Going All In

by Alannah Lynne

  Gavin chewed on his sandwich and took a drink of water. “I’m afraid to ask, but how did he get the impression you were broke?”

  She told him the story of taking her lunch to save money and how Wade saved her from a horrible fate by taking her to Five Guys. “Only today, he finds out I’m not broke—although I am, because I don’t use any of that money.”

  Gavin finished off the last of his sandwich and started making another. “So explain to him why you choose to live off your salary rather than the trust fund or the money you got from selling me this fishing pier. And that you really do have to save up for anything you want to buy.”

  “What if he won’t listen?”

  Gavin swished water around in his mouth, then swallowed. “If he won’t listen, he’s not the guy for you.”

  She laughed without humor. “You make it sound so simple.”

  He shrugged. “It is that simple. If you can’t talk to him and he won’t listen, you don’t have anything to build on in the first place.”

  One of the things she liked most about Wade was his willingness to listen. Not just hear the words, but to really listen to what she said. She got the feeling he didn’t necessarily agree with her decision, but he’d listened and understood her reasoning for remaining friends with Jen and Tiffany, despite Jen’s tendencies to be rude and overbearing. And when she explained her aversion to oral sex, he not only listened, but he figured out a way to get her comfortable with it and make it work.

  Heat infused her face as she remembered his unique approach. Lord, had he ever made it work.

  She didn’t want to discuss finances, but she’d already discussed so many other difficult subjects with him, how could this be any worse? And Gavin was right. If Wade wasn’t willing to listen, then what did they have to work with anyway?

  Unwilling to waste one of Gavin’s famous chicken salad sandwiches, and figuring it wouldn’t hurt to take Wade a peace offering, she said, “Can I have a piece of foil or something to wrap this in to take to Wade?”

  Gavin laughed and slid the bowl of chicken salad and the package of bread over to her. “Of course, but one sandwich won’t do anything but piss him off. You better take two or three.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  For the second time in as many years, Callie was forced to endure a heart-wrenching trip from Anticue back to Myrtle Beach. The first time had been the night she got the brilliant idea to ride to Anticue to spy on Gavin and Sunny.

  She’d gotten more than she bargained for—albeit what she deserved—and had been forced to face the cold, hard truth: Gavin wasn’t, nor would he ever be, hers. The hour-long drive home would’ve been horrendous if not for Jason’s reassuring grip on her hand. Or Jen and Tiffany’s nonstop verbal assault, trying to keep her distracted so the image of Sunny on her knees in front of Gavin didn’t burn a hole in her head.

  This time the piercing ache in her chest was similar, but there wasn’t anyone holding her hand for comfort and the incessant talking filling the air wasn’t directed at her. The man who normally used his words sparingly had managed to spend almost an hour on his cell phone, and the conversation didn’t show any signs of letting up.

  It was so out of character she’d considered snatching the phone from his hand to check if he really was talking to someone or if he was just pretending to be in conversation so he didn’t have to talk to her. The only thing that made her believe he wasn’t just chatting up empty air was the phone ringing just as they got in the truck—almost as if the call had been staged—and how animated he’d been since.

  Based on his easy laugh and teasing tone, the mystery caller was a woman, and she had a way of bringing out the best in him. The tendrils of jealousy snaking through Callie had her crossing her arms and focusing all of her attention on the passing scenery in an attempt to keep the green-eyed monster from squeezing the life out of her.

  Callie wanted to be angry that his caller knew him so well and had the ability to make him laugh, when all she’d managed to do was hurt him. But she couldn’t be angry with anyone but herself for not having been honest with him when she’d had the chance. Her selfishness brought her to this place, and she had no one to blame but herself.

  “All right, Mercy. I appreciate it. The boys will owe me for this.” He laughed. “Which means I owe you. Again.”

  As he disconnected the call and tossed his phone onto the seat beside him, Callie’s mouth opened and words she couldn’t stop flew out. “What kind of name is Mercy?” Shoot, she hadn’t meant to speak the thought out loud. She hadn’t intended to say anything at all about the call, but the question was out there and all she could do was hold her breath and wait to see if he would acknowledge her.

  Wade glanced at her from the corner of his eye and bit the inside of his lower lip, like he was trying hard not to smile. “A stage name.”

  Myrtle Beach was filled with interactive dinner theaters, most of which Callie had attended at one time or another, but the name seemed unusual, even as a stage name. “She’s an actress?”

  Wade tossed back his head and laughed. “Not exactly.” His laughter faded into an affectionate smile. “Although she does put on one hell of a show.”

  Understanding hit with a thundering force, lodging Callie’s breath in her throat and momentarily stopping her heart. Heat infused her face and neck, and all she managed to squeak out was, “Oh.”

  Callie had never felt more prudish than in this moment, and mortification at her lack of sexual experience and finesse had nausea rising through her chest and into her throat. He was used to hanging out with strippers, who were obviously comfortable with their sexuality, and she couldn’t even give him oral sex without a shower.

  Hell, she hadn’t even gone that far. After confessing her stupid hang-up to him, he’d worked hard to make her comfortable and had given her pleasure, but he’d received nothing for his efforts.

  The interior of the cab closed in on her from all sides, forcing her to crack the window and gasp as cold air whipped across her face. When her lungs no longer burned from lack of oxygen, she rested her clammy forehead against the cool glass and shut her eyes to block out the world for the remaining fifteen minutes it would take to get to the office. The sound of gravel crunching under their tires as they turned into the office parking lot was sweet music to her ears, and the truck had barely stopped when she opened the door and jumped from the cab.

  She wanted to get in her car and drive straight home where she could cry into a pitcher of margaritas, but she needed to talk to Kevin about a few renovation details first. Without looking at Wade or waiting to see if he intended to go inside or directly to his truck, she grabbed her bags from the backseat, slammed the door, and headed for Mazze Builders’ employee entrance.

  Wade’s footsteps pounded on the concrete sidewalk behind her, indicating he intended to go inside, but she didn’t turn to look at him. When she entered the building and turned to the right, he turned left and went down the hallway toward the office he shared with the other foremen.

  She slowed her pace as she neared Kevin’s office and took a few deep breaths to collect herself. However, rather than finding Kevin at his desk, she found his wife, Sam. Kevin was a big man so his large oak desk was perfect for him. On the opposite end of the scale was Sam. Short and petite, the desk dwarfed her, and a giggle pushed at the back of Callie’s throat at the sight of Sam tucked behind the monster desk. She had a site plan spread out in front of her, a pen in her hand, and was jotting down notes on a yellow notepad. Callie checked behind the door to see if Kevin was at the drafting table in the back corner, but he was nowhere to be found.

  “Hi, Sam. Is Kevin around?”

  “No, he had some errands to run.” After finishing a notation, Sam looked up from the site plan and frowned at Callie. “Are you okay?”

  Not even close to okay.

  Callie didn’t intend to share today’s events with anyone, not even her best friends, and definitely not with one of her bosses.
Slapping a smile on her face, she said, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  She was as bad at lying as she was at sex, and Sam didn’t hesitate to call her out on it. “I’ve seen that kind of fine a few times in my own mirror.” She rounded the desk and closed the office door. “What did Wade do?”

  The question startled Callie and she flinched and took a step back before she could stop the reaction. “What?”

  How did Sam know about their relationship? Did Kevin know too? Were office romances frowned upon? Not that it mattered anymore, but having everyone know she and Wade had been an item didn’t settle well with her. Not because she was embarrassed of being with him, but she was ashamed of the way things ended. She didn’t want anyone to think she’d intentionally set out to hurt Wade.

  “How do you know about Wade?” The question was quiet and broken as she fought off a fresh wave of regret and tears.

  “You’ve been in Anticue with him all day. Who else would have you this upset?”

  “Oh!” Callie drew in a sharp breath, then released it on a nervous laugh as she shuffled her feet and stared at the floor. “Right. Yes. Anticue.”

  “I assumed he’d done something stupid on the job to upset you.” Sam took her elbow and led her to the chair in front of the desk she shared with Kevin. “But now I’m wondering what else is going on.”

  She cocked an eyebrow as she waited for Callie to explain, and Callie imagined this was the same look Sam gave her daughter, Michy, when she was waiting for Michy to confess to some wrongdoing.

  Heat infused her cheeks. “Apparently I’m not very good at being sneaky or secretive.”

  Sam laughed and crossed her arms and ankles, a gesture so much like Kevin, Callie marveled—not for the first time—at how much alike they were. “That’s a good thing, Callie. Sneaky people usually aren’t good people. Now what’s going on?”

  Callie swallowed and chewed on her lip and tried to decide if she should continue lying, even though she doubted she’d be any more successful at her next attempt than she’d been at the previous. Sam’s expression was kind and open and held no judgment, so Callie took a deep breath and spilled her guts. She started with lunch, when she told Wade about saving up for a pair of boots, and ended with the conversation he’d overheard today.

  Sam listened thoughtfully while Callie told her story, then smiled and nodded sympathetically. “You’ve probably already figured this out, but Wade can be a real hard ass if he thinks he’s been double-crossed. But that’s because if he trusts someone enough to give them a little piece of himself, then he trusts them completely.”

  She looked at Callie pointedly. “When it comes to loyalty and commitment, he’s a lot like you. When you’re working, you’re fully committed to the job and your task. I’ve seen you with your friends, and given your current circumstances, it can’t be easy to be around them all the time. Yet if one of them calls you for anything, you never hesitate to run to their aid. Wade’s the same way. He’s an all-or-nothing kind of guy, and given his strong reaction today, where you’re concerned, I’d say he’s already all in.”

  “But when he’s crossed, I bet he’s all out.” Callie hated the pathetic whiny despair in her voice, but she couldn’t keep it in check.

  “I don’t think it can be turned off that quickly or easily. He’s also reasonable and fair, and while it might take some coaxing,”—Sam gave her a conspiratorial smile—“I’m sure he’ll eventually listen to your explanation.”

  “How do I get that to happen? He’s made it clear he’s not interested in listening and his schedule seems to be pretty booked up through the weekend. Based on the phone conversation he maintained all the way back from Anticue, he has plans for tonight.” She swallowed the uncomfortable lump in her throat at the unbidden images of Wade with a stripper. “Tomorrow he’s going diving with his friends—”

  “There ya go.” Sam straightened and made the announcement like it made all the sense in the world.

  Callie, however, didn’t understand anything. “Where’s what go?”

  “If you go with him tomorrow, you’ll have plenty of time to talk while his buddies are diving. You can’t get a more captive audience than on a boat in the middle of the ocean.”

  Callie sucked in a breath and fought off the shudder threatening to rip through her spine. She’d never been on a boat in the ocean before, and she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to do it, even for the opportunity to talk to Wade. Plus, she had another problem. “I don’t know what time or where they’re leaving from. And even if I just show up, there’s no guarantee he’ll let me get on the boat with them.”

  Sam smiled and shoved off the desk. “That’s easy enough to take care of.” She rounded the desk, stripped a sticky note off the top of the pad, scribbled a note, and stuck it to Kevin’s computer. “When Kevin comes back, I’ll have him take care of everything.”

  Fear jerked Callie from her slump. “I don’t want to involve Kevin. I shouldn’t have gotten you involved.”

  Sam waved off her concern and leaned back in her chair. “Don’t worry, sweetie. We girls have to stick together when it comes to these hardheaded men. Either Wade or Kevin will call you with the details. You get ready to present your case.”

  *

  Saturday night was usually the boys’ night to howl at the Sunset Strip, but after his shitty day, Wade needed the stress relief tonight. He’d called Tyler to make sure the guys didn’t mind moving their play date up a night—the general consensus was spending two nights at the gentleman’s club wouldn’t hurt anyone—and then he called Mercy.

  Callie had connections at her kind of club; he had connections at his.

  Mercy’s timing in returning his call couldn’t have been better. Or worse. It had saved him from conversation with Callie, but he’d felt awkward and uncomfortable talking to a fuck-buddy in front of her. Then he remembered why he needed Mercy in the first place. His guilt evaporated on the wind, and he couldn’t have cared less if Callie overheard.

  He pulled into a parking space in the Strip’s side parking lot, put the truck in park, and scrubbed his hand over his face. Okay, saying he couldn’t have cared less wasn’t exactly true.

  Conversations with Mercy were always humorous, as well as exceptionally hot and tinged with innuendo. Normally, it became a game to see who could make the other squirm the most with provocative comments and implied promises. But with Callie riding shotgun, he’d tried his damnedest to keep the conversation as close to PG as possible, so yeah… Fuck him, he supposed he did care.

  His stretch for the keys was interrupted by his ringing cell phone. His heart pitter-pattered out of rhythm and he held his breath, wondering if Callie was giving another go at talking. Gratitude warred with disappointment as Kevin’s name popped up on caller ID. Wade was leery about talking to Kevin because he didn’t want to hear shit about any phone calls he received from Gavin, but Kevin was better than Callie.

  She’d tried talking to him when she brought him lunch, but he’d thrown up his hand and cut her off with a grumbled, Not now. Realizing he’d moved up the scale from saying they had nothing to talk about to not now and that never hadn’t been a part of his vocabulary, some part of him must be considering hearing her out.

  But not tonight. The wounds were too fresh.

  Before his phone tossed Kevin into voicemail, he answered with a casual, all-is-cool, “Yo.”

  “Hey, how’d things go in Anticue today?” After eight years of friendship, subtle nuances in one’s voice often gave away undercurrents of irritation, even when the speaker tried to sound casual and normal. Kevin’s words were benign enough, but irritation bled through, giving Wade warning that the shit was about to hit the fan.

  Kevin told him Gavin would pick up on any tension arcing between Wade and Callie, and at the time, Wade assumed Gavin was just that damned intuitive. Now he understood Gavin wasn’t super sensitive to everyone, only Callie.

  He slapped his forehead as another dimly lit bulb spar
ked to life. “Is Gavin the client who recommended Callie to you?”

  “Yep.”

  Fuck. He was screwed.

  “I have a feeling you already know how things went.” Which meant he probably also knew today’s meltdown had nothing to do with the job. Throwing in a quick defensive jab to cover his hurt, he added, “You’re the one who told me to be nice, and I always follow orders.”

  “I told you to be nice, not date her.”

  “Yeah, well, you know me. You tell me to be nice to a lady and I’m going to give it”—he paused for effect—“and her all I have.” Heavy sarcasm was his natural tendency when threatened or backed into an uncomfortable position, but comparing Callie to his “usual” left a bitter taste in his mouth, despite the pain she’d inflicted.

  “Seems you’re back to your normal assoholic self.”

  Wade blew out a breath and let his head fall against the seat. “Is there a purpose for this call?”

  “Just checking in. I hear you’re diving tomorrow.”

  Wade shook his head to force his brain to catch up with the sudden change of subject. “How did you know that?”

  “I have my ways.”

  Callie.

  “Yeah, well, your informant is partially right. Tyler and Alex are diving. I’m manning the boat.”

  “What time are you heading out?”

  “Six.” His hesitant response was as much a question as an answer. “Why?”

  “Where’re you leaving from?”

  The hair on the back of his neck stood at attention as suspicion crept in and grew heavy in his chest. “No more answers until you answer my question. Why?”

  “Callie needs to know where to be and what time so she can go with you.”

  “What?” Wade’s screech sounded like a pre-pubescent boy with his nuts caught the wrong way in his jockstrap. Taking a deep breath to settle his choppy breathing and racing pulse, he clamped down on his phone and ground out between clenched teeth. “Did you know she has a huge trust fund?”