I catch my breath, and my heart stutters to a stop.
We’ve told each other I love you, and Caleb’s always showering me with endearments, but it’s the first time he’s said something like this. The love of my life. A lump grows in my throat, and I have to swallow hard to shift it.
“Are you getting all fucking soppy on me?” I say, resorting to sassy, as I always do when I feel emotional.
“Yep.” He kisses my forehead. “So, what do you think?”
“I think you’re crazy.” Panic ripples through me. “I can’t meet your parents. They’ll hate me.”
“Well, I don’t think they will, and even if they do, I don’t care. But I think they should meet you. Because I’m going to marry you eventually, and I’m guessing they might want to be at the wedding.”
Now I feel faint. “What?”
He pulls me toward him and rolls onto his back so I’m lying on top of him. “Yes, you heard me. I want to marry you. I want you to be my wife. I want James to call me daddy, if you’re happy with that. I think you both deserve some security in your lives. And while we’re at it, I’d like you to move in with me, and then, once you’re settled, I think James should come and live with us.”
My jaw drops. He hasn’t mentioned moving in with him before, and even though we stay over each other’s places and have the usual drawer with spare clothes and a toothbrush, I’ve been happy with the setup.
But the thought of living with him, of not having to go home to my tiny apartment, and of having James there full time…
“Do you mean it?” I whisper.
“Of course I mean it.” He kisses me. “I love you, Roxie. I’m crazy about you. And I want to take care of you and James. Not that you need a man to take care of you—I’m very aware of that. But I’d like to help. It’s entirely up to you, but if you’re not paying out rent for the apartment, I thought you could give up the waitressing job. It might give you a bit more time for your studies.”
“You’ve been thinking a lot about this,” I say.
“I have. I’ve been enjoying planning our future.”
“Taking liberties again?” I try to be flippant, but my bottom lip trembles. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Are you getting all fucking soppy on me, Jones?”
I nod and squeak, “Yes.”
“Aw. Come here.” He kisses me and rolls us onto our sides so we can kiss and cuddle to our heart’s content, and I lie there and let him, trying not to cry, and thinking that I must have a fairy godmother after all.
Chapter Nineteen
Caleb
Roxie’s nervous, although she’d never admit it. She’s quiet in the car, which is a sign, but rather than push her to talk, I leave her to her thoughts. In the back, James is obviously picking up on his mother’s nerves, because he’s quiet too, and just plays with his favorite Bionicle in his car seat.
It’s not a long journey to my parents, only about forty minutes, and it passes quickly with us each lost in our thoughts. I surprise myself by not questioning my decision to take Roxie and James to meet them today. I love them both, and I do plan to marry her, so I feel it’s only right for them to meet her. But I’m not expecting it to go well. I’ve rung to tell them we’re coming, and I’ve told Mum a little about Roxie, including that she has a son, so at least they’re pre-warned. Mum just went quiet when I told her, so I guess she was thinking about what my father was going to say when she relayed the good news. I don’t care, really. I’d like their approval, but I’m not expecting it.
I glance over at Roxie, my lips curving up. She’s toned down her punk/biker image a little since we started dating—her own choice, and nothing to do with me. She ramps it up a bit when she has a gig, and she still wears her short skirts and her long boots, but today her hair is in a neat ponytail, and her pale pink lips match her pink sweater. She looks young and beautiful, and a touch edgy. I love that. I don’t ever want her to change.
We arrive at my parents’ house around two p.m. I know Mum will have baked several cakes and she’ll be using the best china. I hope Dad didn’t rant and rail at her for too long. I don’t know how she’s put up with him all these years.
We get out of the car, and Roxie unbuckles James from the back seat. Carrying his Bionicle, he runs up to me, and I take his hand as we walk up the path. We’ve become best buds, and I hope my mother, at least, will be pleased with that.
Mum opens the door, and it’s nice to see her face light up as her gaze falls on me. “Hello, darling,” she says, stepping forward when I bend to kiss her cheek.
“Hi, Mum.” I move back. “It’s good to see you again—sorry it’s been so long.” I turn to the woman at my side. “This is Roxie.”
Roxie holds out a hand, and Mum shakes it. “I’m very pleased to meet you,” Mum says. Her smile seems genuine, her look curious as she takes in Roxie’s appearance.
“It’s lovely to meet you, too,” Roxie says. “Caleb’s told me so much about you.”
“Oh!” Mum looks surprised, and pleased. “Well. That’s nice.” She turns to the boy at my side. “And you must be James.” She holds out a hand, and he places his tiny one in it shyly. “Why don’t you come in?” she says to him. “I’ve baked some cookies—if your mum says you’re allowed to have one.”
“Are they chocolate?” James asks, following her in.
“Of course! That’s the best kind.” Still talking, Mum leads him through to the living room.
I exchange glances with Roxie, and we go in.
In the living room, Dad’s sitting in his chair, but he rises as we enter. “Hello, son,” he says, holding his hand out to me, and we shake. He hasn’t changed much. A tad grayer in his hair, maybe, but he’s still tall and handsome, still as imposing as ever. I meet his gaze and lift my chin. I’m past letting him intimidate me.
“Dad, this is Roxie,” I tell him.
He shakes her hand. He’s too much of a gentleman to be openly dismissive, but I wait for a subtle sneer when she turns away, for his secret disapproval.
To my surprise, though, it doesn’t appear. He’s not exactly over-effusive, but he says, “Pleased to meet you,” and asks her about the journey as we take our seats.
I didn’t realize I was on edge until this moment, when I let out a slow breath of relief as Roxie replies to him, and the two of them chat for a while. Mum concentrates on getting James a drink and letting him choose a cookie, and then asks him about his Bionicle, at which point he leans on her leg to show her Tahu’s special sword that turns into a surfboard.
Roxie’s nerves seem to have fled, and I listen to her talk about my guitars and how we have the same taste in music, and she tells my dad about the band she’s in with her brother. I’m surprised by how charming she is, then ashamed that I doubted it, because even though she can be sassy, I could see that she had a warm heart and a kind manner from the beginning.
She asks Dad about his law firm, and then reveals she’s studying to be a paralegal. Dad’s eyebrows rise into his hairline before he gathers himself. He then starts asking her questions about her studies, and before long the two of them are deep in discussion about certain aspects of the law, in such detail that it makes me sit back and watch her with admiration, because she doesn’t talk much about her course to me as I’m clueless about the law.
While she’s talking, James leaves Mum’s side, comes over to me, and climbs onto my lap. I don’t think anything of it until I glance at Mum and see her smiling. She winks at me before she returns to sipping her coffee, but I can see how pleased she is that James has taken to me.
We all talk for a while, and then Mum asks Roxie if she’d like a look around the house and garden. Roxie agrees, and with James she goes off with Mum to investigate the new flower borders and the greenhouse, which is Mum’s pride and joy.
I rise to have a browse of the huge bookcases along one wall, more for something to do than to read the books, and Dad gets to his feet and joins me, brushing the oc
casional fleck of dust from the covers.
“Thanks for taking an interest,” I say. “I appreciate that.”
“She’s a nice girl.” He squares up a couple of books. “She knows her stuff. Hard work always impresses me.” He turns to me then. “I saw an article online about Hearktech’s new Assistive Learning Device. I see it’s breaking new ground in the field.”
“I think it’s going to do well,” I say cautiously. “It’s going to help a lot of people.” He read an article on Hearktech? That’s a first.
“Did you design it?”
“Me, Seb, and Harry together.”
He nods. Then he clears his throat. “I’m proud of you, son.”
I stare at him. He couldn’t have shocked me more if he’d slapped me in the face with a wet fish. “That’s the first time you’ve ever said that to me.”
My father looks at the floor for a moment, then lifts his gaze to mine. “I know I’ve been hard on you. I thought you needed it. When you said you wanted to work with technology, I thought you wanted to play video games for a living. I didn’t realize you’d be doing things like this.”
“You could have asked,” I say softly, unwilling to let years of angst and resentment go with one throwaway sentence.
“I know. This may come as a surprise to you, son, but I do make mistakes.” His lips twitch, and I give him a wry look. “The thing is,” he continues, “there’s no rule book for being a parent. You have to make it up as you go along. You’ll understand this, now that you’re a father.”
He’s talking about James. I meet his gaze, speechless at the knowledge that he’s accepted the fact that I want to be a father to the boy. He gives a small nod. “I’d like to do something for your young lady. I’d like to offer her a place at our law firm in the city.”
My eyes widen. “Seriously?”
“A junior role, to begin with, until she completes her studies. But we can train her, and provide her with the experience she needs.”
I’m speechless, and can only stare at him.
“I want to help,” he adds. “She’ll want to provide for the boy, and this will make her feel as if she’s doing her part. Do you think she’ll take it?”
“I can’t answer for her, but I hope so.” I think she probably will. It’s easy to say that you want to get a position on your own merits, but jobs aren’t easy to come by in the city, and it will still be up to her to complete her studies and work hard—Dad wouldn’t expect any less from one of his employees.
“It does mean working for you,” I say as we walk over to the window and look out at the women walking up the garden path. “Perhaps I should warn her off.”
He gives a short laugh. “Perhaps.” He nods at Roxie. “Are you going to ask her to marry you?”
“Already have. We’re thinking in the spring.”
He nods again. “Good. Make an honest woman of her.”
I laugh. Roxie looks up at that moment, and her lips curve in a big smile. She’s pleased that I’m getting on with my father, because she knows what a long journey it’s been.
They come into the living room, and Dad tells her what he’s just told me—that he wants to offer her a job. I wait for her to say she couldn’t possibly, but after a few moments of her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, she says, “Thank you. I’d love to accept.”
She turns to me and throws her arms around me, and my parents smile. I close my eyes and hold her tightly. I feel a warm glow inside I never expected to feel. I realize I felt this way the moment I laid eyes on Roxie, when she first came into the boardroom to collect a parcel. I should have guessed then I was in trouble.
Maybe love at first sight isn’t as bullshit as I thought.
Like a Boss – the new series of Sexy Shorts from Serenity Woods!
Follow Elen’s story in Taking Time, Like a Boss: 4
Excerpt: Chapter One
I’m so fucking miserable.
I sit on a stool in the corner of the room, leaning on the bar, and stare into my glass, carefully avoiding the eyes of people coming up to order drinks. I don’t want to talk to anyone tonight. Part of me doesn’t want to talk to anyone ever again. I’m tempted to get into my car and drive—through the russet and gold leaves falling from the beech trees lining the streets, out of the city, and just keep driving until I hit the sea.
And I wouldn’t stop there. I’d drive right into the cool depths and let the ocean fill the car, until I was surrounded by darkness, and all the pain went away.
Jeez, I sound pathetic. I’m even irritating myself now. This isn’t like me. I’m a silver-lining kind of girl, a glass-half-full person. And, come to think of it, I’m usually better at holding my drink than this.
I pick up my glass and frown at it. This is only my second, isn’t it? I massage my forehead, conscious of the ever-present ache, and remind myself of the migraine medication I took a few hours ago. It did say on the packet to avoid alcohol—it must be increasing the effect of the vodka, and contributing to the depression.
Oh well. Fuck it. I finish off the glass. Even a positive person like me can’t avoid the fact that, this time, my relationship with Dan is over. We’ve not had a ‘spat’. We’re not on a break. We’re done. And it doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself it’s a good thing because I’m free and I don’t have to answer to anyone and there won’t be any more arguments, I’m devastated. He’s not just broken my heart, he’s shattered it into smithereens, and there isn’t enough Super Glue in the world to stick it back together again.
I gesture to the bartender. “Can I have another, please?” He takes my glass and makes me a third Black Russian.
As I pass him my credit card, a man takes the bar stool next to me, and I feel a sudden flicker of unease and vulnerability at the thought that I’m on my own. Nobody knows I’m here tonight. Not my brother, or Harry and Caleb, the other guys I work with. None of my friends knows where I am. It’s not even a familiar bar. I deliberately took a taxi to the other side of the city so I wouldn’t bump into anyone I knew.
Then I roll my eyes at my own arrogance. I’m only just on the right side of thirty. I’m wearing sweatpants, a faded tee, and the oldest jacket I own. I’ve scraped my hair into a bun, and I haven’t applied any makeup. It doesn’t mean I can be flippant about my safety, but I don’t think I’m going to be fighting off the opposite sex tonight.
I glance at the guy who’s just taken the seat next to me. He’s looking at his phone, and it gives me a moment to survey him. Tall, dark-brown hair, long stubble that’s verging on a short beard. He’s wearing jeans and a black jacket over a khaki-colored tee. He has a nice face—not all angles and planes like a model, but good-looking boy-next-door handsome, the kind of guy your mother would love you to bring home.
There’s a russet leaf sitting on his hair that he obviously hasn’t noticed. I study it for a moment, then lower my gaze back to his face to discover him watching me.
“Evening,” he says.
I blink, trying to gather my wits. “Sorry. It’s just… your hair… you have a leaf on the top.” I gesture vaguely at his head. I sound drunk—I know I do.
He raises a hand, finds the leaf, looks at it with a smile, and places it on the bar by his glass. “Thanks.”
“I’m not drunk,” I say. “I’ve taken medication and I think it’s interacting with the vodka.” It takes me three goes to say ‘interacting’.
He looks amused. “Okay.”
I rub my nose. “I don’t know why I felt a need to tell you that.” I wait for him to reply. Dan would say, If the box said to avoid alcohol, why did you start drinking in the first place? I never have to listen to him lecture me again.
And now I want to cry.
The guy next to me takes a mouthful of his drink, the amber color suggesting it’s whiskey, and twirls the dead leaf in his fingers. “The process that causes leaves to change color is called abscission.”
I stare at him. “Oh. I didn’t know that.”
He shrugs and sips his drink again. Then he picks up his phone and begins to flick across the screen with his thumb.
“Koala bears eat only eucalyptus leaves,” I tell him.
He puts down his phone and turns his attention back to me. His eyes are blue, a dark blue, the color of the sky outside now the sun has nearly set. “When they leave a cave, bats always turn left.”
That makes me laugh. “I have no way of knowing if that’s true.”
He grins. His front teeth, while being white and straight, have a slight gap in the middle. “I’m not a chiropterologist, so neither do I.”
“Is that what they call someone who studies bats?”
“Yep.”
I sip my drink, secretly impressed. “Are you a trivia buff?”
“Yeah. Kind of a nerdy hobby of mine,” he confesses. “I collect facts like other people collect stamps.”
“Me too.” I wish I didn’t feel quite so woozy. When I’m at my best, I can beat any person they put up against me on quiz night at our local bar. Tonight… maybe not so much. But I can remember a few unusual facts. “A golf ball has three-hundred-and-thirty-six dimples,” I tell him.
He laughs. “In World War Two, metal was so scarce that Oscars were made of wood.”
“I knew that. Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors.”
“The first bomb dropped by the allies in the Second World War killed Berlin’s only elephant.”
“You can’t have two facts about the war straight after each other,” I tell him.
“Says who?”
“I just made it up.”
He smiles. “Okay, dogs can get toupees in Tokyo.”
“They cannot!” I scoff.
“Cross my heart.”
I wrinkle my nose at him. “I never thought I’d meet someone who was as obscure as I am.”
“I’m not obscure,” he clarifies. “I’m perfectly normal. Two arms, two legs and everything.”
“If you say so. I don’t know anyone else who would know that bats have a tendency to turn left.”
Taking Liberties (Like a Boss Book 3) Page 8