EIGHT
Calvin didn’t wanther pity. Now he wished he hadn’t told her of his deepest yearning. If only he could take it back. Feeling foolish, he released her hand and quickly took another bite of his food. For some reason, it didn’t taste as good as it had a few minutes ago.
“Calvin, I—”
He held up his hand, stopping her. “No. Don’t say anything. Just eat.”
She took a small bite, but her gaze wouldn’t leave him. “I didn’t know that about your mother.”
He shrugged. “Only close friends of the family know. It was obvious she was more involved with her circle of friends than caring about her family. My father tried to make our family look normal for as long as he could, but when Karen ran off to Paris with a painter and divorced my dad, that’s when he started losing his mind.” Calvin sighed as he stared at his food. “Over the years, it became quite noticeable. It was all we kids could do to hide it from everyone. I think he finally lost the will to be normal, so he didn’t care what happened to his sanity.”
“Do your brothers and sisters feel the same way you do?”
“Yeah, but we don’t talk about it anymore. It brings up bad memories – those we wish to leave buried.”
“Thanks for telling me,” she said sweetly.
When he met her eyes again, his heart softened. The terrible memories of his childhood disappeared quickly. He enjoyed her pleasant expression as she stared at him. He couldn’t see pity on her face at all. Hope leapt inside his heart, but he pushed it away. He knew he’d inevitably be shot down.
“Well, it’s getting late and we both have early days tomorrow.” He pushed away from the table and grabbed the half-empty containers of food.
She rose and reached to take his. “I’ll clean up. You go to bed.”
“It’s okay. I already have them.” He held them up and winked. “And the garbage is on my way out.”
She met him at the garbage, depositing her containers. Their arms accidentally brushed against each other. Ripples of delight ran through his body. Her touch had always done that to him. But he noticed she had felt something, too. Why couldn’t she admit that she was attracted to him – if only a little?
He started to move past her, but she loosely took hold of his hand. His heart shot up to his throat and he couldn’t swallow. Her eyes were so blue. He could stare at them all night long and not become bored.
“Hey, Calvin. I just wanted you to know that Ireallyappreciate what you did for me. If not for you...” She shrugged. “I guess I’d still be selling one dress a day.”
He swept his fingers along the side of her face, moving away her damp hair. “I was happy to do it. One of these days, you’re going to be a big fashion designer. In fact, I’m sure sales will only grow from this point forward.”
Rayne’s gaze dropped to his mouth. His heartbeat pounded out a faster rhythm, but he still tried to keep his excitement in check.
Her smile relaxed. “Why did you have to be so wonderful?”
He held his breath. Had he heard her correctly? “Wh-what?”
“Calvin Gates, you really are the sweetest man I’ve ever met.”
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. Electricity charged through him and he jumped. Before she could pull away, he turned his face toward hers. His mouth brushed across hers. She sucked in a quick breath of her own, but didn’t move as she stared into his eyes.
He couldn’t allow this moment to get away without tempting fate. Acting quickly before she changed her mind, he moved closer to brush his lips across hers again. He watched her reaction. Her eyes locked with his.
But still she didn’t pull away. He moved his mouth to hers, holding it there this time. Closing his eyes, he slipped his arms around her waist and urged her up against him. Slowly, her palms slid up his bare chest, all the way to his shoulders, and then up a little more until they hooked around his neck.
This kiss was far different from any others they’d shared – light and almost hesitant as if each one worried the other would pull away. But he needed more than just light pecks.
He tightened his hold, and her body aligned perfectly to his. Tilting his head, he deepened the kiss. A ragged moan escaped her throat as she relaxed into his embrace.
Happiness swelled inside him as his heartbeat knocked crazily against his ribs. He kissed her exactly how he’d wanted to since their wedding ceremony... passionately and with abandon.
The moment her fingers threaded through his hair, the kiss turned up a notch. He hadn’t realized they’d moved until he had her pushed against the wall. But neither of them seemed to mind.
Calvin’s chest burst with so much emotion he could scarcely breathe. Thoughts of lifting her in his arms and carrying her to his room filled his head. After all, it wasn’t wrong. They were married.
Just as he shifted his arms to pick her up, the loud buzzing of her cell phone disturbed the passionate moment. Before he could stop her, she moved away from him. Her breaths were ragged as she fumbled for her phone.
