Page 56 of Miss Fortune

I settled with, “Have you tried surfing? I realize it’s not on your list, but we could attempt it.”

She laughed, all tension over the date discussion seemingly over. “I can barely walk on dry land, so surfing might not be my next great calling. But I’ll try anything once.”

“Good. It’ll be fun. And I know the perfect place to grab fish tacos afterward.”

Plans for next Saturday were almost enough to cheer me up. Then came the part where I had to drop Daisy off and watch her go inside. Dammit, I already missed her. Cursing, I forced myself to drive home.

I ate dinner alone on my patio before retiring to my bedroom. There I flipped through my Netflix account without finding anything to hold my attention. I could call Lucas, but he’d be out on the prowl for a woman to warm his bed on a Saturday night. The thought of joining him in the endeavor was less than appealing. Any woman I’d meet would be a poor substitute for who I truly desired. Daisy.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Daisy

“You’re such a good boy, Roscoe. Yes, you are.”

The chubby Corgi, his tongue lolling from the long walk, looked up with pure unfiltered love in his eyes. No agenda, no overthinking, no wondering how he actually felt about me. If only humans were so trusting and giving of love. Although, how many dogs were in the shelter because of neglect or abuse and who had a hard time trusting again?

Damn. Was I comparing Caleb to a shelter dog? Maybe it was because he had a past I’d yet to figure out. There was something about his marriage which had put him off relationships, yet he’d claimed it hadn’t been an emotionally wrenching breakup.

Every time I saw him, I struggled to cope with my decision to stay friends, my entire body threatening to overthrow the idea. Especially after today’s unexpected kiss. I’d been ready to hop on him, the parking lot and my emotional boundaries be damned.

I knew what he was doing with his definition of casual. He was establishing a safety zone and putting me into a bucket labeled “can’t possibly be serious if we’re still seeing other people.” Either that, or he truly hoped to keep his options open for other women. I’d prefer to believe it was the former, but what did I truly know about men?

Ugh. I needed to stop obsessing about it. I’d made a decision regarding what I could live with, and I wasn’t about to change my mind, no matter how much I dreamt about Caleb’s incredible body or craved more than our one night together.

The sun was clinging to the sky with its last few rays when I turned the corner back to my apartment building, Roscoe in tow, and spotted a familiar figure standing outside the apartment door, typing into his phone.

“I’m not home,” I called out.

Caleb’s head snapped up at my words, grinning in a way which I swore made my heart skip a beat. A cute cliché but not exactly a comfortable feeling for a heart transplant patient.

“I was texting you.”

The phone in my pocket buzzed, causing my lips to curve up into a smile. “Message received. What does it say?”

“I asked if you were home. Thought you might be ignoring me.”

“Why would I ignore a friend?” Or my boss, for that matter. Or the man I couldn’t stop thinking about naked.

He knelt down next to Roscoe. “Who do we have here?”

“Caleb, please meet Roscoe Barnabas the Third.”

“Quite the royal name for such a lovable fellow.” Roscoe was all over him like he was a long-lost friend.

Was it wrong to be jealous of the dog for being allowed to lick him? “Mrs. Warner loves the name so much she has carried it on down the line, and he’s the third one.”

“She’s the neighbor you’re dog walking for?”

“Yes, she’s on the second floor. I take Roscoe out when I can since she has a tough time with her gout.” Although Caleb’s habit of showing up at my front door was quickly becoming something I could get used to, I needed to ask the burning question. “What are you doing here?”

He looked conflicted, as if he didn’t have an answer to the question. Gripping the back of his neck, he finally said, “I wanted to talk.”

“Okay, um, I have to return Roscoe, but here, you can let yourself in, and I’ll be right up.” I handed him my key without giving him a chance to protest.

By the time I’d dropped Roscoe off with his adoring owner, bringing her mail, and then gone upstairs, my nerves had finally settled. Time to find out what Caleb wanted to talk about.

When I entered my apartment, he was standing by the door. It seemed he wasn’t comfortable taking more than one step into my space.