Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
The next day, Billie stood in front of the Calloway home, holding a box of assorted cakes and cookies.
She and Marcus had decided that friendship was the only thing on the table for them, and she found a certain amount of peace in that decision. It took the pressure off, and she could finally look at him and not have anxiety. More than anything though, she could look at him as the boy she had been friends with so many years ago. She’d missed that guy.
Walking up to the front door, she knocked because she wasn’t sure if John was resting, and she knew the doorbell would probably startle him.
Marcus opened the door looking mildly disheveled, and it was such a good look on him. The beard, the hair, the piercing blue eyes…it made her want to move in close and just rub up against him.
I should not be thinking about rubbing myself all over a friend!
“Billie, hey! What are you doing here?” His smile was genuine and he looked like he was sincerely happy to see her.
“Well, I just got done baking your father’s favorite coffee cake, and I thought he might appreciate having it right out of the oven. Then I decided to throw a few more things in here that I know he likes.” Then she gave him a sassy grin. “And I chose some things I know you’re partial to as well.”
“Wow, that was incredibly sweet of you. Come on in. I’m sure Dad will appreciate having someone to talk to other than me,” he said, sounding a bit weary. “I had some business calls to make and he kept interrupting so…we’re not having a great day. I have another call in five minutes, and I’m going to have to take it up in the attic at this point.”
Nodding, she stepped inside and froze. “Wow. You weren’t kidding. If I didn’t know what year it was, I’d swear we were both kids and I was coming over to hang out with you.”
“Right? I told you, it’s like a time capsule in here.”
“I can hear you!” John called out. “Is that Billie Donovan you’re talking to?”
Marcus went to answer, but she held up a hand to stop him. “Go make your call. John and I will visit.”
“Are you sure?”
“Believe me. I get it. My mom was in an accident last year and we all took turns staying with her. I totally understand your frustration. Go. I got this.”
He leaned in and gave her a quick yet thorough kiss, and she was too surprised to remind him that friends don’t kiss each other like that.
If they did, I’d certainly try to find more male friends…
“Hey, John!” she said cheerily as she walked into the den. Holding up the box she grinned. “The crumb cake is still warm from the oven. You hungry?”
“Are you kidding?” he joked. “Always!”
Placing the box down on the coffee table, she totally made herself at home. “Let me go grab us a couple of plates from the kitchen. What are you drinking? Coffee? Tea? Milk?”
“Ooh…milk sounds good. Marcus can tell you where everything is.”
Standing in front of him, she looked down at him. “John, I practically used to live in this house, and from the look of things, nothing’s been moved. I remember where everything is.”
He looked a little embarrassed, so she decided to change the subject.
“So how are you feeling?” she called out as she poured them each a glass of milk and then carried them and everything else back to the den.
“I’m bored and uncomfortable. I hate having someone give me a shower. It’s emasculating. And embarrassing. I’m not saying I’m a prude, but…the only woman who ever saw me naked was my wife.”
Unable to help herself, she laughed softly. “I hear you, John. But nurses are trained professionals. They can’t worry about your modesty. They’re just there to make sure you don’t fall and hurt yourself.” She handed him a plate with a big slab of cake on it. “We went through the same thing after my mom’s accident. Her nurses said it would have been easier to bathe a cat. I think Mom actually hissed at them a time or two. I used to tell her it was better than letting her sit in her own filth and stinking to high heaven!”
That made him laugh. “I guess you have a point, but I still hate it.” He took a bite of the cake and hummed with appreciation. “I swear, it’s perfection every time.”
“Thank you.” She sat and took a bite of the cookie she brought for herself. “But seriously, how are you feeling?”
“Like an idiot. I’ve been neglecting things around here for far too long and once Marcus came home and made a big stink about it all and how he was going to hire people to do it, well…it rubbed me the wrong way. Now I’m paying the price for it. I already wasn’t in great shape. I know I should have just let him pay for it, but it’s my house, dammit, and I wanted to prove I could still do it.”
“John, you and I both know you can still do it. You’ve just had a rough year and you need to take things slow. Baby steps.”
He snorted before taking another bite. “You know how he is, Billie. He walks around like a big shot know-it-all, but he hasn’t gotten his own hands dirty since he was in high school. His answer is to just throw money at things and walk away. That’s not how he was raised, and it bugs the hell out of me.”
Join the club.
“I know it seems that way, but I think?—”
Out of nowhere, it suddenly hit her. She somehow knew exactly why Marcus had turned into the man he was.
Sighing, she reached over and placed her hand on John’s. “I think,” she began softly, “that we see it as Marcus throwing money around, but to him, it’s a way to feel like he has a little control. You know that after Abby died, he felt completely helpless. You all did. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could change. After that, he changed drastically.”
John nodded somberly. “I know.”
“We were living together and I saw it happening, but I didn’t really put it together until right now.” Swallowing hard, she continued. “He never wanted to be blindsided or…or…surprised like that again. So, he tries to take control the only way he knows how—by bulldozing everyone with his opinions and then simply…”
“Throwing money at it so it goes exactly as he wants it. Damn.”
Sitting back, she nodded, feeling a little mentally exhausted by the revelation. “Yeah. Damn.”
“So…what am I supposed to do?”
“Let him help you with the outside of the house, John,” she quietly urged. “We both know it needs more work than you can do alone. Tell him he has to hire local companies, but…let it get done.” And because she knew how stubborn the Calloway men could be, she added, “You know Abby would hate to see the house looking this way.”
He shot her a side-eyed glance. “Cheap shot, but considering you’ve always been like family—and should have been family—I’m not going to argue with you. She would have hated seeing how overgrown everything is. Max does some work when he comes to visit and I have one of the neighborhood kids mow the lawn, but…I know it needs more than that.”
“I’ve learned not to mince words. You know I come from a pretty dysfunctional family, so I have to say exactly what I mean, otherwise it will get misinterpreted.” Grinning, she playfully shook her fork at him. “You and Marcus need to learn how to communicate the same way. You shouldn’t feel you either have to tiptoe around him or act spiteful just to prove him wrong. This disconnect between the two of you has gone on far too long.”
“We’re trying,” John told her. “It’s going to take some time, but…it means the world to me that he’s here now.”
Before she could respond, Marcus walked into the room. “I hope you saved something for me!” There was already a plate and fork in his hands, and as he sat down beside Billie, she noticed he looked…happy and relaxed.
And so damn appealing that she knew she was in trouble.
Sitting close to him was just messing up her mind and filling up her already overloaded senses.
“I won’t take the crumb cake because I know it’s your favorite, Dad. But this glazed marble pound cake has my name all over it.” Turning his head, he smiled at her. “This is definitely a treat. Thanks for thinking of us.”
Like she’d been thinking of anything else lately.
“Oh, it’s what I do,” she said lightly. “Plus, I wanted your dad to know we’ve missed seeing him at Books this was a date, and he was going to be staying for more than dinner.
He had an overnight bag in the backseat that he wasn’t going to bring in just yet. After all, he was hopeful, but didn’t want to appear overly presumptuous.
“Okay, just be casual and let her set the pace. We’ve got all night.” The front door opened, and he smiled at the thought of her being just as eager to see him as he was to see her. Slowly, he started walking toward the porch when…
Ashlynn came out.
That wasn’t quite what he was expecting, but he kept smiling as she came closer. “Hey, Ash,” he said. “How are you?”
That’s when he noticed her smile was a little off, like maybe she wasn’t happy to see him. She kind of stomped right up to him and began waving her finger in his face.
“Let me tell you something, Marcus Calloway,” she began in a low, menacing voice, even though her smile was still in place. “For some reason, my sister is willing to allow you back into her life. The rest of us—me, Chloe, and Levi? We’re just waiting for you to screw up again so we can all pounce on you like we didn’t get to do ten years ago.”
“Um…”
“You better make damn sure that you treat her like she’s the most precious thing in the world and not like the corporate robot you tried to turn her into. And if you ever make her cry again, I will find you, and I will end you.” She punched him in the shoulder—harder than he would have expected from her—before she rested her hand on her barely-there baby bump. “Don’t make a pregnant woman turn vicious, Marcus. Enjoy your evening.” And with a friendly little wave, she walked away.
“Well, that was awkward,” he mumbled as he made his way to the door. It was closed, so now he had no choice but to ring the bell.
“Hey!” Billie said as she opened the door. She was smiling and looked beautiful. “Did you get to say hi to Ash?”
“Uh, yeah. We talked for a minute.” She stepped aside so he could come in, but he heard her snickering. “What’s so funny?”
“I saw her punch you. What was that about?”
“Just a friendly warning that your family is watching out for you.”
“Oh God…”
“It’s okay,” he assured her. “It might be nice for me to hang out with your siblings sometime so they can see I’m not such a villain anymore.” She took the bag from his hand and stormed toward the kitchen. The floor plan was fairly open, so it wasn’t like she went out of his view. As he looked around, he noticed a few differences from last night—there were fresh flowers on the coffee table and the kitchen table. Everything looked like it had been freshly cleaned, and he spotted several bottles of wine on the kitchen island.
Rolling her eyes, she began taking the food out of the bag. “You were never a villain, Marcus. You just had a different outlook on life than most people. It doesn’t mean you were wrong or they were right.”
“Sure, you say that now, but at the time…”
She sighed loudly before facing him. “We’re not doing this again! I want a night with you in the present, not the past! I’m living for today, not yesterday! If this is ever going to work between us—whether it’s for one night or until you go back to D.C.—then we have to stop looking back!” She growled with frustration. “I’m so tired of talking about how we used to live and who we used to be. We’re not those people anymore! I want to get to know the Marcus Calloway that you are right now, not the one I left! And I want you to get to know me as the woman I’ve become! Can we do that? Please?”
There was a passion and a fierceness to her that added to everything he was already attracted to. He stalked across the room until he was beside her. Reaching up, he cupped her face. “We can do whatever you want, Billie. Right now, I want nothing more than to please you.”
The soft gasp told him she knew exactly what he meant.
“How hungry are you?” she whispered.
“For food? Not at all.” Slowly, he lowered his head until his lips were a mere breath away from hers. “For you? Starving.” It was hard to say who moved first; all he knew was Billie was in his arms and they were kissing each other like it had been years instead of hours. She was all warm curves and soft sighs, and he wanted nothing more than to pick her up and take her to bed.
So that’s what he did.
At least…the picking up part. Then he realized he had no idea where her bedroom was.
“Um…Billie…”
“Down the hall,” she murmured as she kissed along his jaw. “Last door on the end.”
Marcus strode down the hall to her room and smiled when he saw the bed was turned down, ready and waiting for them. “I love a woman with a plan.”
“I didn’t want to waste time.”
Placing her down on the bed, he immediately followed, covering her body with his. Instantly, she was wrapped around him kissing him. He loved the way she kissed, loved the way she felt, but more than anything, he loved that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
They shifted until they were on their sides, facing each other when they finally broke apart. Breathless, he caressed her cheek. “Hey, beautiful.”
Blushing, she ducked her head for a moment before looking at him. “How did we get here again? I’m lying here looking at you and I feel like I need to pinch myself so I know you’re real.”
Laughing softly, Marcus let his hand glide across her cheek, her jaw, her throat, and down to her breast where he gently toyed with her nipple. “Not exactly a pinch, but does that count?”
Moaning, she rolled onto her back and panted, “More…”
“I already told you,” he said huskily, “all I want is to please you.” He kissed her throat as he kneaded her breast. “Tell me what you want…”
“You, Marcus. Please. More of you…all of you…”
“With pleasure,” he promised, as he moved against her and silenced her with a kiss.
“I know eating in bed would have been sexy and wild,” she told him some time later, “but I’m too much of a neat freak to take the risk of having rice or lo mein in my blankets.”
She was wearing a short navy blue robe, and Marcus was in a pair of athletic shorts. Billie had run out to his car and grabbed his bag for him because she insisted it was crazy for him to put pants on to go outside and then take them back off as soon as he came back inside.
That entire discussion was crazy, but he thought it was cute how she was looking out for him.
Now they were sitting at the kitchen table eating reheated Chinese food, and it was pretty damn perfect.
“What time do you need to get back to relieve John’s nurse?”
“Actually…I don’t have to be back tonight,” he carefully explained. “Dad can get himself up and to the bathroom if he needs to, and we all agreed that he would be fine by himself.”
“Marcus! No! What if he falls? What if he trips and hits his head because he’s not steady on his feet? Someone should be there! What if…?”
Chuckling, he reached for her hand. “Billie, relax. It’s fine. I swear. The nurse assured me it would be fine, and my father’s exact words to me when I was getting ready were, ‘You better not be home tonight! The next time I see you, you better be sneaking in while I’m eating breakfast!’ So…obviously, it’s all good. You don’t need to worry.”
But then something else occurred to him and he was dreading asking it, but…
“Unless…you don’t want me to stay.”
“What? Oh, no, that’s not what I meant at all. I was genuinely worried about John, that’s all. I’d hate to think of you just ditching him when he really needed you.”
He’d be lying if he said he didn’t take offense to that, but…he supposed he could understand why her mind would go there.
“No one's ditching anyone,” he assured her. “I’m here for as long as you want me here. If you’d like for me to leave at some point, I’ll go.”
“But…?”
“But I’d really like to spend the night with you. The entire night, and then wake up with you in the morning.” And that’s when something else occurred to him. “What time do you need to be at Books & Beans in the morning?”
The smile she gave him was full of promise. “You happen to be in luck. Tomorrow’s my day off. So…I can sleep in.”
“That’s good, because I plan on keeping you up very late and letting you sleep very little.”
“Mmm…I like the sound of that. A lot.”
“How about we clean up this mess and go back to bed and do a little more…less sleeping?”
“I’ve got a better idea?”
“Oh?”
“We leave this mess right here and go do all that less sleeping. What do you think?”
“That can be arranged.” After taking a final sip of his sweet tea, Marcus stood and swept her up into his arms again and carried her to bed, where they got very little sleep until the sun was ready to rise.