A pretty rosy flush crept up her cheeks. “I am far too old for sex.”
Caleb snorted. Is that what she thought? “Wanna bet? I guarantee you that I could make you think otherwise.”
As soon as the words were out, Carlotta withdrew her fingers from his. He smothered a curse. Damn it, he was coming on really strong again, saying exactly what was on his mind, whether it would scare her or not.
If she was going to fall for him, didn’t he have to be himself? Yes, but how could she get to know him if he constantly came on too strong and alarmed her?
Circular fucking argument. He had to play this cooler. The fact that he genuinely believed they could have something special shouldn’t be a factor. Hunter had pushed Kata into marriage and nearly lost her. Caleb knew he had to be smarter.
Into her silence, he swallowed. “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. I’m the kind of man who doesn’t dance around the truth well. If there’s something to be said, I say it. I’ve held this in for too long as it is. I’m sorry if I frightened you when I kissed you on our second date. I wanted you and I wasn’t good about taking things slowly. I know Gordon hurt you. I didn’t do so well with Amanda myself. But if you’ll talk to me, share your concerns, I think we could…” What? Ride off into the sunset? Live happily ever after? What were they supposed to do at this stage in their lives? “Try again.”
Her little hands curled inward to something nearly like fists, hiding her short red nails. “You scare me.”
“I know. I’d be good to you, Lottie. Not perfect, but I’d do my best to make you smile.”
She peered up at him with sharp brown eyes. “Do you really need my help with Hunter and Kata’s house?”
“What do you think?” He laughed. “I admit that I used it as a bit of an excuse to spend time with you at first, but now that I’ve seen the place…”
“It does need a lot of work.” She wrinkled her nose.
“A metric shit ton.” He winced. Hell, he wasn’t used to editing his language anymore. Amanda had always hated his swearing, thought it uncouth and crass.
Carlotta just laughed. “A colorful phrase, but you are right. You have your work cut out for you over the next few weeks. Somehow, I think getting back to my work as a surgical nurse will be a vacation compared to all that must be done before anyone can inhabit the house.”
Absolutely true, but he was having trouble thinking much past her gorgeous mouth, that lovely, lilting Latina accent...and that tight sweater cupping her full breasts. Everything about her turned him on.
“Is that a yes?”
“Tell me about you and your wife,” she said instead.
God, the request blindsided him. He didn’t want to talk about that. What if he just confirmed all her worst suspicions with his explanations? But she’d been honest with him, damn it. He couldn’t do less.
“We married too young. Neither of us were good at communicating. We both made too many assumptions.” He dragged in a rough breath. “I grew up in a traditional—if loud—house with three brothers, two sisters, and lots of love. My dad was absolutely the head of the household, and his word was law. Everyone fought and laughed and roughhoused. Yelling meant nothing to us since we’ve always been a boisterous lot. Amanda didn’t understand any of that. She grew up an only child—a surprise baby for very liberal forty-something parents. Her house was very quiet. No one ever yelled, well…except her when she wanted her way. Amanda learned early that through tears and emotional blackmail, she could rule the family. I can’t fault her, exactly. She was a product of her environment, just as I was a product of mine. I proposed because she looked hot in a bikini. She married me because I looked good in a uniform. Looking back, we got together for all the wrong reasons. When I met her, I was away from home for the first time and I missed my family. I thought I’d just make my own. She just wanted excitement and to be swept off her feet. It didn’t work so well when I was deployed more often than not and she had a baby on each hip and another on the way.”
“So she was unhappy?”
To say the least. He nodded. “I tried the only way I knew how to take some of the responsibility off her shoulders when I was home by taking over. She resented me for coming in and arranging things the way I wanted before leaving again for months on end. I didn’t understand that. She complained and cried. Drama didn’t happen in my family. I didn’t know how to adjust. I’d try harder, but not the way she wanted me to…” He raked a hand over his short hair. “I’ve matured and learned a lot since then. I won’t say I’ll never make the same mistakes again, but I will say that if I do, I’ll genuinely listen and try to adjust. Did that tell you what you wanted to know?”
She cocked her head. “It did. Thank you. I had wondered…”
Yeah, he had, too, about her and Gordon, so he could understand. “So you’re willing to try dating again?”
Carlotta bit her lip. “What will Kata and Hunter think? I would not wish to make them uncomfortable.”
Caleb leaned across the table to her. “Our kids are grown, and I don’t think we owe our futures to them. They’re happy. Why shouldn’t we try to be as well?”
“I see your point. Consider it a maybe,” she murmured. “I will keep an open mind if you will try not to boss me around quite so much.”
He’d try, but…no promises. His DNA just seemed wired to be Dominant. “Deal.”
After he paid the check, he hustled her out of the restaurant and to the home improvement store. He grabbed a cart outside the door, noticing that her stare lingered on a little shop down the strip mall.
Caleb stood, stared at her, waited. Still, she only cast a longing look toward the shop’s door, then averted her gaze with a fake, overly bright smile. The place wasn’t familiar to him, but it seemed to be some sort of home décor store. And he didn’t like her hiding her feelings from him.
“Would you like to go over there, Lottie? Maybe something there will be good for the kids.”
She smiled faintly every time he called her that, and Caleb enjoyed doing whatever he could to make her happy.
“It is possible. I once enjoyed shopping there. Gordon thought it was silly and never allowed me—”
“Go.” It would give him time to repress the urge to kill her ex-douche bag. “If you enjoy it and think it might help with our project, then I definitely want you to browse the place.”
“I would not wish to waste our time when it is so short.”
He’d stay up renovating all night to give her some time to visit the store if that was what she wanted.
“It’s not a waste. Go.”
“You do not mind?” She sent him a puzzled stare, clearly surprised.
“Of course not.”
“You are not angry?”
Angry? Caleb didn’t have to ask what sort of fucker she’d been married to. He’d heard plenty. He really wished he could meet Gordon in a dark alley and let the goddamn asshole be on the receiving end of some pain. Yes, he knew that the ex-douche bag hadn’t hit Carlotta, but he’d been abusive in virtually every other way—stifling her, stripping her of her confidence and self-worth, making her feel small.
“Never. I asked you to decorate, so I’m not going to tell you how to do it or where to shop. I might remind you about the budget now and then, but this project is meant to make the kids feel more at home. If something in that shop works in their house, then go for it.”
“Thank you, Caleb.” Damn, her soft voice went straight to his dick. “How long do I have?”
They needed to get to work, and he knew it. But after years of her voice being smothered, he didn’t have the heart to cut her too short. “Text me in thirty minutes. I should have retrieved the flooring by then. If you’re done there, you can look at it and pick out the paint. We’ll have to see what cabinets they have in stock and discuss what else we might need. How’s that?”
Her smile could have lit up half his life. “Perfect.”
Chapter 3
Thirty minutes later, Carlotta left the home décor store with a bag in hand. She clutched the plastic handles and smiled. It wasn’t much, just pale gray-on-white placemats, a set of elegant wine glasses, a trio of white pillar candles with modern faceted crystal holders, and sepia-toned wall art she felt sure would be lovely in the dining room.
She sent Caleb a quick text that she was on her way over. He replied back that he’d meet her by the door. In less than two minutes, he stood there with a flatbed cart loaded with all kinds of flooring boxes and supplies, exactly as he had said he would.
Yes, he seemed the sort of man who would do as he had promised, but she had grown far too accustomed to Gordon, who had broken virtually every promise he had ever made to her, including their wedding vows.
Shoving the thought aside, she peered down at the cart. “Everything is ready, then?”
“Absolutely.” He took the bag from her hand and carefully balanced it on top of all his other items. “I’ve seen the flooring. The hardwood is dark. They called it handscraped Brazilian cherry.”
Carlotta clapped happily. “That will be lovely and warm. I can do a great deal with that. And the tile?”
“A ceramic that mimics the look of a gray-veined natural stone.”
“I can work with that as well. Kata will enjoy those colors. Size?”
“There are a few here, some rectangular, some square, along with little one by one tiles. I’ll need to ask Hunter what he was thinking.”
“Probably a multiple-tile pattern. I will study them and figure it out. Do we know what cabinets are in stock yet? And the countertop options?”
“Come with me, Lottie.” He turned and positioned the cart behind him, dragging it with one hand. The other he held out to her as he looked at her with those blue eyes that seemed to penetrate straight to her soul.
Her stomach knotted and danced, but she put her palm to his. He held her close, his grip strong but not confining. Would she find the man to be the same? Or would his strength turn overpowering?
They walked to the back of the store, and he quickly commanded the attention of someone who assisted them in selecting a configuration of cabinets among those in stock. Hunter and Kata preferred a more modern style, and these were perhaps a bit traditional, but with the right palette and accessories, she could make it all work. Countertops were thankfully much simpler. Carlotta didn’t like the choices at the big-box store and knew a former coworker whose husband worked for a granite fabricator. A phone call later, he hooked them up with some remnants for half the price in a color that would accent the new kitchen in gorgeous fashion.
After arranging for the cabinets to be delivered the following day, they strolled to the paint department. She was surprised by how patient Caleb remained while she selected colors for nearly every room in the house so that each room would have its own identity but each room would blend together. She tried not to dither, but it was not a two-minute process.
While they waited to have the paint mixed, Caleb peeked into her bag from the home décor store. “Nice.”
He pulled out one of the candleholders, so she reached in and withdrew a candle, balancing it on top. “I think they will provide a bit of everyday elegance.”
Caleb sent her a considering stare. “I’m so glad you’re here. I really would be lost without you.”
Of course he meant the decorating…but at the thought that maybe he just might mean matters more personal, her foolish heart fluttered. Gorgeous, stable, educated, and attracted to her—in the few dates she’d gone on since her divorce, that seemed a tall order. Most men were bitter from ugly divorces, wanting a mother for their young children—or themselves—or still living with their parents and never been married with good reason.
“Why are you still single?” she blurted. Then she realized how rude that sounded and pulled back with an apology on her tongue.
He gripped her hand again, and this time used it to drag her against his body. “Curious about me, Lottie?”
“I-I just mean…you seem very, well…almost perfect. I cannot imagine that some woman seeking a man of such…” Magnetism. Potent appeal. Sexual pull. She settled on something far more benign. “Intelligence and kindness did not lure you away long ago.”
“Nope. I haven’t been all that interested.” He dipped his head, his lips brushing her ear. “Until now. Do you have any idea how badly I want to kiss you?”
His words went straight to that place that no man had touched in years. Her womb clenched. She gasped, and a little smile fluttered over his face. “Caleb…”
His lips fluttered up her neck, a brushing tease. In the middle of a weekday, the store was virtually deserted. The employee from the paint department wasn’t even facing them. There would be no one to see if she closed her eyes, puckered her lips, and lost herself in his sinful kiss that had once made her dizzy and flushed and wrought endless speculation about how skilled he would be in bed.