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“This is pure, absolute bliss. Picture me taking an actual shower,” I say as I run my fingers through my ponytail, “under this fancy shower-head.”
She laughs.
“We just met. I think it’s a little early in our friendship for us to imagine seeing each other naked.”
I smile and step out of the shower as the sound of chatter floats up from downstairs.
“More people are arriving, so I have to go say hello,” she says. “But you stay here, look around, go downstairs, do whatever you want. Make yourself totally at home.”
I smile as she leaves, taking a minute to let that word flow through me:home.
I walk back to the second-floor landing.
The view looks good from up here.
I’m surveying the house when a flicker of movement in the foyer catches my attention.
Even though I haven’t met him yet, I know this man is Daniella’s dad.
There are more people filing into the house behind him, and as they step inside, there are more and more eyes totally fixed on him. Everyone is acting like they’re lucky to be here, as though this is Caleb’s world and we’re all just rotating around him like planets being pulled into his orbit.
He doesn’t seem like some of the rich asshole bosses my mom has had over the years. My mom’s last boss threw an absolute screaming fit when she asked if she could leave early to attend one of my parent-teacher conferences. Absolutely disgusting.
His picture on the website was gorgeous, but there is something else about him that triggers my curiosity.
His crisp white shirt shows off his broad chest and shoulders. The sleeves are rolled up to the elbows to show trails of tattoos up and down his muscles. They look faded and subtle from here. Maybe he got them a long time ago. They hint at a rebellious youthfulness that triggers my curiosity even more.
His eyes scan the house with an air of authority and quiet confidence. The slight smile on his face shows pride and accomplishment, but there isn’t a shred of arrogance or superiority about him.
His eyes flitter over to mine, and I feel my breath catch in my throat. He quickly looks away as my lips drop open. A hot flush rolls through me as I watch someone bring a drink to him. He takes a sip and then looks up at me again.
A warm, tingling feeling flows through every single pore on my body. I feel like I’m being bathed in bright, golden sunlight.
The rest of the party seems to blur into the background, just a vague imitation of what was once there. It all just becomes fuzzy and melts away.
A man comes up to Caleb and shakes his hand. Caleb’s eyes leave mine, but the feeling still remains.
I feel as though I’m totally tuned in and hyper-aware of everything around me. It’s like a filter has been removed, and he’s invited me into his world, into his orbit, into his exclusive sphere of influence.
I feel…special. Acknowledged.
He runs a hand through his dark, wavy hair. The hint of silver at his temples threads lower to pepper his closely cropped beard. It’s just a little bit more growth than a five o’clock shadow.
This is the beard of a man who hasn’t been at home and hasn’t had the chance to shave in the past few days.
I wonder where he’s been?
He’s gorgeous and successful, but so are a lot of the other guys here tonight.
But…there’s something about him in particular that makes my heart flutter. I feel myself getting wet imagining how he would handle a woman. How he would handle me...
