Chapter 37 #2
He started past her and she grabbed his arm. Her eyes were full of entreaty as she gazed up at him.
“Can we talk?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Caleb, please—”
“We have nothing to talk about. Now if you’ll excuse me—”
“I miss you,” she blurted out before he could keep walking.
“I miss your friendship. I miss your smile and your laughter. I miss our shop talk, our coffee dates, our private jokes during tedious faculty meetings. I miss watching you work your magic with my son. And yes, Caleb, if I’m being honest, I miss looking forward to having you back in my bed.
We were good together that week, and I will always be grateful to you for being a far better lover than my ex-husband ever was. ”
Caleb frowned. “Shara—”
“I was talking to my sister the other day. She asked about you, and was disappointed to hear that we’re no longer friends.
She blames me, of course. She reminded me of the times you covered my class when Devon was sick.
The times you edited my articles and used your connections to get me published.
The times you went to bat for me against certain colleagues who tried to sabotage my work.
” Her tone softened. “You’ve always been there for me, Caleb.
Even though I didn’t approve of your recent indiscretion, you deserved my loyalty, and I deeply regret withholding it from you. ”
Jaw clenched, Caleb reached over and calmly removed her hand from his arm.
“Caleb—”
His eyes snapped back to her face. “When I told you we were done, I meant it.”
Her chin quivered. “But—”
A familiar bark of laughter turned their heads as Evander emerged from the building, his phone to his ear. He took one look at them and raised his eyebrows above his sunglasses, then murmured into the phone, “See you soon, baby.”
Ending the call, he wandered over to them, slowly removing his shades. “What’s up? Did I miss an invite to the black law faculty meeting?”
Neither Caleb nor Shara cracked a smile.
“Damn. Tough crowd.” Evander chuckled. “Speaking of our little club, I heard they just hired someone new. A sista with mad impressive credentials.”
“Good,” Shara said sullenly. “I need a new ally since you and Caleb have iced me out for the past two months. You didn’t even invite me to your end-of-summer party.”
Evander gave a harsh snort. “Please stop playing the victim, Shara. Unlike that wine and cheese crowd you roll with, I don’t do fake.
What you did was foul, and I had no qualms letting you know how I felt about it.
I mean, damn, woman,” he growled, lowering his voice so passersby wouldn’t overhear.
“You actually set up a meeting with our boss to report Caleb. If Kinsale had gotten back in town before Daniela withdrew from the university, you would’ve gone through with snitching on Caleb.
And for what? Huh? I mean, I would’ve taken your concerns more seriously if Caleb had been messing around with some naive little freshman instead of a grown-ass twenty-seven-year-old woman who knew what the fuck she wanted and knew exactly how to go after it.
But this was never about power imbalances or professional ethics or morality clauses for you.
You were on some scorned bitch bullshit, and you were ready to go scorched earth just to get back at Caleb.
Foul, like I said. And off code. But thanks for letting us know how you roll so we can move accordingly from now on. ”
Shara’s jaw tightened and she looked away, blinking back tears.
“Anyway, gotta run. I’m meeting wifey for lunch.” Evander slid his sunglasses on, clapped Caleb on the shoulder and grinned. “Nette said to tell you that Karina’s looking forward to Saturday night. It’s all she’s been talking about all week.”
Caleb felt rather than saw Shara stiffen. “Have a good lunch,” was all he said.
“With Nette? Always.” Evander winked and sauntered off whistling cheerfully, as if he hadn’t just taken a wrecking ball to a woman’s feelings.
Shara swiped at the corners of her eyes and sniffed, looking miserably at Caleb. “Sounds like you’ve finally put Daniela in your rearview mirror. Congratulations.” A bitter little smile twisted her mouth. “Let’s hope things work out better for you this time. You haven’t had the best luck.”
Caleb chuckled coldly. “Stay classy, Shara.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but he had already shouldered past her and headed inside the building.
When he reached his office, he was surprised to find his father waiting for him, hands clasped loosely behind his back as he stood before the oak-paneled wall examining the titles on the bookshelves. “Dad?”
Crandall turned and smiled at him. “Hey there, son. Nice office you have here—nicer than I expected.”
Caleb’s lips twitched as he stepped inside the room and closed the door. “And here all this time you thought they’d stuck me in a broom closet in the basement,” he said drolly.
His father chortled. “Let’s not get carried away. Your office is nice enough, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the corner suite you left behind.”
“However will I manage?” Caleb drawled wryly, sitting down behind his desk.
“I saw Evander before he headed out to lunch. We talked for a few minutes, and I asked him when he and Robinette are going to stop fooling around and start a family. I told him his mama and Robinette’s parents want to know as well.
The topic comes up every time the four of us get together, which will happen more frequently until our demands are met. ”
Caleb grinned, shaking his head. “You have no chill, pops.”
“Can’t afford to at my age, with a bum kidney to boot,” Crandall retorted.
Caleb sighed, lips quirking. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
His father walked over and picked up the crystal paperweight he’d given Caleb years ago, idly turning it over in one hand before placing it back on the desk. “I had to come into town for a meeting, so I thought I’d drop by and see you, maybe take you to lunch if you have time.”
Caleb nodded, knowing there was more to his father’s unannounced visit than he let on. “Have a seat,” he offered, waving him into a chair.
His father sat down, then got right to the point. “How long are you going to prolong this ridiculous feud with Daniela?”
Caleb frowned, leaning back in his chair with a relaxed calm that belied the sudden tightening of his nerves. “Did I miss something? Aren’t you the one who brought me the news that Daniela Moreau—Roarke—was a complete fraud?”
“I did,” his father agreed, a touch impatiently. “And it was probably one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made in my life.”
Caleb thought his ears were deceiving him. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, boy. I wish I hadn’t told you the truth about who she is.”
Caleb’s mouth twisted cynically. “Yeah, well, the truth has never been very high on your list of priorities, has it?” The moment he saw his father wince, he regretted the caustic words.
“I’m sorry,” he said grimly. “That was uncalled for.”
“It was, but I had it coming.” A quiet, self-deprecating smile touched Crandall’s mouth. “Sometimes I take for granted just how far we’ve come in our relationship. I forget that the only reason you let me back into your life was that I was knocking on death’s door, thanks to my failing kidney.”
Caleb smiled a little. “That’s not the only reason I wanted a reconciliation, Dad. I was tired of being enemies with you. It required more energy than I was willing to expend.”
Crandall laughed. “Only a lawyer would put it that way.” Sobering, he gazed across the desk at his son. “Seems to me that if you can forgive me for the unpardonable sin I committed, you can forgive Daniela.”
Caleb’s jaw hardened. “Dad—”
“You have every right to be furious. If this had happened just two years ago, I would have been out for blood. I would have used every resource at my disposal to annihilate Daniela and her brothers, to reduce their little detective agency to a pile of rubble. I would have shown them no mercy.” Crandall shook his head ruefully.
“But that was then. Before my body humbled me, and forced me to reassess my priorities. There’s more to life than revenge, son.
Don’t let yourself become a prisoner of your anger and bitterness. ”
“I’m not interested in revenge,” Caleb said through gritted teeth. “I just want to be left the fuck alone. Anyway, I’m done talking about Daniela. Contrary to how you may feel, I’m glad you told me the truth about her.”
“Are you?” his father challenged. “Or are you just telling yourself that to help you cope with your regrets?”
“I don’t have any regrets,” Caleb snapped. “And I can’t believe you’d even suggest that it would’ve been better for me to remain in the dark about her true identity. She lied to me, Dad. She deceived me and betrayed my trust! How can I just overlook that? Why the hell would I want to?”
His father looked him squarely in the eye.
“Because you’re in love with her, son. And if you don’t go to her and make things right between you, you’re going to spend the rest of your life alone and bitter.
Or worse yet, you’ll end up married to some woman you don’t even love, and you’ll spend your days and nights wondering about the one that got away.
” He paused. “Like I did with your mother.”
Caleb grew very still. Outside the closed door he could hear the familiar sounds of phones ringing and keyboards clicking, could hear the low drone of conversations between his colleagues.
Inside his office, it was deathly silent.
Crandall was watching him intently. “You’ve always known that your mother and I didn’t have the ideal marriage.”
Caleb nodded slowly. “But this is the first time you’ve ever admitted it to me. Why now?”
“Because I don’t want to see history repeat itself.
I loved your mother, Caleb. God rest her soul, she was a sweet, kind, wonderful woman.
But I wasn’t in love with her. Not the way you are with Daniela.
The minute you two walked into my office, I knew she was the one.
No, take that back. I knew she was the one the day you came to me with the idea of offering her an internship at the firm.
Aside from the fact that you’d never done that before, there was something in your eyes when you talked about Daniela—something I’d never seen there before.
And then the night of our dinner, the way you two entered my office teasing and flirting and staring at each other like no one else existed.
I’m not the only one who noticed the way you were with her that night.
Ruth and Rita noticed, too. We all spoke about it afterward. ”
Caleb scowled. “I’ll try not to be so transparent next time,” he muttered darkly.
“There won’t be a next time,” his father said softly. “Daniela Roarke is the only woman you’re ever going to love that way. Take my word for it, son.”
“Your word, huh? Aren’t you the one who told me you had a good feeling about her? That she wasn’t like all the others?”
“She’s not,” Crandall said, undaunted by the biting sarcasm in Caleb’s voice. Pushing out a deep breath, he leaned forward in his chair. “Listen, I’m not condoning Daniela’s behavior. She made a terrible mistake. We all do at some point in our lives.” He smiled wryly. “Except maybe you.”
Caleb frowned. “I’ve never suggested that I don’t make mistakes, but I’d like to think that if given the same opportunity, I wouldn’t have made the same choice Daniela did.”
His father gave a diffident shrug and said, “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll never know.
But I’m sure Daniela had her reasons for accepting the assignment, and the moment she met you, she probably regretted those reasons.
” He paused. “Think of it this way. If she’d made a different choice, the two of you never would’ve met. Can you imagine that alternative?”
No, I can’t, Caleb admitted to himself.
“If it makes any difference, she refused to betray your confidence to Philbin. Even after he threatened to destroy her, she wouldn’t tell him a damn thing. I don’t know about you, but that kind of courage and loyalty goes a long way in my book.”
Jaw tightening, Caleb shoved to his feet and stalked to the window, his hands jammed in his pockets as he glared outside.
“There’s a reason you always taught me not to trust beautiful women,” he coldly reminded his father.
“That was cynicism talking, baggage from the past that I never should have burdened you with. You have a chance to make a future with the woman you love, Caleb. Tessa took that option away from me.” Crandall paused, then added somberly, “Don’t rob yourself, or Daniela, of the opportunity to be happy. ”