“It’s Bill Larson. One of the firm’s partners is your husband, Calvin Gates.”
She couldn’t breathe due to the way her heartbeat kept tripping over itself.Calvin had done this?“My... husband told you about me?”
Rayne’s assistant’s faces brightened as their smiles stretched from ear to ear. Lacey nudged Dusti and they silently communicated with a wink.
“Yes. Your husband couldn’t stop telling me about your designs.”
“But... you’re in New York.”
The man chuckled from the other end of the phone. “Yes, but I also have business in California. That’s why Bill Larson is my attorney.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” She laughed lightly. “Well, my husband hasn’t said anything about this, so I’m sure you can imagine why I’m surprised.”
“Of course. Well, you tell your husband thanks for me.”
“I’ll certainly do that, Mr. Patterson. Goodbye.”
Rayne realized her hand shook as she clicked off the call and slid the phone into the pocket of her jeans. Her two giggling assistants decided this was the perfect time for a group hug. Rayne laughed, but she still didn’t know what to think.
“Calvin is such a sweetheart.” Lacey nodded. “I knew it from the moment I met him at your wedding.”
“He practically worshipped you that day.” Dusti sighed. “Made me want to find a man like him for myself.”
Rayne shook her head and pushed away from her friends. “But we’re married in name only. I told you that already.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Dusti lightly punched Rayne’s shoulder. “You’re smitten with him, and you know it.”
Breathing calmly, she narrowed her gaze on Dusti. “Calvin is a sweet man, and he’ll make some woman very lucky, but not me. As soon as the year is over, I’m marrying Eddie.”
Lacey shrugged. “That’s if youwantto marry him. You might already be half in love with Calvin by then.”
Rayne rolled her eyes and moved past her friends. “You two will drive me crazy. I just know it.” She grabbed her purse and her car keys. “I’m hungry. What do you want to eat?”
Lacey flipped the long strand of blue hair away from her face. The brunette with short hair always had one lock longer than the others – and it was colored something different every month. “Why don’t you go home to your hunky husband, and Dusti and I will clean up. We’ll take the boxes to the UPS store before they close.”
“Well, not that’s it’s any of your business, but my hunky... um, I mean Calvin, is working late tonight. Their firm has a big case that’ll be going to court soon.”
“You look really tired.” Dusti gave Rayne a sympathetic look. “Go home and rest. Lacey and I have got this.” She made shooing motions with her hands.
“Fine.” Rayne sighed. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
If it had been anyone else but Dusti and Lacey, Rayne wouldn’t have trusted them to take care of the shipping and closing up, but she’d known these two women since college. They’d all been in the same fashion design class. It made her happy to know she had help running things, and that they would always have her back – just as she’d always watch out for them.
The drive home was relaxing. She couldn’t get Calvin out of her mind now. It was as though she saw him in a different light. And yet, she’d known about his kind heart from the first day they’d met.
Still in shock from finding out Calvin was the one responsible for her large order, her mind argued with her heart about how to feel. When her heart began to soften, she quickly stopped it. She didn’t want to feelthatway about him, and yet, she worried that she was already having those feelings.
The first two weeks of marriage had been hard, especially when she’d clutched her pillow to her chest while in bed, wondering what Eddie was doing. Each night she’d prayed for God’s help so that she could make it through another day with a positive outlook. But as each day of marriage turned into weeks, Eddie got farther from her thoughts and Calvin replaced him in her heart.
She pulled into the garage, and immediately, she noticed Calvin’s British racing green Jaguar XF. She sucked in a quick breath. He was home?
Rayne tried to keep her nerves steady as she parked her car and went into the house. She listened for any movements but didn’t hear anything. Maybe he’d already gone to bed. After all, he’d been putting in late nights, just as she had.
Today, she’d worn comfortable jeans, a T-shirt, and athletic shoes since she was working in the warehouse. She’d worked up a sweat today, which didn’t happen often. She headed toward her room to take a shower and get a change of clothes.
She stepped quietly into her room and then toward the bathroom, not wanting to disturb Calvin if he had already gone to bed. But just as she reached the bathroom, the door opened and out walked Calvin. He wore a pair of jeans – but nothing else. A towel was looped over his neck as he used one of the ends to dry his hair.
When he looked up and saw her, he stood dead still. The look of surprise on his face gave way to a wide smile.
