“Thanks.” I smiled sadly. “It’s just—right now, my life is messy. I’m messy.” I shook my head. This was all shit you didn’t say to a hot guy who chased you down. But they said honesty was the best policy, and this was as honest as I was able to get right about now.
“You don’t look messy to me. What are you—a hoarder? Got a closet filled with sparkly shoes?” He gestured down to my heels again. Caleb was correct; at my brownstone, I did have a walk-in closet for my shoes.
Speaking of shoes, I was reminded of my running because my feet were throbbing with pain. I ignored it, like I typically did with most things in my life.
I pursed my lips. “Something like that. I am actually living out of boxes in a hotel. The Plaza, to be exact,” I corrected, but then I bit my lip, thinking I shouldn’t be telling a near stranger where I was staying.
But there was something different about Caleb. Not to mention, he lived a whole two hours away.
“Fancy Pants. I should have known,” Caleb joked, giving me a smirk.
If only he knew.
I got lost in his eyes and my thoughts for a moment.
As the air around us grew quiet, he looked down pensively, like he was contemplating something. “So …” he started, his hands in his pockets once more.
Now he was playing shy. The happy-go-lucky bartender was now acting coy.
I couldn’t help but think how many before me had the pleasure of having the moves put on them by him.
My mind wandered to Jena. Was that his type? Was she an ex?
Caleb didn’t strike me as a guy with a rotation of women. He seemed way too straightforward and genuine. Damn those blue eyes.
“So,” I repeated, narrowing my eyes playfully at him. My eyes lingered on his lips and it was a dangerous move. The more I stared at his mouth, the more my thoughts drifted to what it would be like to kiss him. What his lips would feel like. I bet he knew how to kiss. Really kiss.
Shit, he was going to notice that I was ogling his lips. I bit my own in embarrassment.Oh my God, Grace, could you be any more obvious?
“Come back to the bar. We close in about two hours. We can hang out until then,” he offered, taking a hold of my hand. “You can also try not to run away again. Maybe even give me your number so I can get a hold of you if you do.” Caleb laughed at his own candor, caressing my hand with his thumb. His touch was gentle yet manly.
“I promise, I won’t run,” I insisted and broke our hands apart so I could pull out my phone as a show of good faith.
“Oh no,” he groaned. I looked at him questioningly and he continued. “You promised again. That didn’t work out so well the last time,” he explained, a teasing look on his face.
I swatted his arm gently. “Ow,” he complained, clutching his arm as if I did irreparable damage or something.
“I’ll come back with you. But just promisemesomething in return.” I gulped, a little worried about what I was about to ask of him.
“Sure,” he replied simply as he waited for me to speak again.
“Promise, whatever you do, don’t google me.”
There, I’d said it.
Caleb’s eyebrows practically reached the top of his head, but somehow, he didn’t say anything to make me feel uncomfortable.
There were many aspects of my life that were not normal to others. Sometimes, it was very difficult for me to discern what would fall into that category. This was not one of those times. I could acknowledge how strange the request was. It wasn’t a typical conversation to be having.
Explanation time.
I inhaled sharply. “I’m Grace Harrington.” I peered over at Caleb to scan his face for any recognition but came up short. Thankfully, I was hoping my scandal was contained to Manhattan.
He furrowed his eyebrows as he held up my credit card between two fingers. “I know. You ran out so fast you left your card at the bar.”
Once Caleb passed me my platinum card, he waited for me to continue.
“I was a socialite of sorts. Sometimes a model, sometimes a party girl,” I said sheepishly, still not able to look him in the eye. “I have been in the public eye basically since birth. Tabloids have loved exploiting every nitty-gritty detail of my personal life. One Google search could tell you everything about who I was.” I paused, a little overwhelmed.
