24. Grace
Grace
“Are you sure?” I asked warily. “What about Noelle?” I twirled my damp hair nervously. I had just gotten out of the shower when the phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with Caleb’s picture.
Noelle was Caleb’s world, so I always tried to be mindful of her. Thursdays were usually their daddy-daughter night after school. He only popped into the bar if it was absolutely necessary.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Caleb laughed over his end of the phone. “Noelle’s staying with my mom to help her prep for the show,” he added.
Saturday night Anne was showcasing her newest art collection. There was a lot of buzz around it, and she was very busy getting it prepared for its introduction to the public.
This was a big step. Sure, I’d spent the night the first time we fooled around and he’d stayed with me at the B&B, but this was different. We were getting more serious. I could feel it by the way he looked at me.
Grace, he isn’t going anywhere , I tried to convince myself.
I desperately wanted to say yes, but still I hesitated. We hadn’t seen each other since the fundraiser because I came down with a cold. I jokingly blamed it on me walking around the town half naked.
Caleb disagreed, stating that it was likely because I was perpetually weather-challenged and hadn’t adapted yet.
He probably only said that so I would wear another inappropriate outfit to visit him.
Nevertheless, I stayed away from Caleb. Even when he insisted on bringing me essentials, I declined.
I didn’t want him passing my germs off to his kid.
Of course, Caleb, being the amazing man he was, hadn’t listened to my refusals and made his way to the bed-and-breakfast to deliver some of his homemade food anyway.
He set down the bag filled with my care package, knocked on the door, and then ran back to the stairs before I could infect him.
Attached to the bag was the sweetest handwritten love note.
“Grace, are you there?” he asked. Thankfully, Caleb wasn’t fazed by me checking out every so often.
“Yeah, I’m here. Just thinking of what to pack.” I smirked even though he couldn’t see me. Please say nothing, please say nothin g, I chanted mentally.
Caleb chuckled. “Baby, you won’t need anything,” he said in a hushed tone. “Especially not clothes.”
“Promises, promises,” I taunted, wanting to rile him up for tomorrow.
“You’re gonna get it.”
God, I hoped so.
The fall air had that sharp, clean bite that signaled summer had given up its fight.
The sun hung low, painting the town in golden light as I pulled on Caleb’s oversized hoodie and stepped outside.
We were barely able to break away from each other, but my stomach grumbled, reminding us we needed to satisfy a different kind of hunger.
We were on the backyard patio where there was a nice setup. Caleb had a patio set, grill, and a small playground area for Noelle. There was even an above-ground pool, which Caleb said needed a new liner.
I followed the glow of the fire pit where Caleb stood with his back to me, stacking fresh logs on the fire, the flames flickering light over his broad shoulders.
He looked so at ease, so perfectly in his element, it made my breath catch in my throat.
This wasn’t a world I ever imagined for myself, but I couldn’t help but love it.
He was so perfect, and it scared me because I was holding back from him. I wasn’t even sure whether I was consciously holding myself back, or whether these thoughts had become so ingrained, they were impossible to get out.
“There you are,” he said, his voice filled with amusement.
“I’m here to steal a marshmallow.” I smirked but my mind filled with fear and doubts.
Caleb turned, and with a knowing smile on his lips, he challenged, “I’d like to see you try.”
I took a stick and marshmallow from the bag. I held it over the flames, trying to turn it like he was effortlessly doing.
Within seconds, the damn thing caught fire. “Shit!” I yelped, frantically waving it around.
He chuckled and caught my wrist, steadying me. I blew out the tiny flame, peeling off the burnt outer layer before giving up and throwing it in the trash bin.
I settled into the chair beside him, snuggling into his hoodie, inhaling his scent.
“You warm enough?” He grabbed a thick, well-worn blanket from the chair next to him and draped it over my shoulders. His hands lingered for a second, the heat of his touch sending shivers down my spine.
“Caleb, you’re perfect.” I laughed incredulously to myself in disbelief. “It’s actually unbelievable.”
Caleb’s eyebrows furrowed. “And that’s a bad thing?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said loudly before growing quiet.
The air around us grew heavy, and I felt like I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach. I didn’t want to ruin things between us, but I did have a pattern of self-sabotaging. I needed reassurance, so I found myself blurting exactly what I didn’t want to.
“I’m worried I’m not good enough for you,” I admitted sheepishly, taking another marshmallow and spearing it onto a stick.
Caleb pursed his lips and frowned. He took the stick from my hands and set it aside.
“Grace, please don’t say that,” he whispered softly. The earnestness shone through in his voice. Like it always did. This man was definitely one without pretenses.
“It’s true though. I’m not good,” I choked out, on the verge of tears. “Once I tell you everything about myself, you might hate me.” I whispered the last part.
I closed my eyes and was honest with myself for the first time in a long time. “I’ve been through a lot of shit and survived. But you hating me …” I trailed off and shook my head back and forth. He squeezed my trembling hand. “I don’t think I can survive that.”
I was falling for him. I’d probably already fallen.
“Baby.” Caleb took a breath and rose from his chair.
He took my face in his hands and cradled me like I was a piece of glass.
“I can’t fathom what you would tell me that would make me hate you.
Not when I … not when what I feel for you is quite the opposite.
But I will say this: holding all of the poison inside kills you slowly.
Sometimes, when you finally let go and set yourself free from the secrets, you’ll feel clean. ”
Like brand new—that was how Caleb looked at me.
All I wanted was to be brand new.
For him. For me. For us.
I gulped and nodded in understanding. “Okay,” I breathed out. “Let’s get back to s’mores.”
Caleb gave me a weary look but obliged. He speared another marshmallow with ease and turned it over the fire. His movements were slow and sure, the flames licking the edges without ever consuming it.
When he pulled the marshmallow back, he placed it onto a graham cracker already topped with a square of chocolate, then pressed another cracker gently on top before holding it out to me. “Here, my lady.”
I took a bite, my lips wrapping around the gooey mess, moaning in appreciation. “This is perfect.”
He watched me intently as I ate the delicious treat. S’mores seemed like an innocent nostalgic snack but the look on his face was anything but innocent. My heart pounded as I licked a bit of chocolate from my lip, teasing him, and I saw Caleb’s restraint snap.
He reached for me, pulling me onto his lap with effortless strength. I gasped as he kissed my neck. Caleb’s rough fingers trailed the edge of my breast. “Still cold?”
My breath hitched as his lips brushed against mine. Soft at first, teasing, before deepening into something hungrier. His hands slid around my waist, pulling me tighter, as my body melted between the heat coming off of him and the fire crackling before us.
I let out a small sigh as his lips moved down to my jaw, trailing a slow, deliberate path to a sensitive spot behind my ear.
“I want you. Only you. You’re perfect for me,” he murmured against my skin.
I swallowed hard, threading my fingers into his hair. “Show me.”
He chuckled, one full of promise. His lips found mine again in an all-consuming kiss.
I burned for him. Only him.
“I love your tattoos,” I complimented him. The water sloshed around us in the bathtub as I gestured toward his upper body.
“Thank you. I got this one after I took over as the owner of Bar.” He pointed to his chest where an intricate tattoo of Noelle’s name was surrounded by snowflakes and swirls to symbolize wind.
Caleb had some ink on his upper bicep, but as far as I could tell, they were just random designs.
The one on his chest above his heart obviously had deeper meaning.
“It’s my favorite,” I told him. “Is your mom excited for her big night tomorrow?”
I maneuvered as best as I could considering our close quarters. Not that I was complaining.
Caleb had just gotten off the phone with Noelle and Anne. Once we had our dinner on the patio, we finished cooking for the homeless shelter. By we, I mean Caleb. Although I did stir a few things.
Caleb and I were sprawled out in his bathtub. We were both a bit tipsy from the bottle of wine we brought into the bathroom with us.
One of the upsides of Caleb being a girl dad was having lavender bubble bath on hand.
So far, it had been the best date I’d ever been on.
“Very. But also nervous. One of the art magazines is going to cover it. I forgot which one, but they aren’t local. Mainstream press is good for her exposure,” Caleb remarked.
Thankfully, he couldn’t see my face as I turned to grab my drink because I blanched at the mention of the press being there after my bad experiences with them.
This was going to be my first time at a public event since the incident.
I was attending in support of Caleb and Anne, so the last thing I needed was my presence causing an unnecessary stir and taking the spotlight off his mom’s hard work.
Neither was obligated to invite me, but they did.
I appreciated them trying to bring me into the fold and make me feel welcome.
Caleb must have felt my tension because he scooped up some bubbles in his hand and proceeded to blow them in my face.
“My eyes!” I shrieked, grabbing bubbles of my own to plan my attack on him. There was no sense in worrying about the what-ifs. Not when I had this wonderful man taking such good care of me.
I dumped the bubbles over his head.
He dodged my attack effortlessly and shook his head so the soap whipped around the bathroom and directly into my right eye. “My eyes!” I cried again.
The energy changed in the air as I grazed his cock with my thigh. He smiled wickedly. “You don’t need to see for what I want you to do.”
I ran my fingers down his soapy chest until I wrapped my fingers around his cock, keeping my eyes on him. Well, my one eye that wasn’t irritated by the bubble bath.
“Oh fuck.” His Adam’s apple bobbed and he put his hand on my hips so I was straddling the tops of his thighs.
Caleb’s hand replaced my own and I was mesmerized by the sight of his hand on his cock as he grazed it against my clit.
His palm worked over the thick, veined shaft as he tapped it against my center.
“Fuck.” I gasped at the contact before he slipped into my pussy with no warning.
My head tipped back in ecstasy as his fingertips tightened against my hips, helping me ride him.
I expected marks to imprint my skin. I welcomed them. I wanted to be his more than anything.