Moth to a Flame (17 page)

CALE STEPPED OUT of Pops’s office with a grave look on his face, causing me to frown. When he saw me, though, his face lit up as he smiled.

“Let’s get out of here, babe,” he growled as he looked me up and down. He walked over to me, putting both hands on either side of my face and bent over, planting a kiss on my lips.

My heart ignited in a rapid succession of beats, and I grabbed his head and pulled him in for a longer kiss. He tasted like mint and Cale—the perfect flavor.

When we broke apart, he looked into my eyes with a smoldering look of his own and whispered, “You look fucking hot and I would love nothing more than to rip those jeans off you and ram the shit out of you across your desk.”

My cheeks burned, but not with embarrassment. I nearly convinced myself that it was an excellent idea if it weren’t for Pops sitting in the office in the other room.

After we got in his truck and were heading down the road, he spoke up. “Lia, I am warning you that dinner at my dad’s may not be rainbows and butterflies.”

I nodded and grabbed his hand, understanding that the relationship was a strained one to say the least. When he’d texted me of our plans tonight, I’d been nervous for him but also excited that he wanted to share this part of his life with me.

We chatted easily about light things like my ‘obsession’ with shoes, as he called it, and crazy Anj. It was a fun drive to his dad’s house. I was all smiles until I realized we were heading into Austin. My pulse quickened at the thought of returning to the place I hadn’t been to since I’d run away three years ago. There was a reason I ordered my shoes online. Jonestown had crap for selection and Austin was out of the question.
Shit.
My palms started to sweat.

Noticing a shift in the air, Cale glanced over at me. “Lia, what’s wrong?” His voice was filled with concern. Now was certainly not the time to tell him about that terrible night.

“Uh, nothing.” My voice shook as I spun a small tale.

He tensed at my lie but ignored it anyway.

Come on. He lives near the freaking college I attended too?
I thought as I realized that we were driving past some really familiar streets. My breaths were coming out short and frantically. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think of anything but that night because I felt like I was going to have a panic attack.

“There’s the college where I played football for a whole semester.” He was pointing but I refused to look in that direction.

“Are we almost there?” I practically whispered, not trusting my voice. The tears were on the horizon and I was doing everything in my power to keep them at bay.

“Yeah. A few more miles,” he answered as we drove past the school.

The farther away we got, the better I was feeling. Memories of that fateful night threatened to come flooding in but I forced them away. I finally allowed myself to look around when we pulled into a driveway. His father’s home was enormous and beautiful. I had no idea his father was so wealthy.

“Listen, Lia, I know you just totally freaked. I also know that you don’t want to tell me. I wish you would but I get it. When you’re ready, I’ll be here to hold you. We’ll take a different route home.” He sighed and got out of the truck.

Tears stung my eyes. I badly wanted to tell him because it was driving a wedge between us. Blinking the moisture away, I climbed out as well.

He came around to meet me and pulled me into a tight hug, kissing the top of my head. “I’ve got you, babe,” he sang in a deep voice, causing me to giggle and think about the Sonny and Cher song. He released me and grinned.

“Come on, let’s go.” We joined hands and made our way to the door.

Before we could knock, the door swung open and an older gentleman stepped outside. Cale and his father had a striking resemblance. I wondered if Cale looked anything like his mother at all.

“Hello, son.”

“Hi, Dad. This is Lia,” he introduced to me to his dad.

I reached over and firmly shook his hand.

“Steve,” Cale’s dad smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

I grinned back at him as he led us inside.

“Char, they’re here,” he called into the kitchen.

Moments later, a tall, leggy blonde not much older than I was came bouncing out of the kitchen. “I’m so glad to meet you guys,” she chirped. Instead of shaking our hands like Steve had, she hugged each of us. “I just pulled the lasagna out of the oven, and the bread will be out in five. Make yourselves at home please. Steve, make them a drink why don’t you.” She scurried back into the kitchen to finish up.

Steve went over to the bar in the den area we were standing in and poured us each a glass of red wine. “Cale, thanks for coming. It means a lot to me and Charlotte.” Steve’s smile was genuine which made my heart thump happily for Cale.

Cale drained his glass, obviously uncomfortable with the new-and-improved dad standing before him.

Steve picked up his son’s now empty wine glass and poured another. “So, Lia? What is it that you do for a living?”

“I work at a bank over in Jonestown. I assist the owner. It’s a small bank, so we don’t have many employees that work there. I tend to do whatever needs to be done. Our residential construction market is the largest of our portfolio, so I spend a lot of time working with the builders in the area.”

“I see,” he chuckled, “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how you two met.”

My cheeks burned at the thought of our first encounter when I maced him.

“She had a thing for my eyes,” Cale teased, winking at me.

“So, where did you attend college?” Steve asked.

I could feel the color drain from my face. I wasn’t really in the mood to discuss this. “I, uh…” I trailed off but was safe when Charlotte called us into the dining room.
Bullet effectively dodged.

LIA SUCCESSFULLY AVOIDED my dad’s question. I’d been waiting for the answer myself and was disappointed when she managed to get away with not answering it. Letting it slide, I grabbed her hand and led her to the table.

“I am so happy that we are all here together!” Charlotte exclaimed. She was such a bubbly person. It amazed me that she and my dad ever thought they could be a match. But surprisingly enough, she pulled Dad out of some of his rigidness, which was a huge feat. She did it with a smile too. The woman was made of tougher stuff than Mom or I ever possessed.
That’s for damn sure.

“So, Charlotte?” Lia asked. “I hear you are Steve’s assistant. Is it difficult working together?”

Charlotte giggled at Lia’s question, causing everyone to smile. The woman’s laughter was infectious. “Steve can be a controlling grump sometimes.” She winked at him. “But he learned from the get-go that I wouldn’t have any of it. We actually had a screaming match in his office my first day, but then one thing led to the other and voila! We’ve been inseparable ever since. He still has his moments, but I just hit him over the head with a file to knock some sense into him.” She smiled over at him.

Dad had a look I’d never seen on his face before—complete adoration. This woman did something to him and it was definitely for the better.

Lia’s phone chimed and she pulled it from her purse to read the text. I could see her poor attempt to mask the distress the message had caused her. She quickly put the phone away and began drinking wine like it was water. As soon as we were alone later, I was going to drill her about who messaged her. For obvious reasons, I’d thought this dinner would be awkward for me, but she was the one looking uneasy.

After dinner, the girls went into the kitchen to clean up while my dad and I went into the den. He poured me something a little stiffer this time.

“She seems like a great girl, Cale.”

I couldn’t hide the grin on my face. She was definitely great despite her secrets. “Dad, she makes me feel alive. I can honestly see a future with her.”

“Well, son, for the first time in my life, I know what you mean. Char is wonderful. I love that woman. She doesn’t know it yet, but I am going to ask her to marry me soon. I’m waiting on the jeweler to finish her ring. It made me realize how unhappy I was with your mother. Speaking of, have you heard from her lately?”

I sighed because the subject of my mother was one we hated. Both of us had felt abandoned when she’d left. “Not in at least a year. And honestly, I am not really that broken up about it.”

“Yeah, me neither,” he agreed.

I pushed the subject in a different direction. “Dad, that’s great news about you and Charlotte. I wish you two the best. She seems like a perfect match for you.”

The smile on his face made me realize that this was real. He definitely cared for that woman, and she was changing him for the better. For once, I felt happy about where my relationship with my father could go from here.

The women walked in a little while later. Charlotte poured Lia some sort of girly-looking drink while Dad refreshed mine and we all headed to the sofas to talk. Sitting next to Lia, I took hold of her hand and slid it into my lap. She was getting really giggly, and I had a feeling that it was because she was a little tipsy.

When Charlotte and Dad started discussing one of his clients, I took that moment to whisper to Lia. “What’s up, babe? You started acting funny after that text. Who was it?”

She smiled at me and slurred, “Looks like our good ol’ boy Sam has my number too. He can’t wait to see me.”

“Shit, Lia! Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” I demanded, trying not to raise my voice.

“I didn’t want to ruin dinner, Cale. It’s not like he’s putting roses on my car or trying to burn us alive. He’s just trying to intimidate me.” The simple and unaffected tone of her voice wiggled its way under my skin. Fucking Sam was doing this to her.

My dad interrupted our conversation. “It’s getting late, guys, and it’s a long way back. Please, why don’t you stay the night? The guest room is made up and ready.”

Feeling the effects of the alcohol, I didn’t think it was a bad idea. “Sure, Dad. That sounds great.”

“What about work tomorrow?” Lia asked.

“Text Ben and tell him you’ll take a day of vacation. I’m sure he won’t mind,” I assured her.

“Well, we’re going to turn in for the night. How about breakfast at seven before Char and I go to work?” Dad asked.

“Of course, Dad. I think Lia and I will take a walk before we go to bed. Do you have a spare key for me to get back in?” I questioned.

He walked over to a cabinet and brought a key to me. “I don’t need it back,” he said, winking before heading off to bed with Charlotte.

Lia and I fetched our jackets before she followed me out of the house to my truck. I found the blankets I’d left in there from our camping trip and handed her a pair of rubber boots. They’d be a little big, but there was no way she could walk in her heels given her current state and the location of where we were going.

“Hell no!” she exclaimed. “Your choice in shoes is awful!” She stomped down her foot in a sort of tantrum over the whole thing and lost her footing, nearly falling due to her inebriated state.

Luckily, I was there to steady her. She started giggling and kicked off her shoes, finally conceding. After taking the boots, she slipped them on and modeled them for me, causing me to laugh at her. Hand in hand, we walked several blocks to the old, familiar field I used to love so much. When we got to the spot Madison and I used to visit, I spread out one of the blankets for us to sit on.

She sat down and mischievously pulled a bottle of liquor from her coat pocket. “I snagged something from your dad’s bar,” she snickered, unscrewing the lid and taking a huge swig.

I started chuckling, because in that moment, I was flooded with the fun memories of Madison. “Hand it over,” I demanded, taking it from her so I could drink from it as well. I sat beside her and stretched the other blanket over our legs.

As we talked, we passed the bottle back and forth. I told her stories about Madison and she laughed so much that she had tears in her eyes.

“She smoked inside the school?” she questioned, completely shocked.

I laughed at the memory. “Yep, and not just in the bathroom like a normal person either. No, not Mad. She smoked wherever the hell she wanted. When the teachers would go ballistic and give her detention and shit, she’d say, ‘I have an addiction,’ like that made it okay.”