Chapter Ten
CHAPTER TEN
Caleb
I glanced at my watch as my good friend and business partner, Beck Daniels, talked about the commercial property in Hudson Yards he’d sold to a developer that was now being turned into a retail space with high-end shops, flagship stores, and at least two new fine dining establishments. I was listening and even interjecting comments and questions where appropriate, but clearly I was distracted by tonight’s plans with Stevie.
It wasn’t anything elaborate or fancy, but the thought of spending time with her, in any capacity, had me anticipating the night ahead.
“Why do you keep checking your watch?” Beck asked, sounding more amused than annoyed as he sat across his desk from where I was seated. “Am I boring you, or do you have a hot date with your new girlfriend?”
Other than Raven, Beck was the only person I’d told about what had happened with Alyssa and my arrangement with Stevie, only because he was well aware that I’d had no love life to speak of for the past two years, and to go from zero to sixty in the span of a weekend with any woman was suspect, and unrealistic.
“I invited her to my place to have dinner with Owen and me,” I said, shifting in my seat. “I told her seven, so I need to head out soon.”
“Sounds very domestic,” Beck said humorously. “Kind of like my life.”
“You have a great life,” I replied, which was true.
“I do,” he agreed, and grinned. “A gorgeous wife to go home to. A daughter who has me wrapped around her finger. I know that I usually try to get out of the office at a reasonable time, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so anxious to leave work.”
I shrugged, because the feeling was definitely new for me. “Other than my time with Owen, I’ve never had a reason to want to leave early.”
Beck sat up in his chair. “Okay, then let’s wrap things up and get out of here.”
As Beck cleared his desk, I stood up. “As you know, Gerard Laurent is flying in from the UK next week to discuss purchasing that triplex penthouse at Central Park Tower. We have dinner on the books with him and his wife, and you mentioned Chloe will be there, so I’ll invite Stevie since I’m usually the odd man out at these things with no date.”
Beck grinned. “I’m sure Chloe will enjoy having her there.”
We headed down to the parking garage together and parted ways. I drove home, definitely anxious to see Stevie. I’d seen her briefly Monday night after picking her up from The Back Door, but yesterday she’d worked at Dare PR and as much as I wanted to spend time with her, or invite her over in the evening, I’d given her space since I knew I’d be seeing her tonight.
I’d known her for a year, but now that we’d crossed that line and slept together, something had changed for me. There was no more resisting temptation, and now I found myself thinking about her all the time, and crazily enough, missing her smiles. Her easy humor. And yes, even that feisty side to her personality.
One of the things I liked and appreciated about Stevie was that I always knew where I stood with her. She didn’t let things that were bothering her fester to the point that they built resentment, which had been Alyssa’s style of resolving conflict, along with giving me the cold shoulder. With Stevie, I was quickly learning that if she had an issue with something, she spoke her mind.
Her dynamic personality was stimulating and arousing…though the latter I’d had to keep in check. As much as I would have loved fixing a few of our differences of opinion with hot, hard makeup sex, that hadn’t been an option. I had Owen to think of, at least until Sunday when he’d be off to Alyssa’s for a week and I’d be alone again.
I arrived home at ten after six, which gave me time to relieve Tillie, the elderly widowed woman in the building who I’d hired to pick up Owen after school and watch him until I made it home from work.
I changed into jeans and a casual long-sleeved Henley, and while Owen sat at the kitchen counter and finished the last of his homework on his laptop, I started prepping dinner. Or rather, warming up what Marcel had made for tonight’s meal.
Even though I’d given Stevie a key card to my penthouse the day she’d moved in so she’d have access and could have arrived unannounced, she texted me that she was on her way up. A few minutes later I heard the soft ping of the elevator.
Owen glanced in that direction, his eyes lighting up when he saw Stevie since we didn’t get many guests other than Cara. He jumped off his stool and ran toward her, his excitement making me grin because I felt the same damn way.
“Stevie! Guess what?” Owen said enthusiastically. “We’re having spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner!”
“Really? That’s my favorite,” she replied, her voice animated for his benefit as they headed toward the kitchen. “It smells amazing and I’m starved. Oh, and I brought dessert. I made some brownies.”
She met my gaze and I smirked, unable to resist teasing her. “What? No chocolate mousse?”
Her face flushed adorably. I walked around the counter to greet her and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. I told myself it was because I wanted Owen to get used to seeing a little PDA between the two of us, but the truth of the matter was, I just liked touching Stevie and being close to her. It was all I could do not to pull her into my arms and kiss her like I really wanted to.
She gave me a wide-eyed, startled look. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” she murmured.
“You have no idea,” I replied, and chuckled.
She set the plate of brownies on the counter and regained her composure. “What can I do to help?”
“Everything is ready and just needs to be put on the table. While Owen and I do that, you can pour us a glass of wine,” I said, indicating the bottle of Chianti I’d set out.
She picked up the bottle and looked at the private label, then arched a brow my way at the obviously expensive wine. “This is very fancy for Chianti,” she murmured.
“Yes, so enjoy it.”
We all worked together, Owen and I taking the salad, garlic bread, and Marcel’s spaghetti bolognese to the table, and Stevie following with our wine, as well as a glass of milk for Owen.
We sat down at the dining table, plated our dishes, and after a few bites I glanced at Stevie.
“Since you had today off from the PR firm, did you do anything fun?” I asked.
She grimaced. “I wish. More studying and homework. With finals coming up next month, it’s getting intense.”
“You have homework, too?” Owen asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
“I do,” she said after taking a sip of her wine, then grinned at Owen. “Macroeconomics is the worst.”
Owen scrunched up his face. “What is macro…” The rest of the word was a garbled, indecipherable attempt at repeating the term.
Stevie laughed, the sound light and amused. “It’s sort of like math, but super boring and makes me want to take a nap.”
I chuckled. “So, what degree are you pursuing?” I asked, curious to know, well, everything I could about her.
“One in marketing,” she said, twirling her spaghetti noodles around the tines of her fork. “I’ve been interning at Dare PR for a little over a year now, and my boss has already promised me that they’ll hire me full-time once I finish school, which will enable me to quit waitressing and have one job that pays me well.”
I couldn’t help but admire how hard she was working to build a secure future for herself. “And what, exactly, do you do at Dare PR?”
“Anything and everything PR related,” she said with a light laugh. “Advertising and promotions for clients, of course, but right now I’m working on a social media campaign for a specific client, focusing mainly on branding and content creation.”
The unfettered enthusiasm in her voice and sparkle in her eye as she talked about Dare PR told me that she loved what she did.
“And what about you?” she asked, turning the subject to me. “Any big real estate sales lately?”
“There’s always something in the works,” I said, and realized this was a perfect opening for next week’s dinner with Gerard Laurent. “Next Wednesday, I’d like to bring you with me to a business dinner with one of our biggest clients. If all goes well, he’ll be purchasing a triplex penthouse at Central Park Tower, so a little schmoozing is in order.”
“Are you sure?” She fiddled nervously with the stem of her wineglass, looking uneasy. “I mean, I’m not sure why you’d need me there.”
Need? No. “How about it’s as simple as I want you there.”
“I think that’s a little outside of my comfort zone.”
“You’re my girlfriend, so consider it part of the job,” I said, then gentled my tone when I saw the genuine insecurities in her gaze. “All you need to do is be yourself, Stevie. And Beck’s wife, Chloe, will be there, too. I know she’ll enjoy your company. There’re a few other events I’ll be taking you to, as well, so we’ll discuss those later. I’m just glad not to have to attend them solo anymore.”
She exhaled a deep breath. “Sounds like I’m going to need a social calendar to keep track of everything.”
“And don’t forget my birthday!” Owen chimed in. “I’m going to be seven!”
“When is your birthday?” Stevie asked, smiling at him. “Because that is something I definitely don’t want to miss.”
“It’s…It’s…” A frown furrowed between Owen’s brows as he glanced at me. “When is it again, Dad?”
“In a few weeks,” I told him.
Owen huffed. “You said that last time.”
“That’s because it’s still in a few weeks,” I tried to explain, knowing that probably seemed like a lifetime to a child.
“Oh.” He thought about that for a moment, then his eyes lit up again as he looked at Stevie. “We’re going to the beach for my birthday!”
“That sounds like fun,” she said, then finished off the last of her Chianti.
“It’s a small family weekend planned at the Hamptons,” I explained. “I have a membership at the Dune Deck Beach Club and it’ll be Remy and Raven and Cara, and us.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened, and she gave her head a slight shake. “Then you should all go and have a nice getaway. I don’t need to be there.”
Owen pouted. “But I want you there.”
“And so do I,” I said, for more reasons than just the pretense of being my girlfriend at a resort where Alyssa was also still a member, which she’d insisted on as part of the divorce settlement.
I recognized the uncertainty in her eyes. “Where would I stay?”
I knew she was asking because of the morality clause, and it still being an issue of her staying overnight with me when I was with Owen, even if she was my girlfriend. “You can room with Cara. I’ll book a two-bedroom suite for you and her to stay in.” She opened her mouth, and I cut off whatever she intended to say. “No arguments, and who wants a brownie with ice cream?” I asked, knowing that would put an end to the subject.
“I do, I do!” Owen shouted, right on cue.
“Then help me clear the table and we’ll have dessert,” I promised him.
We all worked together in the kitchen, with Owen clearing the dishes while Stevie rinsed them and stacked them in the dishwasher, and I put away the leftovers. Brownies came next, with scoops of vanilla ice cream while Owen regaled Stevie about his day at school.
Our nightly routine continued, followed by a quick game of Owen’s choice, and tonight he picked Trash Pandas, a fun racoon card game that had us all laughing because it was absolutely ridiculous, but right on par for a six-year-old.
“It’s almost eight o’clock,” I told Owen once we’d finished the game. “You need a bath and then it’s time for bed.”
“Do I have to? I like having Stevie here. She’s fun.”
“I agree, but yes, you have to,” I said, ruffling his hair. “You have school tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He slid off his chair, then looked hopefully at Stevie. “Will you read one of my books to me tonight, instead of Dad?”
She smiled. “Sure.”
I ushered Owen off for a bath while Stevie waited in the living room and scrolled through her phone to pass time. Once Owen was in his pajamas and settled in bed, I called Stevie back to his bedroom. She came in and sat down next to him.
“I made sure he picked a short story,” I told her, leaning against Owen’s dresser. “Because if not, you’d be reading to him for an hour.”
“I want you to read this one,” Owen said, handing her a book.
Stevie glanced at the cover and grinned. “Okay, Grumpy Monkey it is.”
She started to read, and I wasn’t sure who enjoyed Stevie’s narration more, my son or myself. The inflections in her voice to emulate the grumpy monkey, along with her humorous expressions, had Owen laughing and me chuckling.
When she was done, I tucked the covers around Owen, left his night-light on, and closed his bedroom door on our way out.
We walked back out to the living area. “So, you’ve just experienced a very ordinary evening in the life of me with my son.”
“It was fun,” she said, picking up her purse from the counter. “But I should go. I’ve got work in the morning.”
I nodded. I didn’t want her to leave, but I understood. Everything about the past few hours had been casual, easy, and enjoyable. It also made me realize how much I missed having the companionship of a woman in our lives on a daily basis. One who melded into our routine, instead of disrupting it as Alyssa always had.
I walked with her to the elevator, but before she could press the button I gently grabbed her wrist. She glanced at me, blinking in surprise, but I also saw the shimmer of awareness in her eyes, as if she knew why I’d stopped her.
“Hang on,” I murmured and lifted my hand, cradling the side of her face and wrapping my other arm around her waist, bringing her body flush to mine. “There’s something I’ve been dying to do since you walked in earlier.”
Placing her hands on my chest, she licked her bottom lip, anticipation flickering in her gaze. “Whatever it is, you need to keep it PG.”
“I’ll try,” I said, my voice low and husky as I dipped my head down to hers.
Seconds later, my mouth touched hers, and her lips automatically parted on a soft sigh of invitation that I took full advantage of, seeking her tongue with my own. Now that I knew what it was like to kiss her, what she tasted like, I craved this connection with her constantly and took full advantage of the fact that I had her in my arms, if only for a short amount of time.
I kept the kiss slow and hot and deep, the kind that was seductive as hell and made my dick stiffen and ache to be inside of her. Her fingers curled into my Henley, enticing sounds escaping her as she shifted her hips against mine, rubbing against my rigid cock.
Knowing I was on the verge of hoisting her over my shoulder, like the caveman she claimed me to be, and hauling her off to my bedroom where I could fuck her over the next few hours—which wasn’t a possibility with Owen in the house—I lifted my mouth from hers and reluctantly ended the kiss.
She whimpered softly, feeling the loss as profoundly as I did, and pressed her forehead to mine. “I need to go because you are much too tempting, as is this .” Her hand slid over my erection and gave it a firm squeeze.
I groaned and instinctively pushed my dick against her palm, tormenting myself with what I couldn’t have and disappointed that it would likely be my hand stroking my dick tonight, and not hers.
“You’re going to pay for that the next time we’re completely alone.”
A sinful smile tipped up the corners of her lips. “I hope so.”
I gave her a soft, chaste kiss this time, and stepped back while I still could, pressing the button to the elevator. “Good night, sweetheart.”
The doors opened, and she stepped inside, then turned around to face me, her face beautifully flushed and her lips pink and slightly swollen from our kiss. “Good night, Caleb.”