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“Cara, you —”
“Bye, Danny.” I hung up the phone. Wesley and I stood in silence in the front hall. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”
Wesley sighed. “It was for your protection.”
“I don’t need to be protected.” The air crackled with electricity. In spite of myself, I felt my body sway toward him.
Wesley sucked in a sharp breath and clenched his hands into fists, as if to prevent himself from reaching for me. If Lucy hadn’t been in the next room, maybe he wouldn’t have been so measured in his responses. “You’re still learning, Cara. Don’t get cocky.”
“Would you be saying that to me if I wasn’t a woman?”
“I’d say that to anybody. It would be reckless to buy that building for such an exorbitant amount without an inspection.” He wrapped his hands around my shoulders. My mouth went dry and my heart started to race. His touch made me dizzy. “You have to trust me.”
Wesley had trusted me with his daughter today. Maybe I owed him some trust in return. But between my frustration with his antics and the confusing feelings I felt from his touch, I couldn’t offer him my trust.
“I have to go. It’s getting late.”
Wesley let go of me. “Of course, we don’t mean to keep you.”
I hurriedly grabbed my coat and bag, pulling on my boots as fast as I could. “I’ll see you both tomorrow. 7 am.”
I didn’t wait for Wesley’s reply before rushing out the front door to my car. Not until I was safely inside my sedan with my hands around the wheel could I catch my breath.
Wesley Taves was in control of me. That was a fact.
And if I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t sure I minded it one bit.
Chapter8
Wesley
I adjusted my tie in the mirror. Jensen told me wearing one on a date would make me look old, but I felt naked and vulnerable without it.
I’d been dreading the date from the moment I told Jensen I’d go. Now that it was the day of, my stomach had been churning and queasy. I hadn’t been able to eat anything, anxious to meet this woman — the chair designer.
I didn’t have a lot of optimism for dating. In fact, I didn’t have a lot of hopefulness about relationships in general. Lisbeth’s desertion of our marriage — and of Lucy — had damaged my heart to the point that it felt like a much smarter idea not to even open myself up to the possibility of getting hurt again.
Additionally, my experience with women since the demise of my marriage hadn’t been positive. It seemed they were only interested in my money or social standing. Subsequently, I tended to make it clear I wasn’t interested in anything long-term. I stuck to seeing those who understood it was physical only, to satisfy our mutual desires.
Moreover, if by some miracle I met someone I liked and brought her into my life, I always ran the risk of hurting Lucy, too. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for that.
A burst of laughter echoed from downstairs. I smoothed out my tie and took a deep breath.
Just get it over with. It’ll be over soon.
I ran my hand through my hair one last time and then went downstairs.
Lucy and Cara’s voices echoed through the house, full of joy and laughter.
“Oh no! Not Plumpy!”
Lucy squealed in amusement. “You have to go all the way back to the beginning, Cara!”
I looked into the living room. Cara and Lucy were lying on the ground, playing a game of Candy Land. I smiled to myself. Lucy had taken to Cara like a fish to water. Every morning, she waited for Cara at the front door and every evening, she wished her goodbye with a long hug.
Cara noticed me in the doorway and her full lips perked into a smile. She cocked her head to the side. “Well, you look nice.”
My heart squeezed. “Um. Thank you.”
