is at the title office.”
“Shit! You’re closing already? It’s only been a couple weeks!”
Cal grinned. “I know. And I thought it’d take longer than this. But the sellers are as eager to get this deal done as I am. I managed to get all the inspections done. Dallas has worked his ass off for me. And it’s all set.”
“Damn! Good for you.” Manny made a face. “I mean, I envy you, of course. But I’m happy for you. So, what happens now?”
“I need to furnish the place and I need …” He trailed off at the look on Manny’s face. “That’s not what you mean is it? What do you mean?”
Manny smirked. “I mean Teresa. I didn’t pull you up on it the other week when we were all at the Boathouse, but when you were talking about the house you kept saying we.”
Call grinned. “So, you did pick up on it. I thought maybe you were getting rusty.”
“Of course, I did. But I figured that maybe it was a Freudian thing—that maybe you didn’t even know yourself yet.”
“No. I knew. I know. It’s what I want. And I’m ninety-nine percent certain that it’s what she wants, too.”
“So … what are you going to do?”
Cal blew out a sigh and looked out across the lake as they walked on. “Mind if I ask your advice?”
“Fire away. I’m not sure I’ll know the right answers, but I’ll give you my opinion.”
“That’s all I’m asking for. I want to ask her to move in with me. I think that’s what she wants too, but …”
“But what?”
“But I don’t want to ask her too soon and I don’t want to ask her too late.”
Manny chuckled. “That sounds like a riddle that I’m supposed to be able to work out. But I can’t, so help me out. What would be too soon and what would be too late?”
“Well, you know her daughter, Elle, is living at home with her—and Skye.”
Manny smiled. “Yeah. And do you know that everyone wants to know how you got to be Grandpa so fast, but no one wants to ask.”
Cal chuckled. “Skye asked me to be.” He shrugged. “You’ve met her. She’s a cutie. How could I say no?”
“It’s a good thing that no one ever knew how soft you were before now.”
Cal held his hands up. “What can I say? Turns out I’m a sucker for a pretty little lady—whether she’s three or fifty-three.”
“It would seem so. Anyway, go on. How do Elle and Skye affect your timing?”
“Well, I know Teresa missed them when they were in the city. She’s loved having them home with her again. Elle doesn’t plan to stay much longer anyway. She wants to get a place of her own. She’s going to rent over at Four Mile.”
“That’s good, isn’t it? Since your place is over there. They’ll still be close. You won’t be moving Teresa away to the other side of the lake from them.”
Cal nodded impatiently. “Yeah, but I don’t think I should ask her to move away from them before they move away from her. If that makes sense?”
“It does. I get it. So, you wait?”
“Yeah, but if I move into the house and don’t ask Terry to move in with me—that’s what I mean about asking too late. I don’t want her to think that I don’t want her with me. And …” He gave Manny a sheepish smile. “Call me soft if you like. You might have a point if you do. But I want that house to be our place, our new beginning. So, I want us to move into it together.”
Manny frowned and held his gaze so long that it made him uncomfortable.
“What? You’re making me feel like I’m missing something. Tell me already!”
Manny laugh
ed. “You really don’t see it?”
“See what?”
“The obvious solution.”
“Apparently, not. Go on, put me out of my misery. What am I not seeing?”
“You wait. You wait until Elle and Skye have moved to their own place. And then you ask Teresa to …”
“Yeah, but—”
Manny held his hand up. “And you don’t move in till she’s ready to either. Just because you can close on the place in a hurry, doesn’t mean you have to move in in a hurry. You can take your time; decorate, furnish it, do whatever you like so that when you do move in—when the two of you move in, it’ll be exactly how you want it.”
Cal rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and shook his head. “Jesus! I guess I really am getting old, huh? I didn’t even think …”
Manny grasped his shoulder. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. They say love can make a man blind.”
Cal smiled through pursed lips. “Okay. I owe you that much. Yes, I’m in love with her. Yes, I have told her that. And …” what the hell, he might as well tell him. “I want to marry her—but no, I haven’t told her that yet.”
Manny grasped his shoulder again with a big grin on his face. “That’s great, Cal. That’s … amazing! I was going to say unbelievable—and it would have been a couple months ago, but now I’m not surprised. I’m thrilled, but I’m not surprised.”
Cal grinned back at him. “Neither am I. I never thought I wanted it. You know … you remember.”
“We were different back then, living different lives. Kim and I had a fair shot. We at least thought we were in love. You …” He shook his head. “Andrea wasn’t.”
Cal shrugged. “Yeah. I tried, but you know I never loved her.”
“Honestly? I was never sure about that. I knew she didn’t love you.”
“Well, don’t go feeling sorry for me. I never wanted her to. It was a marriage that served a purpose. Anyway, I didn’t mean to get caught up in that. My point was that it’s taken me more than half my life to figure out what this love thing feels like, what I want marriage to be and to find the only woman … the woman I believe I can make that happen with.” He glanced at Manny.
“Go on. Ask. I’m not promising I’ll know the answer, but I’ll try.”
“I almost said that I’ve found the only woman for me. Do you think that’s true? Do you think there’s only one person in the world for each of us? That some people find them early and get to spend their whole lives together, and that some people never do? I’ve always thought it worked that way and that I’d never find my person—because I never really bothered looking.”
Manny smiled. “I think it works that way if you believe it does. Like you say, you’re never going to find someone if you’re not looking. But I think even for people who lose love early in life, if they believe there’s another person out there for them, they’ll find them.”
Cal nodded. “I guess.”
“Either way. We’ll never know the truth of how it works, so like with most things in life, we take our own experiences and draw conclusions from them and decide that that is the truth. So, for you, yeah. There’s only one woman. Her name is Teresa and you’ve taken half your life to find her. I’d say that’s good motivation to make the most of every single day that you get with her.”
Cal grinned. He didn’t even feel embarrassed anymore. “I intend to. I’m going to ask her to help me make the house into a home and then when she’s ready, I’ll ask her to move in with me. And then … when I figure it out, I’ll ask her to marry me.”
~ ~ ~
Teresa was tired by the time she got to Cal’s place. It’d been a busy day in the salon and then she’d gone to the gym. It was tempting to skip her workouts these days. She smiled as she pulled into the driveway and got out of her car—Cal was working her out most nights in a different and much more enjoyable way.
Her heart soared when the front door opened, and he stood there smiling at her. How had she gotten so lucky? She hurried up the path to him and he opened his arms to her. She stepped inside them and let out a happy sigh.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded against his chest. “More than okay. I’m happy.” She looked up at him. “In case I haven’t told you yet, you make me very happy.”
He dropped a kiss on her lips. “In case I haven’t told you, you make me very happy, too. Happier than I’ve ever been.”
He led her inside and helped her out of her coat. “Have you eaten? I made lasagna if you want some?”
“I’m good thanks.”
“Drink then?”
“Now that, I won’t say no to.” She followed him into the kitchen and pulled up a seat at the island, thinking that he’d fix her a vodka, lime, and soda. She was surprised when he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne.
“Ooh, bubbly? What are we celebrating?”
“I closed on the house this morning.”
“Oh! That’s right! I forgot. I’m sorry.” She frowned. She’d forgotten all about it. She’d been so busy all day. “I feel awful.”
He made a face while he worked the cork out. “There’s no need. Signing the papers doesn’t mean much. This is the part that matters.” The cork came out with a pop, and he filled two flutes and handed one to her. “I’ve been looking forward to celebrating with you.”
She raised her glass. “Well, congratulations.”
He nodded and they both took a drink. His eyes never left hers. She could tell he had something to say for himself.
“Well?”
“What?”
She laughed. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
He shrugged. “I … Hmm. I can’t lie and say nothing. I never want to lie to you. I’m too good at it.”
She gave him a puzzled look.
“That was my life. That whole career was about being a liar, working and living in the shadows and never telling anyone the whole truth.”
“I guess. I never thought of it that way.”
“I enjoyed it, but it’s behind me now. And I don’t want to bring those ways into this life.” He met her gaze, “Into our life.”
“I’m glad. So, if you don’t want to tell me what you were thinking, tell me something else instead?”
“Thanks. I will tell you at some point. It’s something important and something that I hope will make you happy. I just want to get my timing right. Is that okay?”
“It sounds good to me.”
“I hope it will. And in a swift change of subject, what do you want to do this weekend? I know you have to work on Saturday, but I keep thinking about little Skye wanting to go to the beach. What do you think, should we take her on Sunday? Give Elle a few hours to herself?”
“Aww. You really are the sweetest thing.”
He scowled and folded his arms across his chest, making her laugh.
“I’m sure you scare most people off when you do that, but I know better. You don’t fool me.”
The furrows in his brow deepened, and if she didn’t already know in her heart that he loved her, if she didn’t already trust him one hundred percent, she’d be wary of that look. She shook her head at him. “Nope. You can give me all the hard ass looks you want to. But I know better. You’re a big softie.”
“Only when it comes to you.”
She smiled. “And Skye, and Elle, too.”
He rolled his eyes. “Because they’re your family, and I want you to be my family. So …”
Her smile faded. He already felt like family to her. She loved the way he fit so well into their lives, and she still hadn’t gotten over the way he’d gone all protective over Elle last weekend. But he wasn’t her father and … She blew out a sigh. How had she forgotten?
Cal’s frown was back, and it looked more genuine this time. “What’s wrong?”
She made a face. “We can’t take Skye this weekend.”
“Why not?”
<
br /> “Because I have to go out of town. Do you want to come?”
“Where are you going?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“So, why are you going?”
“Because Steve’s coming.”
“And that means you have to leave town?”
“I said I would.”
“Why?”
“It just makes life easier.”
Cal didn’t look happy.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“What if I do?”
She raised an eyebrow. He was usually so agreeable, but his expression wasn’t very agreeable right now.
“You don’t have to come.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“Why not?”
He came to her and closed his arms around her. “I just closed on the house. I thought … I wanted to ask you to come over there with me. I want to ask you if you’ll help me decorate it and furnish it. I don’t want to move into it until you—” He frowned. “Until it’s ready, but I was hoping that you might …” He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry. I’ll go wherever you want to go. The house can wait. I was being selfish.”
“Aww.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “You’re not selfish. I don’t think you have a selfish bone in your body. You’re right. I shouldn’t let him run me out of town. I can stay out of his way. You’re more important to me.” She ran her hand up his arm. “What do you want to do at the house?” She smiled as an idea struck her. “We could camp out over there. We can get started working on the place—whatever you want to do to it—and we can stay there.” She waggled her eyebrows. “I can bring an airbed. We can christen the place. And if we stay over at Four Mile and tell Elle to stay over this side of the lake, we won’t run into them and it’ll all be good.”
Cal smiled. “I like the idea of christening the place. I’m not sure I want you working on it. I want your ideas and your input, not your labor.”
She laughed. “You don’t know me as well as you think you do. Do you like my place?”
“You know I do.”
“And who do you think decorated it?”
“I assumed it was all your doing, your taste, your design.”
