Chapter Nine
Cal should have been focused on the video. Should have been working the angles, sorting out who filmed it and why.
But mostly, he was just glad to see Willa. Glad she was standing in his apartment again. Glad she wasn’t avoiding him anymore.
Even if the reason she was here came with a gut punch.
Once she stepped inside, he closed the door and crossed to the small table where his laptop still sat open. Willa joined him, leaning in close. And poking his nose with the tiara she was wearing.
“Sorry,” she muttered, snatching it off her head.
He only smiled like a loon. Then, remembered he really shouldn’t be smiling since this had clearly upset her. He figured it’d upset him, too, once he got over the initial manly giddiness of being this close to her.
Cal took her phone and hit replay, and they watched the video again, both of them straining to pick through the grainy footage.
“It looks like it was filmed from across the street,” Cal said, his mind already pulling through what he remembered. “I think it was from the camera we saw set up at Driftwood Manor.”
Willa’s brow furrowed. “You think it caught us while it was filming the masked couple?”
“Could be. I remember seeing that camera in the background when they were doing their whole… performance.” He handed her back her phone and scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “But why make it public? And just how public is it, anyway?” he asked.
Willa’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Fia said someone sent it to her directly, but it’s also been uploaded to a bunch of sites. It’s tagged with our names.”
Cal quickly grabbed his laptop and started pulling up searches. It didn’t take long to find it. The video was everywhere. Shared. Tagged. Passed around like it was some small-town curiosity.
He considered that. Dismissed a couple of theories. And didn’t come up with anything logical. “If the couple was Sawyer and Lark, why the hell would they post it anonymously? Why go to all that trouble? This doesn’t publicize their vlog.”
Willa shook her head, her arms tightening even more. “Maybe they were pissed we saw them.”
“Doesn’t make sense.” Cal sat back, his mind still working the puzzle. “If they wanted to embarrass us, why not just confront us that night? Why wait? Why leak it like this?”
Something didn’t add up. Someone had filmed them, but he wasn’t sure the motive was as simple as payback for them seeing something that had happened right in front of a window.
Willa went quiet for a long beat, her gaze locked on the floor as if she was chasing something in her head. Then she cursed under her breath.
“I didn’t arrange for this to be filmed,” she said, her voice tight. “I didn’t post it. I would never do something like that.”
Cal blinked, surprised by the sudden edge in her tone. “Why would I think you did?”
She lifted her eyes to his, and there was something almost hurt in her expression. “Because of Eden.”
Her whole body stiffened the second the words left her mouth, like she regretted saying it instantly.
Cal narrowed his eyes. “What about Eden?”
Willa waved him off, but he didn’t move. He crossed his arms and gave her a steady look, waiting.
She sighed, pacing now, chewing on the inside of her cheek like she hated explaining this. “I just… I don’t want you to think I posted the video to mess with you. Or to get between you and Eden. Or to make her jealous. I don’t play like that.”
Cal’s frown deepened. “Why would you even think I’d believe that?”
Willa dragged her hands through her hair and shook her head. “Forget it.”
But he didn’t. He thought back to Halloween. To Eden’s catty smile, her snide little jabs at Willa, her smug confidence like she already knew she had the upper hand with him.
“Willa,” he said, his voice low and steady, “did something happen between you and Eden? Something to do with me?”
She stopped pacing but didn’t answer right away.
Cal could feel the answer pressing against the silence, and something in his chest braced for it.
Willa finally stopped pacing and crossed her arms, her shoulders tight. “She dropped by the Seaglass. Told me not to get in the way. Said you two were working things out.”
Cal’s stomach sank, his jaw tightening. He let out a sharp curse. “I haven’t seen Eden since Halloween.”
Willa’s brow pinched, clearly caught off guard. “What about your dinner? You were supposed to meet her.”
“I didn’t go.” His voice was firm. “I cancelled.”
Willa blinked, her mouth parting like she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. “You cancelled?”
“Yeah,” he verified.
His mind flicked back to the string of texts Eden had sent after that. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about his change of plans. She’d asked to reschedule. Twice. But he had put her off.
Sure, work had kept him busy. His office manager, Darlene, had sent over more updates and he’d had to settle a couple of things with the team back in Dallas. But the truth was, he hadn’t followed up with Eden because he hadn’t wanted to.
He had been thinking about Willa. Only Willa.
“I haven’t talked to Eden since Halloween,” he repeated.
Willa’s eyes narrowed. “Then why the heck would Eden say you were working things out?”
She stopped mid-sentence, her mouth snapping shut as the realization hit her. Anger flared fast in her eyes, sharp and bright.
Cal gave a slow nod. “Yeah. She’s trying to rattle you.”
Willa cursed, turning on her heel and pacing again, her hands flailing just enough to show how much this was crawling under her skin.
Cal’s gaze drifted, catching a flash of color on her jeans. He squinted. There were two sparkly turkey stickers stuck to the back pocket.
He bit back a grin.
As she turned again, he spotted another one tangled in her hair, glittering like a tiny, ridiculous badge of the day’s chaos.
He reached out and gently plucked it free. “You’re shedding Thanksgiving,” he said, holding up the sticker between his fingers.
Willa paused, her breath still heavy from pacing. “I can’t believe Eden’s trying to gaslight me over this.”
Cal’s mouth pulled into a smile, slow and sure. “Yeah, I hate that she’s pulling this nonsense.” He tossed the sticker onto the table and met her gaze. “But I’m glad you’re here.”
Their eyes locked, heat rising fast between them, that sharp zing he hadn’t been able to shake since the first time they nearly kissed. His hands itched to pull her in, to erase the distance that still sat stubbornly between them.
But her phone buzzed in her hand.
Willa looked down, her expression tightening as she read the message. “It’s Fia. She wants to know who posted that video.”
Cal’s stomach dropped a little, the pulse of the moment fading as the weight of the mystery came crashing back in.
Right. The video. The why. The who. And whatever the hell came next.
Cal walked to the window, drawn to it like maybe the answers were sitting right there on the other side of the glass. He pulled the curtain back and looked out.
Willa came up beside him, her shoulder brushing his as she peeked through the window too.
The curtain across the street at Driftwood Manor was still wide open, but the room looked empty. No sign of any masked role players or anyone else. But the camera was still there. Sitting like it had never been moved.
Willa jumped back, her body tensing as she ducked out of view. “You think it’s still recording?”
Cal kept his eyes on the window. “Could be.”
A grin pulled at the corner of his mouth. Part of him wanted to give whoever was behind that camera a real show. He wanted to drag Willa into his arms and kiss her like he meant it. Like he wasn’t the least bit sorry they had been caught the first time.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason he fantasized about doing something like that. Hell, it wasn’t even the main reason.
The truth was, he just wanted to kiss her.
And if he was being honest, he wanted more than that. A whole lot more. He wanted her in his bed. Or hers. Location was optional.
His pulse kicked up as his eyes slid to her again, her breath still just a little uneven from the conversation, her cheeks still pink from the heat between them.
Yeah. Location didn’t matter one bit.
Willa’s voice was soft but steady when she spoke. “Is the video going to cause any trouble for you? I mean… your reputation, your business back in Dallas?”
Cal let out a low laugh, shaking his head. “Kissing a beautiful, single woman isn’t going to hurt anything.” His eyes stayed on her, his grin lingering. “Pretty sure the worst thing I’ll get is a few way to go, Cal texts.”
He tipped his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over her. “What about you? Will this cause you any trouble?”
Willa shrugged, but there was something thoughtful in the way she was working it over in her head. “Not trouble, exactly. But this will probably bring in more people to the Seaglass. People looking for gossip. People curious to see what’s going on with us.”
She stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing like something had just clicked. “Damn it,” she muttered, dragging her hands through her hair. “It’s going to fuel my family’s attempts to push us together and the soulmate gossip.”
Cal’s grin widened as he slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her in, his voice dropping low. “Is that such a bad thing?”
Willa opened her mouth, probably to argue, but she didn’t get the chance.
He kissed her, deep and sure, the kind of kiss that erased the last shred of distance between them. Her body melted into his like it belonged there, her fingers sliding up his chest, gripping the collar of his shirt to pull him closer.
The kiss scorched through him, sharp and electric, and when her hands fisted the fabric at his back, he groaned against her mouth and pressed her tighter to him.
Her lips parted under his, and he took full advantage, tasting her, claiming her, the heat spiking so fast his pulse hammered in his throat.
He slid his hand along her back, skimming the curve of her waist, and he wanted nothing more than to keep going.
To keep exploring. To lose himself in every breath, every shiver, every sweet, hot sound she made when he deepened the kiss.
The rest of the world could wait. The video could wait.
Right now, it was just her. Just them. And the burn between them that wasn’t cooling down anytime soon.
The kiss deepened, their bodies pressed so close he could feel every sharp inhale, every rush of heat rolling off her. Cal slid his hand between them, his palm curving over her waist, then lower, his fingers teasing just enough to make her gasp softly against his mouth.
Her hands were everywhere, gripping his shoulders, tugging his shirt, sliding over his chest like she couldn’t get enough of him. Hell, he couldn’t get enough of her either. He wanted her laid out beneath him. He wanted her breathless, her head tipped back, her legs wrapped tight around him.
The kissing, the touching—it all escalated fast.
His hand slipped over her hip, under the hem of her shirt, his skin meeting hers, and her whole body arched into him like she was chasing more.
Cal dragged his mouth from hers, only enough to kiss along her jaw, her neck, tasting the soft curve of her skin, hearing her breath shudder as her fingers tangled in his hair.
Then something caught his ear.
Noise.
Voices.
Commotion from the street below.
Willa stilled in his arms, her breathing still ragged, but her head turned toward the window.
They both moved to look, Cal brushing the curtain back.
On the sidewalk below, a small crowd had gathered. Squealing, giggling fans were circling Lark and Sawyer, who were smiling and chatting like they were soaking up every second of the attention.
Willa let out a slow breath. “Well, that’s a buzzkill.”
Cal’s mouth curved, still catching his breath. “Or a sign the town’s about to get even more interesting.”
Willa gave him a look, but she didn’t pull away from his arms. She stayed close, their bodies still pressed together, the heat between them still simmering just under the surface.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved. Clearly, neither of them wanted to.
Then, down on the street, Lark and Sawyer looked up. Their eyes locked on the window. They smiled. Sawyer even gave a casual little wave.
Cal cursed under his breath.
So much for keeping this quiet. So much for diving back into that kiss.
“Guess kissing is officially on hold,” he muttered.
Willa sighed, resting her forehead briefly against his chest before stepping back. “Yeah. We’ve got some things to straighten out with those two.”
Cal glanced back at the grinning vloggers below and knew this wasn’t going to be simple.
But nothing about Willa ever was. And he was already in way too deep to care.