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“We haven’t decided yet,” Calvin answers. “There wasn’t really a lot of time to think about it ahead of time. It probably sounds impulsive, I’ve never been one to spew lines like, ‘When you know, you know,’ but after just a few weeks together…” He hesitates, then looks at me. “I knew I had to marry her.”
My chest constricts, but not with anxiety this time. It’s the vulnerability in his gaze as he looks at me now, like it’s the simple truth amid all his fuckery.
My heart aches, and I don’t even know why.
Since he’s sitting near me, it’s easy to reach across the table and cover his hand with mine.
And since my hand is covering his, I feel the tension hit his body the instant his father says, “Doesn’t sound impulsive to me at all. By the end of the first date I went on with your mother, I knew I’d marry her.” He smiles faintly at his wife and reaches over to touch her hand atop the table. She gazes back with absolute adoration. “Sometimes you see a piece you like, and you know right away you can’t let anyone else have it.”
All the movement in the room dies. The sunlight still streams in through the spotless window and the birds chirp outside as they dine at the feeder Rose put out for them, but inside this house, nothing moves.
I don’t know what to do. I can feel the tension in Calvin’s body building, and then he glances across the room at his parents, somehow a reflection of us as they sit there in the same pose.
Quietly, I pull my hand away from Calvin’s. I don’t want him to notice if he hasn’t already.
Thankfully, we’re at the end of the visit. Calvin scarcely says another word. His mother starts to ask if I’d like to see her rose garden, but then she notices her son’s volatile expression and she says she’ll show it to me next time.
She hugs us both goodbye and gives Hollis a slice of cheesecake she packed for him since he didn’t come inside with us. He cracks a smile and thanks her because she’s just too lovely not to feel good around.
Then we get in the car, and it feels like the storm clouds followed us.
Calvin slides over into his seat and sits there with the heaviness of a boulder.
I usually sit on the seat at the back of the limo so there’s a bit of distance between us, but today I drop my purse on that one and scoot over so I’m next to him. I curl my legs up on the seat behind me and lean into him, placing a palm on his firm chest and gently rubbing.
He looks over at me.
I look back, offering sympathy. “I’m sorry your father agreed with you.”
He cracks a smile at the ridiculous absurdity of that absolutely true capsule summary of what went wrong. “Me too,” he says wryly.
I glance down at his chest as I continue to rub it. “The way he worded it was ugly, but maybe he didn’t mean it that way.”
“He did.”
I nod because I know he did, I was just trying to make him feel better.
I’m not sure how to do that, but I know how to take his mind off it, at least.
Reaching for his shoulder, I lift myself and reposition so I’m straddling his lap. He looks up with interest, but I play at innocence, placing a hand on either side of his shoulder and kneading. “Let’s work some of that tension out of these powerful muscles.”
“Powerful, hm?” he murmurs, his gaze appraising.
I nod emphatically. “Oh yes. I love your shoulders. So sexy.”
“Is that so?” he murmurs, his hands settling on my hips.
“Mm-hmm.” I slide my hands down his biceps. “And these arms…” I stop rubbing one to fan myself.
Amusement lightens his tone. “With your artful subtlety it’s hard to tell, but are you by any chance trying to distract me?”
“Maybe,” I say, flashing him a teasing smile. “Is it working?”
He lets go of my waist with one hand and slides it up the delicate column of my neck. His touch is so gentle, gooseflesh rises and my eyes drift shut.
Then his grip turns to iron and my heart does a freefall. He yanks me closer, biting my bottom lip and then kissing it before I even realize why it stings.
I’m startled, but I kiss him back. Something molten and desperate twists through my gut. It feels like desire, but it has fingers or claws and seems to scoop out my innards so I feel hollow and empty without him inside me.
