“Of course. I forgot about that…sheesh.” I laughed at myself. “I totally lose myself in a good way when I’m with you, Cal,” I said, immediately regretting it. I felt a flush creeping up my neck, which hadn’t happened since I was a teenage girl in Paris.
Being with Cal had made me forget my whole reason for visiting back home, a place I didn’t like to visit. Noting the purpose was a blessed one, I realized Cal pulled me fromthe good, the bad, and the ugly. I felt a smile tug on my lips.
“What?” Cal asked, an eyebrow raised, standing in front of me as if time were endless.
Closing my eyes, I considered whether I should be honest.
“I was thinking about my dad, and something he used to say. He’d say, ‘Willa, in life you have to accept someone for their good, their bad, and their ugly.’ Usually these words followed a fight with my mom. But anyway, you seem to make me forget all those things and be in the moment. Which in a way makes me feel you accept all of that…when it comes to me—”
“Willa,” he interrupted.
“Don’t say anything. I get that I’m a lot. Between Frank and my need for privacy, not to mention my following my brother around. Thank you.”
“No thanks are needed. You make it easy. All of the noise disappears when you’re in a room.” He shut his own eyes for a brief moment as he spoke, almost as if he was mustering up the courage.
Immediately, I wanted his dark brown gaze back on me. It warmed me all the way to my soul, something I’d never experienced, but I wasn’t going to share that. I found myself being brazen and asking instead. “Maybe we can have dinner the next time I’m here?”
“I’d like that.” With a swift peck to my cheek, Cal squeezed my hand and walked around the side of the building without saying another word.
If this was a movie, a sappy song would play and there would be a montage of our time together. Instead, Frank held his arm out for me to walk down the same path Cal just had, where he obviously had our car waiting.
Billy
Mid-October
My nerves were in my throat. Not very classy, I know, but it was the only way to describe how I was feeling.
I’d flown in this morning with Ford and Jamie and went straight to meet Laura at the doctor’s office for her six-month checkup. Fall was in full swing, and the air had cooled, leaving me to wrap my anxiety-riddled body in a chunky sweater while standing in the chilled doctor’s office, hopelessly waiting for the man of the hour.
At least, my man of the hour…
Luckily I was an actress, because there was a need to steady my expression when he walked into the room wearing a white lab coat over dark jeans and a black shirt. I was used to the jeans. It seemed to be the cool and chic way he dressed to set women at ease. Except me.
I am not at ease.
The appointment passed in a blur of me trying not to stare at Cal while he spoke with Laura. Finally, after all reports were shared and it was declared the baby looked a hundred percent A-OK, Ford and Jamie were hightailing it back to Los Angeles where he was meeting with a studio executive.
I was scheduled to go to Vermont where we were reshooting a quick scene for a holiday feel-good movie I was starring in. It was one of those made-for-TV romances that aired during the holidays. We’d shot the whole project in a month a while ago on a soundstage, but there was a discrepancy now with the scenery they used in actual Vermont—go figure—and they needed a retake.
After a few goodbye hugs, Ford and Jamie wandered down the hall, and I blamed Frank for my delay. “Frank’ll be here to meet me,” I casually said to my brother. I hadn’t even texted Frank yet. I wanted to finalize the dinner plan with Cal before texting my overprotective security detail.
Recently, Cal and I had texted a little more often with one another, sometimes sharing a late-night phone call while watching a TV show at the same time. I’d learned Cal was a real television and movie buff. He liked almost every genre and didn’t mind watching my favorite genre, which were heist movies.
Then, last Saturday afternoon, I received a photo of Cal at the finish of his ride, looking proud and accomplished. I fell a bit harder for the man, and then quickly convinced myself he was too good for me. Yet here I was, waiting on him.
“Hey.” Cal found me standing outside his office door, pretending to be busy on my phone. “Come in,” he said, a genuine smile on his face, the area around his eyes crinkled. “Feeling good?” He waited for an answer after ushering me into his office, gently closing the door behind us.
I’d mentioned to Cal earlier in the week that I had a lingering headache, and he’d been checking in. “Yes. I think my electrolytes were off. Tried the water with Himalayan sea salt you suggested and it did the trick.”
“Can take the doctor out of the hospital, but you can’t take the doctor out of the man…or something like that,” he joked.
“Swear, I’m great. Although freezing cold. This northeast weather slapped back hard.”
“It did. Last time, you were sweltering.” His eyes further crinkled at the corners while sharing the memory, and I resisted bringing my index finger up to trace the lines.
“It was hot, I admit.”
“Maybe it was the company you were keeping?” He asked this as he took my cheek in his palm and brought his lips to mine. It was the most physical contact we’d had since we’d kissed on the golf course. “Welcome to the northeast,” he said, letting go of my lips.
