Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW
SADIE
We spend the rest of the day clearing out the room that we choose for Caleb. It’s upstairs between the massive room I put my things into and Weston’s. When Weston put out the word among his friends and family that he had new furniture that he doesn’t need anymore, he had several offers to take it off of his hands within the hour.
Henley’s daughter Cassidy wants the furniture and they come over to pick it up. Cassidy tries to play it cool, but it’s obvious she has a crush on Weston and that she’s beside herself to own something that belonged to him. When Henley tries to pay Weston for it, Weston refuses, and I think about how amazing that must feel to be able to just give things away like that.
Before they leave, Henley says, “Hey, you got that notebook?”
A smile breaks out across Weston’s face. I think Cassidy and I both stop breathing.
“Yes, I do,” he says. “It’s gold, man.”
Henley laughs. “Grab it for me and I’ll bring it to our meeting tomorrow.”
“Oh, I forgot I’m actually invited now.” Weston laughs. “Where are you meeting?”
“Luminary…”
Weston looks at me and pauses. “I’ll wait and see how it’s going here. Unless you’d like to see my favorite coffee shop?” he asks me.
I nod. “I could do that. I wouldn’t have to be part of the meeting…Caleb and I would get our own table.” My eyebrows lift. “ Oh , is this a Single Dad Players meeting?”
“Single Dad Players?” Cassidy says, her eyes flying to her dad.
I want to laugh because it’s said in the typical are you serious right now teenager voice.
“It’s coffee with the guys,” Henley says.
He shoots me a look that makes me feel like I’m in trouble, but for some reason, I still just want to laugh. I can only imagine what Rhodes would be saying right now.
“We’ll be there.” Weston grins at me like we’re in on the joke together.
Henley grumbles and Weston helps them load everything in a moving truck. Another huge bonus of being filthy rich: access to whatever you need at the snap of a finger. This would’ve taken me rounding up at least three friends’ vehicles to maybe get the furniture to my place safely.
While Weston’s finishing up with them, I call my boss Kim. She answers on the second ring.
“How are you, girl?”
“I’m feeling a little more human these days,” I say.
“How’s that baby doing?”
“He’s growing like crazy. He’s doing better too. We’re both adjusting, but it’s taking a while.”
“Aw, sweet boy. I miss him…I miss both of you. Sasha too,” she says softly. “I think about you guys every single time I drive past your apartment…so all the time. I’m glad to hear you’re both adjusting,” she says. “It’ll take time.”
“I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to call you back. I’m really sorry. You’ve been amazing about all of this and I’ve let you down.”
“No, you haven’t. I can’t imagine how hard this has been. And we’ve done okay here. Esther and Carla wanted more shifts anyway. I always gave you first dibs because you’re the best and I love you, but they’re getting the job done.” She laughs. “The job is here when you want it, but…we’ll be okay, Sadie. You’ve got a little boy to think about now.” She clears her throat. “Well, that’s nothing new—you’ve been thinking about him nonstop since he was born and working your ass off to take care of him. You put the rest of us to shame as a big sister.”
I lower my head and wipe the tears from my face. “Thank you, Kim. I love you too. You’ve been the best boss I’ve ever had, and an even better friend. You took me under your wing when I really needed it, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I…” I take a deep breath and forge ahead. “I have an opportunity to take care of Caleb full-time, and I think that would be good for us, at least for a while.”
“Are you kidding? You’ve been the best employee I’ve ever had. You saved my ass when I became manager. And this sounds like an opportunity you can’t pass up. You have a job with me anytime, so I think you’re set for job security.” She laughs. “I’ll miss you though.”
“I’ll miss you too. I’ll have to come see you sometime when things get a little more normal around here. I’m staying in Silver Hills right now, but I miss everyone.”
“I’d love that. Bring the baby. It’s been too long since I’ve seen him.”
“I will.”
I hang up feeling like a load has lifted off of me. Caleb goes down for a nap, and when Weston comes back in, he stretches his arms over his head. I look a little too attentively at the muscles in his shoulders and biceps, the little strip of skin showing under his shirt, and I force myself to look away.
“We got that stuff out of here just in time,” he says. “Caleb’s furniture is here. I’m just going to let them in the front.”
He jogs to the front door when the doorbell rings and I wonder, not for the first time, where he gets all that energy. I’m not sure when he’s sleeping.
The guys come in with the furniture, out of their minds with excitement when they realize this is Weston Shaw’s place. There’s just one problem: no crib. When they’ve checked the order and we’ve checked it on our end too, we realize we bought a changing table, a chest of drawers, and bookshelves, but we didn’t actually buy the crib we’d picked out.
“Damn. Guess we’ll have to go shopping,” Weston says, making a goofy face at me.
After they’ve set up the rest of the furniture, going the extra mile to put it all together, they ask for his autograph. He’s good- natured about the whole thing, making them feel relaxed and yet still keeping it professional. When he’s ready for them to go, he thanks them again for all their help and leads them to the door.
“Wow, you are really smooth with that. I like how you got them out of here in a hurry without making them feel dumb.”
He wrinkles his nose. “Was I that obvious?”
“No! I don’t think they had a clue. You’re just a lot more laid-back when it’s us here or your friends and family.”
“Free once had a fan show up at his house. It was right after he signed with the Mustangs, before he had a good security system, and when he got home, the girl had taken all of his family pictures off of the wall and had them surrounding her in the living room.”
“No,” I gasp.
“She started taking pictures with him…she wanted to fill all the frames with the two of them.”
“ Wow .” I make a face.
He nods. “Yeah. I think we all learned to keep a healthy distance from then on.”
“Except for with the women…”
He flinches slightly and I regret saying it.
“Yeah,” he says eventually. “I haven’t always made the best decisions when it comes to women.”
“Did you have any desire to see my sister again after your night together?” My heart starts pounding like crazy. I don’t know why I’m bringing this up, and I’m not sure what I want him to say.
He leans against the kitchen counter. We’ve gotten all of Caleb’s things from the basement and paused to get a drink of water before taking them up.
“Honestly?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes, please.”
“No.”
I look down at my water bottle. “Why not?”
“We had fun at the party…we drank, we danced and fell into bed together. The next morning we didn’t share numbers, we didn’t kiss goodbye. We both knew what the night was, just a good time.”
To hear Sasha tell it, it was the hottest night of her life. It’s kind of sad that he viewed it so differently, but I can’t say it surprises me. He could have anyone he wants. There’s also something about hearing this that relieves me…in a twisted way that I’m not proud of.
It doesn’t matter. Who he sleeps with is none of my business.
“Have you ever felt more with someone you slept with?”
These questions keep pouring out of my mouth like it’s my prerogative to know.
It’s not.
But he doesn’t seem bothered by it.
“No, not really. If anything, I’ve avoided women that I might connect with too much. I’ve been focused on my career. Sex has been an outlet, a good time, and anyone I’ve slept with has known that. I’ve never made promises of anything more.” He lifts a shoulder. “But I’m tired of all the partying and sleeping around. I’m not a kid anymore, and I don’t know…maybe I don’t want to have sex just for the sake of having sex.”
I’m finding it hard to breathe fully. I never thought I’d be talking openly about sex with Weston Shaw.
“What about you?” he asks.
“Me?” I squeak. “Uh, it’s been a while for me and I wouldn’t mind having sex just for the sake of having sex.”
His eyes light up as he laughs. “Is that right?”
My face flames. “No, probably not. I mean, yes. No!” I shake my head. “Ugh. Um. I usually find it easier to connect with sex than having a conversation. That probably doesn’t surprise you. I’m not the best at making conversation.” I hold my hand up. “Not that you’re thinking about me having sex.” I put my head in my hands.
He coughs, trying not to laugh.
“How did we get on this subject?” I groan.
He pulls my fingers away from my face and my breath hitches. When I look up, he’s smiling and he’s stepped closer. A lock of his dark hair has fallen over his forehead and I’m tempted to brush it back.
“I’d like to be someone you can talk to easily…about anything,” he says. “I like it when you open up.” He lifts his shoulder. “I’d like to know everything.”
My insides warm. “What do you want to know?”
“Do you have good friends in your life?”
My mouth opens and closes. I wonder if I seem pathetic to him.
“Not many. Sasha was my best friend…and other than my friends at work, I didn’t really spend time with anyone else. I hung out with my boss Kim outside of work occasionally. She’s a good friend. Well…my former boss now. I haven’t told you yet, but I let her know I most likely won’t be going back to Hanson’s. I have a standing job with her whenever I need though.”
“Have you ever wanted to do something besides waitressing?” he asks.
I snort. “Of course. Don’t get me wrong—it’s been a great job. But I would’ve loved to go to school for interior design. It just hasn’t been feasible.”
He’s quiet as he studies me. And then, “Who was the last guy you had sex with?”
I laugh. “That’s what you want to know?”
He shrugs. “You started the sex talk.”
I groan. “Drew.”
I watch his Adam’s apple as he swallows. “Who is Drew? Wait…” His eyes narrow. “Is that the guy who came to the funeral?”
“He was there, yeah.”
He takes a step back. “So, he’s still in the picture?”
“No, not really. I mean, not at all like that. But he’s a friend. We worked together.”
“At the restaurant?”
I nod.
“Did you care about him? Did you want it to be more?” His expression is intense when he waits for me to answer. “Do you want it to be more now?”
“No. No .” I laugh awkwardly. “I’d put an end to it already. We were done and I was good with that. I cared about him, but he was too much of a flirt with everyone for me to take him seriously. It was fun while it lasted, but he was more of a friend than anything. He acted sad when I ended things, but I didn’t really buy that.” I smile and watch the muscle in Weston’s jaw clench and unclench.
“I guarantee he was sad,” he says softly. His eyes roam over my face and linger on my mouth.
What is happening right now? He almost looks like he wants to kiss me…but no, I’m sure I’m reading that wrong.
I start to sweat.
“Why do you say that?” My voice is shaky.
“Because you’re a rare kind of beautiful, Sadie,” he says. “I’ve never seen eyes like yours, violet and luminous and haunting. Your mouth is what supermodels pay their plastic surgeons to have.” He looks me over and my entire body starts thrumming. “But then you’re also smart, kind, unassuming…and you love with your whole heart. Any guy would be crazy not to hold onto you with everything he had.”
No one has ever said anything like this to me before. I want to wrap up his words and carry them around with me, pulling them out any time I’m having a hard day.
My mouth parts, and in the distance, I can hear the clock ticking as we stare at each other. Caleb makes a sound in the baby monitor and the spell breaks.
I point over my shoulder. “I’ll go check on him.”
He swallows and licks his lips before nodding. “I’ll bring the rest of his stuff up here so he can sleep in his room tonight.”
He smiles like he didn’t just turn my world upside down, and he leaves the room, taking my heart with him.