Page 17 of Love is Grand

“I put in an order for the tasting menu. I just have to call when we want it brought over.” It was then I noticed he had the table made up for dining, two candles flickering romantically in the center. When he noticed me glancing that way, he said, “They did it. Well, I asked, but the staff set it up like that. I can’t take all the credit. I figured we’d be stuck in the room.”

“Cal,” I said before wetting my dry mouth with wine. “I can’t go gallivanting all over the island with you again. I’m a mom with a daughter who needs me to be there for her, not floozing around. I’ll look like the desperate spinster I’m destined to be.”

For some reason, this made him laugh. He walked close, drink in hand.

“First, floozing? Is that a word?”

I nodded in response, a small smile turning up my lips.

Cal shook his head. “It’s not. I went to law school, so I should know. I’d hardly call dinner and drinks at the Grand floozing if it were. Second, you’re not a spinster, and definitely not desperate. If anyone is desperate, it’s me. You have me panting for you, Shell. I’m happy to stay in, if that’s how I get to spend time with you.”

“Well, I’m glad you want me,” I said. “I want you, but inside this room is all we have. A good time, and then we part ways.”

It felt like I was reassuring myself more than him. At the same time, I didn’t know where my boldness was coming from. This wasn’t me, but maybe if I acknowledged our boundaries aloud, my heart would listen, so I went with it.

Cal nodded and took a swig of Scotch. I watched the sip travel down his throat, his Adam’s apple allowing it to pass. It was as if I could feel the warmth spreading in his chest and belly.

“A good time it is,” he said. “Have another sip, because then I’m taking your glass.”

I did as I was told, and he did as he promised.

Our drinks finally resting on the end table next to the sofa, Cal guided me to the bedroom, where he took his time stripping me of my clothes.

First, he pulled my cream-colored sweater over my head, careful not to catch it in the hoop earrings he’d bought me. His palms caressed down my back and up again before he unlatched my bra, then swept in front and took hold of my breasts.

He worked wonders there, making my head fall back from the sensation alone, until he dropped to his knees and pulled my jeans down, followed by my red panties. I slipped my feet out of my clogs, and he yanked everything over my ankles, then ran his tongue down the length of my calf and up my inner thigh, to my most sensitive area.

I tried to watch, but inevitably, my head lolled back again as he found the bundle of nerves at my core. With his mouth, he brought me almost to the crescendo and then held me there for many breaths until I moaned his name and the word, “Please.” It was only then that he let my world explode in front of my eyes. Once I’d had the orgasm to end all orgasms, he carried me to the bed, kicked off his shorts, put on a condom, and thrust inside me.

I knew there was a fiercer side of Cal he kept hidden. I wasn’t sure how I knew—it was a feeling that came to me. He could be, would be, more assertive and even aggressive if I showed I was interested, but I didn’t. The basics alone with him had me on the edge of falling too deep.

Assertive Cal might kill me. Not literally, but any chance of my heart surviving would be dead.

Afterward, we lay in each other’s arms as if this was a normal everyday occurrence. Cal ordered our food, and room service discreetly served us a five-course meal while we were dressed in bathrobes. Later, we made love—I mean, had sex—again.

Before I sneaked out of his villa and drove home, I told Cal I didn’t have coverage for Weezie the next few days, and wished him a happy New Year. He opened the door for me to leave, not pushing for more, and neither did I, for fear of getting too close.

Although, I doubted his reasons were the same as mine.

• February •

Shell

I rolled over and into Cal’s arms, not wanting to admit how much I’d craved the smell, touch, and feel of this man over the last couple of months since I saw him at Christmas.

Instead, I mumbled, “Coffee?”

Quickly brushing my hair away from my face so my curls no longer tickled my eyelashes, I quietly breathed in his scent. It was a mix of all man, coconut-scented soap from the hotel, and a faint hint of his cologne. Tom Ford, I knew, because I’d seen the bottle in the bathroom. I wasn’t snooping, only lingering.

“I ordered it for seven. It should be here any minute,” he murmured back, pulling me tighter into his arms and scent and invisible web.

“Oh, good. It’s a new roast, an anniversary blend. That’s what I was delivering yesterday when I sneaked in here. My sneaky deliveries are becoming a bad habit, you know?” I said, rambling like I sometimes did.

I wasn’t nervous about being with Cal in this moment. Our carefully calculated nights where I was more stowaway than single mom had been the highlight of the last few months. If I was being honest, I was scared about what would happen when I wasn’t able to steal these nights with him anymore. When he moved on, or decided I wasn’t worth the trouble.

After all, wasn’t that what Ricky had done?

Cal’s lips grazed my temple, bringing me back to reality with his words. “Speaking of running the blend here ... I want to know, are you quitting the restaurant?”

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