by Cassie Cross
Caleb grins at me, and shrugs. “I asked Ben if he could put something together for you. I knew you’d need a new one after…after.”
It hasn’t escaped my notice that Caleb has trouble actually voicing what happened to me. He seems to do just fine until he gets to the part where he needs to utter the word “robbed.” Maybe it’s not necessarily an issue for him; maybe he’s worried that saying the word is going to cause me some kind of undue stress. I have to admit that even now, days later, when the swelling is going down and the bruises are fading, I can admit that it’s a little amusing that for as much as I worried about Privya tracking me down here, I got hurt by a common street criminal.
“I can’t accept this, Caleb,” I tell him. There isn’t any conviction behind my refusal, because I don’t really mean it. This machine is beautiful, and I need it almost as much as I need air. Apart from wanting to keep my tracking programs running, I do have actual work to finish for a few clients. I need the income, but Caleb has already been far too generous with me. He’s taking care of my hospital tab, he’s given me a place to stay…this seems like too much.
“The way you’re looking at it says otherwise,” he replies, and I can hear his pleased grin in his voice.
Caleb is right. I’m weak. I’m going to accept it, and use the hell out of it. He’s gone to such great lengths to make sure I feel comfortable and safe since I’ve been here, it would be rude to refuse this gift, extravagant as it may be.
“Thank you.” I lean over and press a tender kiss against his lips. “You’re very thoughtful, and this is absolutely perfect. It’s what I would’ve made for myself if I could have-” I stop that sentence right in its tracks, because I don’t want the ‘afforded it’ to come off like some kind of backhanded swipe against his wealth and generosity. “And thank Ben for me, please. I mean, I’ll thank him myself the next time I see him, but in case that’s not for a while, or if I don’t-”
“You’re going to see him again.”
I nod. Even though Caleb is grinning at me, there’s something clouding his features, some kind of conflict that he’s not voicing. It probably has something to do with the conversation that I eavesdropped on earlier this morning between him and Ben. I want to ask what’s troubling him, but I’m worried that I’ll accidentally wind up revealing that I was listening to them while Caleb thought I was sleeping. If he has something to ask me, he’ll ask in his own time.
“I’m going to leave you to it,” Caleb says as he stands up. He leans over and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Get yourself all situated here; you look like a kid on Christmas.”
I give his hand a squeeze as he walks away, then immediately give the full weight of my attention to my new baby. The computer is already hooked up to Caleb’s wifi, so I log into my secured cloud account and queue my programs for download in the order of their priority. I’m just about to see what this thing can really do, when Caleb leans against the doorway.
“Mia?”
“Yeah?”
He swallows so hard that I can actually see his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You’d tell me if you were in trouble, wouldn’t you?”
“What?” I ask, pretending to be perplexed by the question, in order to give myself more time to answer it.
“If you were in trouble, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”
Oh, here goes. “What makes you think that I’m in trouble?”
Taking a deep breath, he steps back into the room, and stands across from me, on the other side of the table. All the good feelings I had just a few moments earlier disappear, because I can tell I’m about to be called out on something. Oddly enough, I don’t panic. I want to be as honest with him as I can without dragging him into the mess I’ve made for myself.
“Why did you lie to me about which hotel you were staying in?”
I’m instantly relieved, because he’s not asking me if I’m in trouble trouble, he’s asking me if I’m in financial trouble, given the fact that he knows that I traded in staying at Oliver’s 5-star hotel for the shit hole that I moved into after. Assuming he figured out which hotel that was, which…maybe he didn’t.
Either way, I can at least be honest about this, no matter how difficult it is.
“How did you know about that?”
All the visible tension in his shoulders immediately melts away, and he moves closer, taking the same seat that he had just vacated. I turn and face him, and he cradles my hands in his, his eyes all open and full of kindness.
“When you were in the hospital, I called them to check you out, because I didn’t see much point in you paying for a room you weren’t staying in. I asked if I could come and pick up any clothes that you had left behind, and they told me that no one with your name was staying there.”
I suppose it says a lot about his level of trust in me that he didn’t ask me if the reason the hotel clerk couldn’t find my reservation is because I was checked in under an alias. I was checked in under an alias, but not at the hotel he thinks I was staying at, so I suppose that doesn’t matter.
There’s a lump in my throat. Even though he’s being so kind to me, I can’t help feeling embarrassed about this admission. “I had to check out of the hotel I was staying at when we met. I couldn’t afford to keep staying there, and every hotel in the city is so expensive. I…I was kind of ashamed to tell you that I was staying in a not-so-nice place because of financial reasons.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” he says gently. “If I had known, I would’ve helped you.”
“I didn’t want that,” I say. “I don’t want that.”
“I just…” I don’t want to be a charity case. I don’t want things to be even more unequal between us. I have a slew of reasons for feeling this way, but I can’t seem to voice any of them at the moment.
“I assumed you had an apartment lined up and were living in a hotel until it was ready for you to move in. I’m not sure why I assumed that; I should’ve asked.”
Shrugging, I look down at our hands. “I came here on a whim. I didn’t have housing of any kind lined up.”
“What?” he asks, almost amused, like he can’t believe I’d just uproot my life like that. I wouldn’t have, if I had any choice.
“I needed to get away, and come someplace new,” I explain, hoping he’ll understand. “I wasn’t sure how long I was going to stay.”
“Oh,” he replies. He’s clearly shellshocked - that wasn’t the response he was expecting to hear from me.
“You make me want to stay.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I press my lips together as I figure out how I’m going to explain this to him. “How would that have looked to you? You have all this.” I wave my hand at his…everything. “I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage of your kindness. I would never take advantage of you like that.”
“Asking for help isn’t taking advantage, Mia,” he says. “Trust me, people have taken advantage of me a lot in my lifetime. I know what it looks like. And I’ve had to lean on people, too. I would never judge you for that.”
“You don’t even know me.” I look up at him with watery eyes, because…how is this man even real? “We were practically strangers.”
Caleb crooks his fingers under my chin, and tilts my head up, but I refuse to meet his eyes. “Hey. Mia.” He waits patiently for me to look at him, and when I finally do, he says, “We’re not strangers anymore. I don’t do the things we’ve done with strangers.”
I reluctantly smile, and okay. He wins. “I don’t either.”
Caleb is smiling too, and all the heaviness that was in the air a few moments ago dissipates. “Since we’re not strangers, and we established yesterday that I am, in fact, your boyfriend, I’d like you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“Felicity called to check up on you and see how you’re doing.”
“That was nice of her,” I reply. “But that doesn’t sound at all like a favor.”
/>
Caleb lets out a short breath of a laugh. “She wanted me to ask you if you’d feel up to getting out of the house tomorrow.”
“O…kay.” I’m confused about where this is going, but it would be nice to get some fresh air and take a walk.
“Since I know you have a limited wardrobe right now, I asked her if she wanted to go shopping with you. She’s a pro. Literally. She’s been doing my shopping for years, and she’s had my credit card numbers memorized for even longer than that,” he explains with a fond look on his face. He must really care about her.
“Caleb-”
“I know you’re going to tell me you can’t, but you can,” he says softly. “All you have to do is say yes.”
I’m still not convinced. I do need clothes, but…
“It’s not a completely selfless proposition,” he admits. “I’m going to need you to find a replacement for that dress of yours I liked so much.”
That makes me smile.
Sensing a weakness like the businessman that he is, he asks, “Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“No,” I say adamantly. I feel like this is an incredibly polite response since what I really want to say is hell no.
Caleb just crosses his arms over his chest and gives me a look that I’m sure has made countless strong-willed businessmen cower in the shadows of their corner offices. That look won’t work on me. Not when it comes to this. “It’s non-negotiable.”
“I said no, Caleb. Remember that conversation we had just the other day about how you don’t get to control me?”
“Mia,” he replies imploringly. He takes a step forward, and takes my hands in his. “Remember the other part of that conversation, where I asked you not to make me listen on the other end of the line while somebody robbed and beat you?”
Damn it. “You can’t keep using that argument whenever you’re not getting your way.”
“I’ll only use it when it comes to keeping you safe, which is all I’m trying to do.”
I take a deep breath, and give the man who Caleb hired to be my bodyguard for the day a once over. My dad would say that he’s built like a brick shit house, and there isn’t any doubt in my mind that he’d be able to keep me from harm. He kind of looks like he could stop a bullet without much effort or injury. Nevertheless, I don’t want him following me and Felicity around all day, no matter how huge or handsome or friendly looking he is.
“People get robbed here every day,” I tell Caleb. “They weren’t after me, they were just after my things.” I’m fully aware that might not always be the case, though. Someday soon—today, even—someone could be after me, but when that happens, I don’t want Caleb or some security person he’s hired to be dragged into it. “The chances of it happening again are slim.”
Caleb kisses me on the forehead. “I’m not taking any chances, no matter how slim they are. You won’t even know he’s there. Right, Stone?”
I look over at the man who is most likely going to be a close friend for the next few hours.
“Your name is Stone?” It’s very soap opera, and it reminds me that I’m now living in some kind of surreal reality where I have a boyfriend who hires men named Stone to come shopping with me and keep me safe. It’s absurd and adorable at the same time.
“It’s my last name, ma’am.”
“I’ll make a deal with you,” I say, as my gaze swings from Caleb to Stone. “I’ll let you follow me around all day, as long as you call me by my first name, and I’ll call you by yours.”
Caleb sighs exasperatedly behind me, and the sound of it makes me want to smile. “That’s not how this works, Mia.”
“It’s how this is going to work if you want me to agree.”
Caleb gives Stone a curt nod.
“What’s your first name, Stone?”
He looks so amused, I get the feeling that he spends his days with people who are perfectly willing to keep a wall of professionalism between themselves and him. I am not that person.
“It’s Sam, ma’am.”
“Sam,” I say, delighted, as I reach out to shake his hand. “I’m Mia.”
“Mia…” Caleb says testily.
“I know, I know. This isn’t how it works.” I narrow my eyes at him. “This is how it’s working now.” He nods and gives me a reluctant smile.
Sam shakes my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
“Mia.” I’m going to get him to call me by my first name if it’s the last thing I do.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I sigh, and Caleb is grinning like he’s won something. He leans in and kisses me, then straightens his tie.
“I’m going to the office for a bit. You have fun with Felicity. I’ll see you later.” He claps Sam on the shoulder as he passes him. “Best of luck, Stone. You’re gonna need it.”
“I’m not that bad,” I tell him.
He smiles. “Well see about that…Mia.”
I clap my hands together and somehow manage to squeal, which is more than a little embarrassing. Doesn’t matter though; this feels like a victory.
* * * * *
Felicity and I spend the morning—and the better part of the afternoon—flitting between shops, filling up the trunk of Caleb’s SUV with countless bags from trendy boutiques that Felicity insists we visit. I thought Caleb was being facetious when he said that she was a professional shopper, but when he said literally, he meant literally. She knows all the salespeople in all the stores we enter, and they even take us back to look through new arrivals that aren’t out on the floor yet.
After she asks me how I’m feeling, I tell her I’m better. Getting better by the hour. So, she goes out of her way not to mention the robbery or my subsequent hospitalization, and successfully manages to avoid staring at the bruises on the side of my face that I wasn’t able to fully cover with makeup this morning.
Sam stays in the periphery, just like Caleb promised he would be, and he almost cracks a smile when Felicity and I stop for ice cream and offer him a cup full of mint chip. It doesn’t take long for the all-business scowl to come back though, just daring anyone to even look in our direction.
After we finish our ice cream, we move on to the last boutique of the day, one that Felicity’s been talking about all afternoon.
“Caleb told me he was sending out the big guns, and I see that he meant it,” she says, nodding in Sam’s direction.
“The literal big guns,” I reply as I flex my pathetic bicep and point at it. “He could probably crush someone with those muscles.”
Felicity laughs. “Don’t let Caleb hear you say that. He’ll get jealous.”
He probably would, and I don’t plan on testing that theory to find out if we’re right. “Caleb’s got nothing to be jealous about. He’s…perfect,” I say. Even I can hear the dreaminess in my voice, so I’m not exactly surprised that Felicity picks up on it.
“Oh, you’ve got it bad,” she teases. “It’s good, though. That’s good for Caleb. It’s exactly what he needs.” She’s standing in front of a dress display, examining the cut of the fabric, and the way it hangs. I wonder if she’s going to ask someone to model it for us. When she did that earlier, the store owner gave us champagne to sip as we watched a mini fashion show. I wouldn’t say no to something like that again.
“What do you mean that’s exactly what he needs?”
She shrugs as she moves to examine the dress hanging next to the one she has apparently decided that she doesn’t like. “He’s always been a tough nut to crack, ever since he came to live with us after his parents’ accident.”
I know it’s not possible, but I’m sure I feel my heart stop beating right in my chest. The air gets thick and difficult to breathe. I hadn’t ever heard anything about an accident, and I’m not sure whether I should admit to that, or go along with what Felicity’s saying like I know what she’s talking about. No, I need to tell her that I wasn’t aware of that, because if Caleb wanted me to k
now, he would’ve told me. After everything he’s done for me since I met him, at the very least I owe him his privacy.
I must have some kind of shocked look on my face, something that makes it clear that I wasn’t aware of whatever happened to Caleb’s parents, because Felicity stops examining the dress in front of her, and freezes. She looks over at me, her mouth dropping into an O shape.
“You didn’t know,” she manages to say. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything, I just assumed he had already told you about all that.”
“No, not yet.” I move forward, and run my hand along the fabric of a gorgeous silk wrap dress, hoping to make the whole situation a little less awkward.
“What a terrible thing for me to let slip,” she replies, looking absolutely stricken. With some other people, I might suspect a hidden agenda was at play, but Felicity looks genuinely upset that she said anything at all.
“It’s okay, I won’t say anything. If he wanted me to know, he would’ve said something. Clearly he’s not there yet.”
“You should definitely hear it from him instead of a bigmouth like me, I’m sorry. It wasn’t my place to bring it up if he hasn’t done it already.”
I put my hand on her forearm and give her an understanding smile. “It’s okay, honestly. I won’t say anything, and I’ll let him tell me in his own time. Don’t feel bad; you’re not used to censoring yourself about him, and things between Caleb and me are still kind of new. We’ve just been enjoying each other, and haven’t really gotten to the part where we tell each other our deepest and darkest secrets yet.”
I am the last person to judge Caleb for the things he hasn’t told me, considering I have a laundry list of things I need to confess to him at some point, and I guarantee that my list? It’s worse than his. All of this makes me realize that as far as we’ve come over the past month of knowing each other, we’ve still got a long way to go.
“I’m glad that he has someone who will keep his secrets,” I tell Felicity, playfully bumping her shoulder to help lighten the mood. “It must be difficult to find that kind of loyalty living the life that he does.”