Chapter 7 - Rosie
Iwasn’t a fan of thunder and lightning.
Never had been.
I loved the rain and dancing out in it, taking a walk.
But when thunder and lightning were around, if I was on location, it was in my contract that I had to be inside.
It was something I had never grown out of.
It didn’t matter that I was about to be thirty, thunder and lightning still made me jump like a scared little girl.
It set me on edge.
But sleeping with Caleb, wrapped up in his arms, the fear felt… a lot smaller.
I stared at the man sleeping next to me who had stolen my heart from the moment we’d bumped into one another. I’d not only lost my heart, but I had fallen in love. On the eve of some stupid speed dating thing we had both signed up for.
My hand rose, and my fingers delicately traced the line of his sharp jaw, taking in the salt-and-pepper scruff.
Caleb Walker was beautiful. Handsome masculinity like I had never seen.
And that was saying a lot. We’d talked after making love.
About our lives and family. I told him about my sisters and mom.
I’d even told him about how my dad had left to get milk the moment Iris, my baby sister, turned one and had never come back.
Caleb had told me about how close he was with his sister and all about his daughter.
Everything he told me about, including sharing pictures of his daughter and family, made me fall deeper and harder.
I wasn’t na?ve. I knew men could use pictures to make themselves look good, but there was no denying how close he was to everyone he told me about, including his ex, when you looked at the pictures. He’d even shown me a picture of his ex with her new husband on a camping trip they’d gone on.
We’d talked about everything but what I did for a living. Somehow, without meaning to, I’d skirted around the whole career/job conversation. I glanced out the window. The lightning and thunder had stopped over an hour ago.
And the rain was gone now, too.
I glanced at the clock and chewed on my bottom lip.
“Morning,” he rumbled, his voice deep with sleep.
My attention moved back to him, and I loved watching as his eyes opened slowly, giving me a glimpse of what it would be like to wake up next to him, staring into baby blue eyes for the rest of my life.
I wanted that. Tell me you understand. His words from last night, the urgency in his voice for me to tell him I was his, had felt real.
Honest. But maybe in the soft light of a new day, he would have a different opinion.
“Fuck me,” he rumbled, and my eyes widened a little at the awe in his tone. “How are you so damn pretty?”
“Caleb—“
“I think you’re prettier in the morning than you were last night, baby.” I laughed.
“Oh, please.” I playfully rolled my eyes, not ignoring the way my chest contracted at the sincerity in his voice. “I probably look like a crazy person. My hair’s—“ His hand moved to my hair, and he shook his head.
“Perfect. You’re perfect.”
“There’s no such thing, Caleb,” I whispered. I knew that firsthand. I worked with people who were as close to symmetrically and physically perfect as there could be.
“You’re perfect for me.” His words left me feeling warm and silky on the inside.
“You don’t know me.”
“I do.” He grinned. “I know all about your sisters and your mom. About your best friends and the traditions you hold close and their new guys.”
“Caleb—“ I started to say, and when he smiled, it felt like my stomach wooshed down to my toes. God, he was so damn handsome.
“What do you do?” he asked and then chuckled and groaned. “I can’t believe I never asked you last night. God, I’m an asshole.”
“No, you’re not,” I defended. “You did ask.”
“I did?” I nodded and swallowed hard. This was it. “But I kinda asked you what you did instead.”
“Why?” Curiosity filled his eyes instead of the apprehension or suspicion I had been sure would be there.
“My job’s a little… different than most.”
“Oh, you want me to guess?”
“I don’t think you could.” I tried not to let nerves get the better of me.
“Is that a challenge, baby?” I couldn’t help but laugh at how playful he was in the light of a new day. “Do I get twenty questions to figure it out?”
“Caleb—“
“You’re a content creator?”
“What? No.” I shook my head. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “You’re the age bracket for it, and you’re gorgeous. I bet the camera loves you.”
Shit, how many times had I heard that?
And why was it the first time it felt like a compliment?
“Do you travel for work?” he asked, and I swallowed.
“All over the world,” I answered honestly. “All over… really?” I nodded, and he stared at me for a long while. There was something in his eyes. I could see the way his wheels were turning. Perhaps there was something familiar about me.
“Rosie,” he whispered. “Are you an actress?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Give up?” I asked as my heart galloped inside my chest.
“It hasn’t been twenty questions yet.”
“Oh, well—“ His phone went off, and he groaned.
“Shit. That’s probably my sister. Let me get that, and we will get back to our talk.” He rolled out of bed and went to get the phone he’d left close to the clothes he’d laid out to dry for us.
“Hello,” he answered while smiling at me.
God, he was handsome. But suddenly, I saw that smile fade away as he frowned.
Deep lines of concern etched his brow. “Okay, but how is she? Okay. No, no, it was good you called me… Okay. Yeah, I’ll be there.
I’ll call Carol on the way. Don’t worry.
Just do what the trainers said, and I’ll see you at urgent care.
” He ended the call, and a sense of impending doom settled in my stomach.
I had a feeling our time had officially come to an end.
“I’m so sorry, baby. That was Court. Cassie rolled her ankle during practice. The Pinehaven trainers want her to get an X-ray before the competition later.”
“Oh. Okay.” I rolled out of the bed, wrapping the old scratchy sheet around my body. “I should get going, too.”
“I’ll drop you off at home—"
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
“Sure.” He was a good guy. He’d want to do the right thing.
“Baby.” Caleb took my hand in his and slowly pulled me into his body. “If I didn’t have to make sure Cassie is okay, you have to know I wouldn’t be leaving.”
“No, no.” I shook my head, trying to smile and feeling like a grade-A asshole. I wasn’t some pick-me girl or one who was clingy. “I know that. Last night was fun.”
“Last night was just the beginning.”
“Even if it wasn’t, Caleb, it’s a night I won’t ever forget.” His brows bunched, and before I could blink, he took me in his arms, lifting my body like I weighed nothing. My legs instinctively wrapped around his middle. “Wait, what are you—“
“Hush,” he ordered calmly but sternly. Why did his bossiness turn me on like this? He set me down on the counter on top of our still slightly damp clothes. “I wasn’t kidding last night. This changes nothing. Come with me.”
“What? I can’t. I have to be here.”
“What? Why?”
“For the speed dating thing.” I winced.
“You’re still going to that? After everything last night?”
“Caleb—“ I realized how it sounded, but before I could explain, he stepped back.
“Right,” he clipped. A muscle at his jaw twitched. His annoyance was clear.
“I have to go,” I said softly, trying to find a way to explain but for some reason feeling seriously tongue tied.
“Because your friend paid for it? I’ll give you the money,” he offered.
“It’s not about money,” I answered with a sigh. “It’s about a commitment I made. To the ski resort but without knowing what I did.” It wouldn’t make sense to him. And maybe it was better this way? Maybe we were only meant to have one perfect night?
“A commitment? To whom?” I blinked.
“Caleb—”
“What do you do for work?”
“Do you give up?”
“On you? On us? Never.”
“I’m a model.”
“A mod…” His voice drifted to nothing, and his head tilted slightly. “Rosie…” He started to say my name as if he was suddenly adding two and two. I just hoped he came up with four and not four thousand.
“Baker,” I filled in the silence. “I’m Rose Baker. I model some stuff.”
“Super model,” he added, and I flinched.
“That’s not really a term we use a whole bunch now.” I shrugged.
“You’re a Victoria Secret model.”
“I’ve walked a couple of different runways.”
“You were on Sports Illustrated. Fuck me,” he grunted under his breath, running his fingers through his hair. “Last year, you were on the calendar.” He swallowed. I sat still, fighting the urge to square my shoulders and brace for a really bad reaction. “I stared at you all August.”
“I was July.”
“Yeah, you were too pretty to only have you for one month.” His sweet comment made me laugh and slightly relax. “Wow. You’re… you’re a model.”
“Yeah. And when Abby heard I was going, she asked if I could help promote it. She’s the head event coordinator.”
“I know. You told me.”
“I committed to the ski resort and to Abby. It helped draw people to come into town. She even got some hockey player from Houston to come.”
“Shit.” He frowned. “You gave them your word.”
“If it were just the ski resort, I would tell them to kick rocks, but it’s Abby, Caleb. She’s like a sister to me. I couldn’t let her down last minute.”
“I know.” He nodded. Caleb’s gaze dropped to the counter. “Fuck.” He swallowed. “Maybe this is for the best. A reality check.” And there was the shoe I had been waiting to drop.
“What?” I whispered. A knot formed in my belly.