His words hit me like a punch to the stomach. My heart stutters. I nod emphatically. “I don’t want halfway.”
He slowly drags a finger through my hair, then looks down, indicating between his legs. I see it—he’s hard. Because of me.
And that’s when he suddenly reaches out and grabs me by the chin. I gasp at his speed but nearly collapse as his lips brush against mine.
This is it. He’s going to kiss me.
I brace myself, closing my eyes for what will be one of the most important moments of my life. But that’s when the door opens.
Caleb leaps back like a blur and stretches, pretending he and I weren’t just about to make out. I brush my hair back and look over at my mom, who’s holding a cheesecake with a big smile on her face.
“Who’s ready for dessert!?” Normally, I’d think this was just another one of Mom’s adorable little moments she always has. But now, I want to kill her.
“Sounds great.” Caleb smiles, brushing past me into the house.
Mom goes in after him, leaving me standing alone in the dark, my body steaming from what almost was.
I’m seconds away from begging.
But I’m also smiling.
He’s breaking. And when he does, I won’t be the one begging.
6
CALEB
My muscles aretense as I step back into the dining room and take my seat. This is supposed to be a family dinner, and I’m half-hard under my jeans. Talk about awkward.
A few moments later, Eliza steps in from outside. I feel her eyes on me but keep mine on the glazed pears and ice cream that Mom served up for dessert. It takes everything I have to maintain my composure as she sits down beside me.
I take my first bite but can’t taste a thing. My body is simply not responding to anything sensory that doesn’t originate fromher. I can smell the shampoo she used this morning, her moisturizer—I can feel the warmth emanating off her. But my tongue has simply turned off.
I can think of one place it would definitely rather be…
“What do you think, honey?” Mom asks. I reply with a polite smile and take another bite.
“Love it.” It’s not a lie. My mom’s a great cook and makes great desserts, so I’m sure tonight’s is as good as everything she serves. She smiles back and watches as I take yet another bite.
Eliza seems to be enjoying hers. She’s digging right in like she skipped the rest of dinner. I only see her out of the corner of myeye, though. If I actually turn and look at her, I’ll lose whatever control I have left.
I almost kissed her outside…and she didn’t hesitate. She didn’t move back. She didn’t look scared, either—she looked ready.
“Then show me.”Her words still ring in my brain like the echoes of bells. I look around the room, at Mom and Daniel, and feel a pit starting to form in my stomach. It was one thing for me to make a move on her out on the porch when it was just me and her, but now that I’m here with the whole family, I’m starting to feel guilty.
Fortunately, I don’t have time alone to my own thoughts, as my mom does the little cough thing she does before she says something ‘important.’
“So,” she says. “Daniel and I just wanted to let you two know that he and I will be going out of town for a few days on a little retreat.”
“A retreat?” Both of them frown at me, and I realize I just nearly bit both their heads off. I clear my thought and take a sip of my water. “Sorry. Continue.”
Mom, still frowning, goes back to what she was saying. “Yes, a retreat.”
“Just for a couple of days,” Daniel chimes in. “You two will be fine for a couple days, won’t you?”
I freeze. No. No, we won’t be. And if he had any idea what was truly going on between me and his daughter, he wouldn’t be going anywhere.
“Of course they will,” Mom says. “They’re both adults. Besides, Caleb, I thought you might stay here at the house while we’re gone? Just to keep an eye on everything.”
