Cal and Cami are chatting away as I drive down Main Street. Cami hasn’t stopped asking him questions about Dreamland ever since I agreed to the trip at the grocery store, and he has been a champ while answering every single one.
The warm feeling in my chest intensifies as Cami breaks out into a fit of giggles at whatever Cal said. He chuckles, and I look over at him.
Except something in the window catches my attention.
My eyes bulge. I brake hard, causing all of us to jolt forward from the momentum.
“What’s wrong?” Anxiety bleeds into his voice.
I look out the back window and find the road empty. “One second.”
He looks at me like I might be going crazy.
Maybe you are.
I shift the car into reverse before parking in front of the abandoned store.
I nearly crawl on top of Cal’s lap to get a better look out his window.
The once-empty shop window now has a giant red Coming Soon sign plastered across it, advertising some fast casual dining restaurant opening later this year.
You’re too late.
Watching someone else live my dream feels like a punch to the gut. Like I was so close to finally achieving what I had hoped for, only to fall short by a few months.
It’s stupid to feel a sense of loss over a shop that wasn’t even mine. I have no one to blame but myself in this situation. If I had been selfish, maybe I would have had the money to buy it.
But I couldn’t turn my back on those I loved.
I didn’t want to.
If I was to go back in time knowing everything I know now, I would still make the same choices, even if it meant losing all my money again in the process. Because trying to treat Mom’s cancer and not giving up on Anto because Mom never did was worth every penny.
“Is everything okay?” Cal asks.
I nod despite the tightness in my throat. His gaze roams over my face, although I don’t dare look him in the eyes.
“You look sad,” Cami adds as she peeks over the side of Cal’s chair.
My nod is weaker this time, and my chin trembles.
Cal turns my face toward him with a single finger. “How can I fix it?”
How can I fix it?
I bite down on the inside of my cheek, fighting the temptation to vent.
Screw it.
“You can’t. I just thought one day maybe I could…” My eyes travel toward the shop.
“Open your bakery there,” he finishes for me.
My throat becomes impossibly tight as I nod. “It sounds stupid in theory.”
“It’s not.” He speaks without a single ounce of judgment.
“Isn’t it, though? It’s not like I have the money or time right now.”
“I’m sure when it’s the right time, the perfect opportunity will come up.”
I take one last look at the shop, knowing that although my dream to open a bakery one day is alive and well, the wish to open my shop on Main Street might not ever happen.
Cal lifts my chin up. “When you’re ready one day, I’d love to be there to cheer you on.”
Everything in me wants to believe him, yet I can’t deny the kernel of doubt growing within my gut.
He may not even be here one day.
I want to ask him more about what he means, but Cami chucks her stuffed animal onto my lap.
“Here, Mommy. Lamby always helps me when I’m sad.”
“Thank you, baby.” My voice is thick with emotion. I press Lamby against my chest and squeeze him so hard, I’m afraid his stuffing might burst.
Cal continues answering Cami’s questions about Dreamland while I drive home. I can feel Cal’s eyes occasionally sweeping over me, but I pretend not to notice as I focus on the road.
At some point during the short drive, Cal places his hand on my thigh. The weight of his palm comforts me, and before I have a chance to stop myself, I grasp his hand and interlock our fingers.
For the first time since Cal showed up, I’m not scared, angry, or irritated by his presence.
I’m grateful for it.
After we return from the grocery store, Cal goes out of his way to give me space. It’s as if he knows I might break down if he asks a single question about the bakery. He spares me a few glances throughout the night, but I focus on pouring my heart out through baking rather than talking to him about it.
I pull out my shiny new mixer while Cami drags him into a fake tea party with her Dreamland dolls. As much as I wish I could protect Cami from getting attached, I’m unable to pull her away from Cal. The connection they have is special. It might be a lost cause, but I’m hoping once he moves away again that he will be up for visiting Lake Wisteria solely for Cami’s sake.
And yours too.
The thought of Cal leaving makes my chest ache, so I push it away and get back to baking. Cal keeps Cami entertained the entire time I make his favorite dessert, as I promised when he bought the mixer.
He is an easy guy to please. His favorite sweet happens to be snickerdoodle cookies, although I haven’t figured out why. Out of all the things I can bake, this one seems so simple.
While working on rolling the dough in the cinnamon-sugar mix, I find myself getting lost in Cami and Cal’s pretend play. I even laugh a couple of times when Cal slips into a British accent to match the princess from England. For someone who despises Dreamland and everything Kane-related, he sure knows a lot about the characters. He can even sing the songs, which is both hot and oddly impressive.
“Only one or else you’ll spoil your appetite before dinner.” I give Cami a look as I drop off a plate of fresh cookies for the tea party.
Cal bats his lashes at me. “What about me?”
“What’s the point of saying anything? You always were a fan of having dessert before dinner anyway.”
“Only because you were on the menu.” He winks.
This man is the Devil.
He takes a bite of the cookie and lets out a mix of a groan and moan. It’s the hottest sound ever, and heat pools in my belly from it and the way his eyes shut. He was always the type to savor things.
Sweets. Drinks. Me.
The last thought triggers a memory of Cal tucked between my legs, his tongue and fingers working in tandem to make me come. My lower half throbs.
You need to get laid.
By what? A vibrator?
Huh. Now that’s an idea.
Although I won’t be able to make all my problems go away permanently, I wouldn’t mind trying to take some of the edge off tonight. At this point, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the fantasy of Cal between my legs from becoming a reality.
I’ve always loved having dinner with Cami. It’s the one part of the day where we can sit down together and enjoy each other’s company, and I thought life couldn’t get any better than that.
At least I did until Cal joined us.
Having him spend time with us at dinner feels natural. Like we were always meant to be a trio, even if we spent six years apart.
I prolong the dinner for as long as possible, solely because I want to relish in Cami’s happiness and Cal’s attention for a little longer. Cami gives me a weird look when I offer snickerdoodles for a second time today, but she doesn’t call me out on the fact that I already let her have dessert before dinner.
“Can we watch a movie?” Cami asks as Cal chomps on his fifth cookie. Seriously. Where does he pack it all, and how do I get my body to do the same?
“Sure. I’d love to see a movie.” I don’t think twice before answering. Cami’s bedtime is in a couple of hours, so we have enough time.
She clasps her hands together. “And build a fort?”
“That sounds like a fun idea.” Cal’s eyes lock on to mine as his tongue darts out to lick the crumbs away from his mouth.
That freaking tease.
I’m tempted to take a bite out of his bottom lip just to make a point.
“Who said you were invited?” I shoot him a look.
Cal grins. “It’s settled, then.”
Asshole.
The only reason I decide to go along with their plan is because Cal hasn’t had a single drink all night. I can tell he is trying, so I don’t want to squash his efforts.
“Fine,” I sigh before turning to Cami. “But you need to wash your hands and brush your teeth first.”
“Okay!” Cami bolts for the bathroom.
Cal grabs blankets and a few spare pillows from the linen closet while I turn on the massive TV Cal bought during one of his shopping sprees. I download the KidFlix app and log in using my credentials.
“What’s that?” Cal drops the blankets on the couch.
“KidFlix?”
“Yeah.” He drags a few of the chairs over from the dining area.
“A streaming service.”
“What about DreamStream?”
My head tilts. “What about it?”
He freezes in place. “You don’t like it?”
I bite down on my lip. “Umm…”
“What?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” DreamStream is a Kane Company baby, so I have to be careful how I phrase my opinion.
“Then what?”
I consider how to mince my words before settling on the truth. “It’s just that it’s not that good.”
His eyes widen. “What do you mean?”
“We liked it at first. Cami really loved having constant access to all the classic Dreamland shows and movies.”
“So you had a subscription?” He unfolds one of the blankets. I grab on to one of the sides and hold it out while he ties the end to the back of one of the chairs.
“Yeah. For about a year or so.”
“Why did you cancel it?”
“A couple of reasons. First off, they increased the monthly price by double the amount last year. Then, they introduced ads on top of that, which I understand is necessary for making money, but it became too much. If we wanted to skip the ads, then it would increase our subscription cost by double.”
“So, quadruple the original price?”
“Exactly. That’s ridiculous for the content they were offering. For the price of a DreamStream subscription, I could pay for four other streaming apps.”
“Why would they quadruple it?” he asks, more so to himself.
“I’m not sure. It’s not like they were producing a lot of new content or anything that could justify the monthly cost. It was just reruns of all their famous shows and movies with a high price tag, and honestly, with a paycheck like mine, it wasn’t worth it.”
“What would have made the price tag justifiable?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe more new releases and less commercials. Oh, and maybe combining all the Kane Company channels into one place. It’s a bit ridiculous to ask people to pay for four different subscriptions all owned by the same media conglomerate.”
He rubs his stubble. “I think you’re on to something.”
“Me?” I laugh. “I don’t know anything about those kinds of things.”
“I’ve been wondering why the profits were going down when compared to our competitors.”
I laugh. “Oh, I could give you a whole list.”
“Would you?” His head tilts with interest.
“Sure. At this rate, I’ve probably had a subscription for every single streaming app available.”
Cami comes running out of the bathroom with toothpaste smeared across her cheek and soap suds stuck between her fingers. I take her back to the bathroom and help her while Cal finishes up the fort.
It’s a tight squeeze but somehow the three of us fit under the blanket fort, although the top part of the TV is cut off. Cami doesn’t seem to mind, her excitement about watching a movie outweighing the logistics.
I lie beside Cami, who chooses the spot closest to the edge, where Merlin sleeps while curled into a ball. Cal looks torn with what to do before settling on sitting crisscross near the opposite side of the fort. I’m not sure he can even see the TV from his position, let alone feel comfortable with how he needs to hunch his body to fit underneath the blanket.
“You can go next to Mommy.” Cami points to the spot on the other side of me.
Lovely. Look at Little Miss Cami playing matchmaker without even knowing it.
Cal glances over at me for approval before I nod slightly.
You’re totally going to regret this one.
With a little sigh, he lies down beside me. His proximity, combined with the smell of his bodywash and the rhythm of his deep breathing, makes my brain foggy and my skin tingle.
Cami picks the movie and gets settled beside me. I barely pay attention to what happens on the screen, my mind too attuned to the man next to me. My heart pounds furiously, the blood rushing to my ears as I resist the temptation to turn around and snuggle into his chest.
At some point, Cal locks his pinky finger with mine, linking us together for the rest of the movie. The connection that flares to life from a single touch makes my toes curl.
Yup. Definitely need to get laid.
After I put Cami down to sleep, I lock my bedroom door, shut off the lights, and grab my vibrator from its case in the nightstand. It’s been a while since I got off, and although the vibrator doesn’t come close to the real thing, it gets the job done.
I light a candle and turn on some acoustic music to drown out any noise before settling in bed. My thoughts wander to all the things I need to do before I remember what I wanted to do in the first place.
I tug my sleep shirt over my head and toss my underwear before getting back into bed. This time, my thoughts drift to something far more dangerous.
Something forbidden for a hundred different reasons.
Callahan Kane.
The man hasn’t left my head since he stumbled back into my life, dragging me into the past I’ve spent years trying to forget.
Might as well take advantage of his proximity and use him to get off.
I shut my eyes and imagine Cal looming above me, his fingers dragging across my chest rather than my own. He takes his time to reacquaint himself with my body. Each gasp, sigh, and moan encourage him, and he teases one breast until I’m breathless and panting beneath him before moving on to the other.
My nail catches on the sharp peak, but I replace the image with Cal’s.
He is the one teasing my body with his hands until I’m begging for release.
He is the one angling the vibrator so the G-spot stimulator hits at the perfect angle.
He is the one… Knocking on the door?!
My eyes fly open. I sit up and gasp as the vibration intensifies, making my eyes roll.
“Lana? Did you hear me?” Cal knocks harder.
I groan into a pillow as I pull the vibrator free and shut the button off.
“One minute,” I rasp, my voice coming out huskier than I would have liked.
His knocking stops.
Thank God.
I slide off the sheets. My legs feel like jelly as I search for my shirt. With a quick run through my hair, I crack the door open.
“What?”
His eyes scan my face. “I wanted to ask you a couple things about DreamStream.”
“Now? It’s nine p.m.”
He looks at me like I’m crazy. “And?”
“It’s late. Ask me tomorrow.” I push the door closed, but he presses his palm against the wood to block it from shutting.
“It’s late? Wait…” He sniffs. “Is that lavender?”
“Yeah. I lit a candle. So what?”
“You lit a candle?” he repeats. “You never light a candle unless—” His eyes widen with recognition. “Of course. The candle. The music. The…” He looks over my head at the panties on the floor. “A nice touch.”
My cheeks flush. I reach to shut the door, but his strength prevents it from closing.
“How do I score an invite?” His eyes dip, the heat of his gaze burning a path down my body. With the way he looks at me, I’m afraid I might catch on fire.
The warmth in my belly from earlier comes back with a vengeance. “You don’t. Now go away.” I push against the door again, but his hold remains strong, preventing it from moving a single centimeter.
“Let me make you feel good. Please,” he rasps.
God. No man should look or sound that desperate to pleasure a woman. It can give anyone a complex, especially when paired with Cal licking his lips.
A single plea has my walls crumbling like a poorly constructed gingerbread house.
What’s the worst that can happen?
If you’re asking yourself that question, then you’re further gone than I thought.
I shake my head. “No.”
It’s for the best. I didn’t spend the last two months keeping him at a distance to ruin it because I’m desperate for relief.
You’re not desperate for relief.
The truth hits me like a punch to the gut, stealing my breath.
His grip on the doorframe tightens. “I’ll beg on my hands and knees if I have to.”
“Fine. Go ahead.” I release my grip on the door and take a step back.
You’re going to regret this tomorrow.
Then I better make the most of tonight.
He doesn’t move—doesn’t even so much as blink—as I retreat farther into my room, adding enough distance to make his begging worth my while.
“Are you going to get on your knees and beg, or are you going to stand there and watch while I make myself come harder than you ever could?”
His nostrils flare. “Is that a dare?”
A devious grin stretches across my face. “It’s a promise.”
