CHAPTER 61
Victoria
No.
No, no, no, no. I can’t let this happen. I can’t let Cal leave! What have I done?
Suddenly it’s clear to me. I will take the risk. He loves me. I love him. And that is the only decision that matters.
I bust out my door and turn the corner just in time to see the elevator doors close. I nearly smack into two very large men I somehow didn’t notice.
“Whoa!” One of them steadies me.
My eyes move to the embroidery on their shirts. It’s the piano guys. “It’s in there—door’s open.” I point down the hall toward my condo. “I have to go.” I head for the elevator bank and start slamming my palm against the buttons.
“Wait! You need to sign, Miss Backlund!” One of the men runs toward me with a clipboard. I sign my name, but it looks more like an EKG readout. Good enough.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon. Shit!” I bang on the button again. Why did I move into a building with twenty-five floors? There were plenty of nice condos not this high off the ground. The doors open. “Yes!”
I watch the numbers as I go down. Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen.
I close my eyes, saying a prayer to the elevator gods to please, please, please have someone waiting on every floor for Cal’s elevator while this one rockets straight down to the lobby.
Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve. Eleven.
Ding!
Oh, no. No, no, no, no. I think I’m hyperventilating. Three spectacularly dressed older women enter the elevator cabin, chatting away about their grandchildren’s accomplishments. One is in a junior orchestra. Another is a gymnast.
I don’t have time to hear whatever the fuck the third one is up to.
My hand begins pummeling the buttons as soon as they clear the doors. The ladies go silent behind me. I feel their eyes burning into the back of my head.
I turn to them. “I’m chasing a man.” My voice sounds breathless, panicky. “I can’t let him push me away. I’ve got to get to the lobby before he leaves. I love him. He just told me he loves me, too, and I just stood there like a complete idiot and let him walk out of my life! What have I done?”
All of them remain frozen, staring, until one of the ladies starts bashing the heel of her palm on the down button as a show of support.
“Thanks,” I say.
Eight. Seven. Six.
Ding!
“No! This can’t be happening!”
The doors open to two attractive men in their thirties. Before I can do or say anything, another of the ladies behind me screams, “Get the next one! This is an emergency!”
The men back away, more than happy to steer clear of us.
“Appreciate that,” I say, looking over my shoulder.
“I let the right one get away once.” It’s the third woman speaking, her voice creaky with regret. “I was twenty-five. Stupid as the day is long. I thought there’d be others just as good or better. I still kick myself.”
Lobby!
I’m bouncing around on the balls of my feet like Jasmine.
A voice behind whispers, “Go get him, girl.”
I bust through the elevator doors and skid to a stop on the marble floors. I look all around me. I don’t see him. I see some of my neighbors getting their mail and chatting. I see someone behind the residential security desk. But I don’t see Cal MacLaine.
I run to the front doors, push through, and reach the sidewalk. He’s not here, either. I don’t see a dark-haired head bobbing over the pedestrians. Did he already get in a car? Did he go around the corner?
My heart is lodged in my throat as I race back inside my building. I’m out of breath when I careen into the security desk. I must look like the desperate, love-crazed woman I am.
“Have you seen a man about six-four, black hair, with incredible violet-blue eyes? He’s wearing…” Oh, shit. What was Cal wearing? I don’t even remember. All I saw was his face. The sadness in his expression. The smile he offered me when he left. “Pants! He was wearing pants—jeans, I think?”
I hear the elevator ding! open. I see a dog walker stumble out with four unruly dogs on leashes. He’s followed by a family with three kids. I don’t see Cal. I’m about ready to cry. I turn back to the guard.
“Have you seen him?”
“Well, let’s see. You said about six-four? A real big guy, right?”
“Yes!”
“Light blue denim shirt?”
“Maybe—where did he go?”
“Nowhere. He’s standing right behind you.”
I spin around. All I can do is laugh—with happiness, relief.
Pure joy.
“No wonder she was in a hurry,” one of my elevator squad says.
Cal looks puzzled. He has a right to be. I’m such an idiot. I need to make this as clear as I can, tell him in a way that he can’t misinterpret. I need to tell him how I feel.
I run toward him. He opens his arms and I jump. I’m in the air, seeing the surprise on his face just as I slam into him. He’s got me—hands under my thighs as I swing my legs around his waist. I grab his face and kiss him with all the fierce desperation I feel.
His scent surrounds me. His strong arms hold me. I am exactly where I need to be.
I lift my lips from his long enough to whisper, “I love you so much, Cal.”
His mouth is hard on mine, hungry. I release his face and bring my arms around his neck, hanging on, pulling him closer. It’s impossible to get him close enough. Our kiss goes on and on, until I’m gasping for breath.
He pulls back and looks into my face, his eyes filled with questions even as he laughs.
“Yes, you heard that right. I said I love you,” I repeat. “I’ve been in love with you since San Francisco, too. It killed me to leave you. I’ve been so lost without you. I’ve missed you so much.”
Another crushing kiss. His hands are all over my back and thighs. I’m afraid to let go of him. I’m afraid if I loosen my grip he’ll be gone.
He twirls around, kissing me, his laughter tickling my lips.
“Children live in this building, you know.”
We stop spinning just in time for me to locate the teenage girl who said that. She waggles her eyebrow at us.
Cal lets me slide down his body. When my feet hit the floor, I realize my shirt has bunched up under my bra. I tug the fabric into place, even if it’s a little late for modesty.
The guard clears his throat behind me. “So, is this the man, or do you need to keep looking?”
Laughter breaks out around us. I glance over to see the smiling security guard and a crowd of witnesses in a semicircle around us. One of my elevator ladies is wiping a tear from her cheek.
I gulp in a deep breath and reach for Cal’s hand. He laces his fingers with mine and squeezes.
“I can stop looking now,” I announce. “This is the man.”
Just then, Millicent comes flying through the lobby doors. Her mouth falls open and her eyes go huge.
“Oh. My. Lanta.”
Her gaze goes from Cal to me and back to Cal again. “You were not exaggerating, Victoria.” She smiles at Cal. “Things are going according to plan, I take it?”
“I hope so,” he says. “Thank you for all your help. I couldn’t have pulled it off without you.”
They’ve lost me. “Wait… you know Millicent?”
Cal leans in and shakes my assistant’s hand. “Just over the phone.”
“What do you mean plan? You’ve been talking on the phone?” I ask.
Cal turns to me. He either doesn’t realize that everyone is still staring at us, or he doesn’t care. “Victoria, how do you feel about surprises?”
Oh. I see what he’s doing. I give him a big smile. “It depends on who’s doing the surprising.”