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Before I had a chance to respond, Caine came barging in with boxes under each arm. He let out a huff and said, “God damn, Neely! What do you have in all of these suitcases and boxes? And who taught you how to pack a car? You couldn’t even see through your back window. You could have gotten yourself killed driving that way.”
I tried my best to smile and laugh despite what his girlfriend had just said. Sara quickly put on her fake smile complete with her faux sweetness. After he’d put down the boxes, she leaned in and kissed Caine right on the mouth, slightly nipping at his lip. She pressed her large breasts against him, slid her hands down until they grabbed his ass and leaned over to his ear and whispered loud enough so I could hear, “Hmmm, Caine, you get me so hot seeing you carry all those big boxes. Let’s go to our room and let me show you how hot I am.”
I almost laughed out loud at Caine’s expression. Obviously, he picked up on the fact that Sara was clearly marking her territory, like a dog pissing on a hydrant. He simply patted her back, gave her a kiss on her forehead and turned to me.
“So, Neely, how does a barbeque sound? Coley is coming over in an hour, so I thought we could cook out, drink wine and relax in the hot tub. How does that sound as a welcome back?”
I smiled, despite the fact that I could see Sara seething. “That sounds wonderful. I can’t wait. What can I do to help?”
Caine began to turn out of the room and said, “Not a thing. I’m going to get the rest of your things so you can start to unpack and make yourself at home. You’ve had a long drive, and I’m sure you need to rest a bit.” As I began to open my mouth to protest, he put his hand in the air to stop me and sternly stated, “Not a request. Just settle in.” He then turned away to get the rest of my stuff.
Sara waited until he left and glared at me. “Just so you know, Neely, if he had to choose between me and you, he would choose me in a second. So don’t push me to force him to make that decision.” She then put on her flawless phony smile with her nauseating sweet voice and said, “Towels are under the sink if you need them.” And then she left.
I took a deep breath to calm down. What a bitch! What could Caine possibly see in that girl? It was eerie how she could go from ideal Stepford Wife to total killer lunatic within seconds. Without a doubt, I knew I needed to play nice. I didn’t want Caine to be put in an uncomfortable situation, or feel like he had to play referee. My hope of becoming friends with Sara now seemed hopeless, but I would at least try, or at the very least, I could fake it.
I looked around the room again to take the time to see all the little details which were put in place. It was obvious Caine wanted to make sure I was comfortable and felt protected. My bed had a gorgeous quilt folded over the end in case I got cold. The window had a special lock which had to be installed. But what really took my breath away was what was on the nightstands and dresser. In silver antique frames were different pictures of Caine, Coley, and me. There were pictures of us all laughing and goofing around, and there were pictures that touched my heart. One frame in particular was a picture of Coley and me posing for our prom picture. I couldn’t believe Caine took the time to dig up these old pictures. I didn’t even have a picture of my prom night. In fact, I didn’t really have any pictures left.
I was so engrossed gazing at the pictures that I didn’t hear Caine come into the room. He walked over and put his arm around my shoulders.
“I thought you might like these.”
“I can’t believe how beautiful this room is. You didn’t need to do all of this. You have to at least let me pay you back for the furniture and—”
He quickly cut me off. “You’ve had a rough time lately, and it is about time someone does something nice for you. My mom taught me to be a good host, I guess. I’ve been excited to have you here.” He let out a deep breath and squeezed my shoulder. “Just don’t tell the guys at work that I picked out sheets with flowers on them. I’d never hear the end of it.”
Smiling, I lifted my head to look into his warm brown eyes, and stood on my tiptoes so I could kiss his cheek. “I’ve never had someone care so much about me or make me feel like everything is going to be all right. I’ve been alone for a really long time. Married…yes. But very alone.”
