“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I just thought that wives and fiancés were the only ones to come to these things.”
I looked around. It was just me, Stephanie and another woman who had a ring on her finger and was hovering near Dave. Dave’s wife then?
“I thought these dinners were casual and happened all the time?”
“They do. I’m so sorry,” she said again, and handed me a mug. “You are more than welcome. It was my mistake to assume. Obviously, you’re very important to Cal. Who needs labels, right?”
Her sunny smile was welcome, but she was backpedaling. Still, I appreciated her trying to make me feel better. The more I looked on, the more I saw just how this group of people functioned.
Like a family.
Everyone knew everyone, and they were all laughing and exchanging stories. This was Cal’s world. A big part of it, and I was on the outside. But part of me so desperately wanted to be more. Closer to him. A part of his world.
I had a shot with Bea. I felt comfortable with her and loved being a part of her home. But maybe this aspect of Cal’s life I didn’t fit well into. I just stood there, not knowing how to interact or what to do. I was awkward and looking in on something I didn’t fully understand.
“Here, come meet Trish,” Stephanie said, and hustled me to where Trish was standing. She introduced me. Dave was the first to say something, though.
“Lana! It’s good to see you back.”
“So, Cal is yours, huh?” the pretty redhead asked. She reminded me of Harper. Dave just shook his head. “My wife loves gossip.”
“Do not,” she argued. “Okay, I totally do,” she said with a smile.
“And Cal is great, so I’m excited to see him finally bring one of you around.”
My face fell, and Dave muttered a curse.
“Oh, that’s not what I meant. I’m so sorry. That came out really, really wrong.”
“It’s okay,” I said lowly, trying to take the words, “one of you around,” out of my head. Apparently, everyone knew about Cal’s tastes and lack of commitment. I was starting to feel more like that joke I didn’t want to be. It also made sense now what Cal had said. He hadn’t brought a girl around. What he meant was, he never brought them around his crew.
“Lana here went up in the ladder,” Dave said, trying to change the subject. He was really a sweet man.
“Wow,” Trish said. “I can’t get on that thing. I’m way too scared.”
“Nah, Lana was a champ,” Dave said. His easy personality and happy demeanor made me feel better. Then, his eyes shifted to the grill. “Rhett, have you said hi to Lana?”
Rhett just nodded and waved, but didn’t say anything.
“Don’t mind him,” Dave said. “He’s been pissy lately, and none of us knows why.”
Funny, my best friend had been pissy lately too, and last time I saw her she was getting a snack with Rhett after our run. Something was going on with him and Harper, it had to be.
“So, tell us how you and Cal met?” Stephanie asked.
All the eyes turned to me. A shiver of nervousness rose, but they all looked nice and eager to know.
“He literally swept me off my feet last summer.”
“Oh, yeah!” Trish said. “The race in the park after the barbecue.”
“I love that race. Able flips me around, and every time makes me feel like a princess he’s carrying through the woods.”
I smiled because, yeah, that was what it felt like. These women could relate, and I realized then that while I may be new to this, I could relate too. Because Cal was amazing, a protector, and at every turn tried to make me a part of his world.
His past, both with women and even further back, was appearing to be trickier than I’d imagined. But the truth remained that Cal hadn’t lied to me. He hadn’t sold me on anything other than what he was.
Whether it was at the barbecue when I first met him, taking me to his aunt’s, or even now, he was actually letting me in. Something I wasn’t used to, but craving more and more of.