Another bad thought.
She grabbed plates out of a cupboard, and they loaded up with food. “Sorry, I was just getting out of the shower when you got here. But everything’s looking good at the shop.”
“Good.”
She handed him a pair of chopsticks, and they carried their dinners into the family room. “Daredevil now?” she asked. “Or later?”
“Let’s watch the news first.”
“Sure.” She clicked on the TV. “How was your day?”
Shitty. I had a weird, uncomfortable, annoying conversation with your ex-husband. People are gossiping about us. We could lose the project. I have to stop seeing you. But he couldn’t bring himself to say any of this out loud. “It was okay.”
Two hours later, Callie was asleep with her head on his shoulder.
His chest filled with softness as he stroked her hair off her face. She was exhausted. She’d been killing herself to get the bakery ready. He’d done as much as he could to help her, but she was pretty determined to do it on her own, plus he had his own business to keep going. And his mom and sister to look after.
He turned off the TV and shifted her so he could pick her up. She made a soft noise and snuggled into him as he carried her upstairs to her bed. “Hey, darlin’,” he said softly. “Let’s get you out of your jeans.”
He’d already discovered she had no bra on, so with the loose jeans off, he tucked her into bed. He paused, looking down at her, the smooth curve of her cheek with her face pressed to the pillow, her silky dark hair around her shoulders, her lips soft. Once more he stroked her hair.
A fist squeezed his throat, and he straightened, devouring her with burning eyes. He clenched his fists and tried to breathe, his stomach threatening to rebel.
She’d expect to wake up with him in the morning. But he knew he had to leave.
Unable to stop himself, he bent down and pressed his lips to her hair, breathing in her scent, filling his lungs with it as if trying to hold it there forever. “Goodbye, darlin’,” he whispered, his throat thick.
His heart cracked wide open, jagged and bloody, as he jogged down the stairs. He turned out lights, made sure the front door was locked, and let himself out the kitchen door into the garage. With aching, wrenching regret, he backed out of her garage and drove home. Alone.
…
He got Callie’s text the next morning. He was already at the office with a huge coffee from Starbucks to keep him going after the sleepless night he’d had, tossing and turning and thinking about Callie, dreaming about her when he did get to sleep, stomach-knotting dreams where she was jumping off a cliff and he was trying to get to her and couldn’t.
Hey, where’d you go last night?
Home. You were asleep.
Her reply took ten minutes to come through.
Sorry. Didn’t mean to conk out on you on the couch.
Great. She thought he was annoyed about her crashing.
No worries. You were obviously tired.
He sent the message, paused, then typed again.
Too tired for some action.
Fuck, he was an asshole. He would have happily spent the night in her bed, snuggling her sleepy body and not having sex.
Again, her response was slow.
I guess I was tired. Sorry again.
No worries.
He tossed his phone onto his desk and scrubbed his hands over his face. Self-loathing rose up his throat, nearly choking him. But they couldn’t be together—this was how things had to be. Once again he needed to put her out of his head and focus on business.
He managed to do that for the morning, mostly, blocking out everything but work…although Callie was always there in the back of his mind. At noon he headed out to meet one of his football buddies, Eric, for lunch.
They caught up on professional and personal news, Cash resisting the impulse to say, “Hey, guess who I’m sleeping with?” Instead he asked, “Have you seen Tyler lately?”
“No, but we’re getting together next weekend. A bunch of us are going out to some beach house a friend of his has…it’s apparently pretty amazing. You should come with us. We’re gonna go golfing and party a little. If you come, that’ll make eight of us, perfect for two foursomes.”
“Yeah.” Cash paused. “Sure, that sounds like fun.” Getting away from Callie—and away from temptation—would probably be a good thing. Yeah, run away, you asshole.
Chapter Twenty
Callie hadn’t seen Cash in almost two weeks, not since that Monday night she’d fallen asleep on her couch after he’d brought over Chinese food. He’d responded to her texts with terse messages but hadn’t initiated contact with her at all.
She tried to tell herself it didn’t matter, but the truth was, she was dying inside. Everything ached. She hadn’t been sleeping. Hadn’t been eating much. She jumped at every little sound, cried at dog food commercials, and had bitten her lips raw. She missed him.
She tried to focus on Caked. They were open and doing nicely, but it hurt that Cash hadn’t stopped by to see the shop, or even texted a congratulations message. His silence and withdrawal had pulled her down into this heavy darkness, despite how well things were going at the bakery.
Ginnie had started her job with her and was proving invaluable dealing with customers. She’d apparently worked a number of different summer jobs, last year in a flower shop that did a lot of weddings, so she had a handle on the whole bridezilla thing. She was a big help, but having Cash’s sister there every day was also a bitter reminder that he…wasn’t.
They weren’t open long hours, only noon to six Tuesday to Friday, and ten to five on Saturdays, but Callie got there early every morning to do her baking. It should have been fun deciding what kind of macarons she’d make that day or what new cookie creation she’d come up with, but with every day she didn’t hear from Cash, she had to battle the blade twisting in her chest and the overwhelming, paralyzing feeling that without him none of this mattered.
It had to matter. This was what she’d wanted, what she’d worked so hard for. She had to get a grip on her emotions. If she let her feelings for Cash interfere with her business, she’d lose everything. So she kept going. She posted on social media, cheerful photos of the daily specials. And some days there’d been people outside the door at noon waiting for them to open, which was very cool.
But every night, physically tired and emotionally drained, she collapsed on her couch at home, and her thoughts returned to Cash. What had gone wrong? Should she press him to talk about what was going on? Or just let things die, which appeared to be what he wanted? She was confused and bewildered. Had he been that annoyed that she’d fallen asleep and they didn’t have sex?
Her stomach grew tight, thinking that all he wanted from her was sex. And yet, she’d known all along that was all they could have. She was the one who’d made it clear at the start it would be just sex, nothing more, and Beau would never know about it.
Except…she’d fallen in love.
She was an idiot. She’d always known there could never be any long-term relationship between them. How could she have been so damn stupid to start hoping there could be? Cash was so loyal to Beau, and she knew better than ever how important Talmadge Hale Consulting was to him. Of course he would never choose her over Beau and the business that helped support his family.
Story of her life.
Scalding tears threatened, but she fought them back, not wanting to give in to the growing despair, afraid that if she did she’d never battle her way out of it.
It was awkward seeing Cash’s sister every day and pretending things were fine. Exhausted from all the work she’d done on the shop, stressed about sales, and hurt by Cash’s distance, she couldn’t bring herself to ask Ginnie what was going on with him. After all, she was unaware they’d been sleeping together and were more than just friends. So Callie kept a smile in place and determinedly avoided any mention of Cash.
“It amazes me how good you are at this,
” Ginnie said one day, watching Callie making gum-paste violets. “They’re so perfect.”
Callie forced a smile. “I don’t think they’re perfect, but then I’m super picky and hard on myself. But I enjoy it.”
“I can help you with things back here, too,” Ginnie offered. “When it’s not busy.”
“That would be awesome.”
“I mean, don’t give me anything too technical.” Ginnie grinned. “But I can take things out of the oven.”
“Good, because those cupcakes are about ready to come out.”
Ginnie crossed over to one of the ovens to check the time.
“So, it’s Friday night—got big plans for the weekend?” Callie asked.
“Mmm. Cash is taking Kevin, Mom, and me to the Astros game tonight. That should be fun.”
Callie’s stomach cramped, and she steadied her hands. “Yeah, should be a nice evening for baseball.”
“I love baseball,” Ginnie said. “And Kevin’s crazy about it, so he’s really jacked about this. I guess Cash’s company has season tickets that they use for clients sometimes, but he invited us tonight.”
Jealousy seared through Callie. Not that she was a huge baseball fan; she’d rather watch football any day. But she wanted to be the one Cash invited to ball games. Or anywhere.
Sadness swelled in her throat, and she blinked back tears.
“How about you?” Ginnie asked. “What are you doing this weekend?”
She swallowed a sigh. “My friends invited me to go to the Crab Festival at Crystal Beach tomorrow, but of course I’m working, so first I said I couldn’t go.”
“Ah. That sucks.” Ginnie frowned. “I guess that’s the downside of having your own business.”
“True.” She wasn’t in the mood for having fun anyway. “But my friend Kristy offered to wait until five when we close here, so probably I’ll go with her and we’ll spend the night there. They got a suite at the Sea Grass Inn.”
“Oh great! That sounds like fun.”
Callie gave a lopsided smile. “Yeah.” Sure. Fun. But she needed something to take her mind off Cash, so she was grateful Kristy had offered to wait for her.
“I haven’t been to the Crab Festival for a few years.” Ginnie opened the oven door as the timer went off and peered inside. “I remember it being great, though. Damn, now I want to go.”
Callie smiled. “Well, you could always go tomorrow night, too. Or there’s Sunday.”
Right now Caked wasn’t open Sundays or Mondays. She reserved Mondays for the business stuff: doing the hated bookkeeping, ordering supplies, and working on cake designs. She’d see how busy things got and whether it would be worthwhile to open those days, but even though she wanted to be busy to distract herself, she needed at least one day off.
…
Kristy picked her up at home at six o’clock Saturday evening. She’d just had time to close the shop and zip home and change. She had a small overnight bag packed and a bag with several bottles of wine.
“Okay, let’s hit the road.” Kristy picked up the wine. “If traffic’s okay we should be there before eight.”
“Sorry to make you wait for me.”
“It’s fine, Cal. Charlotte and Emma went earlier and got us checked in at the hotel. They’ll probably be drunk by the time we get there.”
“And full of gumbo.”
Kristy laughed. “That, too.”
They hit I-10 and sped east through the city, talking about all kinds of things and listening to music.
As they neared Mont Belvieu, Kristy shot her a look and said, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You seem a little down. Business is going well, right?”
“Yeah, it’s going great. Some days I’m selling out of stuff before we close.”
“That’s awesome. How’s your new salesgirl working out?”
“Ginnie’s great.” She sighed and looked down at her hands and tried not to burst into tears at Kristy’s questions. “Oh, Kristy.” Her voice quivered. “I think I’m in big trouble.”
“What’s wrong?” Alarm raised Kristy’s voice, and she shot Callie a sideways glance.
She told Kristy about Cash’s withdrawal. “I don’t understand what happened.”
Kristy was silent, then said quietly, “But you knew you two couldn’t really be together.”
Anguish squeezed her lungs. “I know. But…” She nibbled her thumb nail.
“You fell in love with him.”
She nodded morosely.
“Maybe he decided to end things before Beau found out.”
Callie’s eyes stung, and she squeezed them shut. “But still…we were friends.”
“Who were banging each other’s brains out.”
Callie choked on a half laugh, half sob. “Sort of, yeah. I just… I was getting this feeling that maybe it could be more than that. That maybe it was more than that. I don’t know. It’s just weird that he answers my texts with just a few words and lets my calls go to voicemail.”
“Well, the best way to know what’s going on is to ask him.”
Callie chewed her bottom lip. “I know. I know you’re right. I guess…the truth is, I’m scared.”
“Scared that he’ll say, yes, it’s over?”
“Yeah.” Her heart constricted, and she pulled in a shaky breath through her nose.
“This was what I was worried about,” Kristy murmured. “Shit.” She reached out and gave Callie’s forearm a squeeze. “I don’t know what to say, hon. I only saw you two together that one day, and it wasn’t for long, but he did seem really into you. He’s such a…Southern gentleman, I guess is how I’d describe him. I know he doesn’t come from the same social circles as Beau and your family, but he seems like a great guy.”
Callie’s throat squeezed. “He is a great guy.”
“But it is awkward, him being Beau’s friend.” She paused. “D’you think Beau would ever accept you and Cash being together?”
Callie’s lips pushed out. “I…don’t know.” Yeah, she did know. Beau would be pissed. “I need wine.”
“Hang in, hon, we’ll be there soon. Maybe tequila is what you need.”
“That, too.”
When they neared Crystal Beach, Kristy said, “Text Charlotte and tell them we’re almost there. I know the room number, but we don’t have keys.”
Callie tapped in a message. “Okay, they’re going to wait in the room for us, and then we can all go out together.”
“Perfect.”
Emma threw open the hotel room door when they knocked. “Welcome! We have crabs!”
Callie grinned. “I certainly hope not.”
All four women laughed as Kristy and Callie carried their bags into the suite.
“Clearly you ladies have already been partying.”
Emma grinned. “You bet. Come on, let’s go. There’s a two-step contest tonight.”
“Who are we going to dance with?” Kristy lifted a perfectly groomed eyebrow.
Emma gave her a look. “I think we can find some partners.”
Callie sighed, then pasted on a smile. “Sounds like fun. But I’m starving.”
“And she needs tequila.”
Emma turned and hefted a bottle of Patron from a dresser with a triumphant grin. “Shots all around!”
Callie smiled despite the sadness that weighed her down. She loved her friends. If anyone could cheer her up, it was them.
A few shots later, Charlotte said, “Come on. We’ll go get Callie and Kristy crabs. And then we dance!”
The festival was in full swing, with music and food and dancing. A Ferris wheel rotated slowly in the sky amid other carnival rides, and people tried their hands at various games of skill. The girls devoured a pile of delicious sweet crab claws before the vendor sold out. Callie laughed and drank margaritas out of plastic cups and threw herself into the event.
They checked out the booths with local arts and crafts and tried their hand at the washer bo
ard competition. Callie missed every shot, and Kristy threw her arm around her. “You’re too drunk for this.”
“I know.” She leaned into her friend.
“Are you still sad?”
“No. Actually, now I’m pissed.” She straightened and lifted her chin. She’d been mulling things over in the back of her mind all evening. “I’m done wallowing over Cash. If he’s enough of a jerk to blow me off because I was too tired to have sex one night, then he’s not worth my time. I just want to forget about him and have a good time. Let’s go listen to the music.”
“Okay.”
In the falling darkness, they danced on the grass to the tunes of local entertainer Reefer Madness.
Emma, Charlotte, and Kristy started flirting with a bunch of guys as they listened to the music. Callie exchanged a tipsy smile with one of them. She wasn’t interested in actually making something happen, but she laughed along with the others as they talked. Then a few more guys joined them, other friends of theirs, and Callie’s jaw dropped when she saw one of them was…Cash.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart slammed against her ribs. Her insides immediately went so tight she was afraid she was going to throw up all the seafood she’d just eaten.
He had a plastic cup of beer in his hand, wore a loose plaid short-sleeved shirt over cargo shorts, and leather sandals. His face was tanned, like he’d spent the day outside. He looked…amazing. Handsome. Captivating. Her mouth went dry, and she pressed a hand to her stomach.
When his gaze landed on her, his expression changed—eyes widening, then narrowing, then shifting. “Callie.”
“Cash! Hey, what a surprise!” She threw every particle of surprised happiness she could find into her words.
The guys he was with all looked at her. She didn’t know any of them. They weren’t his and Beau’s usual friends. She smiled at them, too. Interest sparked in one guy’s eyes, and Cash scowled.
“Hi, Callie.” Cash gave a tight smile to the others. “Kristy, Charlotte, Emma.” He introduced Callie’s friends to the guys he was with. Callie didn’t even hear their names, her thoughts whirling at seeing Cash here.
“Hey, y’all, we want to enter the two-step contest in a while, but we need partners,” Charlotte said with her charming smile. “Any of you handsome fellows up for that?”
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