Calum winked. “A fallen angel, actually.”
She rolled her eyes. “Figures.”
Such an American phrase spilling from her perfect Italian lips made him laugh. “We’ll make a Yank out of you yet.”
She stared at him in mock horror. “My papa would disown me.”
He pushed open the door and, with his hand at the small of her back, eased her inside. They were seated quickly, and once the waiter had taken their drinks order, they were left alone to peruse the menu.
“Have you been here before?” Laurella asked.
Calum nodded. “Many times.”
“Then what would you recommend?”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Oysters.”
Laurella shook her head. “I’m not sure your libido needs any more stoking.”
“I like it hot, and from what you showed me last night, so do you.”
Her eyes burned into him, hauntingly beautiful. Mesmerizing. He found he couldn’t look away, almost as though she’d trapped him in that moment with her gaze alone.
“I do like it hot. And varied.”
Fuck. Me.
He fidgeted in his chair, surreptitiously reaching beneath the heavy linen covering on the table to rearrange his junk before the damn thing bust through his jeans.
“Oysters it is, then,” he said, clearing his throat several times.
She dipped her chin, glancing up at him through those unbelievably long lashes, one of the first features he’d noticed about her all those months ago.
Her foot rubbed against his leg. “Are you turned on right now?”
He’d been sipping water when she asked that. He almost spat it out but managed to swallow. “You know I am.”
That foot crept upward. Sometime between sitting down and right then, she’d removed her shoes. Damn. When had she slipped them off? Her toes curled over his erection, and he almost leaped out of his chair. A quiet groan eased from his throat. Then her foot was gone.
“Why—”
She jerked her head. The waiter was patiently standing by their table, his face as red as the window banner advertising the name of the restaurant. Their wine was in an ice bucket by the side of the table. Calum had been so entranced by what Laurella had been doing to him that he hadn’t even realized they weren’t alone.
“Are you ready to order, sir, madam?” the waiter asked, unable to make eye contact. His pen was poised over his pad, and his face had the look of someone who wanted to be anywhere but where he was.
Calum grinned at Laurella and mouthed, “Busted.”
She giggled. “Yes, we’re ready. He’ll order for both of us.”
Calum gave the menu a cursory glance, even though he knew it by heart. “The oysters du jour and two portions of the braised short ribs.” He held the menus out to the side.
The grateful waiter took them and scurried away.
“That poor man,” Laurella said, still chuckling.
Calum poured them each a glass of wine. “That was all you. And here I was thinking I’m the badly behaved one.”
She sipped her wine, and her foot began exploring once more. “Now, where were we?”
By the time they’d finished dinner, both of them were running hot. The second they got outside, Laurella dragged Calum down a side street where the crowds were less thick. There were still plenty of people around, although she didn’t seem to care. She pushed him up against the wall and kissed him. The control was all hers. He was simply a passenger along for the ride. And what a ride it was.
His cell buzzed, but he ignored it. Nothing could be more important than tangling tongues with the hottest girl he’d ever met. He’d always thought being in charge was the turn on, but how wrong he’d been. Giving control to someone else, especially one as sexy as Laurella, stirred him up something fierce inside.
When his cell buzzed again, he inwardly cursed. His lips were still connected to hers as he took it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Zane. What the hell did he want?
“Who is it?” she murmured, her red, swollen lips urging him to put his mouth on her again.
“Zane.” He swiped to answer. “What?” he snapped into the phone.
“Where are you?” Zane asked, sounding mightily pissed off.
“Why?”
“Because we’re all sitting in Fred’s like a bunch of dicks, waiting for you.”
Fuck. He’d forgotten. The first Saturday of every third month, he and his old college buddies met up for a night of pool and beer.
“Shit.” He looked down at Laurella, whose eyes were misty with desire, an undoubted mirror image of his own. “Sorry, Zane, I need to bail.”
“Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Is Jax okay?”
Calum frowned. Where the hell was he going with this? “Yes.”
“Cole? Nate? All good?”
Realization crept in. “Yes,” he said in a resigned tone.
“Then you’re coming. Unless you’re in a life-or-death situation, you don’t bail.” He paused. “Are you with a chick? Because if you are, put her in a cab and get over here. Bros before hoes, remember? That’s the code.”
Calum let out a frustrated breath. “No, I’m not with a chick.”
“What’s the matter?” Laurella whispered.
“Hang on,” he said to Zane before putting his cell on mute. “Every few weeks, Zane and I meet up with the guys we went to college with. I completely forgot it’s tonight.”
Laurella hid her disappointment behind a wry grin. “Then you must go.”
Calum curved a hand around her neck and pecked her lips. “I’d rather be with you.”
She shook her head. “Bros before hoes, remember?” When he showed his surprise, she laughed. “Tell Zane he’s got a loud mouth.”
“Shit. Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. You go. Have fun with your friends. I don’t want to come between you and your life, Calum. If we were in Milan instead of New York, and it was me going out with my girlfriends, I’d still go. Sisters before misters, right?”
He laughed. “Okay, but I’m coming over tomorrow, and we’re spending the whole day in bed.”
Her smile built slowly. “That’s what Sundays are for.”
Chapter 17
Calum saw Laurella safely into a cab then rode the subway to Fred’s bar. For the past six years, he’d looked forward to these get-togethers, yet right then, standing outside the place where he and his buddies had shared many a great night, he could easily be heading for the gallows. Jesus. Had he been whipped into shape by Laurella so quickly? He needed to slap a smile on, and damned quick, because Zane and the others would see through him in a fucking heartbeat.
He walked into Fred’s and glanced around. A loud cheer came from the back, over by the pool tables. Zane, Jacob, and Leron all started clapping as he walked over.
“The prodigal son arrives,” Zane said, standing to slap him on the back.
“You’re a bunch of dicks,” Calum said, shaking hands with the other guys. A bottle of beer was pressed into his hand, along with a pool cue.
“So, how come you forgot?” Zane asked, leaning across the baize to set up the balls.
Not exactly the balls Calum thought he’d be playing with that night. Or rather, Laurella would be playing with.
“No particular reason. It’s been a busy day is all.”
Zane tossed a coin. “Call.”
“Heads,” Calum said, his mind totally on how many times he could go down on Laurella the following morning before she begged him to stop.
“You win,” Zane said.
Calum lined up the cue ball and broke. Two balls immediately went into the far left and right pockets. “Stripes,” he said, moving around the table to take his next shot.
Zane’s keen gaze cut into Calum. “We’ve been doing this for six years, Calum. You’ve never forgotten or missed a night. Want to talk about it?”
Calum hit a bad shot and cur
sed. “What are you, a woman? There’s nothing wrong, and even if there was, I’m not going to sit around the table drinking homemade lemonade and knitting scarves while I pour out my troubles.”
Zane bent over the table and easily knocked in his first solid. He went on to sink the next two before he missed a tricky shot. He straightened and leaned on his cue while he took a swig of beer. “I meant to ask, how are you getting along with Laurella? You two manage to iron out your differences yet?”
Calum wasn’t sure whether Zane was fishing or not. He schooled his expression into cold, no-nonsense stare. “For now.”
“Well, try to keep the peace,” Zane said, laughing. “With all the schmoozing she’s been doing with that big client, I need the girl operating on top form.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” Calum drawled.
“You haven’t talked her into bed yet, then?”
“Jesus, what is this—twenty fucking questions?”
Zane held up his right hand. “Christ, what did I say?”
Calum hit another ball into the pocket. “Too fucking much.” He needed to get this game over with, and quickly, before Zane tied him to a chair and shined a light in his eye, torturing him until Calum spilled every detail.
Zane frowned. “I don’t know what’s eating you, Calum, but either shake it off or fuck off. We don’t get much downtime, and what little we do get shouldn’t be spent taking chunks out of one another.”
Calum ignored him. He hit another shot and missed, and to add insult to injury, the white ball slowly trickled into the corner pocket.
Zane laughed. “Jeez, you’re on shitty form tonight.”
“You taking your shot or what?” Calum growled.
Zane’s mouth twisted, but he didn’t respond. He did, however, pot the remaining balls without giving Calum a chance at a comeback. Zane’s triumphant grin grated on Calum’s one remaining nerve.
“If you’re going to play so badly, then feel free to turn up in a foul mood next time, too.”
Calum laid his cue on the table, and Jacob wandered over ready to play the next game. They’d been following this routine for years. Calum and Zane always started off, then the winner played one of the other guys. And so on. Except normally, Calum was the last man standing. Not tonight, though. His mind wasn’t on the game—well, not this game anyway. He flopped into the chair next to Leron.
“You okay, man?” Leron asked. “You seem out of sorts, if you don’t mind me saying.”
Calum swung his beer bottle by the neck before taking a long pull. Unlike Zane, who could be as blunt as Calum, Leron had a quiet way that made it difficult to be obnoxious around him.
A cheer came from the pool table. Zane was winning the second game of the night.
“Not really in the mood for a get-together is all.”
“That’s not like you. Normally, we have to drag you home at the end of the night.”
“How’s Kayla?” Calum asked when the gold band on Leron’s left hand caught the light, giving him a perfect reason to change the subject.
Leron’s face lit up. “She’s great. I never thought I’d say this, but marrying her is the best decision I ever made.”
Calum nodded. “You snagged a good one there.”
“Yeah.” Leron laughed. “Better than I deserve.”
Calum stared into the distance. His insides felt all wrong, like a jigsaw puzzle that had been put together and was found to have missing pieces.
“I can be discreet if you want to talk.”
“Not really my thing,” Calum said, his smile fleeting.
“Is it a woman?”
Calum briefly nodded.
“A special woman?”
He blew out a heavy breath. “If you’d asked me a couple weeks ago, I’d have told you I hated her.”
“And now?”
He stroked his beard. “Well, let’s just say I don’t hate her anymore.”
“And that’s who you were with when Zane called?”
Another nod. “On my way back to her place.”
“Ah.” Leron chuckled. “No wonder you’re in a bad mood. Blue balls will do that to you.”
For the first time since he’d walked into the pool hall an hour earlier, Calum’s mood lifted. It was difficult to remain crabby around Leron.
“Can I ask you something?” Calum said.
“Sure.”
“When you asked Kayla to marry you, how did you know she was the one? I mean, how could you be sure you wouldn’t meet someone you were more attracted to the following week?”
Leron laughed. “And there speaks a man who’s never been in love.”
Calum nodded. “True.”
“I’m sure it’s different for everyone, but for me, it was simple. I couldn’t imagine living even one day without her. When we were apart, it was like I’d lost an arm. When we were together, I felt whole. She’s my safe place to fall, my soul mate.” He laughed again. “And if you tell Zane or Jacob I just told you that, I’ll nail your nuts to the wall.”
Calum grinned and placed a finger over his lips. “Not a word.”
“Leron,” Jacob called over. “You’re up.”
Leron got to his feet. He started to walk over to the pool table then paused and turned around. “If you like this girl, then don’t be afraid to tell her. Because if you don’t, someone else might get there first.”
He ambled toward Zane, aiming a high five at Jacob as he passed. Jacob flopped into the seat next to Calum. “He’s killing it tonight,” Jacob said, referring to Zane’s pool-playing prowess. No doubt, Zane would remind them of this night repeatedly over the coming months.
“He must be. He beat me.” Calum got to his feet. “Another beer?”
Jacob drained the last dregs from his bottle. “Yeah.”
Calum sauntered to the bar rather than call the waitress over. It gave him five minutes alone. While he waited for the beers, he lifted his cell from his pocket. The need to text Laurella consumed him. He craved that jolt of excitement when she replied. With Leron’s words of advice at the forefront of his mind, he typed a quick message.
I’m missing you.
After he pressed Send, a funny sensation came over him, sort of like the one he’d had earlier in the evening. If someone had asked him to describe it, he’d have said it was like standing on the edge of a precipice. He had to decide whether to jump and potentially crash onto the rocks below or to back away and never know whether someone would catch him at the bottom.
His cell vibrated, and her name appeared on the banner. He swiped to the left to read her message: Miss you more.
His stomach vaulted, and a warm feeling spread through his midsection. Calum paid for the beers and headed back over to his friends, but for every step he took, it was like an invisible thread kept tugging him back, urging him to go to her.
He forced himself to keep going. He’d set the beers on the table when Zane and Leron joined them.
“That was quick,” Calum said.
Zane blew on his fingertips. “The master has arrived.”
Calum snorted. “Keep dreaming.”
The four of them bantered, and the evening began to feel more normal, but when his cell buzzed again and he spotted another text from Laurella, his pulse jolted: I’m off to bed. Wanted to say goodnight. See you tomorrow.
He glanced at his watch. Ten-thirty. Normally, these get-togethers went on well into the small hours. He faked a yawn.
“Fuck, look at Granddad over here,” Jacob teased.
“Sorry,” Calum said, even though he was anything but. “It’s all Zane’s fault. He works us like slaves.”
“Bullshit,” Zane said. “And even if I did, you’ve got more stamina than anyone else I know.”
Calum yawned again. “You’re right, but I’m still helping Jax out at the hotel.” Liar. “Must be taking its toll, even on me.”
Zane offered an understanding nod. “Sorry. Of course you are.”
“Jax
is okay, though, yeah?” Leron asked.
A twinge of guilt pinched at Calum’s insides. Using his brother to further his own ends was low—but necessary. “Oh yeah. He’s well. Fully recovered. I want to make sure he doesn’t overdo it, though, so I try to fit in a few shifts a week.”
Yep. I’m going straight to Hell. But it’ll be worth it. He got to his feet. “I’m going to call it a night.”
He expected Zane to give him a hard time, especially as these get-togethers were infrequent, but instead, his best friend stood and clapped him on the shoulder. “Take it easy, okay? Can’t have you burning out on me.”
“It’s all good.” Calum shook hands with Jacob and Leron. “I promise I’ll be bring my A game next time.”
His friends waved away his apologies, and ten seconds later, Calum found himself on the street. He paused outside the subway, removed his cell from his pocket, and sent her a response:
You’re not going to bed without me. I’m on my way.
She replied instantly:
I’ll be waiting.
Chapter 18
Laurella overslept on Monday morning, probably because Calum hadn’t left until the early hours. Her mind turned to the last couple of days, and a smile stole across her face. This weekend had been the best, by far, since she’d moved to New York. After Calum had come over late on Saturday night, they’d only left the bedroom to eat or use the bathroom. Or shower—together.
They’d both agreed to keep their burgeoning relationship under wraps at work, so it was with her professional veneer fully in place that Laurella tapped on Calum’s door upon arriving at the office.
“Yeah,” he called out.
She poked her head inside. “Oh, sorry,” she said as her gaze fell on Julie. “I didn’t realize you were busy. I’ll come back later.”
“No need,” he said. “We’re done here anyway.”
Julie frowned. “No, we’re not. I still need to go over last week’s sales figures with you.”
Calum glared at her. “I said we’re done. Put another meeting in my calendar for later today. We can go over the figures then.”
Julie looked from Calum to Laurella then back at Calum. She shrugged and climbed to her feet. “You’re the boss.”
Against All Odds (A Brook Brothers Novel Book 2) Page 14
