A Love That Lasts

by Baker, Tory

  “Callie,” I groan with the way she calls me by my last name.

  “Yes?” she questions.

  “Don’t call me Mr. Rodriquez when it’s just the two of us. I want to hear my name on the tip of your tongue.” I go for broke, and it has the effect I was going for. Callie’s sharp inhale of breath tells me she feels something, too.

  The waiter coming to bring our drinks and food stops her from replying. I watch Callie when she takes her first bite of her pastry. The moan that passes her lips sets me on edge. I want to hear that moan when my lips are on hers, my finger pinching and pulling on her nipples, my face buried between her luscious thighs, or my cock sliding deep inside of her.

  When Callie opens her eyes, she watches me swallow visibly. A coy smile peeps out and has me shifting in my seat. Fuck, what is this woman doing to me?

  “I guess it’s my turn to make you squirm in your seat.” I watch as she takes a sip of her coffee.

  “You have no idea,” I murmur. We talk about work for a few minutes, and I tell her what I’ve been working on while she was out this past week. She explains the things she was able to accomplish around the house as we finish our drinks and food.

  When we’re done, Callie attempts to leave money for the bill. “No way, Callie. Put your money away.” She rolls her eyes at me but does as I ask.

  “I left enough money, plus a healthy tip. I remember what it was like working two jobs to support myself while going through college. Mi Madre tried to help as much as she could, but I wouldn’t allow her. She raised me, so it was her time to follow her dreams.” She nods in understanding. “Ready?” I ask.

  “Yes, but you could have at least let me leave a tip.”

  As we walk toward the exit, my hand finds the small of her back. “I could have, but I invited you.”

  Callie and I do as she plans; we shop a little bit. She picks up an outfit for Clairabella, a shirt for herself, and I pick up a bracelet for Mom. I hate like hell that our time is coming to an end as I walk us back to where she parked, but I know I need to take things slow with Callie. I have a lot to make up for and to show her I really want this.

  “Thank you for inviting me,” Callie says when we arrive at her car.

  “You’re welcome. Thank you for spending your day off with me.” My hand finds the slope of her neck again, my thumb brushing over the pulse point.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “That you will.” I kiss her forehead, pull away, and watch as she gets in her car.

  I know one thing for sure; I’m ready to see what this week brings.

  13

  Callie

  I’m back at the place I never thought I would step foot back into. When I arrived, I wasn’t expecting Jamie to be here before me, yet he was. My new schedule allowed me to drop Claira off at school. The looks I got as I walked into the main entrance were awkward at best, but this time the box I took isn’t in my hands. I just slipped a picture of Claira and me in my purse to display on my desk this time around.

  When I make it to my desk, I put the framed picture on display, throw my purse in my desk drawer, wipe my sweaty palms down the front of my skirt, and make my way to Jamie’s office. Yesterday, he had my system in overdrive—the heated looks, the touches, the way he talked. It had me scratching my head.

  I knock on his office door, not knowing if anything else has changed in the office.

  “Callie, come on in.” I hear his voice, which sounds husky with need, and it hits me right between my legs.

  “Good morning.” I would usually bring in a cup of coffee for him before I start my day, but I feel like this is my first day all over again.

  “Good morning. How are you this morning?” he asks.

  “A little nervous, and I’m not sure why.”

  Jamie does something I least expect; he stands up from his seat, walks around toward the chair I’m sitting in, and props himself on the edge of his desk. I take him in. His hair is styled for the day, unlike yesterday when it was loose and flying freely in the breeze. He’s wearing a suit that fits him perfectly with its black on black color. He forewent the tie he usually wears and has his shirt unbuttoned at the hollow of his throat; if he had one more undone, I could see his chest. My eyes trail down the length of his body, stopping at that place, and I lick my dry lips. I swear to all that is holy, he is hard.

  “Callie.” Jamie clears his throat. I am so freaking busted. My cheeks flush, but my gaze still lingers on his body, and I find myself falling for my once asshole boss. What the hell is wrong with me?

  “Yes, Jamie?” My voice comes out as a whimper as I finally meet his eyes.

  “As much as I love that look on your face, and I do want to explore every possibility of making you moan out my name, I’ll be damned if we do that in my office for the first time.”

  “What? No, Jamie, we can’t. I work for you. We barely know each other,” I question.

  “Mi Sol, it’s going to happen. I’m just waiting for you to catch up, and believe me, I’m a patient man,” Jamie states. His words cause me to do a full-body shiver.

  “Okay, what do we have for today?” I try to change the subject. Jamie isn’t allowing it, though. He squats in front of me so we’re eye to eye, and his dark eyes are smoldering with desire. My own body becomes needy and wanting. Images run wild in my head, my body ready and willing for his. I can see my body slammed up against the wall as he takes me hot and fast in this very office.

  Jamie’s hand goes to my neck, his thumb gliding over my pulse once again, and I swear every time he does that, it ramps up my desire for him. “We’ll take this as slow as you want. I was an asshole. I can admit when I’m wrong, and Callie, I was so fucking wrong. But I’ll fight for you until the very end, you and your daughter,” he states.

  “Please don’t get my hopes up, I’m begging you. I saw the look in Claira’s eyes after just a few minutes of being in your presence. It would be one thing to hurt me, but to hurt Claira, that blow would be fatal,” I breathe out.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, not ever again. I hate like hell to change subjects, but we do have a few meetings today, and then you have a little girl to pick up.” Jamie stands and goes back to his seat behind his desk. I calm my beating heart, grab the notebook he has on his desk, find a pen, and we get busy with what will be happening with our meetings. I get it all written down and stand to leave, but Jamie stops me.

  “Come here, please,” he asks gently. My legs carry me around his desk, and he stands. In my heels, we’re still not eye to eye, but that doesn’t matter. Jamie moves his head to the side and kisses me softly on the lips. My body instinctively moves in closer to his, and Jamie’s arm wraps around my waist as he brings me closer to his body.

  “Jamie.” I sigh, and he takes that moment to deepen the kiss. His hand on my hip tightens, his other goes up to my neck, and I sink into his warmth as his tongue glides against mine. He pulls back after a few moments, our kiss ending sooner than I wanted.

  “That look on your face, the one you have right now, I want it there every single time you’re in my arms.”

  “I need to take this slow with you. Can you do that for me?” I plead.

  “Anything you need, I’ll do for you.” He squeezes my hip, and we part ways—me to my desk and him to his own. We have a full day with two new clients, and with the new schedule he adapted, I have a feeling we’ll both be eating lunch at our desks today.

  The day flies by. Jamie secures two new clients, and I order lunch for us. Just like I expected, we eat at our desk; only we’re both at his desk with the door closed.

  We talk about his upbringing, how his Mom was a single parent and did it all on her own without the help of anyone else, making him respect her even more. I tell him about how my parents are my pillar of strength and how Presley and Lyla always held me up when life was beating me down.

  Jamie never interrupts; he listens thoughtfully and thoroughly, letting me get everything out and off my
chest. It’s something I had no idea I needed to do.

  Our lunch and talk are over quickly, and we both got back to work. I get lost in incoming emails until Jamie steps out of his office, his suit jacket on, keys in his hands, and says, “It’s time to go. I’ll walk you to your car.”

  “Wow, our day really flew by. Let me close down, and we can blow this popsicle stand.” It doesn’t take long until I’m walking side by side to the parking garage with Jamie. What really shocks me is the kiss he leaves me with. It’s as if he’s laid his claim to me and doesn’t care who sees it. The kicker is, I love that he has no qualms about who sees us together, but if this is his way of going slow, well, I think he’s got it backward.

  14

  Jamie

  It’s been two months, and I’m trying my hardest to take things slow with Callie. Light caresses, slow kisses, and sometimes we both stay up well past the time we should, talking or facetiming on the phone. It’s led to her moaning and me gasping. None of those are what either of us wants, but I know she needs to take things slow.

  Don’t get me wrong; sometimes she’s still as skittish as a wet cat. I bust my ass to show her the error in my ways. I made a promise to her, and I’ve kept it thus far.

  A few times, Clairabella was around while we chatted on the phone. At first, I wasn’t sure she’d even mention my name to her daughter, but apparently, she’s as serious as I am about our relationship.

  Today is the day that I’ll be meeting Clairabella. Callie is bringing her in after school while we have a meeting that couldn’t be pushed back. I told her I could take care of it myself, but she refused. I’m beginning to think she’s a workaholic as much as I am. We compromised by her picking up Claira, bringing her back here to start on her homework while we have the meeting, and we’ll all go out to dinner afterward. When I brought up dinner, I saw the leeriness in her eyes. I promised her I’m not going anywhere, and it was settled.

  I snuck away after she left and hit up the store. The one bit of advice my mother did give me was to always have some kinds of arts and crafts stuff for Clairabella to do while she has to wait on us. I bought more than was probably necessary, from construction paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils, coloring books, scissors, glue, and even glitter. I bought it all. If Clairabella is stuck here, I want her to be comfortable at the very least, and if she makes a mess, she makes a mess. Kids are meant to have fun and be kids, not a stuffed shirt like I recently was.

  Now, I sit here and wait for two of the three most precious women in my life these days and hear little steps getting closer.

  “Mr. Jamie, hello!” I hear from the lady of the hour. I get up from my seat at my desk and drop down to a squat as she barrels toward me. She skids to a halt, so much like her mother, only this time not in the same outfit. But her eye color, her hair… She is Callie’s spitting image.

  “Hello, Clairabella. How was school today?” I ask. I hold my hand out for her to shake it, unsure of how this will work. Clairabella takes care of that herself. She throws herself at my body, her arms wrapping around my neck, and she hugs me. This little girl hugs me, knocking me to my knees in more ways than one. My eyes find Callie’s, and when I see the glistening in her eyes, I mouth to her, “I promise to take care of the both of you.” She nods in acknowledgment.

  “You can call me Claira or Bella. My day was great. How was yours?” You wouldn’t know she’s on the cusp of turning seven years old; she’s smarter than her years.

  “It was good. I know it stinks to be here while your mom works, but I’m hoping this won’t take too long. If it does, there’s a surprise over on the table for you.” I nod at the table in my office. We’ll be in the conference room across the hall with a potential client, so Claira can make noise in here, and Callie will still be able to see her with the way the glass walls separate everything.

  “Jamie, you didn’t have to do that.” Callie’s voice is just a whisper. I stand, moving toward her but not touching. At least not yet.

  “I know, but I wanted to,” I tell her.

  “Oh my gosh, Mommy. Look at all this fun stuff! Thank you, Mr. Jamie,” she squeals as she looks through the bags on the table.

  “You’re welcome, Princessa.” I don’t know what possesses me to use that term of endearment, yet it fits her perfectly. I watch Claira’s eyes blink. A big toothless smile appears on her face, and then she dives back into the bags.

  Callie walks toward me. “Thank you, Jamie.” Her tone gives away every emotion she’s feeling but not portraying.

  “Always, she’s an extension of you, and I hope I get to see more of her.”

  “I’m going to go prepare the conference room. Do you mind keeping your eye on her?” Callie asks.

  “Not at all.”

  She turns and heads towards the conference room, setting up drinks, snacks, and the portfolios that are needed.

  “Do you mind if I join you?” I ask Clairabella. She’s elbow deep in glue and glitter, though she’s somehow managing to not get it all over herself.

  “Of course, what would you like to do?”

  “How about I color a picture while you continue… well, what are you making?” It’s this weird contraption looking thing.

  “Origami. Auntie Pres taught me how to do one that looks like a dog. Then I’ll put glue on it and glitter it everywhere.” Clairabella is so animated when she talks, her hands moving every which way. It has my mind conjuring up things that, a month ago, I wouldn’t have even thought of before—Clairabella running around outside on her swing set, me chasing her; Callie holding an infant that looks like a spitting image of myself, with my dark hair and olive skin and her grey eyes.

  “It’s beautiful, just like you.” My pointer finger touches the tip of her nose, making her laugh.

  That’s how Callie finds us—my shirt sleeves rolled up, coloring with Claira, her pouring glitter on her dog and all over the floor. I’m sure the cleaning staff will have a fit, but they’ll get over it.

  “You two are having all the fun while I work, hmm?”

  “Mr. Jamie is the best at coloring, Mommy.” Her face lights up.

  “I’ll have to take your word for it until I can join you two. Jamie, Mr. and Mrs. Carmine will be here in five minutes. Everything is set up, but you may want to straighten up.” Her eyes land on my forearms that are on display.

  “Thank you for allowing me to color with you. Think about what you would like for dinner. It’s your choice where we go.” I kiss the top of Claira’s head before I get up and get back to work.

  “Okay, as long as there is broccoli and macaroni and cheese, I’m happy.” She points her thumbs at herself.

  “Sounds good. I’ll let you two ladies figure out where that could be. Hopefully, this won’t take too long and we can be on our way.” My hand lingers on Callie’s hip as I walk past her. I’m ready to get this meeting over and done with. My plans are much more important than what the Carmines need.

  15

  Callie

  To say things have been a whirlwind romance would be a huge understatement. Dinner with Claira and Jamie the other night really solidified how amazing he really is. My little girl took to Jamie like he was Lincoln or Colt. If that’s anything to go by, it looks like my girl will have great taste in men when she’s older.

  When I walked out of his office, it woke him from a deep sleep, but it still scared me that he wasn’t truly changing. He gave me time to truly see just how amazing and patient he is. His kisses keep me hot and bothered, which leads to some fantasies running through my head nightly, especially if we’re talking on the phone. Jamie’s voice gets deep with need, and I’m not ashamed to say he’s opened my eyes to a world of phone sex a few times. Thinking about that now sends a shiver down my spine.

  Today, I’ve invited him along with Presley, Lincoln, their son Noah, Lyla, Colt, and their daughter Brentley. Jamie is already here, helping me get everything ready. When he saw the amount of food I bought, he thought I wa
s crazy.

  “Mi Sol, I think you bought the store out,” he rasps in my ear as he comes up behind me, holding my hips. I feel the length of him as my body sinks back against his. I have a deep-seated need for him, one that I’m hoping we can take advantage of tonight once Claira is down for the count.

  Wiggling my hips, I tell him, “You haven’t seen the girls eat yet.”

  “I know what I’m going to eat,” he whispers in my ear. He licks the outer shell of my ear before dipping down to my neck, licking a path until he reaches my rapidly beating pulse point.

  “Jamie,” I moan, and he sucks on it lightly before kissing it softly. We disentangle from each other, much to my dismay.

  “I’m going to hear that all night long and soon.” I turn around, needing to see his face. When I nod my agreement, it causes him to chuckle. “I need to get out of here now and set up Claira’s pool.”

  “You spoil us too much,” I tell him. Today, he brought flowers for both of us. My heart melted when he scooped Claira up in his arms, hugging her tightly before presenting white daisies to her. My girl pressed the palms of her hands against his cheeks, looked in his eyes, and said, “Thank you so, so much, Mr. Jamie. They’re beautiful, like your eyes.” She’s not wrong, either. Jamie’s eyes are amazing; I get sucked into their vortex a lot.

  “Thank you, mi Princessa. That’s the greatest compliment I could ever receive.”

  She wiggled out of his arms and put her flowers on the dresser in her bedroom. That’s what led us into the kitchen. I needed a moment to wipe my eyes before either of them saw me.

  “I could never spoil the two of you too much. You’re both the center of my universe. This is just the beginning, Callie,” he states firmly, leaving me speechless yet again.