Page 84 of In Good Company

I swallow, my eyes searching his. There’s so much pain in the blue eyes staring back at me that I almost tell him everything. I almost tell him how devastated both my parents were when we lost Luke and Logan. There were times I would sit at the top of the stairs and listen to my parents sob into each other’s arms. Often, they’d fall asleep right there on the couch, their bodies so exhausted from the tears that they couldn’t even make it to their room. I’d tell him how the lawsuits against the drunk driver completely drained the little money my parents had and that we almost lost the store in the legal process just to be able to pay the bills.

I’d tell him how the night before I left for college, my dad sat me down at the table and told me he needed me to be the one to take over the business. He cried in front of me—something he’d never done. He always saved those moments for times he thought I wasn’t around. Tears had run down his face when he said he couldn’t lose the store on top of losing my brothers.

The moment I arrived on my college campus, I changed my major to business. I swore I’d do whatever it took to never see my father that defeated again. I got the degree I needed to make sure I did all his work justice when he passed down thecompany to me. I thought I’d be well into my thirties before I was ever faced with having to actually take it over, but then the heart attack happened.

I’m having to take it over far sooner than I ever imagined, and I almost confess to Cal that despite all of that, I still wish deep down I didn’t have to. I’m terrified I’m going to fail and ruin the legacy my dad so desperately wants to uphold. From the moment we got the news of the accident, I’ve tried doing everything possible to take care of my parents and be the perfect daughter.

They’ve gone through enough. I never want them to worry about me.

If I could, I’d admit to Cal that I feel guilty for not wanting my father’s legacy and that, because it isn’t my dream, somehow, I’ll mess it all up. That I’ll let him down, and he’ll have not only lost Luke and Logan, but he’ll have lost his store too—because of me.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Cal asks, his words breaking me from my thoughts. I hadn’t even realized I’d been so lost in my head that I hadn’t responded to him.

I lean in and place my forehead against his. For a moment, we just soak each other in. His eyelids flutter shut, and so do mine. Our breaths fall in sync, and I don’t know how much time passes while we stay like that.

Eventually, I let out a long sigh. “No matter what I tell you, it won’t change anything, Cal. I have to go back to Virginia, and you’ll go back to Manhattan, and what I want won’t change that. It wouldn’t work.”

I expect him to argue, but when I open my eyes and find his already on mine, it seems like he doesn’t have it in him to argue anymore. We stare at each other for a few seconds before he lets out a long sigh.

“I’m going to spend the rest of the summer trying to change your mind, baby. You’ll see.”

Before I can tell him it’s no use, his lips are crashing against mine, and his fingers are tangling in my hair.

The moment our lips collide, I let out a satisfied moan. Nothing has ever felt more right than when Cal’s lips are on mine. I know for a fact no kiss in the future will ever compare unless it’s from him.

Because of that, I throw myself into the kiss. I greedily push my tongue into his mouth, wanting to deepen the kiss as much as possible.

My hips grind against him. I search for some kind of relief for my throbbing clit. The possessive way he kisses me and keeps my mouth pinned to his turns me on. I can’t get enough of him.

Cal rips his mouth from mine. His fingertips press against my scalp as he makes sure I can see nothing but him with his next words. “You’ve ruined me, Lucy baby. I need you to know that.”

He leans in to kiss me again, not even giving me the chance to respond. Maybe he does it on purpose. Maybe it’s that he thinks he can’t handle my answer. Whatever it is, I welcome the distraction.

It’ll just hurt us both if I admit to him he’s ruined me too.

I think I’ll spend the rest of my life comparing every kiss—every man—to the one holding me right now.

Cal’s hands move from my hair. They slide down my back before cupping my ass. He continues to prove to me that no one else will ever kiss me as well as he does as he stands up. I don’t ask where he’s leading us because it doesn’t matter.

I’ll go wherever he leads as long as he keeps kissing me just like this.

FORTY-SIX

CAL

I taste Lucy’s moans as I gently lay her on my bed. I give the kiss everything I have, funneling every single one of the feelings running through me into it.

My feelings for her. Intense and only growing stronger with each day I spend with her.

My frustration. I can tell there’s something she’s hiding from me, and it’s eating away at me. She doesn’t trust me enough to tell me why she’s giving up her passion for cooking to run a family business she never even talks about.

My fear. Deep in my gut, I know I’m going to lose her. Just by the look in her eyes and the defeated way she answered my questions, I know no matter how she feels, she’s going to go back to Virginia, and she has no intention of including me in her life there.

For the first time in my life, I feel helpless. I’ve always been able to get my way—sometimes easier than others. I’ve always been able to bulldoze my way to an outcome I wanted.

But with Lucy, I can’t.

And that fucking kills me.

---