Page 130 of Always Red (Chasing Red 2)

My heart fluttered. “Kar will appreciate it.”

“Maybe you should go with me to Regina. Work for me.”

I froze. He said it so easily, so casually. Suddenly, I felt restless. Moving away from him, I rose and carefully walked close to the water. It was inky dark, with shadows and lights swimming inside it.

I felt Caleb stand behind me. “Red? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want your money, Caleb.”

“What the hell?”

He grasped my shoulders and turned me to face him.

“I’m not with you because you’re rich,” I explained, “or because you can give me all these…things.”

He blew out a breath, studying me for a few seconds. Then a naughty smile appeared on his gorgeous face. “I know that already. You’re with me because I satisfy your every need.” His eyes glittered in the moonlight. “I also have the dreamy face and sex-god body to go with it. Why else would you be with me?”

I choked out a laugh.

“What is this really about?” he asked seriously.

I sighed and moved away from him, turning to face the water again. I’d be more comfortable if he wasn’t looking at my face while I confessed to him.

“Before I met you…” I began, feeling him stand beside me. He must have felt that I needed space because he didn’t reach for my hand like he usually would. “I’ve been alone for a while. I didn’t depend on anyone but myself. You know this already.”

He nodded.

“Most of my life, I depended on…other people to provide for me. But when I started working, it made me feel good. I didn’t feel helpless anymore, because I knew I didn’t have to rely on anyone.

“I love working,” I continued. “I love earning my keep. It gives me a sense of independence and purpose. I have goals that I work hard to accomplish, and I don’t want to lose that. I want to prove to myself that I can.”

“I’m sorry, Red. I didn’t think of it that way,” he murmured after a moment. He picked up a stone, examining it before throwing it at the water. It skipped across the surface four times before it disappeared. “But why would you accept Damon’s job offer and not mine?”

“Because I don’t love Damon and—”

“I’m so glad to hear that.”

“And,” I continued, laughing softly at the way he prolonged so, “he won’t take it easy on me if I work for or with him. If I accept your job offer, I feel like I’m…taking from you. And I’m not with you for that. I don’t want anything from you. I just want you.”

When I glanced at him, his head was lowered, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He was grinning. When he raised his head and glanced at me, he looked really happy.

He caught his bottom lip between his teeth as he picked up another rock. “I love you,” he said. “I get it now. I’m sorry I didn’t before.” He flung the stone across the water’s surface again. This time, it skipped seven times.

Grinning, he turned to face me like a little kid. I grinned back at him, chose the flattest and roundest stone from the ground, and threw it. It skipped ten times.

“What the—!”

The shock on his face was so comical. I started laughing.

“That was ten times!”

“Uh-huh.” Smug, I threw another one.

When I looked back at him, I was expecting surprise, but he only looked contemplative.

“When I was a kid,” he said quietly, studying my face as if it were the first time he was seeing it. “There was this little girl—”

Suddenly, a blaring horn sounded from the house.

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