Page 26 of All in December
The waitress comes back to drop off two waters at the table I’m waiting at, and as soon as she walks away, Caleb opens the door and strides in.
He’s wearing a navy coat, that’s different from his ski jacket, and a gray beanie. His cheeks are flushed pink from the cold, and he’s scanning the tables until his eyes lock on mine. He smiles and makes his way toward me, tugging off his beanie and running a hand through his hair. His smile softens a little as he gets closer, almost like he’s trying to tamp down his excitement, but that just won’t do.
Without wanting to wait another second, I stand and meet him, pulling him into a hug before he can say anything. He sinks into it immediately, arms wrapping around me like he needs this just as much as I do.
“Hey,” he whispers against my shoulder.
“Hey,” I murmur back, holding on a second longer than I probably should in a public place.
When we finally pull apart, he gives me a quick, flustered smile before we walk back to the table and slide into the booth on opposite sides.
“You look good,” I compliment.
“So do you,” he replies, eyes flicking to my mouth, and I want to kiss him right then and there, but I know the middle of a Mediterranean restaurant isn’t the best place for me to kiss him for the very first time.
He shrugs off his coat and runs a hand through his hair again like he’s trying to shake off nerves.
“I missed you, Cay,” I say. “Even caught myself rereading our texts like a dumbass this morning.”
That earns me a full grin. “Yeah? I was doing the same thing.”
“Thanks for making this work.” I lean back, trying to relax. “I really wanted to see you.”
“Didn’t take much convincing,” he says easily. “I wanted to see you too. Work can wait.”
“It definitely can.”
His eyes drop to the menu in front of him, and I force myself to look too even though I already know I’m not going to remember anything I read.
“You good with splitting a couple of things?” I ask instead. “I don’t want to waste time trying to figure out what to order.”
“Yeah,” he says with a smile. “As long as I get to keep sitting across from you, I’m good.”
“You always this smooth?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
He tilts his head, like he’s actually considering it. “No,” he says with a self-deprecating laugh. “Definitely not.”
“You’re not making it easy to take this slow,” I murmur, eyes flicking back to him.
Caleb blushes, and I can tell he’s trying not to look away, so I reach for him with my leg under the table and wrap my ankle around his.
“I like it when you do that,” he says quietly.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he confirms.
We order and continue to talk. Our food arrives faster than expected, but we barely touch it. We talk a little about work. He tells me about a massive house he’s designing for a client, and his job seems infinitely cooler than mine. Then he asks, “So, what does Christmas look like for you guys this year?”
“Depends,” I say honestly. “Sometimes Tess and I will doparts of Christmas together since we do get along, other years she takes them for Christmas Eve, and I get Christmas morning, or vice versa. This year is still up in the air.”
Caleb nods slowly. “So, you’re not sure yet?”
“Not completely.” I pause. “Why? What do you and Sam have planned?”
He shrugs, a little sheepish. “We usually do the same thing every year, and it’s usually just us. Which is fine, but—” He cuts himself off, like he’s not sure if he’s saying too much.
“But?” I prompt, wanting to know what he’ll say.
