“You remember what I was wearing that day?” Caleb asked, so damn pleased by that revelation that he couldn’t help but smile.
“I remember everything about that day. Especially how confused I was. I never mentioned this before, but I’d only started dating Derrick about a week before you moved in next door.”
Caleb released a groan. “You mean I missed out on you by a week?”
Leah bit her bottom lip and nodded. “I ignored that little spark of attraction I felt when we first met and concentrated instead on the guy everyone thought was the perfect catch. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Caleb pulled her to him. “That’s good to hear,” he said before claiming her lips in a long, slow kiss. He mentally calculated how much time they had available before they had to meet up with the rest of the group. If they worked fast enough, they could easily put this bed to use one more time before they left.
But Leah put the kibosh on that idea moments later when she ended the kiss. Caleb reminded himself that she lived right next door. He had all the time in the world with her. He was determined to make it so.
As they headed for the parking lot with their luggage, they ran into Abigail and Joel, who’d asked earlier this morning for some pointers on places to stay in New York. The couple wanted to extend their trip by spending a couple of days in the city before heading back to D.C.
While Leah offered them ideas for lodging and restaurants, Caleb continued on to the lot just off the main registration building where they’d parked the car.
He stopped cold when he came upon Leah’s car.
Parked right next to it was a silver Lexus with Awe$um on the license plate.
Son of a bitch!
His heart immediately started to pound. He did his best to mentally curb the unease that had the hairs rising up on his skin, but this was too close to the scenarios that had swirled in his head for Caleb to ignore. He quickly popped the trunk on Leah’s Mustang and stuffed their bags inside. As he headed back for the campgrounds, the door of the registration building opened and Derrick walked out.
Leah’s ex-fiancé ambled down the steps, his movements coming to a halt when he noticed Caleb. His forehead crinkled with his frown.
“Don’t I know you?” he asked, pointing to Caleb.
“Not really,” Caleb answered.
“Derrick?”
They both turned to find Leah standing a few yards away.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she rounded a landscaped shrub and came to stand in front of her ex-fiancé.
“Why do you think I’m here, Leah? I want to clear up what happened last Thursday night.”
“You mean when you told me you didn’t want to marry me?” she asked.
The patronizing look Derrick gave her made Caleb want to punch him in the face. But this was between Leah and her ex. He wouldn’t step in unless she asked him to.
“Don’t be difficult. I’m trying to apologize. You know that isn’t easy for me.”
“And I’m supposed to make it easier?”
“Look, I realize that I shouldn’t have broken off the engagement. I talked to your mother and she agreed that we should all just forget what happened last Thursday night.”
It was the mention of her mother that sent a jab of panic straight to Caleb’s chest. He’d feared something like this would happen. That all the forces that told Leah what kind of guy she should be with would come barreling back into her life. He thought he wouldn’t have to worry about it until they returned home, but apparently he wouldn’t even get that long a reprieve.
Derrick held his hand out to her. “Let’s go somewhere and talk about this,” he said.
Leah crossed her arms over her chest and answered with a simple, “No.”
“Leah, stop being unreasonable.”
He reached for her, but she moved away and walked over to where Caleb stood.
“I doubt this will come as a surprise, but I never loved you, Derrick. You didn’t love me either. A marriage between us would have been a disaster. All I have left to say to you is thank you,” she said. “Thank you for what you did Thursday night. You saved us both a lot of time and misery.”
Derrick regarded them both with suspicion, his eyes darting from Leah to Caleb. “Were you screwing this guy while we were together?” he asked.
Caleb took a step forward, but Leah stopped him with a gentle press of her fingers against his arm.
“Unfortunately, no, I was not,” Leah said. “Caleb knew we were together and he’s too decent a human being to move in on a woman who’s already in a relationship. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case.” She motioned to Derrick’s feet. “You may want to take care while walking on the rocky ground. This surface can’t be good for those shoes.”
“So you won’t even give me ten minutes after I drove all the way up here?” Derrick asked.
“I hope you have the gas money to make it back home,” she said. She turned to Caleb. “We have one final farewell toast. I don’t want to miss it.”
Caleb took her by the arm and without a backward glance at Derrick, they headed for the walking path that would take them to Birch House. After a couple of minutes, Leah stopped. She turned to him, her eyes bright with satisfaction.
“God, that felt good,” she said. “No, it felt amazing.”
“It felt pretty amazing to watch,” Caleb said. “You’re pretty sexy when you’re choosing me over another man.”
Her head flew back with her laugh. Holding his hand between her palms, she brought his fingers to her lips and pressed a light kiss to them.
“Thank you,” Leah said.
“For what?”
“Because before this weekend, I would have taken him back.” She shook her head. “It turns my stomach to think about it, but I would have, Caleb. I would have thought about how disappointed my mother will be in me when Derrick runs back to her to tell her how nasty I was to him, and I would have taken him back.
“This weekend you showed me that I can’t live my life based on what others think. You showed me how to live for me. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for that.”
“You said it yourself,” Caleb said. “Continue living your life for you. That would be enough.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Just promise that you’ll let me come along for the ride.”
Camp Firefly Falls
Read all the titles in the Camp Firefly Falls series! Visit the website for more info!
Winning Back His Wife (Book 1)
by Zoe York and Gwen Hayes
His Counterfeit Campfire Bride (Book 2)
by Gwen Hayles
Crushing on Cooper (Book 3)
by Violet Vaughn
Skinny Dipping Dare (Book 4)
by Zoe York
The Time of His Life (Book 5)
by Jamie Wesley
Mr. Right Next Door (Book 6)
by Farrah Rochon
One Last Fling (Book 7)
by Lily Danes
Also by Farrah Rochon
Moments In Maplesville
Take a journey to the sultry, sleepy town of Maplesville, Louisiana!
A Perfect Holiday Fling (Callie & Stefan)
A Little Bit Naughty (Jada & Mason)
Just A Little Taste (Kiera & Trey)
I Dare You (Stefanie & Dustin)
All You Can Handle (Sonny & Ian)
Any Way You Want It (Nyree & Dale)
Any Time You Need Me (Aubrey & Sam)
The Holmes Brothers
Set in New Orleans, the Holmes Brothers series follows the lives of Elijah, Tobias, and Alexander Holmes as they find love in one of the world’s most romantic cities.
Deliver Me
Release Me
Rescue Me
Stand-Alones
In Her Wildest Dreams
Event planner Erica Cole recruits her best friend to help her plan the ultimate Valentine's Day fantasy, but chocolatier Gavin Foster is determined to sh
ow her that they should be more than just friends.
The Rebound Guy
Relationship advisor Dexter Bryant is trying to shake his stud-for-hire image, but when Asia Carpenter makes him an offer he can't refuse, Dex will have to play the role of professional rebound guy one last time.
Romances from Harlequin Kimani!
Bayou Dreams
Check out my series set in the small, fictional town of Gauthier, Louisiana!
The New York Sabers
Don’t miss my sizzling New York Sabers football series! Check my website for details!
See all of my available titles on my website!
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Farrah Rochon hails from a small town just west of New Orleans. She has garnered much acclaim for her Holmes Brothers, New York Sabers, Bayou Dreams and Moments in Maplesville series. I’ll Catch You, the second book in her New York Sabers series for Harlequin Kimani, was a 2012 RITA ® Award finalist. Yours Forever, the third book in the Bayou Dreams series, was a 2015 RITA® Award finalist. Farrah has been nominated for an RT BOOKReviews Reviewers Choice Award, and in 2015 received the Emma Award for Author of the Year.
When she is not writing in her favorite coffee shop, Farrah spends most of her time reading, cooking, traveling the world, visiting Walt Disney World, and catching her favorite Broadway shows. An admitted sports fanatic, Farrah feeds her addiction to football by watching New Orleans Saints games on Sunday afternoons.
Connect with Farrah:
@FarrahRochon
FarrahRochonAuthor
www.farrarochon.com
[email protected]
Mr. Right Next Door (Camp Firefly Falls Book 6) Page 13
