Fighting for Love (Second Chances #4)(28)

Really? Already?

“All right, angel, I just heard Lexi calling for you. I know you have to go,” he murmured. “I just want to make sure we’re okay.”

Rolling my eyes, I chuckled and said, “Yes, we’re perfectly fine. I’ll call you tonight when I get home, unless I need you to rescue me from the party. Do you have plans for the evening?”

“Actually,” he began, “I’m going to stay home tonight, but if you really need me I’ll be there in a heartbeat. Tomorrow, I have to get up early to train, but then after that I’m free. So …”

“So, you’ll be free to come over?” I asked, sounding hopeful. Since my boss said I could work from home for the week I was going to take full advantage.

His answer came in the form of a slow, deep chuckle. The sound alone made my clit throb in anticipation. It made me really regret my decision to go on the date instead of being with him.

“I’ll see you later, angel. Be careful tonight.”

“I will,” I replied. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

We hung up, and as soon as I turned toward the bathroom door, Lexi was there tapping her foot up and down. “Hurry up, they’re here,” she scolded impatiently.

After running a flat iron through my hair and twisting it into waves, all I had to do was put on my shoes and I’d be ready to go. By the time we waltzed into the kitchen, Caleb and Will were sitting at the bar laughing about something. Will was in a pair of black dress pants and a nice blue polo shirt with his shortly cropped auburn hair freshly trimmed. He never liked it long to where he’d have to style it like Caleb’s hair. Caleb’s was gelled in that messy way I liked, and he was dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a dark blue thin sweater. I dreaded having to tell him I couldn’t see him anymore.

When Caleb peered over at me his eyes went wide and he smiled. “Wow, you look amazing,” he marveled. As soon as he got up from the bar stool to approach me, Jace came in through the front door and grinned from ear to ear when he spotted me and Lexi.

“Whoa, you two are looking hot tonight. What’s the occasion?”

Lexi squealed and rushed over to him just as he shut the front door and hugged him around the neck. “Oh, Jace, I’ve missed you. I don’t ever see you anymore. Why don’t you come with us tonight? We’re going out to eat and then we’re going to a party at Hayley’s.”

“Yeah, why don’t you join us?” I asked, trying not to sound overly enthusiastic. “I’m sure the guys wouldn’t mind.” It would be so much better if he joined us. That way if things didn’t go well once I talked to Caleb, I’d have a way home instead of calling Matt to pick me up.

Jace shook both of the guys’ hands, but then faltered a little bit when he got to Caleb. Narrowing his eyes, he tilted his head as if he recognized him. “Your name is Caleb?” he asked.

Caleb nodded. “Yep, Caleb Rhinehardt. Have I met you before?”

Pursing his lips, Jace shook his head and then smiled. “No, I don’t think so. You just looked a little familiar, but I don’t recognize your name.”

Lexi snapped her fingers impatiently, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Hey, we need to go, guys … like now,” she demanded. “We’ll miss our reservation if we don’t.”

Lexi and Will walked outside leaving me, Caleb, and Jace standing awkwardly in the kitchen. “All right, I guess we better go,” I said to Caleb. He nodded at Jace and put his hand at the small of my back, steering me toward the door.

Before I could walk out, Jace stopped me when he called out my name, his voice uncertain. “Shels, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Caleb stopped and glanced at us both. “I’ll wait outside for you,” he said.

Once he shut the door, Jace came up to me and blew out a heavy sigh. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said and did. I didn’t mean to cause problems. Since you’re going out with Caleb tonight, I’m assuming things didn’t work out so well with Matt?”

Sheepishly, I bit my lip and confessed, “No, it’s quite the opposite. I didn’t want to end things with Caleb over the phone, so I’m going to tell him tonight. Why did you give him that weird look? Do you know who he is?”

Furrowing his brows, he pursed his lips for a second and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I can’t pinpoint where I’ve seen him before, but he does look familiar. Just be careful tonight. Sometimes it’s smarter to do things over the phone.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us then?” I asked. “Hayley’s going as well. You’d get to see her.” I was starting to feel a little hesitant about going, and if he was there I wouldn’t be so worried. Caleb didn’t strike me as the type of guy to go off the deep end, but sometimes you never knew.

“No, I honestly don’t want to go. No offense, but I’ve never really liked Hayley. That girl has tried to get me to f*ck her probably over a hundred times now. For some reason she thinks she can sway me back to women. If any woman was going to lure me back it definitely wouldn’t be her.”

“Really?” I asked in disbelief. I had no clue Hayley had tried coming on to him before. “Why didn’t you tell me she was doing that to you?”