Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” My legs are crossed at the ankle over Jaeger’s lap on the couch in the living room. He spent the night, and we were perfect angels while Gen and Tyler were around. Probably because we’d taken care of our pent-up sexual needs before they returned.
“You’ve got work, and I probably should drive up to Kate’s sister’s on my own.” Jaeger rubs his forehead and runs his fingers through his hair. He lets out a breath, the fine lines around his eyes deeper than ever. He doesn’t seem convinced.
“You’re worried you might meet your daughter and you want to keep things simple,” I say, guessing what he must be thinking.
He sucks in air through his nose and closes his eyes. “If I have one, yes. I’d bet anything, though, she isn’t mine. If she is… I’ll do what I have to, but Kate’s a liar. I haven’t figured out why she’d lie about this, but she must be. We were—careful—or I was.”
I hate thinking about Jaeger with another woman. “No need to elaborate.”
He pulls me to his chest and rubs his lips along my hairline. “I should be back by the time you get off work. See you then?” I nod and he kisses me on the head, then wraps his arms around my waist in a lung-crushing squeeze.
I love his hugs. I could stay in his embrace for the rest of the day without food or water and be perfectly content breathing in his scent for sustenance.
And that’s what I have to hold me over for the rest of the day while I’m at work, the memory of being held by Jaeger and knowing I was so blissfully wrong, thank God.
I mean, Kate’s still a problem, but she’s not as big of a problem as I thought.
As long as Jaeger and I are together, everything will be okay.
That doesn’t stop me from worrying entirely. If Jaeger has a daughter, what does it mean for him? For us? I like kids, but I’ve spent next to no time with them.
I didn’t expect to need a working knowledge of children until I had my own—a loooong way off. What if Jaeger realizes I’m no good with children? Then what?
“Cali?” Architect Bill jars me from my bout of anxiety. I’m supposed to be working on a new design for the company’s business cards, but instead I’m staring off into space. “Do you have time to make an artist’s rendition of the Lakeshore property? We think it will help with the planning council.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Great, I’ll send the principal your way. John’s son. Have you two met? Nice kid.”
Several of the guys that come through the office are on the younger side, but they spend most of their time on job sites.
Sallee Construction is in a nice office building, but space is limited.
Most employees don’t have offices. My own desk is in the copy room.
Kind of pitiful, but I don’t mind. The way I see it, it gives me more time to chat with the receptionist, who’s sweet and always coming in to make copies for John and the others.
A little while later, I’m trying to recall whether any of the guys I’ve met could be John’s son, when a knock sounds at my door.
I carefully finish the line I’m working on for the business card mock-up, and turn around. My head notches back in shock. “You?”
The word is out before I can stop it, but what the hell?
Lewis’s brow furrows. “Gen’s friend,” he says, as if confirming the obvious. After a pause, he seems to gather himself and takes a step inside. “I’ve worked in the field the last several days. I didn’t realize you were the artist my father hired.”
Lewis is Mr. Sallee’s son? It makes some sense with the connection to Nessa. Nessa’s how Gen met Lewis.
After a long hesitation, in which I attempt to process the fact that I now work with Lewis, I gesture to the one chair in my office.
He takes a seat, looking like an adult in a toddler’s chair and consuming the room’s limited breathing space. Lewis isn’t as bulky as Jaeger, but he’s athletically built and just as tall.
“How’s Genevieve?”
The hair on the back of my neck prickles. Most people don’t even know Genevieve is Gen’s full name—and it makes me nervous that this guy does. “Good,” I answer warily.
Lewis is tall, with dark hair and tanned skin like his father, though his face is free of laugh lines—probably because the guy never smiles.
Add high cheekbones and a strong, proud chin, and what’s not to like?
But no way in hell am I throwing my BF back into the fire with a cheater, and last I checked, Lewis was in some complicated relationship with Mira.
If I’ve learned anything though this summer, it’s that Gen doesn’t need me to fight her battles. She’s done just fine on her own. I should keep my mouth shut.
I relax my shoulders and tell myself to simmer down.
Lewis pulls two reduced architectural CAD drawings from a file in his hand. He explains the general aesthetic of the Lakeshore building and shows me the landscape plan. The final product will be a multilevel Swiss lodge with a modern bent and eco-friendly plants.
We discuss timelines.
“I’ll get started on it right away,” I tell him.
Lewis stands and walks toward the door. He glances back while I’m sorting through colored pencils from my stash of art supplies.
Sallee Construction could use software for artists’ renditions, but the old guys are loath to learn it, and apparently I’m cheaper and leave them time to work on other stuff.
“Tell Gen…” He grips the doorframe. “Tell her I said hello.”
I hesitate, then remember he’s my boss’s son and I can’t be rude to him. “Sure,” I say stiffly.
I trust Gen, but I don’t trust this guy. He’s uptight and, more important, unavailable as far as I’m concerned.
Lewis walks out, but I hear him talking in the front area, which I can see from my desk. His manner is clipped as he speaks to the receptionist, but she says something, and his face softens. She has that effect on people.
While they’re talking, the front door opens, and Mira walks in wearing a short summer dress and platform sandals.
I don’t have a good read on Mira. She’s super proprietary over Lewis, and that seems to be her main focus.
What I can say about the girl is that she’s breathtaking, not that Lewis seems to notice.
He looks at her like he does his friends, which is entirely different from how he looks at Gen.
Lewis’s body stiffens and he speaks so low to Mira I can’t hear what he’s saying. She seems to ignore his words and greets our receptionist as if they’ve known each other for years. They probably have.
After a moment, Lewis pulls Mira aside. They argue, her voice rising, until she smiles without it touching her eyes, and glides calmly out the door, the bells chiming behind her.
Lewis looks over and our gazes meet. I quickly look away, but I catch him storming off out of the corner of my eye.
A door slams down the hall, punctuating my earlier assertion. Lewis is very unavailable.
And maybe this time, I should warn Gen.
That evening when I arrive home from work, Gen’s getting ready for her shift.
I walk into the bathroom and sit on the toilet lid. “Lewis works at Sallee Construction. He’s the owner’s son.”
Gen sets the hairbrush in her hand on the counter and stares into the mirror at her reflection.
Not the reaction I was looking for. It answers the question of whether or not she still thinks about him. “You don’t actually care for this guy…?”
She sighs and walks out. “Leave it alone, Cali.”
“Gen—” I trail after her into the living room.
“I was stupid at the start of the summer. I didn’t really understand what you were going through because I’d never been in love.
You were more involved with the A-hole than I ever was with Eric.
I get that now. And I don’t want to tell you what to do, because when it comes to this, I’m not as experienced as I thought, but I’m scared for you. ”
Gen looks up from rifling in her purse and shakes her head. “Cali, there’s nothing to fear.”
I lean my hip against the side of the couch and study her. “I’m worried I pushed you to date guys before you were ready and now you’re running headfirst into the same situation you escaped.”
“You’re giving yourself too much credit. I do actually select when and who I want to date, and I told you, the situation with Lewis is not the same as my past relationship. Besides, I’m not actually in a relationship,” she adds, and heads into the bedroom while I stand in the doorway.
Gen grabs a shirt from the closet and sinks onto the bed without putting it on.
“I can’t help who I’m attracted to. That’s just nature.
” She looks up. “But I’m not planning on repeating the past, if that’s what you’re worried about.
Even if I did, it wouldn’t be your fault.
” She tugs the printed T-shirt over her head.
“Okay. But Mira visited Lewis at work today. If you’re spending time with him, just—be careful.”
Gen pauses. “I will,” she says without looking up. She pulls on dark jeans and walks around the bed toward me. “You don’t need to protect me, Cali. I’ll be okay.”
God, right now, I could use protection. Every day with Jaeger is a lesson in what it means to care for someone. I want what’s best for him, even if that means not being with me. If I can’t be the right person for him and his daughter, he needs someone who can.
Eric spoke to me like I was an idiot when I told him that I’d given up law. He never once asked me what made me happy. Everything Jaeger does is to make me happy. A profound difference, and something I’d like to be able to return.
Jaeger texts shortly after Gen leaves for work.
Jaeger: Trip unsuccessful. Kate’s sister never showed. Stayed too long waiting around. Have a project to wrap up… could be late before I make it over. Miss you.
So the wait continues. Not knowing where things stand makes me crazy. I could sit around and twiddle my thumbs, but that’s not really my style.
I jump in the shower and then get dressed. Tyler’s friend picked him up, so I have the car for the night. I’ll visit Jaeger. I won’t bother him while he works. I just want to make sure he’s okay and give him a quick hug after his shitty day, and I don’t want to have to wait until late to do it.