One Step Closer(54)

Wren’s eyes widened in surprise, and she cocked her head to one side. “You wanna talk about Sam? I thought you wanted to talk about your dad and stuff.”

What Caleb needed was to find out what her life was like, if she was happy with it the way it was, and wanted to stay in New York indefinitely, or if she missed Colorado and might want to come back someday. He needed details, and Sam was a significant detail.

“I do, but I want to know if you’re happy. Are you?” he asked seriously, his finger and thumb of his right hand fiddling with the handle of his coffee cup. He hadn’t taken a drink of it yet.

Wren studied him. He was so freaking beautiful. His dark hair had been matted down by his helmet too, but with one swipe of his hand through it, he’d managed to make it look like messy perfection, and the soft shadow of beard on his strong jaw practically made her mouth water.

Wren sat back in her chair before she spoke. “Yes. You know how much I love dancing.”

This wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped. He felt sick inside at his next words, but the questions had to be asked. He had to know, and not just because of how it would affect his decision about the will.

“Sure, I do. But are you with Sam? Did you get married?”

Caleb already knew the answer. It didn’t take a genius to do a public records search, and she wasn’t wearing a ring, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still in her life. He told himself he needed to know if she was seeing anyone else because that could have an direct effect on whether she’d want to be tied to Lux, and whether he’d want another man owning half of it through possible divorce. Really, he just wanted to know. Period.

Wren’s mouth opened in surprise, but then she closed it. How could she tell him that the San Francisco trip had ruined her relationship with Sam? Her heart hammered underneath her ribs until she thought it would fly from her chest. She clasped her hands together in her lap to quell their shaking. She never told Caleb she’d broken up with Sam. She’d never told him anything about her personal life in the past two years, so how could he know she wasn’t with Sam anymore?

San Francisco had been heartbreaking, but it also hammered home some hard revelations.

Wren swallowed. “Sam and I aren’t together. We haven’t been…” she stopped, not wanting Caleb to realize that the trip to see him and the events that followed had made Sam leave her. “For a while, now.”

Caleb breathed a silent sigh of relief. So, what about the guy he’d seen her with on her birthday? He had to know.

“Oh, I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” he said softly. A piece of him was rejoicing, but another part felt bad for her. She deserved to be loved. More than anyone he’d ever known, and he’d been a complete dick to Sam. He knew it when he was doing it, but at the time his heart was on fire and there wasn’t one f*cking thing he could do to stop it. The poor schmuck had been lucky he hadn’t pounded him into the ground.

One slight shoulder lifted in a shrug. “It’s okay. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

She remembered it so clearly.

Two years earlier Sam had proposed and she’d taken him to San Francisco to meet Caleb, hoping her new relationship would ease the awkwardness between Caleb and herself after their division after he’d slunk off and never acknowledged their night together.

That weekend had served to open her eyes and made her face the truth. She’d liked Sam, but she didn’t love him. He was hot and talented, and he made her feel beautiful, but he wasn’t Caleb and putting the two of them side-by-side had been a mistake. Her entire life; no one could compare to Caleb and she was kidding herself and being dishonest with Sam by attempting to hide her feelings. After the night she’d introduced them, it had been clear to Sam that her heart was someplace else.

She’d had a blow up with Caleb after their dinner and was pensive and quiet when she met Sam back at the hotel. She was heartbroken. Caleb had let her down when she needed him to help her move on with her life; to help her move on from him.

It had been an awkward introduction between the two men and an uncomfortable meal at a local steak house filled with stilted small talk, long uncomfortable silences, and a lot of wine. Caleb’s dark brooding and intense stare as he sat back regarding the way Sam interacted with Wren had made his presence at the table a mostly silent, potent force. Sam had tried to make small talk, but Caleb’s short answers made the evening unbearable.

“So, Wren tells me that you’re an engineer?” Sam had asked after the first round of drinks.

“What else did she tell you?”

Sam’s brow creased and his head cocked to one side, perplexed at Caleb’s rude tone. “Just that you two grew up together.”

Caleb leaned forward to grab his Dos Equis, drained it and lifted his hand to signal the waiter to return so he could order another one. “I think she left a whole lot of shit out, then.”

Sam cleared his throat and shot a look at Wren, who was seated between the two men. “Um… Well, I’m sure she didn’t tell me every detail.”

“No, I’m positive of that.” Caleb grunted; his eyes flashing up to lock with Wren’s as she silently questioned what he was doing.

“Can we order, please?” Wren asked, trying to lighten the mood. The air between them was so thick she could hardly breathe. Caleb had always been protective and so she justified his behavior. This was the first time she’d been with a man in front of him since the night she spent dancing with Dex. She’s flushed as the memory pushed heat through her body. “I’m starving.”