Her cackling laugh reminds me of the topic at hand and makes me smile. Calla is so expressive with her emotions, and I love it.
“See now,” I say and rise from the couch, “I don’t think you have a job.”
She gasps loudly and covers her heart with her hand.
“And where would I go each day?”
Alright, now I don’t know Calla like the back of my hand, but I know her well enough to know she’s lying. There is no tell; I just know. Unless, of course, you want to call her horrible acting skills a tell.
“I cannot believe you would accuse me of such… such—”
“You don’t have a job, do you?”
“I… is there a point to this conversation?”
I walked slowly toward her. She doesn’t try to move even when I’m standing toe to toe with her. Her scent swallows me. Her gaze connects with mine, and she doesn’t flinch.
I almost back down.
I lick my lips, and just as I thought, her eyes flicker to my mouth.
“I had to pick up those flowers from the floral shop today.” I point to the bouquet of lilies on the table behind her. “Because they couldn’t deliver them to you. At work. In the billing department.”
“Oh” is all she says and looks at the floor.
I gently touch her chin and force her to look at me.
From the glaze in her eyes, it’s clear she’s on the verge of tears.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask.
“Not really.”
“Okay.” I drop my arms to my sides and rock back on my heels. “You know I’m here for you if you want to change that, right?”
“Sure,” she nods.
She turns to head toward the stairs, but I reach out and stop her.
“Do you?”
“What do you want from me, Beck?”
I tilt my head and give her a look, and it must piss her off because she squares her stance to mine and puts her hands on her hips.
“You said you wanted to stay married because marriage is important to your family, and yet I haven’t seen them once. You haven’t mentioned them once. I can’t tell if you’re lying to get under my skin or if—”
“I’m not lying. I just don’t see the point in bringing our families into this until we figure it out. I want to stay married to figure this out for us.”
“There isn’t anything to figure out, Beck.”
“Do you really think there’s nothing between us? You can honestly say that to me?”
She hesitates. Her lips part, but she heads for the stairs instead.
I’m right behind her.
“Calla, don’t run off this time. Talk to me.”
