Playing Pretend (24 page)

“You don’t have to believe me,” he continued, picking up on my skepticism. “I was a complete asshole, and you’re still deciding whether or not to trust me.”

I pinched my lips between my teeth, and allowed my body to sag against the wall. “I think we need to focus on why you asked me to help you in the first place, and just remove sex from the equation altogether.”

“Not happening,” retorted Caleb, shaking his head with determination.

“I’m not asking you, Caleb.” I exhaled, and found enough courage to draw a line that should’ve been there from the moment I agreed to this ludicrous arrangement. “I refuse to be nothing more than a fuck to you.”

Caleb’s features softened. “Sweet Kadence, you’ve never been just a ‘fuck’ to me, and I realize now that I’ve done a really shitty job of proving that to you.”

His words made my tummy flip, and my heart skip a beat. But I still didn’t want to believe him. “It doesn’t matter,” I replied, aware that it was a lie. It
so
mattered. “I’m not sleeping with you again.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” whispered Caleb. “The only difference is the next time I have you in my bed, you’ll know, without a shadow of a doubt that it’s because I
—
”

My mouth opened, a witty cut-off on the tip of my tongue, but a knock on the door made me shove him away. The door opened, and Aaliyah stuck her head in.

“Am I interrupting?” she asked, a smug smile on her face.

I said ‘no’ the same time that Caleb said ‘yes’.

“Okay then,” said Aaliyah. “I’ll come back.”

“No!” I straightened out my shirt, and rubbed my hands down my navy pencil skirt. “I was just on my way out.”

Aaliyah stepped into Caleb’s office, and shut the door. “This involves you too, so I think you should stay.”

I heard Caleb exhale beside me, and then watched as he walked to his desk.

“If this is about Jennifer, I already know,” he said. “I have some friends at NYPD who are going to pay her a visit and get my files back.”

“They’d better do it fast,” replied Aaliyah, “Before she does something stupid.”

“Liy, did you come here to tell me something I already know?” Caleb took a seat, and leaned back in his chair.

“Okay Mr. Cranky Pants, what I came to tell you is that Kadence is taking over the launch party for Callahan Records, and I wanted to make sure that you’re going to offer her everything she needs.”

Caleb raised his brows, and folded his hands behind his head. His shirt rode up, and I had a difficult time not looking at the myriad of ink coloring his skin. It only reminded me of our nights together, of how his ink looked brighter when it was covered in a sheen of sweat. My nipples hardened beneath my bra just thinking about it, and when I looked up to Caleb’s face, he was watching me. With the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, I lifted my chin, and crossed my arms over my chest.

Then I remembered why Aaliyah had interrupted us.

“I will understand if you want someone more experienced to do the launch,” I said, hoping that my anticipation of him taking this opportunity from me wasn’t obvious.

“I think Kadence will be perfect -” Aaliyah started, but she stopped when Caleb shook his head, finally taking his eyes off me to look at Aaliyah. I was a little irate with Aaliyah – and Caleb too – because I could speak for myself, I didn’t need her to advocate for me. I was grateful for her help, but I wanted to prove myself on my own terms.

“I agree,” said Caleb. “I think she is more than capable, and I will make sure every resource she needs is at her disposal.”

“Can you please stop referring to me in the third person,” I looked from Caleb to Aaliyah, and then back to Caleb, “I’m standing right here.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Caleb screwed up again.”

“It seems she’s always angry with me about something,” replied Caleb. He smiled when I scowled at him.

“You two are impossible,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. “I’m getting back to work.”

“We weren’t done talking, Ms. Kavanagh.”

Caleb’s grin was teasing, and it only added to my need to get out of his space and away from
him
.

“I’m terribly sorry to disappoint you,
Mr. Callahan
, but we have nothing left to discuss. I have work to do.”

Before Caleb could reply with something snarky, I spun on my heel, shot Aaliyah one last dirty look, and left. If this morning was anything to go by, it was going to be a long day.

THE PENTHOUSE WAS
dark, and quiet when I arrived after work. It had been a tiring day, and I was more than ready for a hot bath, and bed. I walked through the atrium, and into the living room, and that’s when I heard it. Music coming from the terrace. I followed the sound, and when I peered around the terrace doors, I saw Caleb standing in front of the grill, singing along to Adele’s ‘Set Fire to The Rain’. My gaze fell onto the table a few steps away from him, decked out with candles and fancy dinnerware. It took a minute for me to realize it was set for two, and with that my stomach rolled.

Caleb was on a
date?

My chest ached thinking about him having dinner with someone else. It was a reasonable assumption, followed by a mental slap reminding me that it was none of my business. I knew Caleb was a charmer, and he would say anything to get a woman into his bed, so I tried not to read anything into our earlier interaction in his office. Caleb turned, and before he could catch me, I slipped off my shoes, and tiptoed in the direction of my bedroom. With a bit of luck, he wouldn’t even have realized I was there. I snuck into the nursery, and found Braelynn sleeping, her little lips pouted and her tiny brows furrowed by whatever she was dreaming about. It became evident then that I was not only in love with her father, but with her too, and that made the reality of what Caleb was doing tonight an even more bitter pill to swallow. After kissing her forehead, and touching her little hand, I disappeared into my bedroom. I unbuttoned my shirt, and moved my hands to the zipper of my skirt when I felt eyes on the back of my neck. I looked back, and found Caleb leaning against the open doors leading onto the terrace.

“Don’t stop on my account,” he said. His mouth curled into a relaxed smile, aimed at me, and it only added to my discontent.

“I won’t,” I replied, turning away. I slid my skirt down my legs, not caring that I was standing in my white lace bra, and matching panties. Caleb had seen me naked so I figured having him see me in my underwear was no longer something special.

“I didn’t know you were home.”

“Don’t worry,” – I unclipped my bra, and padded into the bathroom – “I won’t bother you and your date.”

I’d just removed my underwear and wrapped a towel around myself when Caleb walked in behind me.

Great.

He wanted to watch me shower and then have dinner with someone else?

I don’t think so, buddy.

“My date?” asked Caleb. “What are you talking about?”

I rolled my eyes because Caleb sucked at playing stupid. For all his faults, I knew he was a smart man, and felt slightly insulted that he thought I was so naïve as to believe he was having a dinner alone at a table set for two.

“I saw you outside,” I replied, “And I saw the table. Now would you mind leaving so I can shower?”

“You think I’m on a date?” A beat passed, and I grew hopeful that he would finally just admit it, and
leave.me.alone.
Caleb’s frown disappeared, replaced by a satisfied grin. “You’re jealous.”

I shook my head, and let out a derisive laugh. “Of course you’d think that, because like always, it’s about the mighty Caleb Callahan and his vast powers of seduction.”

My words were a little harsh, and thick with sarcasm, but I didn’t really care.

“I think you’ve misread the situation,” said Caleb, taking a few steps closer.

“Yeah, because what I saw was definitely easy to misread. You have me take a cab home, and then I find -” I stopped myself. I sounded like a jealous girlfriend. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. Who you bring home has nothing to do with me. I’m not only your employee, but also just a guest.”

I turned away from him, trying to quell the burn in my eyes. “Enjoy your date. I’m going to get ready for bed.”

Caleb reached for my arm, but I still didn’t want to look at him. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to keep what I was feeling to myself.

“Kadence.” Caleb rubbed the skin just above my wrist, something I found both sensual and evocative. My skin prickled, alive with a rush of blood to where he was touching me. My reaction was infuriating, and perplexing.

After I was sure I could look Caleb in the eye, I lifted my head. When he spoke again, it was soft. Coaxing. “Get dressed, and come outside. Please.”

I didn’t want to. I knew I was only setting myself up for more disappointment and heartache in the long run.

“That’s not a good idea,” I replied, barely above a whisper. “You have company.”

“You’re right.” Caleb exhaled. “I do have company,” he paused. “You.”

I reared back in disbelief. “You think I’m going to have dinner with you and
your date
? Are you fucking -”

“NO!” laughed Caleb. He
laughed.
“
You
are my company, my
only
company. I made dinner, and set everything up outside for
you.
To surprise you.”

He what?

“You mean…” I trailed off, expecting him to laugh again and tell me he was kidding.

“Get dressed,” Caleb instructed again. “And please come outside.”

He lifted my hand, and pressed his mouth to my knuckles before turning on his heel and walking away.

Okay, so he was being serious, but why…

Gah!

If I had to be admitted to the loony bin, it would be Caleb’s fault. It took a few minutes for me to convince myself to go outside, despite it being against my better judgment. Maybe it was time to admit that my judgment was also fucked.

To oblivion.

I changed into a pair of white linen shorts, and a grey t-shirt, and traipsed barefoot onto the terrace. I rounded the corner, and saw Caleb had returned to the grill.

“I was starting to think you weren’t coming,” he said, his back to me. He looked casual in a navy polo shirt, beige slacks rolled up to his knees, and no shoes. Was it weird that I thought Caleb’s feet were hot? So masculine, and –

Jesus, Kadence, they’re feet for goodness sake!

“I thought about standing you up, but it’s a little difficult to do when we live in the same house.”

Caleb chuckled. “I’m glad you changed your mind.” He twisted his head, his eyes lit up by the candles, and lanterns scattered around us. “Take a seat. The steak will be ready in a few minutes, so you can relax and have some wine.”

“I still don’t understand.” I rubbed at my arms, even though it was humid, and warm outside.

“This,” Caleb lifted the steaks from the grill, and placed it on the table, “Is our first date.”

When I didn’t respond immediately, Caleb pulled out a chair, and motioned for me to take a seat. The food alone was enough to persuade me, there was no need for Caleb to play Prince Charming. The delicious aroma’s aroused my senses, and the growl that emanated from my stomach was loud.

“Glad you brought your appetite,” chuckled Caleb. “I made enough for six people.”

He took a seat on my right, rather than on the opposite side of the table, giving us both a view of the city. It made for a romantic backdrop, and I wasn’t sure if that was what Caleb was going for or not.

“You made all this?”

Caleb smiled, and then placed two perfectly cooked steak medallions on my plate. “Don’t look so surprised, Kadence. I happen to be great in the kitchen.”

And in bed,
I finished thoughtfully. Stupid brain. Just couldn’t resist going down
that
road.

“It looks great,” I said, truthfully. “Thank you. I wasn’t expecting
this
when you told me to get a cab after work.”

“I was hoping I’d do a better job of surprising you,” said Caleb. “After our conversation this morning, I thought we’d made some headway.”

“We didn’t finish our conversation,” I reminded him. “Aaliyah had impeccable timing.”

“I might not have said everything I wanted to, but I assumed you’d catch on without me having to say the words.”

“Actions speak louder than words, Caleb. At least with me they do.”

“Is this,” - Caleb motioned to the space around us, and then to the food and table settings - “Loud enough?”

I wanted to say
yes,
but I was still trying to determine what Caleb’s intentions were. I reached for the fresh garlic bread, salivating at the rich scent, and then took some of the strawberry and avocado salad. Caleb poured some creamy mushroom sauce over my medallions, and I had to acknowledge the guy could put together a decent spread.

When Caleb realized I wasn’t going to give him an answer, he asked, “So, how is it?”

“Delicious.” I swallowed another bite. “Who taught you how to cook like this?”

Caleb sipped at his wine, and then smiled, as if remembering a happy memory. “My dad. He always loved being in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I was too stubborn, and to immature to really appreciate it at the time.”