AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll be fine, Dillon. I can do this.”
“I was told that my mother was brought in,” someone with the hottest southern accent said, pulling me away from my conversation with Dillon.
I looked up to see a guy at the reception desk twenty feet in front of me. He had jet-black hair, broad shoulders, and an athletic build. I could only see him from behind, but I was drawn to him. And when the guy who drove me to the hospital rushed to him, I got up to join them.
“I have to go.”
“Don’t disappear on me again. You have to tell me where you are.”
“I’ll call you soon. I promise, Dillon.”
I ended the call and joined the two guys at the reception desk. Marcus, the one who had driven, turned to me as I did. “Hil, this is Cali. Dr. Sonya is his mother.”
The taller built guy looked at me. As he did, my knees wobbled. There was something about his smell and the way his eyes peered into mine that made me weak.
“Why was my mother driving your car?” the gorgeous man snapped.
I stepped back, taken off guard. Certainly, I could understand why he would be upset. I might be too if I was in his situation. But couldn’t he see that I was concerned as well?
“She had admired my car when I first arrived at the bed-and-breakfast. She had mentioned it a few times, so since I was supposed to be leaving today, I asked her if she’d like to take it for a drive. Should I not have? Is she not a good driver?”
Staring at me, Cali relented.
“No, that’s fine. She’s as good of a driver as anyone. You couldn’t have known what would happen. I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
“It’s Hilaire, but everyone calls me Hil,” I said, offering him my hand.
Taking my small hand in his, he held it for longer than I had expected. The way he peered at me made me feel vulnerable. It was like he could see into me. I had no secrets when he looked at me like that.
“It’s good to meet you, Hil. I guess I should apologize for what happened to your car.”
“Don’t be absurd. That’s what insurance is for. I’m just hoping your mother will be alright.”
Cali let go of my hand and turned away, breaking whatever connection we had. It hurt to feel it go. The downside to growing up the way I did is that I didn’t get the chance to meet guys like Cali. As protective as my father was, I didn’t go to school. I never had anything but tutors. I never got a life.
When my father figured out that I liked boys, he didn’t make a big deal about it. But guys became another thing for him to protect me from. I felt like his little Princess. But not in the way that felt like I would find a Prince. It was in the way that told me that I couldn’t be trusted to do anything. That was a part of the reason I was on this trip, to prove that I could survive on my own.
If I were being honest, another reason was that guys who looked like Cali, and made me feel the way he did, were far and few in between. At twenty years old, I was still a virgin. That would never change living under my father’s protection. I had to get away. But now I was in a hospital in the middle of who-knows-where Tennessee, unsure of what to do, where to go, or how to get there.
“Thank you for coming, Marcus. But you don’t have to stay. I’m sure you have a lot to do. I don’t want to keep you from it,” Cali said, not looking at him.
“No, I can be here for as long as you need me. She’s your mother, but I cared about her too.”
“Thank you. But Claudee and Titus will be here soon. There’s no need for you to stay,” the built guy said dismissively.
“No, seriously, I can stay as long as you need me.”
Cali turned to face him with a look that could have been chiseled in marble.
“Marcus, go. I’ll let you know how she’s doing. I’m sure Hil will need a ride back as well.”
I jolted back hearing my name said in the same dismissive tone. Did he not want us here? Was he upset with me because if it hadn’t been for me, his mother wouldn’t be in the state that she was?
I put my hand on Marcus’s shoulder.
“We should go. I’m sure that Cali will update us when he knows more.”
Cali turned to me with relief on his face. I wasn’t sure why. Was there something going on between the two. Did they have history?
