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Caleb rolled his eyes. “We’re going around in circles now.”
“And we’ll get off this roller-coaster ride, and you can go back to playing boss man and nanny, provided you agree to bring Annie and Tara to lunch Sunday.”
“You’re not the boss of me.”
“True, but I am going to piss you off for the next hour.” Ryan smiled at him. “And from past experience, you know how expert I am at that.”
Yes, he did.
“Fine. Fine. I will ask Annie if she’d like to take Tara out. I’ll warn you, she might not want to come. She’s been hesitant about taking her out.”
“Why is that?”
“I honestly don’t know. I think the whole thing makes her nervous.” He shrugged.
“It has been six weeks. It can’t be that new.”
“And you were such an expert when the twins were six weeks old. I remember you calling me and offering to pay me triple whatever my rate was to come and help.”
Ryan shrugged. “I knew a sucker when I needed one. You’re right, though, kids are tough. So tough. No one and nothing prepares you for all of that.” He blew out a breath.
He chuckled. “Can we just eat?”
“Yeah, so long as you say one thing to me.”
Caleb sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll say it. Not every woman is like Melissa. I will find a woman out there who will love me, and who I will love, and will want the same things I want.”
Ryan smiled. “Good. I hope you keep repeating that.”
Caleb shook his head. Life after Melissa had been hard. Ryan had helped him through everything. Without his best friend, he wouldn’t have made it.
They finished up their meal, and Caleb was thankful that Ryan was more than happy to talk about his twin girls. No one would have ever believed that his friend, the once most eligible bachelor, was now happily married with children and loving his life. He loved Ryan so damn much, and Katherine was a great woman. But—and it was a tiny but—he wished he had what Ryan had.
They had grown up together, played the field hard together. Caleb had been the first one to fall, and he’d wanted the married life, children, a family. Ryan had played even harder. Sometimes it was tough, knowing his best friend had what he wanted. One day, he would have the woman and the kids. But as the years wore on, he had to wonder if he would ever find the woman of his dreams.
****
Annie was terrified of Caleb saying he was no longer required. She knew she was more than capable of taking care of Tara, but she loved Caleb’s company. Each morning she sang, dreadfully, hoping she’d wake him up. Of course, she would apologize for waking him up. She had been an early riser for a long time. Actually, sleep was one of the hardest things for her to come by. Where Tara seemed to sleep anywhere and everywhere, Annie always struggled.
She loved spending the day with Caleb. He made her work, which she did appreciate, and her current story was really taking effect. It was about a male nanny helping a single woman, who had fallen on hard times. It wasn’t quite what was happening with her, but she tried to avoid putting her personal life into the situation.
Annie winced thinking about her ex-fiancé. She made sure to write a mafia story, and he’d been killed brutally in that book.
She hoped Tara never read her books. They were not for young children. Highly erotic and full of romance. Closing her laptop, she picked up her mug of coffee. Caleb had returned from his lunch, complete with a meal for her. It had been a pot of noodles, and she loved slurping them up, enjoying each mouthful.
Glancing across the room, she took a sip of her coffee as she watched Caleb with Tara. He held her in his arms. Late one night, he’d told her about the many bets he had with Ryan, about the ink he’d gotten on his arms. It had all started with a star on his left bicep, which had then developed into different images blending together. She was pretty sure she had detected a unicorn on one of his arms as well. A bet he’d lost.
Annie was a little curious about his friend. Caleb spoke so lovingly of Ryan. She had noticed that he rarely talked about himself. Their late-night conversations always left her craving more.
“You hear that, baby girl? It sounds to me like Annie is finished. No more clicking away at her keyboard.”
She laughed, finishing her coffee. “I’m finished for the day.” She was exhausted. She found that when the story was taking turns she didn’t quite like, or were not feeling right, she would stop. The last thing she wanted to do was have to scrap all of the words and start again, so she didn’t. She always stopped writing at that point.
