“Oh . . .” She trailed off uncertainly. “But you don’t have to do that because of me. Ah, I get it now. You must’ve thought I had figured out who you were when I called to apologize, hmm?”
“Actually I didn’t. Brooke, you surprised me with your phone call, yes, but don’t forget I had already retained you for my renovation before you reached out to me, so I would have hired you for the job anyway. I only found out last Friday who you really were and how our families are linked. I haven’t visited the island in nearly a decade, until just this past weekend. My brother Lucas filled me in on a lot of what’s been going on. I wanted to keep Blackwater out of . . . us,” I waved my fingers back and forth between our bodies, “until I could assess how best to move forward, reclaiming the property and fixing the giant mess made by my own family.”
“I did not know who you were, Caleb.” She brought her hands up to curl beneath her chin. “I never dreamed it was your family who owned Blackwater. I am so horrified right now, just so you know.”
“Well, you look beautiful even when you’re horrified, Brooke. You keep surprising me at every turn. I didn’t want to tell you that it was my family who owned Blackwater until I’d had a chance to right the wrongs.” I really hoped she believed me.
“I want you to remember what I said to you about how it’s not how much money you have, but how you choose to use it. I meant it. You are trying to fix something you had no knowledge of, and I admire your integrity for doing so, but I really hope you aren’t doing it for me, or for the promise of something you might want from me.”
Like having you in bed with me every night? We were speaking the same language at least.
“I’m doing it for me, Brooke.” But I do want you in my bed.
She blushed. I saw her color darken as the blood traveled up her neck and face. I wanted to see that happen when she was naked and in my arms.
“It would have been one big surprise if you showed up at the wedding with neither of us knowing all of this,” she said.
“Like I said before, it feels more like a twist of fate to me.”
“My nan has known you since you were born, Caleb. I just can’t believe it.”
Seeing Brooke so animated in conversation, I wanted to kiss her breathless. “Ask her if she remembers the tomato launchers I made at Boy Scouts when I was twelve. I’m betting it will be a yes.”
She laughed. “I am envisioning an epic tale of squashed tomatoes and the terrifying scolding from my nan that came along with it.”
EVEN watching her eat was entertainment. She’d ordered pasta with a giant goddamn meatball that she then proceeded to cut into tiny pieces and savor one by one. I liked the fact she seemed to enjoy normal food and didn’t care if a lettuce wedge with half a cherry tomato for garnish and a slice of lemon for taste was only thirty calories. Christ, or how filling that crap was to eat. It was all bullshit, and I’d had enough of those types of dinner dates to last me a lifetime.
“Can I ask you a question, Caleb?”
“You just did, but yes.”
“Do you even need your Back Bay penthouse renovated?”
Yes indeed, she was a smart one. Made me hard every time she reminded me of that fact, too. “I’ll let you be the judge once you see it.”
“What if you don’t like my interpretation of your vision for your home?”
“This is why I’ve hired you, Brooke. I need your ideas because I don’t really have an opinion on décor or a particular vision for the place other than transforming it into something more family centered than it is now.”
That got me an eyebrow raise. “Are you planning on starting a family soon?”
I went there in my mind. Yes, I fucking did. I could not stop myself from doing it, either. The image just appeared in my head as if its place was predestined, completely natural and what I envisioned for my future—Brooke holding a baby in her arms, and knowing both of them were mine. Holy. Hell. My heart started throbbing again. In march step with my dick. I was falling in too deep with her to pull myself back out again. And I knew it. There was nothing I could do differently with any of this evolving situation with her. The emotions and feelings of attachment to Brooke just kept piling up bit by bit, growing stronger by the day.
“Ah . . . eventually I will.” Not a lie. Truth.
She cracked a grin that only curled up on one side, making her look sassy and sexy. “And you feel you should be prepared in advance for this future family?”
“Yes, Brooke, I am always prepared. Did I forget to mention that I am an Eagle Scout?” I winked and watched her blush for me again.
“YOU said you only came back to Boston five months ago when your grandmother had her accident. Where were you living before?”
I saw her eyes flick down and sensed discomfort. I was willing to drop the topic—anything to make her smile at me again—but she blew me out of the water with her answer.