Wish I May (New Hope)

by Lexi Ryan

  “We don’t have to run. Let’s just walk.”

  She flashes me a grateful smile. “Thank you. I guess it’s a good thing it’s hot today since I have a cold shower waiting for me at home.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Water heater broke. The guy’s coming out to fix it tonight, but until then I’m roughing it.”

  I frown. “Why don’t you just take a shower at my house?”

  Her face brightens. “Hot water? Seriously? That would be awesome.”

  “It’s no problem at all. I have plenty to go around.”

  We walk in silence for a bit, and my mind instantly wanders back to Cally, to her hands on me during my massage, to the way she’s been avoiding me, to her eyes on my body when she thinks I’m not paying attention.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Meredith asks.

  “Of course.”

  “How long are you going to wait around for her?”

  It’s one of those questions I shouldn’t honor with an answer, not with my complicated relationship with Meredith. But maybe she deserves the truth. “I’ll wait until I have every reason to believe there’s no chance for us.”

  I’ve only seen William’s house the once, but it’s bigger than I realized that first day in town, barely hinting at the Mc in McMansion. I knew he had a sizable trust fund, but judging by his house alone, his parents left him even more than I thought.

  I press the doorbell before I can chicken out. I feel like I’m taking and taking from William and I hate asking for more.

  I wait for a moment, listening for movement. I’m about to walk away when the door swings open.

  “Holy shit.” The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them and my mouth goes dry at the sight of the man before me.

  “Cally? What are you doing here?”

  Fresh-from-the-shower William Bailey in nothing but a pair of gym shorts and all the muscles a girl’s hands could ask for. His blond curls look darker wet, and he still has beads of water on his bare shoulders. Lord have mercy.

  He blinks at me, and I realize I haven’t said anything. “Hey,” I say softly, “I need a favor.”

  “Come in.” He pulls the door open wider.

  I follow him into the house and try not to stare at the rivulet of water running down between his shoulder blades. “You caught me just out of the shower. Make yourself at home. I’m going to run upstairs and get dressed.”

  Please don’t. “No problem.”

  “There’s coffee in the kitchen. Want me to grab you a cup before I run up?”

  “No need.” I shove my hands into the pockets of my work scrubs. Too damn tempted to touch. “I’ll just follow my nose.”

  The corner of his mouth pulls up in a lopsided grin. As his eyes scan the length of me, something flutters wildly in my stomach. “I’m glad you came by, Cally.”

  Then he’s jogging up the stairs, and I’m alone in his expensive house, feeling like I’m sixteen years old again. The memories of waiting for him in his grandmother’s living room are not my favorite. She would eye me disapprovingly and ask passive-aggressive questions about my parents. She knew them both and approved of neither. Such was my adolescence.

  I follow the smell of coffee and have to bite my lip against the instinct to whistle when I step into his kitchen. Dark wood contrasts sharply with the shiny stainless steel appliances and cool stone counters. Sunlight pours from a bay window on the far wall and splashes against the polished wooden table in the breakfast nook.

  I find the coffee pot tucked in a little alcove next to the refrigerator and a mug in the cabinet above. I fill it with shaking hands. There’s no way I can drink this. Not with the riot of nerves making a mess of my gut.

  Why am I so nervous? Because I’m going to ask him a favor, or because I’m alone with William in his house?

  I’m not the girl I was when Will and I were together. Not much makes me nervous anymore. But he does. Being so close to something I want so much and can’t have does.

  Settling into a chair at the breakfast nook, I take in his gorgeous backyard. Lush, green grass, flag stone patio, all bathed in delicious early-autumn sunlight that reminds me of my childhood and tempts me to indulge in what-ifs and might-have-beens. What if I had never taken money from Anthony? What if Mom had never made us move? What if I had taken that plane home for his senior prom?

  It’s hard to remember that I was once the one who believed so strongly in destiny. In us. I believed the Universe would find a way to bring us back together.

  I squeeze my eyes shut and wrap my hands around my mug, willing the warmth to soothe my uncharacteristic nerves.

  “You didn’t have to sit in the dark.” William’s voice startles me, and the room fills with light.

  “Your home is beautiful. I imagined you in a house like this.”

  “You imagined me, huh?” He pours himself a cup of coffee and settles into the seat across from me. “What else did you imagine?”

  His hair is a mess of wet curls and his black tee stretches across his shoulders and over his sculpted pecs. He didn’t have those muscles when we were teenagers. Not that he didn’t have a nice body, but the good-looking boy has developed into a jaw-dropping man. And I want him.

  It’s nice to want things. Something I’m frequently telling Drew.

  “I imagined you married with a couple of kids.”

  The pain that sweeps over his features at my remark reminds me to find out more about what happened with him and Krystal. Had Lizzy said something about a wedding reception? Was he divorced? And how did Maggie figure in to all of that? So many questions I have no business asking when I’m not willing to answer similar ones about myself.

  “No wife or kids yet. But don’t bring it up around my grandmother. She’s doing her best to remedy the situation.”

  That makes me smile. Maybe his grandmother never was much of a fan of mine, but I always respected her for the way she raised and loved her grandson. She would have done anything for him. We all deserve someone like that. “How’s the old lady doing?”

  “She’s great. She’s gonna outlive all of us.”

  I grin. “That’s good to hear.” Then, because I want to get it over with, I blurt, “I need a big favor.”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  “I want your permission to move the girls into the apartment for a couple of days. There was a—” I take a breath and shudder, “—a rat in the bathroom at Dad’s house this morning. I can’t make them sleep there until we get an exterminator out.”

  He frowns. “How’s that going to work? There are three of you, and the only bedroom has your massage studio set up in it.”

  “It’ll have to work. We’ll make it work somehow. Seriously, they flipped out. I just can’t make them stay there until it’s taken care of. I’ll pay you more rent for use of the whole apartment, but….” God, I hate this. The IOUs I have out with Will are really adding up, and I hate owing people. “It might be awhile. I can’t afford a hotel.”

  “Of course, Cally, but I think you’re missing the obvious solution here.”

  I tense. “What’s that?”

  He waves his hand, gesturing to the space around us. “This house. I have more than enough room to take you all in for a few days. Longer if you need. Move in here with the girls and have the exterminator come out, but you can also use the time to get the carpets changed and do the painting you wanted to get done.”

  I’m speechless. I don’t deserve anything from this man, and yet he keeps giving. “We couldn’t impose on you like that.”

  “It’s no imposition.”

  I tear my eyes away from his and look out into the yard, trying to remember my childhood here in New Hope, our rundown little house in town, never enough money and too many girls under one roof—just Mom, Dad, my two little sisters and me, wishing for a better life. They were good days. We just didn’t have the perspective to understand it then. “I’m only agreeing because I think it’s best for my s
isters. If it was just me—”

  “I know, I know. If it was just you, you’d stay far away from me and my hot body.”

  A giggle slips from my lips. “True story.”

  “I’m happy to help, and not just with this. Let me help you out at your dad’s. I was really hands-on when I built mine, and I’m not without skills.”

  I stomach flips. “So you keep reminding me.”

  Tension, heat, and awareness pulse between us as our gazes tangle.

  “Do you have a hairdryer?”

  I jump at the sound of the unfamiliar female voice and turn to see Meredith standing in the kitchen in a terry cloth robe, her wet hair falling around her shoulders as she towels it dry.

  “Sorry.” She wrinkles her nose and draws her shoulders around her ears. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

  Will pushes away from the table and stands. “Cally, you’ve met Meredith. She owns Venus Salon.”

  I force a shaky smile. What did Will tell me about their relationship? They’re “friends”? Friends who shower together? I nod at her. “Meredith.”

  “Good to see you, Cally.” Her smile lights up her whole face, and if I hadn’t been there, I’d never believe this is the same woman who told me she’d rather have her company wither and die than let me work for her.

  Will shoves his hands into his pockets but he looks perfectly at ease with both of us standing in his kitchen at the same time. Perfectly at ease about the fact that she’s way too close to him for my peace of mind. “There’s a hair dryer under the sink in the guest bathroom.”

  “Great! Thanks!”

  I wait until she leaves before speaking. Even then, I’m sure to choose my words carefully. I don’t want to sound jealous or spiteful. I might feel both, but I have no right to. “Maybe the girls and I should just stay in the apartment after all.”

  “What? Why?”

  “You’re kidding me, right? You really think your girlfriend is going to want your ex and her little sisters living with you? And Jesus, how long have you been seeing her anyway? Does she know only a month ago you were feeling me up in public?” The words spill out of me before I can stop them. So much for choosing them carefully.

  Will’s lips curl into a grin and he slowly closes the distance between us until I have to lift my chin to meet his eyes. “You’re jealous?”

  I shift and my breasts brush his shirt. “Of course not.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.

  “Meredith is a friend. We went running together this morning and I let her use my shower because her hot water heater broke.”

  “How convenient.” I lift my chin. God, I can feel his heat. “She wants you. And I bet money she didn’t need help finding the hair dryer. She just wanted me to know she was here. Naked. She wanted me to be jealous.” I sound like a child throwing an irrational tantrum and I can’t help myself.

  “Hmm.” His eyes drop to my lips. “Well, now you know.”

  “I’m not saying you can’t date her. I mean, date who you want. It’s none of my business. I just want to know what I’m walking into if I move in here for a few days.”

  “No, you’re right.” He toys with the ponytail at the base of my neck and tugs lightly, drawing me closer until I’m pressed against him and his eyes are on my mouth. Until I. Want. More. “She was totally trying to make you jealous. You should definitely get even by making out with me.”

  Just like that, all the tension knotting between my shoulder blades releases and laughter bursts from my lips. “You jerk.” I put my hands to his chest and shove him back a step. “Don’t make fun of me.”

  He shakes his head and runs his eyes over me. “I would never joke about something so serious.”

  “OH. EM. Gee.” Drew’s eyes go big as she walks into my house. “This is what I’m talking about. Cally, you’ve been holding out on us. Making us live in that shithole while your boy here can give us the Ritz?”

  She steps into the two-story entryway and spins a little circle, and I am so damn glad I convinced Cally to bring them here. I invited her father to stay as well, but he’s not as sensitive to rodents as his daughters, and he said he wouldn’t be comfortable taking advantage of my hospitality. Not the case for Cally’s little sisters. Drew is looking around with the wide eyes of a child on Christmas, and Gabby’s grin stretches from ear to ear.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Cally says to Drew, “but we’re not staying long.”

  “Like it? You know, I think I was born to be rich. There’s a pampered princess somewhere who really wishes she could live in that rat-infested cabin of Dad’s and right now she’s enduring her evening pedicure and facial. I was switched at birth.”

  “Hush,” Cally says. “Your life is not that terrible. Will, do you want to show us where the girls will be sleeping? I’ll bring in their suitcases.”

  Cally and the girls follow me upstairs, and I show Drew and Gabby the room they’ll be sharing. The house has four bedrooms but one is set up with all my camera equipment and computers, so it’s not fit for company.

  “Your sister will in the room just down the hall if you need her.”

  “Not to be ungrateful or anything,” Drew says, “but let’s simplify things and put me in her room from the start. We all know Cally’s going to end up in your bed anyway.”

  Cally’s cheeks flame red. “Drew!”

  “She’s welcome there anytime,” I say, “but we’ll let her make that choice, okay?”

  Drew just looks back and forth between us for a minute before shaking her head. “I don’t get you two.”

  Cally avoids my gaze and studies the hardwood floor at her toes. “That makes two of us.”

  After we get the girls settled into their room, I show Cally to hers. “I apologize if the bed’s not very comfortable. It’s my old bed from Grandma’s.”

  Something flashes in her eyes. Memories of what we used to do in that bed? Regrets about what we never did? “It has to be better than that couch I’m sleeping on.” She rubs her forearm then digs her thumb into the palm of her hand.

  “Are you hurt?”

  She drops her hands to her sides as if she hadn’t realized what she was doing. “I’m just sore from giving so many massages today. Sometimes my hands want to lock up at the end of the day.” She shrugs. “It’s normal when I’m putting in this many hours.”

  I take her hand and start working my thumbs into the muscles of her forearm, starting near her elbow and massaging my way down to the palm of her hand. As I apply pressure to the pad of her thumb, her eyes flutter closed. A low, barely audible moan slips from her lips.

  Evening sun slants in the back window, spilling light across her face. She’s so damn beautiful. The thick smear of her dark lashes across her cheek, the sweet curve of her lips. I could kiss her now. I could pull her close and put my lips on hers, slide my hands down her sides and curl my fingers into her hips as I seduce her with my mouth.

  I could do all that. I want all that. But I want her near me more, and I know kissing her will scare her away.

  “Cally.”

  Her lids flutter open and she blinks at me. We stand like that, staring at each other in the warmth of the evening sun, two people reorienting themselves after getting lost in a moment.

  “Oh, God!” Drew’s irritated tone snaps us both to attention. “Seriously, just give me this room and move her downstairs with you.”

  Brady’s. Beer. Pool. Girl time. Tonight.

  Grinning at Lizzy’s text, I drop the paintbrush I was using on the front door and tap out a quick reply: You have something against complete sentences, Miss Teacher?

  Bite me. <-- Complete sentence.

  Minutes later, her cherry red Charger pulls into Dad’s gravel drive, saving me from contemplating the painfully long list of repairs that need to be done to the house. Drew might not need the glam she says she wants, but even so, a couple of gallons of paint aren’t going to cut it. While working here today, I realized the roof is leaking, causing God knows what
kind of damage in the attic. Then when I was out on the back deck, I noticed a rotten board cracked under one of the girl’s camping chairs. The place is a hazard and a money pit. At minimum, he needs a new stove, a new deck, and a new roof. None of those things come cheap.

  Lizzy and Hanna climb out and survey the house.

  “Ouch,” Lizzy says, wincing. “Is that place…sanitary?”

  “It’s not that bad,” Hanna attempts. “Maybe with some fresh paint?”

  “It needs more than paint,” I mutter.

  “How’s your dad’s job search going?” Hanna asks. “Any luck?”

  “He managed to find a part-time research position working for a faculty member at Sinclair.”

  “Oh, that’s great!” Hanna says.

  He needs something more, but I don’t share any of that with my friends. They’re worried enough about me without me piling it on.

  Lizzy spins on me. “I can’t believe you moved in with William and didn’t tell us.”

  I shuffle back. “I didn’t realize I needed to keep you updated.”

  “Save it for the margaritas,” Hanna tells her sister. “Some conversations require tequila.”

  The bar is more crowded than I expected for a Wednesday night, but that makes the girls happy. I objected to the possibility of more tequila, so they’ve ordered us a pitcher of beer and staked out a booth by the pool tables, where they’re scoping out the unsuspecting townies.

  “Are you following me?” The question comes from right by my ear, and I have to resist the urge to lean into William.

  “We got here first,” I say. He brushes the hair off my neck, and I stand stock still and attempt to pretend I’m not affected by his touch. “I think that means you’re following me.”

  The girls’ eyes widen at the sight of Will.

  “I see you brought your posse,” Lizzy says, looking over Will’s shoulder.

  Will smirks. “I think you’ve already met my friends Sam and Max.”

  I was so focused on William, I didn’t even realize he wasn’t here alone. The guys slide out of a booth on the other side of the bar and join our little meet-and-greet. I recognize them from high school. Like Will, time has been good to them. They’re both ridiculously handsome. The dark-haired one is in jeans and a fitted blue T-shirt that calls attention equally to impressive pecs and an amazing pair of baby blues. The other sports a dark polo and khakis. But neither of them is anywhere near the level of nuclear hotness that is my William is in a button-up white Oxford, sleeves rolled to his elbows, jeans hugging his narrow hips.