“Absolutely. I’ve already changed the locks myself since there’d been squatters in it. I bought new carpet for the bedrooms. I’ve ordered some hardwood for the foyer, kitchen, and great room, and tile for the bathrooms. It should be ready for pickup tomorrow. There’s another ten grand in the account tied to this debit card. I’ll text you the PIN. Whatever you can do with this money and just over four weeks… I’d appreciate it enormously.”
“You’re a lucky SOB that I’ve embraced retirement and don’t mind home improvement projects.” Caleb smiled.
Truth was, it would be nice to fill his idle thoughts with something besides getting Carlotta under him and spreading her pretty, round thighs so he could see her pussy. Touch it. Taste it. He had little doubt that she’d been celibate since before her divorce, and he’d play on the need wrought by her deprivation if he had to. But he’d rather start with holding her, building trust, making her comfortable and happy. Then he’d make her scream out his name.
“Whatever you’re thinking, please don’t share.” Hunter gave a mock shiver, then tossed him the keys.
Caleb caught them with one hand and batted his son’s head with the other. “Shithead. I’ll help you with one condition.”
“Shoot.”
“Don’t talk to Kata about her mother. I think…I’ve got an idea.”
“Can I talk to you for a minute, Carlotta?”
At the sound of Caleb Edgington’s voice behind her—how did he get that close without her hearing his approach?—she shivered. Butterflies in her stomach was something she hadn’t felt since adolescence, and she didn’t like how feminine he made her feel. His voice was always deep and rife with desire. He didn’t hide his feelings well. Of course, she didn’t think he really tried.
Though it had been over two years since her bout with pneumonia, she had never forgotten her recovery. Hunter and Kata, then newlyweds, had taken her from her neglectful ex-husband’s home and brought her to Caleb to convalesce. He had carried her everywhere, simply scooping her up in his arms to cart her upstairs for sleep, then bringing her downstairs for meals. She wasn’t a tiny woman, so how did that man manage to pick her up as if she weighed almost nothing?
Caleb cleared his throat, bringing her back to the present. She glanced over her shoulder. Though he hadn’t spoken again, he all but compelled her with those terribly blue eyes, with the rugged planes of his face. Carlotta dragged in a shaking breath. The truth was, she owed him for all his gruff care while she’d recovered. Yes, she’d baked for him and given him a lovely card…but she’d purposely left everything on his porch when he wasn’t home.
Because he made her blood race for the first time in forever. And he terrified her.
Gathering her oxygen and courage, she turned and looked up, up, up in order to meet Caleb’s gaze. Even in the darkened parking lot illuminated only by the scattered lamppost here and there, Caleb still looked like something out of a fantasy. Those watchful eyes gave her nowhere to hide. His tight T-shirt attested to his daily multi-mile run. Bulging arms showed that he wasn’t idle, as if he sought to prove that age really was just a number. He looked every bit as good as guys half his age.
He deserved someone a little less fifty, a little less round…a little less wary of relationships.
“Of course, Caleb.” She pasted on a brightly fake smile. “I always have time for family. What would you like to talk about?”
The man blanked his irritation with a carefully impassive expression, but she knew that he didn’t like being lumped in as a relative. And truthfully, she didn’t see him as one—at all—despite months of trying. Yes, he looked like Hunter. Her son-in-law treated Kata very well and made her daughter one happy woman. Caleb…he just looked like a hugely capable, sexual man.
She swallowed against a little dizzying wave of desire as she stared at him and pretended disinterest.
Pretending became nearly impossible when he wrapped his hand around her elbow and brought her just a bit closer. Across the parking lot, she saw Kata and Hunter drive away. And there went her security blanket.
“Let’s step into this little coffee shop.”
He did not ask or wait for an answer, just started leading her in that direction. Carlotta weighed giving in to his demand against protesting. In the end, it wasn’t worth the fight. They were going to be in public…and she liked his hands on her more than she should.
A moment later, Caleb led her up the curb, somehow mysteriously placing himself right where he could help her in case her ankle decided to freeze up, as it occasionally did. Then they were inside, surrounded by people of all ages with their laptops, mellow music, low lighting, and the smell of exotic coffee rife in the air.
He led her to a table in the corner, near the back, then seated her like a gentleman, pushing her chair close.
“Coffee? Dessert?”
“No, thank you. I am pleasantly stuffed after that lovely meal. Thank you for dinner.”
“My pleasure. I’m getting coffee for myself. Do you want a smoothie? Water?”
So, he wanted her to have something to make her comfortable during a potentially long discussion. Carlotta sighed. What exactly did he want to talk about? Hopefully not to revisit their last date and that kiss that still made her feel hot all over whenever she thought of it. And made her fantasize about him touching her.
“Water, then. Please.” She settled into the chair, studying the black, faux-wood table.
Caleb made his way to the counter, and she stared under her lashes at the sturdy width of his shoulders, the tapering of his lean waist to his narrow hips. He stood ramrod straight, like a military man, and kept his gaze trained forward while ordering from the twenty-something barista. He returned a few minutes later with his hands full. Once he settled into the chair across from her, she realized how small the table seemed, how quiet the corner was, how little air she had to breathe when he sat so near.
Goodness, if he asked her out again, would she have the fortitude to say no? Of course, she really, really wanted to say yes—to nearly anything he might ask. But if she couldn’t handle a putz like Gordon, Caleb Edgington would run over her entirely. Keeping her guard up was critical.
After setting his steaming coffee aside, he palmed a big bottle of water. He’d thoughtfully asked for a cup, then poured some of the cool liquid for her. “Here you go. I’ll get to the point. The kids need our help.”
That disarmed her immediately. “Of course. Is everything all right? Kata said nothing to me about trouble.”
“Not trouble.” Caleb paused. “Hunter just told me about the miscarriage.”
Surprise and irritation flashed through her. Her son-in-law knew well that Kata wished to keep this secret. She understood that he had likely found that difficult, but… Hadn’t he and Kata not grown past Hunter unapologetically taking control of their lives?
Carlotta frowned and opened her mouth to protest, but Caleb held up a hand. It would have been a bossy gesture if his expression hadn’t been so contrite. “I know Kata didn’t want anyone else to know, and their secret is safe with me. Logan and Tara would be hurt, but…the kids have made a choice and I respect that. The information goes no farther.”
“Mija can sometimes be very close-mouthed with things personal.”
He leveled a glance at her that said “pot meet kettle,” but didn’t voice it. “Understood. Because of that incident and some discussions they’ve had about having kids, Hunter told me he’s cooked up a surprise for Kata for Christmas. He’s bought her a house in Lafayette.”
Irritation dropped away, and a smile broke out across Carlotta’s face. Her eyes teared up. Carlotta had loved Hunter from almost the first moment Kata had introduced them. Her son-in-law had rescued her from a terrible marriage. The young man just kept proving over and over how much he loved her daughter. A house represented a commitment to family and future.
“She will be thrilled.”
“I’m glad you think so. This is where we come in. According to Hunter, the house needs work. I’m going to drive out there tomorrow and take a look at it, make a list of what needs to be done. I can fix just about anything, install new plumbing or electrical or whatever. I can even paint.” He pressed his lips together, as if reluctant to admit there was something he couldn’t do. “But I can’t decorate.”
Carlotta suppressed a grin. Kata was particular about that sort of thing. Caleb had done right to come to her for help. She alone knew her daughter well enough to pull together a style that would please both Kata’s need for flourish and a touch of feminine, but still preserving the function and masculinity for Hunter.
“Thank you for asking me to help. Of course I will.” She frowned. “We have very little time. Christmas is just a few weeks away.”
“Exactly. While I’m there tomorrow, I’ll text you a few pictures. Maybe you can start sketching some ideas. I’m going to look at the flooring Hunter picked out.”
Carlotta tried not to, but she winced. Caleb laughed.
“Sorry. But in my experience, most men who try to decorate should not.”
He grinned at her. “Myself included. I admit it.”
Which surprised her, but nicely so.
With so little time before the holidays, they couldn’t spare even an hour. Pulling together a single room could take weeks, let alone a whole house. “Actually, I am not scheduled to work for the next three days. If you would not mind the company, I could come out there with you and list out my ideas and what must be done.”
It would be a nice respite from her own too-quiet condo. And if it made her daughter happy…then she could overcome her own discomfort at being in the company of a man who made her remember that she was still a woman.
Caleb smiled, and it transformed his stern face into something warm and mesmerizing. Carlotta found herself leaning closer, smiling back. A flush crawled up her cheeks, and she looked away, unbearably aware of his gaze on her. He was a smart man, so he must know that he affected her. Of course he did—but that knowledge did not make his pull any less potent.
“It’s a long drive. Do you mind if we get an early start?” he murmured.
His tone felt almost like an intimate caress. How else could words that innocuous have the same impact as him saying, “Take off your clothes for me.”
She blushed harder and tried to brush her reaction aside. Maybe wine with dinner had been a bad idea and was impairing her judgment.
“Early is fine. Did you have a time in mind?”
“Seven?” He sipped his coffee and sat back in his chair, giving her a bit of space.
The extra air should have been welcome. Oddly, she worried that he was no longer interested in her, and that she’d imagined his voice turning its seductive power on her.
Carlotta risked a glance up at him. No, she hadn’t imagined anything. He might have given her more space, but his gaze drilled her with a blistering heat that made her catch her breath.
She swallowed back excitement. “Seven would be great.”
Chapter 2
They rolled up to Hunter and Kata’s new house early in the afternoon. The cab of his truck smelled like her. Something spicy and musky, but mysterious. And so damn feminine. It wasn’t perfume or lotion or anything manufactured that he’d smelled on a million other women. He’d noticed it before…but cooped up in a small space with her when the weather was too damn cold to roll down the windows just magnified the scent. How the hell was he going to stand up now that they’d arrived without embarrassing himself or scaring her? Caleb rubbed at his eyes. He didn’t think that telling her he’d been sporting the same erection since well before hitting the Louisiana state line would put her at ease.
“It is so charming!”
Carlotta’s smile and glowing eyes didn’t make him any less hard. Dragging in a deep breath, he forced himself to compartmentalize and focus on the house. On the corner in an established neighborhood with mature trees, it had a cottage feel. White with shutters in a pumpkin color. A wide porch held up by four slender columns shielded a host of flowering plants and a hanging bench swing. Big windows along the front, a white door with a leaded glass inset, and decorative silvery house numbers along the front all added to the cozy feel. It wasn’t big, but Caleb could see why Hunter would want to call it home and maybe raise a baby or two.
“I’m sure they’ll be happy here. Let’s go see how much work the interior needs. The exterior looks good.”
“The grass needs cutting.” She pulled out a little notebook from her purse, along with a pen, and started making notes. “The little detached garage out back probably needs a coat of paint.”
Caleb cocked his head to look down the line of the house. She was right. “I’ll take care of that.”