Page 16 of Love is Grand

Our lives didn’t fit.

Shell

I have to take some beans to the Grand for Dad, I texted Cal. I’ll come over (discreetly).

It was the day after Christmas, and of course my dad asked me to help out a while. My mom told Weezie she’d take her to the beach, and then make homemade mac and cheese with her. It was all part of their grand plan to get me to work full-time with my dad.

Cal had texted me late the night before to say Merry Christmas again, and that he wanted to see me. I didn’t respond until now, and he immediately replied with Room 156.

He knew better than to pin me down for a time when I’d be there. I’d agreed to come, and that was about as good as it got with me with all my commitments.

Now, I quietly knocked on his door, wondering for a second if he was there, and then it swung open. Before I could utter a word, Cal snatched my arm and tugged me inside, shutting the door and pressing me against it, kissing me hard.

“Shell,” he whispered against my lips.

“Cal,” I whispered back.

“I love my name on your lips,” he said, still whispering as he stepped back. “Merry Christmas.”

For a moment, I was lost in his eyes, brown with flecks of gold twinkling back at me, silently promising me a good time, a moment of respite from my everyday life.

Cal took another step back, and then I remembered I was upset with him.

Glaring at him, I propped a hand on my hip. “Did you forget to mention something?”

“Wasn’t my news to tell,” he said with a smirk. He ran a hand through his fair hair, a little long at the moment, curling at the ends. He had on a black polo and khaki shorts, no shoes, no jewelry except his heavy Rolex.

We stood a few inches apart, the last rays of daylight streaming through the billowing curtains, the smell of the sea filling the air, already heavy with desire.

I rolled my eyes. “Dad told me when I came in this morning. Of course, I called Rylan to confirm. She couldn’t stop laughing about a Christmas engagement for the girl who never wanted to commit to anyone, but I thought it was kind of fitting. It’s always the ones who don’t want lasting love who seem to hit it just right.”

Closing my eyes, I pushed away any further resentment toward my friend. Rylan didn’t deserve it. After all, I had been the one who’d chosen Ricky, and I was the one who was now hanging out in a hotel room with New York’s biggest playboy. My own choices had led to my current disappointment.

Cal grinned. “Well, she certainly seemed to bedazzle my brother. He’s in it to win it with her. By the way, he didn’t pop the question when I was there. Witnessing engagements isn’t my jam. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

There. He said it. Drew the line in the sand, so to speak. Cal was a good-time guy, and I deserved a good time. Period.

“That would have been awkward,” I said, stating the obvious. “Ry texted me a pic of the ring, and it’s so perfect. Of course, she says Adam is in a hurry to run down the aisle. I’ll bet that the wedding will be sooner than later.”

With a big honking three-carat emerald-cut diamond set among emeralds, a man who adored her, a new life in a huge mansion, and frequent travel, it all added up to a fast trip down the aisle.

Walking toward the bar, Cal said, “They’re thinking of April.”

“Oh, you would know.” I stayed where I was, standing there like an idiot while my body tingled ... for him.

“Adam told Ry that’s how long she had. Until April, before summer and they traveled back to the States for a few months, and before the wedding season heated up for her work. He doesn’t want to share her, he said. Drink?” Cal asked, changing gears just like that.

“Sure. Wine?”

He opened the mini-fridge and pulled out a chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc, which was what I liked best. I couldn’t tell if he’d remembered that, or maybe it was just a lucky guess.

“I thought you might want some,” he said.

Ah. He remembered.

He handed me a glass filled with a healthy pour, and then tipped a few fingers of Scotch into a tumbler. “Cheers.”

Cal flicked a switch near the bar, and R&B flooded the room. Sade crooned, and I wondered if this was his act with all the ladies.

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