Page 4 of Just a Little Crush

The guests huddled closer together, and as we did so, we got separated from Caleb, who ended up standing on the other side of the group with his younger sister, Cara. He should have been looking at the entrance to the restaurant for Raven’s arrival, but instead his eyes remained on me, that slight, sexy smile wreaking havoc with my entire body.

“That man is going to feed you chocolates and pomegranates the first chance he gets,” Valerie teased.

I finally glanced away from Caleb’s arousing stare to roll my eyes at my sister. “Trust me. The two of us are all flirt and no action.” It wasn’t the first time we’d indulged in playful, sexy banter, and it never went further than that—much to my disappointment.

Less than a minute later, Remy escorted Raven out onto the terrace. We all shouted “Surprise,” startling the shit out of my best friend, who stared at everyone in shock, then smacked her husband on the chest for pulling off such a stunt. Remy took it all in stride and merely pulled Raven into his arms. She went willingly, thanking him with a kiss and a beaming smile.

I sighed as I watched them with an undeniable amount of envy. I couldn’t help it. These two were so perfect together. Remy, normally so unflappable as a boss, was complete mush for his wife, and I couldn’t have been happier for Raven who’d been through so much and had finally found her person.

The festivities commenced. The cocktail hour was wrapped up, followed by a delicious three-course dinner by a Michelin chef, then the dance floor opened up as the DJ played upbeat tunes. I coaxed Valerie to join me as my dance partner, along with the women who couldn’t convince their husbands or better halves to let loose. After a while I could tell she was starting to get fatigued, probably hitting her limit of socializing for the evening.

Between songs, as we took a break to grab a glass of water, she gave me a tired smile. “I’ve really had a great time tonight, and I’m glad I came, but I think I’m going to head home.”

I understood. Considering how depressed she’d been lately, this was more stimulation than she was used to. “Okay. Just let me say my goodbyes and we’ll head out.”

She shook her head, her expression adamant. “No, you stay and enjoy yourself. I don’t want you leaving because of me, and before you argue,” she went on, just as I opened my mouth to do that. “I’m a big girl and I’ll be fine. And, I have that pepper spray in my purse,” she said, which I’d bought for her after Mark’s stalking and threats. “I’ll keep it in my hand at all times, and I promise I’ll text you when I get home and I’m locked in the apartment.”

Despite all her assurances, I still wanted to protest, but I knew that Valerie wasn’t going to back down. I also knew that I couldn’t smother her and needed to respect her wishes. “Fine.” I gave her a hug. “But I’ll be checking my phone obsessively until I know you’re safe and locked in the apartment.”

“Fair enough.” She summoned an Uber, and by the time I walked with her back down to the front of the hotel, her ride was there.

After another promise to let me know when she arrived home, she was gone. I headed back up to the terrace, stopping to use the bathroom and touch up my makeup and fluff my wavy blonde hair, while texting back and forth with Valerie during her ride. A half an hour later, when she assured me she was locked in for the night, only then did I allow myself to rejoin the girls out on the dance floor.

I hadn’t talked to Caleb since that initial conversation before Raven’s arrival to the party, but I was very aware of his presence as the night went on. Currently, he was sitting at a table with his sister Cara, but when the DJ played “Macarena” she couldn’t resist joining in on the fun. Us girls laughed as we attempted the specific choreography, and the few times I glanced Caleb’s way his eyes were on me as I swayed to the beat, gyrated my hips along with everyone else, and shook my ass when applicable.

I figured if I couldn’t have Caleb, I could at least show him what he was missing out on.

CHAPTER TWO

Caleb

Icouldn’t keepmy eyes off her, which was par for the course when it came to Stevie Palmer, a woman who tempted me more than any other had in a very long time. Probably because she was so different from the overtly sophisticated women I’d once dated.

Like now, I watched as she danced without inhibition, laughing and enjoying the moment with friends. She was like a breath of fresh air, with a bubbly, upbeat personality—even when I’d seen her exhausted at the end of her waitressing shift at The Back Door.

She was fun and lighthearted. There were no airs or pretenses when it came to Stevie. She didn’t go out of her way to try and impress me—something I hated when it came to the women in my social circle—which was why I found it so easy to just be myself around her. To flirt with her, even…because we’d been able to do so without either of us expecting anything more.

She was certainly the polar opposite of my ex-wife, Alyssa, who looked down on those she felt were inferior and not a part of the elite, privileged world she’d grown up in. And that snobby, judgmental attitude had only gotten worse over the years since I’d divorced her.

I’d been raised in that same world as Alyssa, with familial expectations I hadn’t adhered to. I’d bucked convention after my father died and my mother expected me to take a position in the family’s legal consulting firm working with my uncle. Instead, I’d chosen to make my own way and go into real estate as an investor and a broker. Cassandra Kane had been mortified, pissed even that I wasn’t upholding the family tradition, but now that I was a partner at Manhattan Prestige Realty and owned a multitude of properties and buildings, and was undoubtedly even richer than my uncle, my mother had finally, begrudgingly, accepted my choice of career.

A mother who wasn’t here tonight to celebrate Raven’s birthday because Raven had cut Cassandra out of her life when she’d chosen her psychotic son—my fucking twin brother—over her adopted daughter. It was difficult for me to even maintain a civil relationship with my mother, but I did it for Owen, because he deserved to have both sets of grandparents in his life.

Sitting by one of the firepits by myself and sipping my last bourbon of the night, I considered the woman who consumed too much of my thoughts. Maybe if so much of my life wasn’t in upheaval, I would have asked Stevie out on a date. But I had an ex-wife just waiting for the chance to skew anything to her advantage during our ongoing custody battle for Owen. And then there was my mother, who commiserated and sided with Alyssa and tried to make me feel guilty for divorcing her. But I had zero regrets about ending our marriage, and no matter how much Alyssa wanted a reconciliation—and was using custody of Owen to persuade me to give her another chance—it wasn’t going to happen.

On top of all that emotional turmoil, I was still dealing with the fact that Lance, my shitty deranged twin, was serving a very long sentence in prison for his assault on Raven, violating parole, and racking up federal charges for calling in a bomb threat. Some days it felt like I was just trying to pick up the pieces of my life and keep them glued together.

My sole focus right now was Owen and keeping Alyssa from finding a way to gain full custody. That in itself was a challenge, considering I knew she’d grasp any opportunity to make that happen, just to spite me for divorcing her, even if my reasons for doing so had been legitimate. Dealing with her was exhausting, but all I cared about was making sure my son had some kind of stability in his life and didn’t feel torn between two parents, even if Alyssa didn’t give a damn about any of that.

Stevie’s unfettered laughter drew my attention back to her, the sound calming and distracting me, in a good way. I shoved all those troubling personal thoughts to the back of my mind and watched as she danced with friends and had a good time. Sitting off on my own, I allowed myself to appreciate the bounce of her breasts as she shimmied her shoulders and the provocative way she shook her ass to the beat of the music. Every once in a while she glanced my way and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was deliberately teasing and tempting me.

I was most definitely tempted, because those initial thoughts drifted to much dirtier territory as I imagined Stevie completely naked, straddling my hips as we fucked, those full, firm tits jiggling as she bounced enthusiastically on my cock.

It wasn’t the first time she’d starred in my illicit fantasies, and my neglected dick was completely on board with the idea, thickening in my slacks as another forbidden vision played through my mind, of pounding into her from behind, her silky hair wrapped tight around my fist. My fingers twitched as I envisioned pulling her head back and holding her in place as I drove deep into her pussy, her soft ass cushioning my driving thrusts as she moaned my name…

“Tell me you’re having a good time.”

The sound of Raven’s voice over the music jolted me out of my depraved thoughts like a scratch on a vinyl record. My heart slammed hard in my chest. Jesus Christ. I hadn’t even seen her approach or leave the dance floor, but then again, my gaze, my entire attention, had been riveted on Stevie, and my brain had been in the fucking gutter.

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