Page 88 of Tamed

Ididn’t hear from Dad that night or the next day, not that I was waiting for a call from him. I definitely wasn’t. And it was fine, because I didn’t want to talk to him anyway, not when I had the upcoming meeting with my grandmother to look forward to.

That morning I fussed around with finding an appropriate dress to wear, settling finally on a pretty green wrap dress that I’d found in the depths of my closet back in my Village apartment.

Caleb had once again insisted on me taking the day off and hey, if he was going to give me a day’s leave with full pay, who was I to argue? I was going to have to talk with him about my future at Cross International, and my career in general since me sleeping with the boss didn’t feel like a power move. Not that he would have taken advantage of me or his position, it was just thatIdidn’t like it. I was only working there because of Dad anyway.

I didn’t want to think of Dad though, or my future at Fox Tech, at least not until I’d talked to my grandmother.

Caleb had gone to work, and he didn’t get back till later, so he wasn’t around to distract me as I got ready for the upcoming meeting.

I should have been thinking about my grandmother, not Caleb, I guess, but my head was full of him and the day before, when he’d told me about not being able to be a partner or boyfriend. Which a) I hadn’t asked him to be and b) I didn’t want him to be my boyfriend anyway. That made me feel like a teenager messing around with the boy next door, not my father’s best friend, a man nearly twenty years older than me.

You know what you want him to be.

I wanted him to be mine and forever. Because it was true what I’d told him. I didn’t want another man, not ever. It would always be him, that’s why I’d made him feel good the day before. Why I’d kissed him, why I hadn’t had sex, but made love to him. Because while he might not be able to give me anything emotionally, I could give it to him. I could let him know that he was important to me, that he was special and too bad if he didn’t like that.

I hadn’t intended to whisper ‘I love you’ as the orgasm had hit me, but the emotion had clenched tight as a fist around my heart and the words had come out before I could think better of it.

He hadn’t reacted, so he probably hadn’t heard, which was just as well.

That was a conversation we’d have to have at some point but not now.

There was a small cold spot in my heart, a small sliver of ice that had lodged there when he’d said he couldn’t give me anything more, and while I could tell myself all I liked that I didn’t want more, I did. I wanted his heart. I wanted him to be mine just as I was his.

Why would he ever do that?

I ignored the ice, and I ignored that thought too. Somehow, if I wanted him, I was going to have to close the distance he was dead set on putting between us and I had no idea how to do that. But I was determined to find out.

Except that would have to wait until after I met Charlotte Hamilton.

I fiddled with my hair and my makeup endlessly before my ride arrived. I was going to meet Caleb at Arcadia and he’d provided me with a car.

I was nervous. No, scratch that, I was terrified. Not that Charlotte Hamilton would do anything to me, but that she’d take one look at me, find nothing in me worth knowing, then turn around and walk back out again.

I mean, my own father couldn’t even bear to be around me so why would my grandmother?

Then again, Caleb saw something in me. He wanted me. He’d put a treasured friendship on the line for me, so there had to be something worthwhile in me. I still felt guilty that it was me who’d led to the ruin of his friendship with Dad, but…well. Maybe I’d have to deal with that myself.

Maybe instead of avoiding Dad, I should confront him.

Again, though, that could wait.

Caleb met me at the Arcadia entrance. It was still early, and the place looked more like a respectable, elegant house than it did a bar, and not at all like a sex club.

The chandelier glittered and the glints caught in Caleb’s dark eyes as he let me inside, and a wave of heat washed through me as I saw the blatant appreciation in his expression. It made me feel good, made me feel more confident. Okay, so I didn’t look awful then. Good to know.

He must have seen my nervousness, because he gave me one of his sudden, rare smiles. “She’ll love you, Isabel. You’re beautiful. You’re also brave, fierce, and smart. She won’t know what hit her.”

My heart clenched tight at the words and the conviction in his eyes. He believed what he said and that steadied me. God knew I didn’t want to be a disappointment to her the way I’d always been to Dad, but maybe I wouldn’t be. Caleb thought I was worth something and while I didn’t need a man’s validation, I appreciated his faith in me.

He took my hand, his fingers warm and strong in mine, and we went up the stairs together. Mercifully the room he’d set aside for my grandmother wasn’t the same room he and I had had our first encounter in — that would have way too awkward — but one at the end of the hallway, not so much a study as a gracious drawing room, with big windows facing the street. There were couches in soft gray velvet, the carpet pale, and cushions in dusty colors that complemented the muted tones of everything else.

A restful, quiet room.

An older woman who looked to be in her seventies sat on one of the couches. Her hair was bone white and flowed in careful waves to her shoulders, framing a strongly featured face. She was dressed to perfection in elegant black slacks and a crisp white blouse. Simple clothes yet expertly tailored and no doubt costing the earth. Her eyes were green, and they were familiar because I saw eyes the same color staring back at me from the mirror every morning.

Charlotte Hamilton. My grandmother.

There was a moment’s silence and then my grandmother nodded at Caleb. “Thank you, Mr. Cross,” she said in a cool voice. “I will speak with my granddaughter alone, if you don’t mind.”

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