One Step Closer(58)

“But, I didn’t see—”

He put up a hand to stop her words. He had to get it out. “No, I didn’t let you know. I went to your matinee and watched you. You were amazing. I could barely believe my eyes.”

Emotions exploded inside her. She wasn’t sure if she was hurt, touched, or just angry. Her throat began to ache and her eyes filled with tears. She was still in the process of buttering her bread, and she sat still as stone, the knife still in her right hand as her wrist rested on the table’s edge. “You couldn’t let me know? Why?”

The pain in Wren’s voice tore at Caleb’s gut; deep down in places that only she affected. “I waited outside the theater. It was raining pretty hard, and you came out with a guy. I didn’t want to intrude. You looked really—” He searched for the right word. He knew he had no right to sound jealous and he didn’t want it to come off that way. “Cozy. I didn’t want to ruin your plans.”

Wren sat back in her chair and blinked at the tears in her eyes, trying to remember who was with her at the time. He hand lifted and she pressed her two middle fingers to her forehead, right between her perfectly arched brows. She closed her eyes and swallowed, trying to dispel the tightness. “Victor?”

Caleb felt like hell. Obviously, he’d hurt her again. “I don’t know. I didn’t recognize him. We hadn’t talked much, and not about anything that really mattered; for all I knew he could have been a new boyfriend.”

Wren opened her eyes and looked at him. If only he wasn’t so f*cking beautiful. She felt robbed of the time with him on her birthday and robbed of having in her life for the past few years. “He was just another dancer on the production and a friend. He’s gay, Cale. How could he be a boyfriend if you didn’t know I wasn’t married?”

He was busted so his words rushed out. “Okay, I knew about Sam, but how was I to know about this new guy? His arm was around you, and you were laughing.”

“Yeah. Because it was pouring down rain, and we were sharing my umbrella.” Her voice cracked and the tears she’d been fighting won out as first one, then another tumbled in fat drops down her cheeks. She quickly reached up and brushed them away. The restaurant was crowded and she didn’t want to make a complete fool of herself. “I waited to hear from you all day, and you didn’t call until almost midnight. I’m so mad at you right now.”

Caleb felt heat begin to rise under his skin, slowly crawling up his chest, into his neck and face. He ran a hand over his unshaven jaw. Shit! It seemed like all he did was make mistake after mistake with her.

He leaned forward to take her hand, but the table was full of plates and half eaten food. He was f*cked. “I know. I’m an *.”

She looked away, her chin quivering. “All I wanted for my birthday was to see you.”

“Wren, I was feeling like a prick because I refused to be at your wedding, and knew I’d ruined it for you. When I saw that guy, I figured you had someone new, but either way— Oh, f*ck it,” he spat out in frustration.

The waitress was coming toward them with a coffeepot in her hand, but Caleb shook his head to indicate that they didn’t need any more. Suzy abruptly turned away with a disappointed look plastered across her face.

Wren’s eyes snapped around to focus back on Caleb. His expression was as pained as she felt. “I just didn’t want to cause any problems. I’d already f*cked things up with you. You didn’t deserve to have your birthday ruined, too. I came to New York to make sure you were okay. I saw you, and you looked happy.”

“I wish you would have told me. I missed you so much.”

His breath rushed from his chest. He loved this woman. Loved her so much he couldn’t even breathe. “Me, too. And I’m sorry. I should have manned up and did what you needed me to do.”

Wren sniffed; not ready to explain what happened with Sam. “Yes, you should have. I was mad for a while, but then I was just sad. Ever since that party when you fought with Dex, it hasn’t been the same between us.”

She watched him carefully, looking for any indication that he would acknowledge their night together. She knew in her heart, he remembered. He’d said her name in the middle of it, so he wasn’t that drunk.

“I know.” Caleb looked down and started to dig some cash out of the front pocket of his jeans. “I was dealing with some personal stuff. I was still pissed off at my dad for shipping me off to Boston, and then he wasn’t around at all when I came home. And then, you didn’t need me because you had Dex.”

“Dex? He was my friend after you left. That’s all.”

“Didn’t look like it to me.”

“That dance was the first time he’d ever touched me.” She shook her head, frowning. “You are so confusing, Cale.”

There didn’t seem to be an easy way to end this conversation and it was going in a direction he never intended to take it. He’d spill his guts, but not in the middle of a public place, and not while Macy was in Denver. He had to be in a place to touch her, hold her and let her know how he felt; how he’d always felt, so he could make sure she understood it the way he meant it.

He threw two bills on the table without waiting for the check and then pushed his fingers through his hair uncomfortably. “Are you ready to go? Do you want to take anything with?” He noted how she’d barely touched her food as they both stood up. Caleb waited for Wren to precede him out, and Suzy called behind them. “Come back and see me again, soon!”