“What the hell are you doing here?” I say, unable to stop the shock in my voice.
“You seem surprised to see me,” he says, his smile in place, but his voice a little cooler than usual.
“Uh, yeah. You’re supposed to be in Massachusetts at a hockey game right now.”
“Plans change,” he shrugs, gesturing toward the bar. “Want a drink?”
“Sure,” I say more out of social custom than any real thirst. “Wait.” I stop him, tugging at his arm. He turns to face me, and I ask the question that’s been on my mind since he arrived. “When I asked about your weekend plans, did you know about the awards dinner then?”
“No. My plan really was to go to the UMass game. The gang’s there right now. But I talked to Ma yesterday, and she mentioned the dinner. I thought nothing of it until she said you were flying home for it.” A look of hurt mars his features. “You were flying home, and you didn’t even tell me.”
Wait. What? I can’t be hearing this correctly. “Yeah, because you were driving to UMass with the fam, and I didn’t want you to think I was asking you to stay behind for me.”
That same look of hurt still shadows his handsome face. “You didn’t think I’d want to stay behind for you? I drove your ass to Wisconsin, in case you forgot. I spend my whole day counting the hours until I can talk to you. So, yeah, Lucy, I’d gladly miss a hockey game just to spend a few hours with you.”
“But Booker—”
“Let me stop you there. I love him like a brother. But I’ve been watching him skate around the ice since we were five. I can skip one. In fact, when I told the guys you were going to be here tonight, Booker insisted I ditch the game to see you.”
My eyes widen in surprise. “Really? What about Ty and Knox?”
Caleb winces. “They…had other things to say.”
“Like what?”
“Well, Ty’s overprotective, so he just told me to ‘be fucking careful’, which is a joke because he played fast and loose last fall and didn’t heed any of our warnings.”
I’m going to need more of the story on that one, but first… “And what did Knox say?”
“He’s still pissed about the way you and I left things when I dropped you off. He holds a grudge like no one else. So, he basically told me to walk right past you like I had no idea who you were. He also thought I should troll Tinder to find a date for tonight, just to piss you off.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I’m really glad you didn’t take his advice,” I say, before scanning the crowd. “You didn’t. Did you?”
We approach the bar and I order a champagne cocktail while Caleb asks for whisky. “No,” he shakes his head. “I didn’t.”
We make our way to our table in silence, just enjoying each other’s presence for a few minutes. His hand brushes mine and though I’ve missed his touch and want nothing more than his body to be close to mine, I’m worried.
I cast a glance nervously around the ballroom. “Caleb, we should probably be careful. I mean…”
“It’s fine, Lucy. I promise. We can walk across the room together. I know you, and right now, you think everyone in this room knows we’ve seen each other naked and done dirty, depraved things to each other. But I’m telling you, they don’t. The key to life is to look like you know what you’re doing, especially when you don’t. Just smile and chill. We won’t arouse any suspicion. And I won’t bend you over the buffet table and take you from behind. Though God knows I’ve thought about it.”
He’s ridiculous. But he’s also right. There’s no reason for anyone here to suspect a thing. We’re not touching. We’re just standing next to each other, drinking cocktails. That’s normal stepsibling behavior. And if my pulse races and heat rushes to my core when he smiles, so be it. If the idea of my stepbrother bending me over a table and having his way with me sends a shiver through my body, well, that’s fine. Totally fine. Normal, even.
I take a deep breath and smile when I see familiar faces in the crowd. I make small talk with some of my dad’s colleagues and even manage to act relaxed when I introduce Caleb as Kristy’s son.
So far, so good.
Dinner is lovely, and my dad gives a speech that I can tell Kristy helped him with. He’s sort of a stiff, standoffish guy until you get to know him, but Kristy has opened him up a lot, relaxed him.
After the other speeches, Dad and Kristy head for the dance floor, something I’d have bet against. But there’s my dad with his head tossed back in laughter and a beautiful woman in his arms.
“They look happy together,” I say to Caleb, who hasn’t left my side.
“I hope he’s good to her.” His words are quiet, but I know he’s serious.
“Of course he is. I know my dad can be a little…closed-off and serious, but he’s a really good person.”
Caleb looks a little skeptical, but he nods and says, “Want to take a walk?”
