“I thought we were. For months that’s how I consoled myself whenever I spotted Derrick’s car in your driveway, telling myself that we wouldn’t have worked anyway. But now I see that we have more in common than I ever realized.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Who would have thought you’d turn out to be an adrenaline junkie?”
She laughed. “I think that status applies to someone who actually goes out and does stuff. Not someone who’s most adventurous feat is choosing to take the George Washington Bridge during morning rush hour.”
Caleb reached over and tapped the center of her chest. “You’re one in here,” he said. “That’s what counts.”
Heat radiated from the spot where his fingers touched.
“I couldn’t fully embrace my inner adrenalin junkie when I was with Derrick,” she said. “I’ve got a lot of missed adventures to make up for.”
“I still don’t understand how you ended up with a guy like that,” Caleb said.
“It really isn’t that hard to understand,” she said. She moved over to where he stood, leaning her shoulder against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest. “Just a few days ago there was nothing you could tell me that would convince me that Derrick and I weren’t perfect for each other. I’d convincedmyselfof that. He checked every box off the list.”
“You have a list?”
“Everyone has a list.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Yeah, so what was on your list?”
Leah rattled off the catalog of items she’d always told herself made the ideal mate. “Educated, gainfully employed, well-traveled, cultured.” She looked over at him. “But now I realize those things don’t matter nearly as much to me as I thought. I would rather someone who has a good heart and an actual sense of humor over someone with an MBA.
“And that list? That list is full of things other people convinced me that I needed in a man. It’s not what I’m really looking for.”
“So driving a nice car was never on the list?” Caleb asked.
Leah rolled her eyes. “Why are you so hung up on Derrick’s car?”
“Because for so long that’s all I ever knew about him. I hate that car with a passion. I knew things had gotten out of control when I found myself despising anyone who drove a silver car, no matter the make or model.”
Leah burst out laughing. “That’s harsh.”
“It’s the truth. That car came to represent everything I hated about him.”
“I have reasons to dislike Derrick, but you don’t even know him. Have the two of you ever officially met?”
Caleb shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I know enough about him to recognize that he doesn’t do some of the basic things I think a boyfriend should do for the woman he loves.”
“Such as?”
“That light bulb at your front door,” he said.
She tilted her head to the side, confused yet again. “What does a light bulb have to do with anything?”
“About a month ago, the light bulb at your front door went out.”
“I know that. I changed it,” she said.
“Yeah,youchanged it, after it had been out for more than a week,” Caleb said. “When I first noticed it was out, I figured I’d change it for you. But when I came back outside with the replacement bulb that silver Lexus was pulling into your driveway. So I stayed back. And I waited.” His warm brown eyes were suddenly clouded with hostility. “You want to know what your fiancé’s solution was to the problem? To use the flashlight on his cellphone to find the keyhole on the door. He did the same thing the next three times he came over.”
Leah could practically feel the anger radiating from Caleb.
“Stuff like that never occurred to Derrick,” she said, then immediately wondered what made her jump to her ex-fiancé’s defense. But Leah realized it wasn’t that she was jumping to Derrick’s defense. She was trying to excuse his behavior because it was the only way to rationalize why she’d put up with him for as long as she had.
“That’s the fucking problem,” Caleb said. “It never occurred to him that he should care enough about your safety to make sure you weren’t walking up to a dark door at night. How could he claim to love you when he couldn’t be bothered to do something that basic? That’s Boyfriend 101.”
Caleb trailed his finger down her cheek. “You deserve so much better than that, Leah.”
She leaned into his hand and looked up at him. His face was mere inches from hers. Leah’s gaze trailed from his lips back up to his soulful brown eyes.
