I laughed and agreed with him. “And your sisters?”
“Willow and Winter are also twins, but not identical. They don’t even look that much alike to me. Willow is blonde, but Winter’s hair is dark like the rest of us. They have the same eyes, though. Willow is a writer and she’s built up quite a following for her books. She’s even made the New York Times Best Seller list for her young-adult fantasy series, which is quite an achievement for someone at only twenty-four years old. She lives in Providence with her fiancé, Roger, who is a professor of history at Brown University.”
“W. R. Blackstone is her? I know the books, and I’ve read them all. She wrote The Empty Handed series. That’s so awesome, Caleb, you have a famous author in your family. I’d love to have her sign a book for me sometime.”
He smiled widely and I could tell he was very proud of her. As he should be. “I’ll tell her you’re a fan, and I’m sure she’ll send you some books. She interacts with her readers all the time.”
“I would be very honored.”
He took a sip of the wine I’d opened to go with my homemade pizza and seemed happy to be here with me. He should be happy, considering he’d been fucked and fed—and in that order. God, I was still tingly from the orgasm and wondered if he was thinking about it, too. He was so caring with me. I still couldn’t quite fathom how or why he kept pursuing me, but I realized now, it was good for me to do this with him. I’d needed some sexual healing, and Caleb was a very fine healer. I’d also needed emotional healing. Still . . .
After another smoldering look at me across the table, he continued, “Winter is finishing up her master’s in social work at Boston University, and I probably see her the most because she has an apartment in the same building as my penthouse. I’m sure the two of you will meet soon since you’ll be going over there for the renovation . . . and I hope just for the purposes of seeing me.”
Awww, the charm factor was back. “Of course I’d like to visit you there again, Caleb, and actually, I remember your sisters—Winter in particular.”
“You’ve met them before?” He seemed surprised, but interested.
“Yes. It was shortly after I’d come here to live with Nan. Your sisters were turning sixteen, and there was a big birthday party for them at Blackwater to which I was invited. I met your father that day as well, but I don’t remember if I met your mother or not. I wasn’t very socially inclined then—I’d just lost my parents and been plunked down into a foreign world, or at least it felt like it to me, so that time period is sort of a blur. But I do recall the birthday party. It was a hot summer day, and everyone was in the pool cooling off. I didn’t go in, though. I preferred to watch the kids playing chicken fight in the pool—everything felt so very different here in America, and I was ta
king it all in at first. I wasn’t ready to make friends or play games. But Winter came over to sit by me and asked about living in England. We talked about the Jonas Brothers, who were wildly popular in the UK at the time, and other teenage girl stuff, but mostly she took the time to make me feel welcome at the party.”
His expression changed and lost the animation he’d shown earlier. “I didn’t make it to their birthday party. I remember I had to be in Dallas for an IPO. I tried to get back home, but the planes were grounded due to severe weather and nobody made it out.”
“It really bothered you to miss their birthday, didn’t it?”
“Yeah. I’ve missed out on too much, though, and it can’t be undone. I’ve learned that the hard way, and it pretty much sucks.” He looked me in the eyes. “But I don’t need to tell you that, Brooke, as I’m sure you’ve learned through your loss.”
And there it was again. The shit tears exploding at the most random of times. If this wonderful man didn’t start heading for the hills to get away from me, I’d never understand why. I lowered my head and took in gulps of air between the sobs.
Caleb was quiet. Patient . . .
He didn’t ask if I was okay this time. He did not offer a consoling comment. He just reached his hands across the table and picked up both of mine. His thumbs rubbed circles over my palms in the most gentle of ways . . . and the tightness in my throat passed after a minute.
“—I—I can tell you l-love your family v-very much, Caleb,” I managed to stammer eventually.
“I do love them.”
I slowly breathed in and out to help settle my emotions back down where they belonged, when he said more to me.
“Brooke, I know this is too soon, but I also know I don’t care that it’s too soon, because it’s already happening for me, and it can’t be undone any more than missing my sisters’ sixteenth birthday.”
My eyes lifted to find his and there they were—beautiful, blue ringed with gold piercing into my heart. “What are y-you s-saying?”
“That it’s too late to change back to the time before I met you, Brooke, because I know what you make me feel, and it’s different.”
“And what is it I’m making you feel?” My heart was surely going to split apart any second and then I wouldn’t have to worry about finishing this conversation with him. It could just be over.
“Love.” It was softly spoken, but I heard him clearly.
Love.
Love?
No. He can’t.
Not love.
“No, you can’t love me, Caleb. You just can’t.”