Chapter 22
Cal
I pulled into the valet circle just before noon, taking a second to look up at the towering glass windows of The Post Oak before climbing out of my truck.
The lobby buzzed with quiet conversations as guests checked in for the holiday weekend, but I barely noticed any of it.
My mind had been somewhere else all morning.
Tomorrow would be Thanksgiving.
Today... I'd see Nia.
The elevator carried me to the Presidential Suite where Mars had taken over the entire floor for the weekend.
The moment I stepped inside, organized chaos greeted me.
Wedding bags lined the hallway.
Garment bags hung from every doorway.
The dining table had somehow become a workstation covered in seating charts, floral samples, and handwritten notes.
Mars stood in the middle of it all, directing people around like she'd been planning events her entire life.
She looked happy.
Really happy.
The kind of happy that couldn't be faked.
"There he is," she smiled before wrapping me in a hug. "You look good, brother."
"I feel good."
She leaned back just enough to study my face.
"Liar.
You've always been a terrible liar."
She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the living room.
"I don't know why you and Nia keep doing this to yourselves."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
She gave me a look.
"Cal..."
She folded her arms.
"Cal, I know it, you know it, Jalen definitely knows it, and I'm willing to bet half of Houston knows it too.
So why are you still pretending?"
I rubbed the back of my neck before dropping onto the couch, leaning forward and resting my forearms on my knees.
"It's not that simple."
"It could be."
She sat beside me.
"You two have spent years convincing yourselves that staying friends was somehow protecting everybody."
She smiled sadly.
"The only people you've managed to hurt are yourselves."
I stared down at the hardwood floor.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe she'd always been right.
"I don't even know if she still feels the same."
Mars didn't answer right away.
Instead, she reached behind the bar cart and poured two fingers of bourbon into a pair of crystal glasses.
She handed one to me.
"Enough.
We're changing the mood."
I looked down into the glass.
"Bourbon at noon?"
She shrugged.
"It's Thanksgiving."
I laughed despite myself.
She raised her glass.
"To my favorite brother."
"I'm your only brother."
"Exactly."
Our glasses clinked together before we tossed back the bourbon.
The warmth settled into my chest almost instantly.
Mars set her empty glass down.
"One more thing.
My overnight bag is still in Becky's SUV.
Can you grab it before everyone starts getting here?
And then meet me in the ballroom.
I want you to see everything before the guests do."
"You got it."
She squeezed my shoulder.
"And try not to overthink today."
I smiled.
"A little late for that."
She laughed before disappearing down the hallway.
I grabbed the valet ticket from the kitchen counter and headed back toward the elevators.
The bourbon had barely settled, but somehow my stomach still felt tight.
I kept telling myself today wasn't about me.
It was about Mars.
About celebrating her.
About family.
So why did it feel like I was walking toward something that had the potential to change everything?
The elevator button lit up.
I stepped on, and the entire ride down was a blur.
A soft chime echoed as the doors parted, and there she was.
Nia.
Every coherent thought left my body.
She wore a cream linen set that somehow looked effortlessly elegant on her.
Her curls were piled loosely on top of her head, exposing the graceful curve of her neck and the high cheekbones that usually hid behind the thick curtain of her hair.
A soft pink gloss caught the light every time she breathed.
She looked... beautiful.
Not because of the clothes, and not because of the makeup, but because she looked happy.
Healthy.
Confident.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Judging by the way her chest rose with a slow inhale... so did she.
Neither of us moved.
Neither of us spoke.
We simply stood there staring at each other while the elevator doors remained open behind her.
God, I'd missed her.
More than I ever should have.
"Nia."
Her name slipped out before I even realized I'd spoken.
She looked up at me with those warm brown eyes that had always managed to undo me.
I took one step toward her, then another.
Before my brain had a chance to stop me, I wrapped my arms around her.
The hug lasted maybe three seconds.
Maybe four.
Long enough for me to remember exactly what it felt like having her against me.
Long enough to smell the familiar mix of vanilla and jasmine that somehow always reminded me of home.
Long enough for every ounce of self-control I'd built over the last month to begin cracking.
She melted into me, just for a second, then we both stepped back almost at the exact same time.
"How are you?" she asked softly.
Her voice sounded different.
Almost nervous.
"I'm good."
The lie came out easier than I expected.
"How have you been?"
"I've been busy."
"I can imagine."
Neither of us looked away.
Silence settled between us, but it didn't feel awkward.
It felt unfinished.
My eyes drifted down for the briefest moment.
The bracelet.
She was wearing it.
The tiny gold basketball charm rested gently against her wrist.
Something inside my chest tightened.
She kept it.
She actually kept it.
Without thinking, I smiled.
She noticed.
"So..."
The word escaped before I could stop it.
"How's David?"
The second his name left my mouth, I regretted asking.
She hesitated.
"He's good."
That was all she said.
Good.
It should've made me feel better.
Instead, it somehow hurt even more.
"Nia!"
Mars's voice echoed across the lobby.
Nia turned toward the sound just as a loose curl slipped free from the bun on top of her head.
Without thinking, my hand lifted to tuck it back.
She reached for it at the exact same time.
Our fingers stopped inches apart in the air.
I quickly pulled my hand back.
"Sorry."
She smiled so softly it almost broke me.
"It's okay."
"I should go."
"Yeah."
She hesitated.
"I'll see you later?"
My heart lifted.
"Yeah.
I'll see you later."
I watched her walk away beside Mars until she disappeared around the corner.
Only then did I finally remember why I'd gotten on the elevator in the first place.
As I stepped outside, the cool breeze rolled through the valet circle and carried the faint scent of Nia's perfume still lingering on my shirt.
I stopped walking for a second.
Damn.
I buried my face against my shoulder and laughed quietly to myself.
I was absolutely in love with her.
The realization settled over me in a way it never had before.
I'd spent years calling it chemistry.
Timing.
Bad decisions.
Terrible self-control.
Anything except what it actually was.
Love.
Even if I was only admitting it to myself, saying the word in my own head somehow made everything feel lighter.
It also made everything a hell of a lot scarier.
I finally reached Becky's SUV just as a black Suburban with dark tinted windows pulled into the valet circle beside me.
The rear passenger door opened and Jalen stepped out, adjusting the sleeves of his sweater before spotting me.
"Cal!" he called.
I smiled.
"Happy Thanksgiving, brother."
We met halfway and pulled each other into one of those hugs that only happened between men who'd been through life together.
"Same to you, man."
He stepped back, grinning.
"I've been meaning to tell you congratulations."
"On what?"
He looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Come on, man.
I watched you on ESPN yesterday.
You killed it.
The way you broke everything down, man, you're a natural."
He pointed at me.
"You belong there."
I smiled.
"Thanks, man.
It still feels surreal."
"It should.
You earned it."
I grabbed Mars's overnight bag from the trunk and slung it onto my shoulder.
“You ready to eat?” Jalen asked.
“You already know.”
Jalen nodded, the easy grin on his face slowly shifting into something more calculating as we fell into step, walking toward the hotel together.
“So...”
I let out a short laugh.
“Here we go.”
“How'd it go seeing Nia just now?”
“Damn,” I muttered.
“You didn’t waste any time.”
He shrugged, completely unapologetic.
“I wasn't planning to.
I know you've been hiding out at the office all month, Cal.
Mars told me you were running yourself into the ground, and I knew the second you saw her today, your head would be completely gone.”
I let out a slow, heavy breath, staring at the ground ahead.
"I saw her at the elevator."
"And?"
"I missed her, man."
The admission came out quieter than I expected, barely carrying over the ambient noise of the valet circle.
Jalen stopped walking.
He looked over at me for a long beat, his expression turning completely sober, before he gave a single, understanding nod.
"I figured."
"I don't know what to do anymore," I admitted, the confession heavy and exhausting as it left my chest.
"I've tried giving her space, staying away, not calling or texting, and somehow... I still feel worse every damn day."
Jalen slid both hands into his pockets, letting out a slow breath before turning to face me fully.
"I'm gonna tell you something because I care about both of y'all."
I waited, my posture rigid as I braced for whatever truth he was about to drop.
"Mars told me she's worried about Nia."
My heart picked up a dangerous rhythm, the sudden spike of adrenaline hitting my system hard.
"Worried how?"
"She said Nia likes David."
I looked away, staring blankly down the polished corridor of the hotel entrance as a cold bitterness settled in my throat.
Hearing it out loud made it real.
It meant the flowers, the late-night calls, and the upscale dates were working.
David was executing a perfect game plan, and I was sitting on the sidelines watching.
"But..."
Jalen added, his voice catching my attention.
I immediately looked back, desperate for whatever he was going to say next.
"Mars also said she doesn't think Nia feels for him what she wants to feel."
I stayed quiet, my mind racing as that single sentence tore through my defenses.
"She said something's missing."
A thousand thoughts hit me at once—a chaotic mix of hope and overwhelming anxiety flooding my brain.
I ran a hand over my jaw, the stress of the situation making my chest ache.
"I don't know, man.
What if I'm too late?
What if she chooses him?"
Jalen laughed softly under his breath, a small, encouraging smile breaking through his serious demeanor as he clapped a heavy hand onto my shoulder.
"Then at least you'll know you fought for her."
I shook my head, looking away.
"It's not that simple."
"It never is."
He waited until I looked back, locking his eyes onto mine.
"But you know what's worse?"
"What?"
"Watching another man build a life with the woman you love because you were too damn scared to speak up."
The words hit like a physical blow square to my chest.
"I don't want things getting messy," I insisted, the desperation creeping into my voice.
"I don't want to ruin what Nia and Mars have."
Jalen dismissed it immediately with a shake of his head.
"Those two?
They're family.
They'll be sisters whether you and Nia work out or not.
They're grown women, man.
They'll figure it out."
He reached out and grabbed the handle of the hotel door, pausing before he pulled it open to look back at me one last time.
"So let me ask you something."
I waited, the silence heavy between us.
"Would you rather risk making things a little uncomfortable for a while..."
Jalen challenged, his voice dropping an octave,
"...or spend the rest of your life watching some rich Wall Street dude love the woman you've loved all along?"
I didn't answer.
Because I couldn't.
The thought alone made my stomach turn.
The idea of Nia marrying another man, building a family with him, laughing with him, growing old with him, and never being able to call her mine was enough to make me realize I wasn't afraid of fighting for her anymore.
I was afraid of never fighting at all.