Restored (10 page)

“Of course, bring whoever you like,” Dr. Hale said. “We’ll have plenty of food for everyone!”

“Should I bring my lemon cake?” Yvette asked.

Tony spoke softly to Yvette. “Please bring that lemon cake.”

Yvette winked back at Tony. “Okay,” she whispered back in Tony’s direction.

“I could bring friendship bread,” Linda said.

“It will be catered by the Crown Park Inn, but feel free to bring what you like,” Dr. Hale said.

“What about attire?” Tony asked. “Formal, casual, or business?” He shifted in his chair as all eyes turned in his direction. He grinned so that his dimples deepened, and he seemed like he didn’t mind the attention.

“Casual is fine. Just no tank tops or flip-flops please,” Dr. Hale amended.

“Will there be alcohol?” Missy asked innocently. She nudged Tony in the ribs, who happened to be to the left of her.

“It’s BYOB, if you must,” Dr. Hale said. “I’m sure that I don’t have to remind anyone of this, but we’ll all need to be on our best behaviors. So if you’re going to drink, limit yourselves.” Dr. Hale’s face was red, but he showed no other outward signs of distress. “Moving on to our next topic. How are you doing in your new position, Ms. Lindsay?”

Lexi paled and cleared her throat. “Um, good. I like it here very much.”
Was that the best she could come up with?
But Dr. Hale’s question came from nowhere.

“Very good indeed, Ms. Lindsay,” Dr. Hale said.

Caleb smiled in Lexi’s direction, and he appeared to hold back a laugh.

She stared sourly back at him but then altered her expression to a more neutral one, ignoring him.

The meeting ended after new documentation polices were discussed. The staff was allowed to leave at four forty since the meeting hadn’t lasted the entire hour. The office cleared out quickly, and Caleb had left the break room without even a word in Lexi’s direction. It was hard not to take his aloof behavior personally. Lexi intentionally took longer packing up her belongings in the hope that Caleb would surface.

She’d promised to help Ashley bake cookies tonight for an event she had at work tomorrow, which meant that Lexi couldn’t linger much longer. The office was empty now, and so there was no need to tarry. She set the alarm and quickly secured the back door. Since it was summertime, there was still plenty of daylight out. Caleb jumped out of his SUV when she neared her own vehicle.

“What are you doing?” she asked, annoyance lacing her voice.

“Waiting for you,” Caleb said gently. “You took long enough.” He grinned.

“Why do you all but ignore me when we’re working?” The temper that she’d tried to repress flared. Her hair rose and fell in the light breeze. She knew it probably looked wild, but she didn’t care right now.

“I thought that you would understand,” Caleb said. Tension marred his handsome face. His hair had grown more unmanageable as the humidity of the day intensified, which left him looking as untamed as Lexi felt.

“What is there to understand? You seem embarrassed to be with me,” Lexi accused.
Why did it bother her so much?

“That’s not it at all.” His voice was sympathetic, but his eyes looked angry. He didn’t reach out to her, didn’t touch her.

“Explain it to me then? I’m all ears,” Lexi said.

“For starters, I’m not sure how it’d look if our office personnel knew that we were a couple, given that you just started working here. Not that I had a hand in hiring you, or at least only a minor one, but someone might assume that you got the job because you were with me,” Caleb said. “Another reason is that there is a loose dating policy, and I think that we need to really define what we are before we go through that hassle.”

Lexi rubbed her temples and then looked Caleb in the eye. All that he said was news to her. The policy hadn’t been mentioned during her orientation, and getting hired had seemed like a miracle on its own. “Oh,” she said. “I hadn’t considered any of that.”

“I’m sorry how it makes you feel. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” Caleb said as he stepped closer to Lexi.

“I know. I feel stupid now,” Lexi said.

Caleb embraced her and pulled her closer to him. “You could never be stupid, despite how you feel. I should have given you a heads-up instead of assuming you already knew the office policies.”

“That would have probably been a good idea,” Lexi said.

Caleb ran a hand up and down her spine as if to soothe her. She didn’t resist, and she stayed locked in his embrace until she remembered that she had to go home to help Ashley.

***

“Where are we going again?” Lexi asked.

Caleb drove toward the hiking trail that’d be mild since it was mid-August, and for once the breeze had completely stalled. “Fish River Falls. You’ll love it there.” He’d wanted to do something fun with Lexi, something out of the ordinary. The work week took up so much of his time that he didn’t want the summer to zip by before he’d had the chance to share it with Lexi. Florida had world-famous beaches, but Maine hid its own natural treasures. One by one, he’d share its beauty with her.

“Fish River Falls?” Lexi’s nose scrunched.

Caleb turned his eyes back to the road. “It’s just its name. It isn’t like Florida. There’s these potholes in and around the river that were supposed to be formed by glaciers thousands of years ago.” Both of his hands gripped the steering wheel. He’d hoped that she would like it there—it was a unique place that’d he visited when he was a kid.

“I was afraid you were taking me fishing.” Lexi smiled.

Caleb laughed. “Take you fishing? Give me some credit!” Her food aversion wasn’t a secret. He liked to eat fish himself, though catching it wasn’t something he enjoyed. Cleaning fish was a chore. He’d rather hike and enjoy the scenery.

The hike to the river bank wouldn’t take long. Caleb had packed a backpack with water, food, and towels. He rummaged through it.
Where was the sunblock?
He’d forgotten the one thing Lexi would need with her fair skin. He insisted that she wear his hat to keep the sun off of her face.

“I look ridiculous.” Lexi pulled her ponytail through the back hole of the ball cap.

Caleb lifted her chin and kissed her glossy lips. “You’re sexy, not ridiculous.”

Lexi smirked. “You can’t mean that.”

Caleb’s face hardened. “I’d never lie to you. Not about as something as minor as how you look in a hat, or anything else…” He made sure to meet her gaze—she had to know how serious he was about that. He’d always be honest with her, no matter the cost. Something changed in the way she looked at him.
Trust?
“Come on.” He forced a smile to break the silence. He took her hand and led her on the trail toward the river.

Caleb pointed out the naturally formed potholes on the rough and rocky riverbank.

Lexi bent and touched the interior of one. “I can’t believe how smooth it is.” Water sloshed at the bottom of the pothole.

“Just be careful. I don’t want you falling in one and breaking a leg.” His face dimpled with his smile.

“That sounds like me,” Lexi mumbled to herself.

After an hour on the trail, the sun beat down despite the spray that misted off the river. There were rapids on the river, but there were also deeper, calmer areas where the rapids lost their power.

“Did you want to take a dip to cool off?” Caleb took off his shirt.

“I didn’t wear a bathing suit.” Lexi hooked her finger in the belt loops of her shorts.

“You don’t need a bathing suit.” Caleb slid off his shorts and stood in his black boxer-brief underwear.

“What if we run into someone else on the trail?”

“We’ve been out here at least an hour and haven’t run into another soul yet.”

Lexi pulled off her shirt and shorts and rushed into the water in her lime-green bra and underwear. He watched her as she flew into the water.
So she was going to hide herself?
He wanted her to be proud of her beautiful body, not ashamed. He rushed in after her. Caleb dipped below the surface of the water and popped up in front of her. She squealed. He pulled her close, and she clung to him.
Was the water’s cover enough of a blanket for her?
The water was colder than he’d expected, which aided in his restraint. Cold water did strange things to the male anatomy. He held her in place by her firm buttocks. If it made her uncomfortable, he couldn’t tell.

“So you’ve been here before?” Lexi asked.

Groping her here was out of the question, even though every cell in his body ached for her. He steadied his grip on her to keep his intentions honest. “It’s been a very long time. I was probably five or six when I was here last.”

“That long ago?”

“You know how it is. My parents both worked full time, and when I was older, I was more into sports.” Caleb walked around the waist-deep shallows, all while still toting Lexi.

“You played sports?” She smiled.

“Of course I did. Mike and I were both in Little League. Then I played soccer in high school too.” Caleb shook his head. That’d been ages ago. “What about you? Were you athletic?”

Lexi laughed. “Seriously?”

He grinned at her, awaiting her answer.

“No, I was never athletic. Though I went to a drama camp one summer. It was terrible though…they had me manage the other kids backstage. Apparently, my acting skills were lacking.”

Caleb laughed so hard that Lexi shook in his arms. His stomach jumped with waves of hilarity. “At least you had your art to fall back on.”

“The only reason I even attempted drama was because my mom thought I needed to be more social. She thought drawing was too solitary. Maybe it was, but it was what I wanted to do.”

After only a few minutes submerged, she began to tremble. The water was so much colder than the air.

“I’m guessing you’ve cooled off?”

She nodded. Her jaw trembled as her teeth chattered together. He walked them both to the riverbank, where Lexi scrambled up to the shore—her lime-green underwear now see-through.
She was so hot… Why on earth didn’t she know it?

Lexi struggled to get her denim shorts on over her wet body.

“I’ve got towels.” Caleb pulled the two towels out of the backpack and unfolded one. He patted at Lexi’s wet skin, but she drew her body inward to conceal herself from him. Instead of fighting it, he handed her the towel.

“Thanks.” Once mostly dry, she finished dressing.

“You’re beautiful, you know…”

Her cheeks reddened. “You don’t have to say that.” Her eyes looked down toward the river rock.

“I mean it though. I hope you believe me someday.”

Lexi’s body shame got under his skin. Corrine had been the type to require compliments, warranted or not, but Lexi?
Couldn’t she see how beautifully real she was?
Corrine exercised and had plastic surgery to get to where she was physically. The breast implants had turned Caleb’s stomach when she’d had them put in a year ago. He couldn’t understand why she’d go to extremes like that.

Lexi was real, nothing altered. There was perfection in her natural body.

***

Lexi had driven to the picnic with Ashley. For all intents and purposes, Ashley was her date. The conference room of the Crown Park Inn was decorated in blue linen tablecloths, with American-flag centerpieces, and glittery confetti was scattered on the serving table. The area was large considering that there would be no more than twenty people in attendance. Even though it was only just after two in the afternoon, the room made it feel much later in the evening, with its dimmed lights. It was supposed to be picnic-style, but it was more elegant than that. Lexi admired the food choices—rolls, cornbread, burgers with various cheese selections, hot dogs, fried chicken, candied sweet potatoes, cheesy potato casserole, green beans, and corn fritters—glad there were a few items that appealed to her. She looked around for a dessert table. Maybe the food-service staff would set one up after the main meal was served?

Lexi wore one of her nicer maxiskirts, with a spaghetti-strap shirt that crisscrossed over her back. The checkerboard pattern the straps made on her back was more daring than what she’d normally wear to work…would Caleb notice? Since her toe was fully healed, she wore kitten-heeled dress shoes, hoping she looked long and lean. She felt like an Amazon next to Ashley.

“Right here is good,” Ashley said as she sat down. Ashley picked a seat that would leave Lexi to sit by Caleb. They’d all be together in a small clump. Caleb had asked Mike to come, but he was working today at the restaurant and couldn’t get off.

Lexi grinned and took her seat beside her cousin. “Thanks again for coming with me,” Lexi said to Ashley. As far as Lexi’s coworkers knew, she was friendly with Caleb, but she and Caleb didn’t show any affection toward each other at the office. And not enough outside the office either, in Lexi’s opinion.

“I get it. Work functions can be weird,” Ashley whispered to Lexi.

The other employees had already arrived except for Missy, who frequently ran late. Mr. Hale brought his wife, Irene. Yvette brought her oldest son with her, who was a freshman in high school. Linda came by herself but seemed content. Tony also strode in by himself, but he looked like he meant business, with the sleek black suit he wore. His tanned skin and dark hair gave him a mysterious quality.

Lexi casually chatted to both Caleb and Ashley, which seemed natural since it was known that Ashley and Caleb’s brother were an item.
When would this charade end?
Lexi thought. Mr. Hale introduced his wife to Lexi and Ashley. Irene seemed as sweet as her husband, and she spoke with a southern dialect. When Lexi asked about her accent, she learned that Irene was a Georgia native.

“These candied sweet potatoes are excellent—don’t tell Mike though,” Ashley said before she took another bite.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Lexi said and smiled.

The overhead music was in between songs, and the sound of heels—Missy’s—were audible. When she entered in her tight red cocktail dress, Tony turned his head in clear appreciation. Right behind her entered a raven-haired woman who wore a shorter black lacy version of Missy’s dress. Missy looked terrific, but her body wasn’t curvaceous in the least. Her friend made up for what Missy lacked. The woman with the raven hair showed off ample breasts, nearly exposed with the daring neckline.