“You shouldn’t have said we were dating.He’s not going to let this go.”I turn off the faucet.
“Is he really stalking you?”Caleb asks, his voice hard.
I shrug.“He likes to haunt my favorite spots.My mother’s really keen on us getting married.Now you’ve gone and told him we’re together.She’s going to be pissed.”
“But he’ll leave you alone right?”
I open my mouth and then close it.If Luis does think I’m with someone and he tells my mother, she might leave me alone.It’s not the worst thought.
“Maybe.If he sees us together a couple of times, he’ll get the hint.He’s stubborn, but not an idiot.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“What?”I’ve just turned around to get the first aid kit when his words register on me.I stop midmotion."What plan?”
“Let him believe we are actually dating,” Caleb says as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.I lean back against the kitchen counter.
“Caleb,” I begin slowly.“Did you sneak in a couple more shots when I wasn’t looking?”
“I’m serious, Eve.”He shakes his head while I pick up the first aid kit.“If he’s stalking you, that’s not good.He could escalate.”
“Escalate to what?”I scoff.“Stalking me at the office?”
“Breaking in.”Caleb doesn’t smile.“Hurting you.These things don’t end well, and the way he spoke to you, he was behaving as if you belonged to him.Have you even talked to your family about?—”
“My family likes Luis.”I feel a hard knot of tension in my belly at his words.“We grew up together.Our mothers were friends.Mine always wanted us to date.Said he was steady, reliable… respectable.”
Caleb’s lips twist.“Yeah.He looks real respectable when he’s cornering you outside your building.”
I turn away from Caleb and grab a glass from the shelf.Pouring water into it, I stare at the clear liquid.“I gave in, and we dated for two years.”
Caleb’s voice is from right behind me, and I realize he’s following me around the kitchen.“Why?”
“Because it was easy,” I admit, my voice tight.“Because my mom approved.And because… I thought maybe I could make it work.”
I chug down the water, trying to get rid of the sweet taste on my tongue.“But then he showed me exactly what kind of life he wanted for me.One just like his mother’s.No job.No career.Just cooking, cleaning, raising kids, waiting around for him to come home.He wanted me to quit my job and become his housewife.”
I turn around to face him, my voice dark, steady.“I’ve worked too hard all my life to give up my dreams for a man.”
Caleb’s blue eyes soften, his anger shifting into something quieter.“Good,” he says, his voice low.“You shouldn’t.”
That catches me off guard.A laugh slips out, humorless but real.“Well, I figured that out soon enough.When he proposed, I broke up with him on the spot.”
Caleb takes the glass I just set down and pours water into it from the jug on the table.Does he realize I just drank from it?I don’t know why it makes me feel strange to see his lips touching the same glass mine just did.
“He was never even my type,” I mutter.Caleb stands now, looming close enough that the heat of his body cuts through the cool air of the kitchen.
“What is your type then?”he asks, voice low, curious.
I cross my arms over my chest.“I like confidence.Respect.Someone who understands how hard I’ve worked and doesn’t expect me to shrink myself to make them more comfortable.”My lips curve in a sly smile now, the alcohol pushing honesty past my usual filter.“And more importantly, someone who’s good in bed.”A tipsy laugh bubbles up from my chest at my own boldness.
His brows lift.“So, what—You’re saying Luis wasn’t?”
That makes me snort outright.“Luis?Please.He was always a selfish lover.Barely lasted, never cared whether I—” I clamp my mouth shut, but it’s too late.The words are out.I shake my head, bitterness rising.“He wasn’t even a good kisser.”
The sharp truth stings as it leaves me, anger I didn’t even know I’d been carrying bubbling over.Caleb’s fingers close suddenly around my wrist.His grip is firm but not painful, his blue eyes searching mine.
“What about me?”
