Chapter 9
Caleb
I walked up to theFeed and Fodder, still wrestling with memories from the night before. The feel of Aneka’s bare hips was burned permanently into my palms. The sound of her moans echoed in my brain.
Recalling the sensations made me sweat.
I told myself it was the clammy weather, but it was a relatively breezy eighty degrees. I wiped the back of my neck and waved to Victor, who stood a few feet from the front door.
“You’re late,” he called out as I approached.
I raised a brow. “You’re early. And I’m on time. Colton’s not even here yet.”
“Since when does being on time mean waiting for Colton’s arrival?” Victor snickered.
Colton was always late. Then, he’d bounce up full of smiles and backslapping, somehow getting away with it.
“He lives on Bliss time now,” I replied. “Did you have fun at the party last night?”
Victor smirked. “I did. Not as much fun as you. You seemed totally occupied with a certain someone.”
I swallowed and dodged. “Did you and Natalie come up for air at all between arguments?”
“Funny,” he deadpanned. “But seriously, you and Aneka should get a room already.”
The feel of Aneka’s skin under my fingertips triggered more internal shockwaves. I coughed and redirected him again. “Like you and Natalie?”
Victor’s eyes narrowed. “Doubtful. She’s prickly.”
Relief washed over me when he didn’t press again about Aneka. For a second, I thought he knew what happened after the party wound down. She wasn’t ready for everyone to know our business, and even though I wished she could have spent the night, I wasn’t either. She was right about going home.
I checked my phone. “Colton texted he was on his way.”
“Probably got held up by adoring fans.” Victor leaned back, studying me. “So. You’re going to avoid talking about Aneka.”
“I’m not avoiding anything,” I replied evenly.
“Sure.” He snorted.
“Whatever may or may not happen isn’t anyone’s business. She’s going through enough right now.”
“Exactly.” Victor raised his brows and glared.
“What does that mean?” I asked, lowering my voice as people we knew passed us on the sidewalk and said hello.
“As long as I’ve known you, you’ve talked about her. She’s your Laura Winslow or some shit, but don’t project more onto the situation than there is. Remember Sasha? And Megan? You jump in headfirst, trying to make things what you want instead of seeing them for what they are sometimes.”
I bristled at the mention of my ex-wives. “Am I fucking Urkel in this scenario?”
Victor held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying—”
“I’ve got my eyes open. We’re...taking it slow, getting to know each other again. That’s all,” I shot back.
Even as the words left my mouth, I knew “taking it slow” rarely involved lakeside sex. But Victor didn’t know about that. The connection I had with Aneka wasn’t a crush or a fantasy. I knew that now.
She didn’t have meaningless hookups.
Neither did I.
If anything, that’s why I jumped into two bad marriages. I wanted to settle down and kept picking the wrong person. Aneka...nothing about her felt like a mistake.
Victor continued, doubt coloring his tone. “I’m just saying she’s fresh off a divorce. She could be rebounding. She’s been in town one damn day, and you two are already making cow eyes at each other. Be careful.”
“This isn’t my first—” I began, but Colton’s arrival cut me off.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, looking from me to Victor and back. “Isn’t your first what?”
“Nothing,” I grumbled.
My mind drifted to Aneka’s goodbye and the way she’d pulled away. Had we moved too fast?
I could still smell the heady mix of strawberry and lemon on her skin, feel the warmth of her body pressed against mine. God, I hoped she’d wasn’t full of regret this morning.
Colton’s voice yanked me back to the present. “We should head in. It’s getting crowded.”
I nodded. “I called ahead. We have a table.”
We walked inside, and I waved to the hostess. She led us through the indoor bar and restaurant outside to a secluded table in the corner of the beer garden.
Colton laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to want to be seen? That’s the whole point of being a small-town celebrity.”
“The best part is people knowing what you need,” I countered. “And right now, I don’t need everyone and their brother stopping by to chat.”
Colton’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t seem to mind being noticed when you tore into Harry Ripken at the Lucky Duck.”
Irritation flared in my chest at the memory. “That was different. He was talking shit.”
Colton said. “Harry is a grade-A asshole.”
The server came by to take our drink orders, and then Victor shared his opinion on Aneka and my relationship shortcomings with Colton, who shook his head.
“Aneka’s not the shallow relationship type. If she’s making eyes at him, it’s because they have a thing. Always have. I think you two would make a first-class couple.”
“Couple? All they’ve done is flirt at a party,” Victor said.
I pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “Why are we still talking about this? Enough with thinking I’m a rebound...” I stopped before I could finish saying “rebound fuck.”
Colton eyed me but said nothing. Victor was too busy balking at the word couple to notice anything.
“All this speculation is nothing but pressure. I don’t need it. Neither does she. I know what’s at stake,” I said.
Victor shrugged. “Stakes sound serious, man.”
“Look at your menu,” I barked and flipped my over. I needed a morning cocktail.
“I know we’ll look like a bunch of hens, but I could go for a pitcher of mimosas,” Colton announced.
“Go for it,” I added, glancing up to see the unknown Jessup from the other night weaving his way through the patio with Lorna Devon, the daughter of yet another classmate. Lorna was young to be going with that guy. She couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen.
Colton turned toward the object of my scowl. “Oh, that guy.”
“Who is he?”
“Shawn Jessup. Ned’s grandson. He recently moved back here from Oklahoma.”
“How old is he?”
“I don’t know. Thirty?”
“She just graduated from high school.”
Colton’s jaw flexed. “At least he’s not sniffing after Olivia anymore.”
Colton’s daughter, Olivia, was twenty-three and lived in Kansas City, near his ex-wife and their younger daughter, Becca.
“When was he doing that?” Victor asked.
“A couple of Christmases ago. She came to see me, and he was dogging her. Calling. Texting. Something about him I don’t trust,” he answered, growling like a papa grizzly.
“Well, he’s on to greener pastures,” Victor mumbled.
“Real green,” I added.
“The Jessups have always been a class act,” Colton sniped. “You know Ned and Tina Devon had a thing once.”
“Tina?” I asked.
“Lorna’s grandma.”
“Okay, now we’re gossiping like hens,” Victor interjected.
“Yeah. We should mind our own business,” I said, thinking back to what I’d told Ripken, Jessup, and their pals the other night. “Like I wish others would mind theirs.”
Victor rolled his eyes at me. “If you don’t want gossip, hanging all over Aneka at your party wasn’t the smartest move. People noticed.”
“We’re old friends,” I bit out. “Who’d care?”
Colton snorted and threw down his menu. “It’s like you don’t know where you are.”
He was right. Bliss had a way of making everyone’s business public knowledge. If Aneka and I were going to have any chance, I needed to talk to her, make sure she was okay. Otherwise, our second chance could be over before it began.