“Pretty much,” Caleb admitted. “Isn’t that the basis for just about everything?”
He had her there. She’d harbored her share of lustful thoughts about him from the moment she first caught him bare-chested and pushing a lawn mower.
“But the more I got to know you, the more my feelings began to grow into something…different. Something more.” He looked over at her, a smile drawing across his lips. “Want to know the first time it really started to change for me? It was when we had that neighborhood block party for the National Night Out Against Crime. You moderated a discussion on ways to make the community safer.”
“You remember that?”
“Again, the job.”
“Ah, yeah. Well, I guess that would stick out to you,” she said.
“It wasn’t just what you were doing, it’showyou did it. You were so patient with everyone. You made sure every elderly resident in the neighborhood was paired with other neighbors who could look out for them. It was the first time I was able to truly see the type of person you are. Generous. Kind.
“Then at Thanksgiving, when you helped out the local Girl Scout troop with their food drive. You don’t even have kids, but there you were, seeking donations along with the other mothers.”
“I’m a former Girl Scout,” Leah said. “The organization gave so much to me. I just think it’s right that I give back.”
“That’s the thing, Leah. Not everyone operates that way. Hell, hardly anyone operates that way. Most people are too concerned with their own lives to worry about others these days. But not you. You’re always willing to help people in need. I recognize it because it’s the same philosophy I try to live by. When I saw that in you, that’s when that run-of-the-mill lust started to shift into something else.”
Her heart swelled with a mixture of pride and gratefulness. When she volunteered, it was never about getting praise for her work, but it was nice to see her efforts get notice by someone who shared her same values of giving back to the community.
What Caleb saw in her was the same thing Leah saw in him every time he went out of his way to help out one of their neighbors. A part of her had always suspected that their social consciences matched in that way.
“Yet, even after your feelings developed into something more than just physical attraction, you never said anything to me?” Leah asked.
“I almost did.”
Her brow drew downward in confusion. “When?”
“About a month after I moved in,” he said. “I decided to just go for it and ask you out. I knew things would be awkward if you turned me down, but at least I would have tried, right?”
“Why didn’t you?” she asked.
“I got put on a case that required me to be available twenty-four seven. The assignment only lasted a couple of weeks, but by the time it was over that silver Lexus had started showing up in your driveway.”
Derrick.
Leah’s shoulders dropped with sudden disappointment.
“I decided to wait it out, hoping that it wasn’t anything serious between the two of you, but then his car started showing up more often.” Caleb shook his head. “The first morning I woke up to find it still parked in your driveway gutted me. Knowing he’d been there with you all night ate at me for weeks.”
The pain she heard in his voice cut through her.
“But the thing that hurt even more was coming to the realization that you would have probably turned me down anyway,” Caleb continued.
Leah’s head jerked back. “Why would you think that?”
“Easy. I just compared myself to Derrick.” Caleb ticked items off on his fingers. “The car, the shoes, the suits. I figured if you were used to dating guys like that, then you were way out of my league.”
“That’s offensive,” she said.
He frowned, a puzzled expression marring his handsome face. “How is that offensive?”
“Because it makes it seem as if I’d choose a man based on what he has, rather than who he is on the inside.”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all. People tend to be attracted to like people. It’s just a fact, Leah. Hollywood has tried to sell that whole opposites attract thing, but it’s much rarer in real life.”
“And you think we’re opposites.”
