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She jerked her chin in Cal’s direction. “Between you two?”
Heat rushed into her cheeks, and she dipped her head the flush. She hoped Marla would mistake it for embarrassment and not shame.
“It’s okay,” Marla said softly. “I understand. Jeff and me? We were on the edge of divorce once, too. Even signed the papers. But we decided to give it one last shot and came here. This place... it does something to you, Ellie. It saved our marriage. It can save yours, too.”
Ellie glanced at Cal. His hair looked almost golden in the glow of the firelight and his eyes sparkled as he traded verbal spars with Nico, a young gay man from San Francisco. He was enjoying himself.
Ellie’s heart ached at the sight of him, so radiant and alive. His laughter floated across the warm night air. He was so much lighter here, she thought, away from the courtroom battles and endless tension that his job as a defense attorney brought.
She watched as he leaned in to listen to Nico’s partner, Tyler, who was telling a story about their recent trip to Spain.
Cal’s laughter cut through the night air. The sound washed over her, igniting a pang of something—jealousy? Longing? She wanted to be the one making Cal laugh, the one catching his interest.
“Give it a chance, Ellie,” Marla said. “You’d be surprised what can happen if you let go and trust the process.”
She broke her gaze from Cal and turned back to Marla. The older woman’s eyes held wisdom and kindness that made her feel a bit safer.
If Marla and Jeff had been coming to the retreat for years, it couldn’t be that dangerous, right?
“He looks at you like you’re the only woman in the world,” Marla said suddenly. “Your husband,” she clarified when Ellie turned to look at her. “He’s got eyes for no one but you.”
She glanced back at Cal, catching his eye for a fleeting moment. “Really?”
“That man is crazy in love with you. Anyone can see it. So whatever is broken between you, you need to fix it while you’re here and not let him go. Love like that doesn’t happen for most people.” With that, Marla got up and crossed over to join the others. Ellie stared after her in stunned silence, her heart banging around like a bouncy ball.
Crazy in love?
She wanted to dismiss it as nonsense but couldn’t. Because if a stranger could so easily read his feelings, maybe they were real? Whenever he said he loved her, she always brushed it off as an exaggeration. After all, Cal was known around town as a womanizer and a sweet talker, and he always dropped the L-bomb right after they had sex. Of course he was just saying it because he thought that was what she wanted to hear.
Then again, she’d made it perfectly clear it was the last thing she wanted to hear from him, and yet he continued to say it anyway.
“Ellie?” Cal’s voice cut through her thoughts, pulling her back to reality.
She turned and found him standing next to her, his eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay? You looked a million miles away.”
“I’m fine,” she lied, attempting to sound casual as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and looked away from him. She needed to put some distance between them, needed time to process what Marla had said.
Cal didn’t press. Instead he sat on the log beside her, his body radiating heat in the cool night air. They sat in comfortable silence, watching as the flames danced and flickered, casting shadows over the faces of the couples gathered around it.
Ellie felt a twinge of regret. She was here under false pretenses. These people were truly here to rekindle relationships, seeking solace and renewal, while she was chasing a ghost. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She’d expected to find something tonight. The girl. Hope. Or… at least a clue.
Cal’s arm brushed against hers, the contact sending a jolt through her body, but neither of them moved to break it. His presence was comforting in ways she didn’t want to analyze right at the moment.
He was watching the fire too, lost in his own thoughts.
It was always these quiet moments with him that got to her. He wasn’t the tenacious pit bull lawyer defending criminals now. Right now, he was just Cal—warm, steady, and thoughtful Cal.
He turned toward her and smiled, and a sharp pang of longing ignited in her belly. He lifted a hand and gently tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
No. Not again. She couldn’t fall for his charm again.
She shifted away, putting as much distance between them as the log allowed.
Cal opened his mouth, but whatever he’d been about to say was interrupted by a drum beat.
The sound was primitive and rhythmic, echoing through the woods and vibrating under their feet. Everyone’s attention turned to the source of the sound, a tall figure slowly emerging from the darkness beyond the firelight.
