One Step Closer(79)

Caleb nodded. “I do. Everyday.” He lifted the necklace and put it around her neck. The chain was long enough to go over her head without unfastening the clasp. It fell into the hollow between her small breasts and her hand instinctively went up to cover it.

“I will. Thank you,” she said sadly, tears still raining down her face. Her chin was trembling and her face fell. “I still don’t want you to go,” she said, starting to cry as if the world was ending.

Caleb inhaled as his mind replayed the precious memory as if it just happened.

“Maybe we should talk about that.” It was reckoning day.

Wren glanced over her shoulder and up into Caleb’s face. Their eyes met and locked and then she nodded slightly. “I think we should.”

Caleb pulled her with him and sat on the sofa, tugging her down on the soft cushion next to him. He didn’t let go of her hand, and his thumb continued to stroke over the top of her fingers.

Wren curled one leg beneath her and faced him, leaning one shoulder on the back of the couch. The only light was that from the moon and the light reflecting out of the pool and through the windows. He was so beautiful and she wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch his face. She’d never forget that face as long as she lived.

Caleb’s head dropped as he remembered her little body wracked with sobs as he said goodbye the day he left. She’d come down to his room as his dad waited for him in the car that would take them to the airport. She was even more upset than she had been the night before when he told her. Tears had rolled down her beautiful face in torrents as she begged him not to go, and it ripped his f*cking heart out.

“Please, Cale. Don’t go!” Her hands had clutched at his shoulders as her legs gave way beneath her. He’d caught her and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight against him, cradling her head with one hand while he whispered it would be okay over and over again into her temple.

She’d only been sixteen, and he would in Boston for four years. His father had said he’d do what was needed to ensure she would get an audition to Juilliard, and then make sure she attended if she was accepted… Caleb knew if that happened, she’d already be in New York when he came home to Denver. He’d been gutted at the prospect of never having time with her like that again. But it was the reality he faced as he left her behind… to save her.

Now, she sat gazing calmly up at him in the low light, her classic features so perfect; her skin creamy and translucent in the moonlight filtering in through the many windows.

He swallowed hard. He didn’t know what was going to be more difficult; spilling his guts or not giving in to the urge to kiss her luscious mouth. He inhaled deeply, and then reached out to run a thumb down her cheekbone and then up her jaw. Wren’s head cocked toward his touch as if she had no choice, and her beautiful eyes bore into his as if she were in a trance.

“My dad blackmailed me.” Wren’s mouth fell open in silent surprise. “He forced me to go to Boston. I never wanted to leave you. I was scared Veronica would revert to her old ways without me here to protect you.”

Her blue eyes widened. “Blackmailed you, how?”

Caleb cleared his throat. “He was planning on filing for divorce and I knew what that would mean for you. You weren’t eighteen yet, so she’d take you away with her.” Caleb stopped as his eyes implored Wren to understand. His stomach hurt, and his throat ached. “If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to protect you anymore. Who knew where that whore would have taken you, who she would have exposed you to, or if I’d be able to find you?”

Her expression registered her internal conflict. Pain, confusion, and sorrow filled her. Knowing the reason behind it didn’t make it easier to remember. “So, he forced a commitment to MIT in exchange for waiting to file for divorce?”

“Basically.” Caleb nodded and lifted her small hand to sandwich it between both of his larger ones. His hands were surprisingly soft, but his knuckles were scarred. “It didn’t matter that I’d already been accepted to COSM and had a full ride. I argued with him like my life depended on it, but he said he’d already had my scholarship revoked by his golfing buddy so either way, I wouldn’t be able to attend.

“Wow,” she said seriously. “I guess that explains why things changed so much after you left. He must have felt guilty because he was really nice to me.”

“He didn’t trust me to make something of myself on my own, but he never talked to me, so how could he? He disapproved of the time I spent with Dex and Darren. He said he expected more out of me than being a grease monkey in someone else’s garage. The whole thing infuriated me, and I hated him even more after that. I never wanted to lay eyes on him again.”

Caleb tried to clear the regret out of his voice, but the memory was strong and made it difficult. “But then, I was so proud when you got into Juilliard.” He grabbed her free hand, so now he held them both in his. “At least he kept up his end of the bargain about that.”

As Wren watched the emotion play across his handsome face, she couldn’t hold her own inside. First one, then another tear, tumbled from her large blue eyes and she reached out to lay the hand he wasn’t holding on his chest. “Oh, Cale. I’m sorry you had to do that because of me.”

He somberly cocked his head to one side. “Don’t be. I’d do anything for you.” He let go of her hand to reach up and wipe away an errant tear with the pad of his thumb. “Anything,” he said in a throbbing whisper.