by Eve Vaughn
“Hmm, that’s not the impression I got the last time I saw you two together. The man looked as if he wanted to eat you up. There’s nothing about him that says he wants to go slow. I bet the sex with him is amazing.”
Sommer grinned. “Unlike you, I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Oh, come on. Just give me a little hint. Does he at least make your toes curl and your body tingle?”
Sommer shook her head. “You’re persistent aren’t you? But if you must know…I have no complaints in the sex department.”
Tasha grinned from ear to ear. “I knew it! That man is the epitome of an Adonis. If he didn’t only have eyes for you, I would have made a play for him.”
Sommer waved her hand dismissively. “What are you talking about? Caleb has always dated around.”
“Girl, since we were teenagers, I could see the way he’d look at you. He was always staring at you like someone on a diet looking a piece of chocolate cake.”
Sommer let out a loud belly laugh. “You have such a way with words, girl you’re nuts.”
“Hey, I speak the truth. It seems to me that if you have feelings for him and he returns those feelings then I see no reason why you’re being so cautious.”
“Because I know Caleb. He doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to women. When we were growing us, he seemed to have a different girlfriend every week. I don’t want to get too invested only to have my heart broken later.”
“Maybe those other women were placeholders.”
Caleb had basically told her the same thing but Sommer still couldn’t believe it. Being with Caleb these past weeks had been a dream come true for her. She wanted to keep the memory of the times when he’d hold her after making love until the wee hours of the morning. She’d always cherish how he’d make her laugh with his dry sense of humor. When they were together, she could almost pretend that what they currently had would last for the rest of their lives. But it was just a fantasy. Caleb would one day realize that he belonged with a Wulfen Fem and Sommer simply wasn’t good enough. Until that day, she’d have to keep a wall around her heart.
Sommer simply shrugged, belying how she really felt. “We’ll see where it goes. Anyway, how about you? Who’s the new flavor of the week?”
“Actually, I’m taking a break from dating right now.”
“What? That’s a surprise. You usually have a new man every time I see you.”
“Yeah, but to be honest, I’m tired of the merry-go-round of men in my life. The last guy I was with, I kept forgetting his name and I couldn’t think for the life of me why I was with him in the first place. And then I had to take a long hard look at my life and I didn’t like what I saw.”
“Wow, that surprising coming from you. I wouldn’t call your life sad at all. You have a thriving career, you’re financially stable and you have an active social life.”
“Yeah, it’s the active social life part that’s the problem. All those men I’ve dated, they don’t really mean anything. They come and go and when it’s all over, I’m alone again. Some of them claim to love me but I sometimes wonder if they really mean what they say because I can’t think of one single guy I’ve dated who I’ve felt really deeply for. And then I wonder if something is wrong with me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what my home life was like. My parents were negligent at best but at worst, they were emotionally abusive. They always tried to find fault in everything I did. They withheld affection and simply didn’t care about me. I think I’ve been looking for that love in all the wrong places. All those men don’t fulfill me. And I think I realized that when I saw you and Caleb together. I want to experience what you two share. But I can’t do that until I learn to love myself.”
“Oh, sweetie, I didn’t realize you felt that way. And you shouldn’t base your decisions on Caleb and me. Besides, who’s to say that things won’t fall apart for us eventually?”
“The way Caleb was staring at you, I highly doubt it. Besides, it’s written in the stars.”
Sommer groaned. “Uh, not that again.”
“You mark my words, Sommer McGregor. You and Caleb are going to be together for a very long time.”
Sommer wished she had her friend’s confidence.
* * *
The office phone buzzed on Caleb’s desk and he saw that the light from his PA was flashing. He pressed the speaker button and then the lighted one. “Yes, Marcia?”
“You have a Miss Kahn here to see you. She doesn’t have an appointment but she says that you’ll see her.”
Caleb groaned inwardly. He wasn’t a fan of getting unexpected visitors in the middle of the day when he was at work, although there were a few people he would make an exception. Selena Kahn however, was not one of them.
In the last several weeks, she came up with an excuse to contact him or randomly ‘bump’ into him. Just the other week, he was having lunch with Michael and she invited herself to join them. She also asked him out to dinner under the guise of having something important to discuss with him. That something important turned out to be her wanting to renew their relationship. Caleb had let her know in no uncertain terms that all he was interested in from her was friendship.
Selena had seemed to take his words affably enough but the fact that she thought she could just show up at his office unannounced made him realize that he hadn’t been clear enough.
Now that she was here, however, there was no point in sending her away. “Send her in,” he instructed her his assistant.
Caleb pushed away from his desk and stood when she burst into his office.
“Hello, darling.” She strode into the room with a brilliant smile pinned on her face.
She was easily one of the most stunning women he’d ever seen, but she still didn’t hold a candle to Sommer. Selena didn’t stop until she was directly in front of him. She threw her arms around his neck and attempted to kiss him but he turned his head away from her which caused her lips to land on his cheek.
He gently grasped her arms and pushed her away from him before wiping his cheek because he was certain she’d left a lipstick stain.
“Should I be offended that you wiped my kiss away?” She asked with a raised brow.
“I’d rather not walk around with a kiss mark on my cheek.”
“My lipstick stays in place. I don’t wear the cheap brands of the other women you’re used to, darling.”
“What are you doing here anyway?”
She shrugged an elegant shoulder with an air of nonchalance. “I was in the area and I thought I’d come by and invite you out for lunch.”
Caleb put some distance between them and pinched the bridge of his nose to ease the tension of a budding headache. “Selena your business is located on the other side of town. What are you doing in his part of town? Tell the truth.”
She smiled slyly. “Okay, you got me. I came by to see you.”
“Selena, I thought the last time we talked I made it pretty clear that I’m only interested in friendship.”
“So can’t friends have lunch together?”
“Of course they can, but I have the sneaking suspicion that you’re interested in being more than just friendship.”
Her lips tightened briefly. “Okay, I won’t beat around the bush. Yes, I came here hoping I could have a heart to heart with you before you make a foolish mistake.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Foolish mistake? What are you referring to?”
“Your little tryst with the McGregor girl. You two have been seen together quite a bit in the past few weeks and people are starting to talk.”
If Caleb had his way he would be seen out with Sommer but she was frustratingly trying to keep things under wraps. Caleb wasn’t insensitive to the fact that some of his Wulfen brethren were traditionalists and had had a problem with Sommer’s place in their pack in the first place. But the vast majority of his pack accepted and loved her.
“Whom I choose to associate with is none
of your concern and her name is Sommer, not the McGregor girl. Human or not, she’s still the Beta’s daughter and you will show her the respect she is due.”
Selena took a step backward as if he’d hit her. She placed her hand on his chest in what seemed like a surprise. “Caleb, I’m coming to you as a concerned friend. What will people think if you let this little fling of yours continue? You’re the Alpha-In-Waiting and you need a strong Wulfen Fem by your side. Sommer may be the Beta’s adopted daughter, but not everyone will accept her. I’m just stating facts.”
Caleb clenched his fists at his sides as his anger rose. Why had he never realized how unpleasant Selena was? “And I suppose you would make a better candidate?” he asked with deadly calm.
She raised her chin defiantly. “You could do a lot worse. My family has been loyal pack members. We share the same social status and we look good together. Even you have to admit when we were together we were magic.”
“What I will admit is that what we shared was a brief a fling that was pleasurable at the time but not very memorable. Sommer McGregor is not only worthy to stand by my side when I’m Alpha, she will do it with dignity and grace. Sommer is worth more than any woman from my past and that’s including you. At least she would never try to undercut another woman to make herself look superior. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a lot of work to do.”
Selena’s mouth fell open and then her eyes narrowed to angry slits. “No one will accept her. Mark my words.”
“Well, it’s a good thing your words don’t matter to me. Just because we had a fling a while back, doesn’t give you the right to make comments on my life. And if I hear you spread one negative word about the woman I love, I will make you wish you were never born.”
She gasped. “You…you love her?”
“More than life itself.”
“Well, I guess there’s nothing left to be said.”
“No.”
“I should be going.”
“Yes, and don’t come back. Consider this friendship terminated.”
Long after Selena was gone he contemplated what he’d told her. Caleb did in fact love Sommer. Now he had the task of convincing Sommer.
Chapter Eight
“Didn’t I tell you business would take off eventually? Madam Natasha came through.” Tasha’s grin was full of smug self-righteousness.
Sommer laughed. “We’re not on that again, are we? You really need to let that go.”
“I would if you wouldn’t doubt in their power, but that aside, I know you’ve worked very hard and deserve this success, so here’s to you.” Tasha held up her glass of merlot before taking a healthy gulp.
Sommer missed hanging out with her girlfriend like this. Between her business, Caleb and her parents, she hadn’t had a lot of time to spend with Tasha. She missed these moments and was glad Tasha had dropped by with a bottle of wine to celebrate the recent boom in business Sommer was suddenly experiencing.
It almost seemed too good to be true at first. Suspicious of how she’d suddenly come into so many clients, she’d questioned her father and mother. Their vehemence in their denial finally made her relent in her inquisition of them. Then she’d gone to Uncle Seth, who also claimed not to know what was going on. Sommer knew it couldn’t be Caleb because he was the one who truly understood what her independence meant to her. Besides, most of the businesses that’d contacted her she’d never heard of and had no obvious connection to Masters and Son.
Maybe there was something to that psychic mumbo jumbo. Madame Cleo said she’d be a success, it never said it would happen right away.
“Okay, maybe there is some divine force working here, but I will still reserve judgment.”
“Coming from you, I’ll take it. I’m so happy for you, Sommer. You really deserve this after all the hard work you’ve put into Afternoon Delights.”
“Thanks, girl.” She held up her wineglass in a toast. “Here’s to me.” She giggled.
“To you.” Tasha echoed and downed the remaining contents of her glass. “Whoo! I think I need to stop now if I want to drive home tonight.”
“You can crash here if you’d like. I have the spare bedroom.”
“Isn’t Caleb coming over later?”
“I don’t think so. He’s been out of town on business and I’m not expecting him back until tomorrow.” Caleb wasn’t a subject she wanted to dwell on, considering how complicated things had become with him. “So what’s the deal with you and Roger? You haven’t mentioned him yet. Dare I ask if things have come to an end?”
Tasha quirked a dark arched brow. “Changing the subject?”
Sommer shook her head. “You asked the question. I answered it.”
Her friend gave her a long questioning look before sighing. “Yes, Roger and I are through.”
“What happened this time? I thought this one was Mister Right.”
Tasha snorted. “More like Mister Right Now. Just when things were starting to heat up, I opened my big mouth.”
“What do you mean? Weren’t things getting pretty serious between the two of you?”
“They were, but he turned out to be just like the others.”
“You told him about…?”
Tasha lowered her lids, but not before Sommer spied the pain within the depths of her eyes. “Yes, I told him. At first, he told me it didn’t matter and his feelings for me wouldn’t change because of it.”
“But they did?” Sommer prodded gently.
“In the beginning, he actually did seem to be okay with everything, but as the days went by, he began to ask questions but he was never satisfied with the answers. Then he started making excuses to break our dates. I pretty much knew where things were headed after that. When I finally confronted him, he pretended as if everything was okay, but when I suggested we take a break from each other…I-I s-saw the relief on his face.” Tasha burst into tears.
“Oh, honey.” Sommer put her glass down and wrapped her arms around her friend, her heartbreaking for her. She was well aware of Tasha’s past and could only commend her friend for the way she’d turned her life around. Sommer wished people weren’t so small-minded.
Tasha pulled away, wiping the tears away. “Don’t worry about me, I’m just being silly.”
“No, you’re not. And if Roger couldn’t find value in the person you’ve become, it’s his loss, not yours. On the bright side, aren’t you glad you found out now before things got any deeper between the two of you? It probably would have hurt a lot more had things gone any further.”
Tasha sniffed. “You’re probably right. But this has taught me a valuable lesson.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m not the kind of girl guys want to bring home to their mothers and marry. I’m the good-time girl, the one they want to screw and forget about. They may take me out for a while, but when it’s time to settle, I get kicked to the curb.”
“That isn’t true. You simply haven’t found the right guy yet.”
Tasha waved her hand dismissively. “You don’t have to offer me any comforting platitudes. I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past week and have decided to remain single. There may be some lonely nights ahead, but if I need someone to scratch my itch, albeit briefly, I’m sure there are plenty of guys who are willing to have sex with no commitment.”
“Don’t say that. You’re much better than that.”
“So are you, but that hasn’t stopped you from treating Caleb like some kind of stud.”
“I do not!” Sommer protested hotly.
Tasha folded her arms. “Aren’t you the one who said you and he are having a no-strings-attached affair?”
“Yes, but that hardly constitutes me treating him like a stud, as you so quaintly put it. He’s the love-them-and-leave-them type. I’m simply playing by his rules.”
“Why? You love him. I know you’ve never said anything, but it’s quite obvious to me by the way you look at him. I saw the way the two of you were at the party, and i
f I may be frank, I think the feeling is reciprocated.”
“I think you’re nuts. Caleb may love me, but he’s not in love with me.”
“How do you know unless you ask?”
“I don’t plan on asking because I already know the answer. Look, I don’t want to talk about Caleb.”
“See. There you go, avoiding the subject. Why is it so hard for you to believe that he could have feelings for you too.”
“Because he can’t! He and I are too different and when he does find a permanent mate, it’s going to have to be someone like him.”
“Someone white?”
“If it were simply a black and white issue, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Caleb doesn’t think like that and neither do I.”
“So what do you mean by different?”
Sommer sighed. “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me, and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
Tasha was her best friend and Sommer told her everything, but she couldn’t tell her about the Wulfen. It was against pack laws. It was up to the individual to reveal themselves, and even then, it had to be under special circumstances. This wasn’t her secret to share. “I’m sorry, Tasha, but I can’t say, but please trust me on this.”
“But why?”
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t press the issue. You know if I could tell you, I would.”
“Okay, but I’m not really sure what these secret differences can be.” Tasha shrugged and then pasted a smile on her face. “That aside, I’m very proud of what you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time.”
It was on the tip of Sommer’s tongue to say thank you when the doorbell rang. She frowned and looked at her watch. It was quarter to nine and she wasn’t expecting company. “I wonder who that is?” She slid off the couch and went to answer the door. To her surprise, Caleb stood on the other side with a bottle of champagne and a big bouquet of roses. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, not intending the words to come out quite so sharp.
