Chapter 15
After two more turns around the floor, Caleb escorted Snow back to their group to find a new person had joined the gathering. And from the looks of it, she was ready to give birth at any second. The mother-to-be stood between Spencer and Lorelei with her head bent to hear something the latter was saying. Their conversation ended with a nod before Lorelei turned to Snow.
“What happened to ‘I can’t dance’?” she asked.
His wife shrugged as he tucked in behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. There was no reason for the others to witness the effect Snow had on him.
“Caleb is a good lead,” she said, reaching for her water glass on the table. “How are you doing, Carrie?” she asked the pregnant woman. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
Carrie hefted herself onto a stool with Spencer’s help. “Lorelei convinced me to come. I think she expects me to hit the dance floor and jar this little girl into making an appearance.”
Lorelei dropped an arm across Carrie’s shoulders. “The munchkin needs to get out here already,” she said. “I’m dying to meet her.”
As if remembering herself, Snow said, “Oh, Carrie, this is Caleb.” He extended his hand in greeting, leaning close so the woman could stay upright on her stool. “Caleb is my fiancé,” she added, which was the first time she’d introduced him as such. The words sounded nice to his ears, making him think maybe they had skipped something important with the impromptu nuptials. “Caleb, this is Carrie Farmer.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said. “Congrats on the little one. Your husband must be thrilled.” The group hushed, and he knew he’d said something wrong, but wasn’t sure what.
“My husband passed away a few months ago,” Carrie answered, making Caleb feel like a complete jerk.
“I’m sorry—” he started.
“No,” Carrie said, flashing a half smile. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Spencer said. “This little girl is going to have more folks looking out for her than any child would want.” Addressing Caleb, he said, “How are you liking things at the paper?”
Thankful for the change of subject, Caleb replied, “I like it a lot. How did I do in that sales call this week? Gerald didn’t warn me I’d be the one doing the talking when we met up with you.”
Spencer nodded. “Sounded like a man who knows his stuff to me. Nichols is definitely the guy to teach you the ropes. I think he’s been selling since snake oil was a thing.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it.”
The waitress returned to the table to get Carrie’s drink order. Spencer spoke for her and seemed protective of the expectant mother. Lorelei didn’t appear to mind. Caleb wondered exactly how close these friends were .
After taking a long draw off his beer, Cooper said, “Who am I dancing with next?”
Carrie threw her hands in the air. “Don’t look at me. Unless by dance you mean walk slowly around the edge of the floor taking a pee break once a minute.”
“This one is mine,” Spencer said, sweeping Lorelei toward the hardwoods.
Cooper looked at Snow with raised brows. “Guess that leaves you and me.” Glancing Caleb’s way, he said, “You mind, bro?”
The look of sheer terror on Snow’s face made his answer clear. “Go for it, man. But bring her back with all toes intact.”
“What?” Snow exclaimed.
He dropped a hard kiss on her cheek and said, “If his hands get too low, knee him in the groin.” Before she could argue, Cooper gave a “Yeehaw!” and hurried her to the floor. Caleb knew he shouldn’t piss off the woman he planned to seduce in less than an hour, especially when he’d waited so long to have her. But then again, she looked so hot when she was pissed.
“That was nice of you,” Carrie said, reminding him that he wasn’t alone.
He gave her a crooked smile. “She’ll hate me for it, but she’s a better dancer than she thinks.”
Shaking her head, the future mom said, “No, I meant for Cooper.”
“How did I do a favor for Cooper?” he asked, the smile fading as he searched the floor for the man in question. Caleb hadn’t considered the possibility that the gearhead had more than a passing interest in his wife. Several ideas for how to handle the situation came to mind, most of which involved ripping the mechanic’s head off.
“Relax,” she said. “I don’t mean like that. He loves to dance and is always the third wheel with Lorelei and Spencer.”
“Oh,” he answered, continuing to monitor the space between Cooper and Snow as they passed by. “Why doesn’t he bring his own date? ”
“Cooper has eyes for only one girl, and she doesn’t come here.” Carrie kicked her feet forward and back where they hovered a foot off the floor. “She never comes to Brubaker’s.”
Their conversation the day of the auction came to mind, and the mechanic’s answer that he hadn’t won the right girl. Yet.
“Why doesn’t he ask her to come?”
Light blue eyes met his with a look of gentle pity. “That’s what the rest of us keep asking, but he won’t do it.”
Watching Cooper hoot as he twirled Snow into the back of another couple, he said, “The guy doesn’t strike me as the shy type.”
Carrie chuckled. “Me neither, but he has his reasons, I guess. I’ve been tempted to say something to her, but I’d hate if someone did the same to me.”
“You know her?”
“She’s my OB,” the woman answered. “Needless to say, I see her regularly these days.”
A mechanic with tattoos and an OB doc did sound like an odd combination. But then Snow claimed the two of them were opposites and Caleb didn’t see it.
The up-tempo song faded into a slower tune, bringing Cooper and Snow back to the table. Spencer and Lorelei remained on the floor. “Here you go,” Cooper said, presenting Snow like a prize. “All body parts present and accounted for.”
Snow used a small napkin to dab beads of sweat from her forehead, but the grin and flush on her cheeks said she’d enjoyed the dance more than she was probably willing to admit.
“Anytime,” he replied, tucking his wife against his side and whispering for her only, “How about we make this date a little more private?”
Fanning herself with the napkin, she muttered, “Are you sure you don’t want me to leave with Cooper instead?”
Ignoring his wife’s sarcastic comment, Caleb tossed a twenty on the table and said, “Tell Spencer and Lorelei we’ll see them later. The next round is on me.”
“You’re leaving?” Carrie asked.
“Been a long week,” he answered, extending a hand to Cooper. “If the offer is still open, I’d love to see that old Thunderbird sometime soon.”
Cooper nodded as they shook. “The shop is open all weekend. Come on by when you can.”
Snow blew a damp curl out of her eyes as she shot him a less than friendly look. She may have been pissed about being handed off for a dance, but he’d put a smile on her face as soon as they got home.
“Will do,” he said, navigating Snow off the raised platform and toward the door.
On the outside, Snow was fuming. On the inside, she was a mass of nerves and second-guessing mixed with sexual need and the stirrings of mind-numbing panic.
“You okay over there?” Caleb asked once they’d driven several miles in silence.
“Sure,” she said, the word clipped and hiding little of the turmoil churning through her system.
Would giving in really be the end of the world? Where was the harm in having sex with her husband? Even if she intended for him not to be her husband much longer. They were only dating. Dating couples had sex all the time.
Another stretch of silence before Caleb asked, “Was it really that awful to dance with Cooper?”
Holding her tongue, Snow shook her head in the negative, keeping her face turned toward the passing hickory trees. She needed them to be home so she could lock herself in the bathroom and attempt to drown the desire coursing through her .
Caleb made no further attempts at conversation until they’d parked in front of the old garage outside the apartment. As Snow reached for her door handle, he stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. “Hey. Nothing has to happen tonight that you don’t want.”
Her heart cracked in that moment. She’d never wanted anything so much, or been so certain of impending danger in her life. Caleb had made his intentions clear back at the bar, and she’d said nothing. Hadn’t reminded him of their deal, or ended the dance when the evidence of his condition had become obvious.
“I’m scared,” she admitted in a voice she didn’t recognize. Why would she admit as much out loud? Maybe all the lust that had been building over the last week had addled her brains. Of course, he didn’t know what she was afraid of.
Instead of reassuring her, or offering his own fears, Caleb exited the Jeep with a sigh. Snow cursed her stupid mouth seconds before the passenger door opened and Caleb extended a hand without speaking. With a shuddering breath, she slipped her fingers into his palm, thankful yet leery of the warmth and strength she found there.
Silly ideas bubbled to the surface. If only she could keep her hand there all the time, locked in Caleb’s steady grip. If only they weren’t doomed from the start.
When she stepped out, Caleb didn’t move, locking her body between him and vehicle. He tilted her head up with one finger beneath her chin and brushed a curl off her forehead. “What are you afraid of, Snow?” he asked, his blue eyes unreadable in the darkness.
“We haven’t figured out our future yet,” she said, being as honest as she could without revealing her true feelings.
“Forget the future,” he said, trailing his thumb along her bottom lip. “Tonight is about two people who like each other a whole lot taking their relationship to the next level. Nothing more than that.”
The knot in her stomach loosened, replaced by a growing heat lower down. “Another do-over?” she asked, amazed she managed to utter the words while he looked at her like that. Like she was the only woman in the world he would ever look at.
His mouth tilted up on one side. “Yeah,” he said. “Another do-over.” Her hand in his, he led her through the garden gate. On the porch, he turned before opening the door. “To be clear, there’s nothing I want more than to get reacquainted with every curve and delicate crevice on your body, but I’m serious when I say you call the shots here. I told you before, we were never just sex to me.”
The words were like a muzzle for the voices in her mind. Snow laid her palm along his jaw, the porch light allowing her to see the honesty in his gaze. She nodded her understanding, but he continued to ignore the key in his hand.
“But to be fair, we were really, really good at it.” The half smile was back, and Snow considered jumping his bones right there on the porch. There was no reason to deny herself this man. If she had to give him up, at least she would have evenings like this to get her through the long, lonely nights ahead.
“Caleb McGraw, if you don’t open that door and take me to bed right this second, I may never speak to you again.”
The key was in the lock before she could blink. “Yes, ma’am.”
Caleb’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest. So many nights he’d dreamt about this woman. Woken sweaty and shredded and longing for the real thing. Now, here she was, ordering him to make love to her.
If this was nothing more than another dream, he was going to be furious when he woke up.
They took off their shoes by the door, Snow’s coming off first, but instead of moving into the apartment, she waited for him. Caleb made quick work of his boots, never taking his eyes off her. When she put out her hand, he took it and let her lead him to the bedroom. She moved like a woman who knew what she wanted. A woman who wanted him.
He’d had no idea what to say to her in the Jeep, as the girl in his passenger seat seemed like a stranger there for a few minutes. So he’d gone with his gut, assuring her that they didn’t need to have sex tonight.
By some miracle, he’d said the exact right thing.
When they entered the bedroom, Snow dropped his hand and turned on the light next to the bed. He liked the idea of getting to see her as they did this. Snow stopped beside the bed, a look of uncertainty in her amber eyes. As if she’d run out of confidence on what to do next.
Pulling her close and dropping his hands to the small of her back, he said, “You’re perfect,” before taking her mouth with his. He could taste hints of the peach cobbler she’d had for dessert and the strawberry in her lip gloss. For months after she’d left, Caleb couldn’t even look at a strawberry without experiencing an intense surge of longing.
She opened to him with complete surrender, a moan of pleasure escaping her throat. He knew exactly how she felt.
Caleb had decided, when this night finally came, that he’d go slow and make the most of every second, but Snow’s moans turned to bites as she tugged on his shirt with great determination.
“Off,” she said, breathless and impatient. “This needs to come off.”
He pulled the cotton over his head, happy to oblige, and reveled in the feel of her slender fingers gliding through the thin hair covering his pecs. Snow took his mouth again, straining against him as if she couldn’t get close enough. Another sensation he understood well. Drawing the burgundy sweater over her mass of dark brown curls, Caleb threw the garment onto the floor and filled his hands with black lace. He rubbed his thumbs across her nipples and felt them pebble against the delicate material.
“God, I’ve missed this,” she said, climbing onto the bed on her knees. She kissed him like a drowning woman fighting for air, then pulled back. “Am I going too fast? Because this doesn’t feel fast enough for me.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Like I said,” Caleb answered, joining her on the bed, “you’re in charge tonight. We can go as fast or as slow as you want, but if you keep looking at me like that, this could go faster than either of us would like.”
Snow giggled. “Then we’ll have an excuse to do it again.”
“Oh, we’ll do it again,” he said, taking her down to the mattress. “I promise you that.”