“I need to talk to her.”
“If you showed up at my door smelling like you do, I wouldn’t let you talk to my dog.”
“You don’t have a dog,” he said, irritated because she was right. He’d been sweating in the sun for hours. He smelled awful, and he needed to shave. He’d been so focused on getting over to Ellen’s, he hadn’t given any thought to what kind of impression he’d make. “You don’t even have a door.”
“Don’t rub it in. Look, I’m all for anything that gets you out of the mood you’ve been in, but you can’t just turn up at her house with your dick on a plate. You need a strategy.”
He sat down on his bed with a heavy sigh. “I suppose you’ve got one for me.”
“No, since you won’t even tell me what happened. But I do know you don’t have enough time before the party to clean up, woo your woman back, have make-up sex, and get home before the lasagna’s cold. Which means you’re going to have to save your big move until after our guests go home.”
He glanced at the clock. Five thirty. She was right again. Damn it.
“I can go pick up the cake,” Katie said. “You take a shower and sign the card for Clark. It’s on the table. I wrapped your present for you.”
“What did I get him?”
“Some horrible video game Amber doesn’t want him to have.”
Perfect. “Thanks. You’re a good sister.”
“I’m your best sister,” she said with a smile, withdrawing from the window. Then, abruptly, she popped her head back in. “Oh, and Caleb? Wear that black shirt. No woman could resist you in black.”
“You made fun of me last time.”
“I didn’t want your ego to get too big. Truth is, you’re sex on legs in that shirt.”
By the time he’d gotten dressed and signed the card, Katie was back, and the rest of the family showed up soon afterward and commenced talking too loudly and letting the kids and the dog run wild. As he pulled plastic knives and forks down from a kitchen cabinet, the doorbell rang, and his nephew Jacob sprinted to answer it. Caleb was en route to the dining room, huge salad bowl in one hand and a stack of disposable dishes in the other, when he looked up to see Jacob escorting Ellen into the room, Henry on her hip.
She wore a floaty white skirt that almost reached her knees and a red top that showed off her tanned shoulders. She looked incredible, like an ice cream sundae or a glass of cold lemonade—the essence of summer and woman in one amazing package. She also looked nervous, and Caleb realized suddenly that everyone had stopped talking and turned to stare at her.
The polite thing would be to introduce her, but he couldn’t find his tongue. Couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Hi,” she said finally.
“You came,” he managed to reply. The words were a hoarse croak.
“I hope I’m still invited.”
Always, he thought. But he was having trouble with his throat.
He’d never had the balls to imagine her in his house, surrounded by his family. Never once. And here she was, ballsier than him. His Amazon.
Katie came to his rescue. “Hi, Ellen. Hey, Henry. Welcome to Casa de Clark. Caleb, you want to introduce her around, or are you just gonna stand there and gawk?”
He shot Katie a look meant to convey his intense displeasure, but she only smiled, sweet and evil.
Caleb gave it a shot. “Everybody, this is my … Ellen. And the little guy is Hank.”
“Henry,” she said.
“Right. Don’t call him Hank unless you want to get your head bit off by his mother. She has a fierce bite. She’s a lawyer.”
Ellen smiled at him. Just a small smile, but big enough to give him the shot of courage he needed. Caleb smiled back. “Ellen, honey, this is my family.”
Holy hell, Caleb’s mother was that Mrs. Clark. Janet Clark from the Admissions Office. Ellen had met her several times at college functions. She was sharp and beautiful and terrifying.
Actually, “beautiful and terrifying” pretty much summed up the female side of the Clark family. Katie had shampoo-commercial hair, straight and sleek, and Caleb’s older sister, Amber, was supermodel tall and slim, despite having given birth to three sons.