Too Good to Be True(98)

“Thanks,” I whispered.

“You’re welcome,” he murmured, gazing into my eyes. “You want me to find Andrew and beat him up?”

“Nah,” I said. “It’d be like shooting fish in a barrel.”

He laughed, then reached down to retie the work boot Angus had mauled. “You planning to tell Natalie that her fiancé’s going around kissing people?”

I thought about that for a second, playing with my puppy’s fur. “No. I honestly don’t think it meant anything. I mean, really, Angus has given me a more passionate kiss than that one.” Not to mention you, bub, I added silently. “I think it was just a reflex.”

“What if it wasn’t?” Cal asked.

My head jerked back. “It was. I’m sure. He loves Natalie! They’re crazy about each other. You saw that.”

Cal hesitated, then gave a nod. “I guess.”

He guessed? Everyone could see that Natalie and Andrew were meant to be. It was obvious. Wasn’t it?

Angus snapped awake from his brief nap and leaped off my lap, trotting into the kitchen to see if God had miraculously refilled his bowl.

Callahan leaned back against the couch, looking like a contender for Sexiest Man Alive. In all the time I’d spend with Andrew, I could honestly say I’d never felt like this…the thrilling rush of Cal’s presence mingling with the comfort that came from the certainty that he…well…he liked me. He chose me. He wanted me. He even put up with Angus.

“So how’s your family taking the news that Princess Grace is dating an ex-con?” he asked, grinning a little.

I decided not to tell him about Dad’s eleven-point argument on why Cal was a bad idea or the fact that Mom had already talked to a private investigator. “They’ll get used to it.”

“I guess they thought your cat-wrangling pediatrician was a better choice, huh?”

Those words were Arctic water on my heart. Oh, yeah. Wyatt Dunn, M.D. “Um…well.” I nibbled on a thumbnail.

“Callahan. About that.”

“What?” Cal said, grinning. “Don’t tell me he dropped by for some kissing, too.”

My stomach twisted. “No, no. Um, Cal. As long as we’re talking. I need to tell you something. Something you might not like.” I realized I was chewing my thumb again and put my hands in my lap. Taking a deep breath, I looked into Callahan’s eyes.

The smile slipped off his face, leaving it blank and inscrutable. “Go ahead,” he said silkily.

“Well…this is actually kind of funny,” I said, attempting a chuckle. My heart raced in a manic patter. “Here’s the thing. I…I never actually dated Wyatt Dunn. The doctor. The pediatric surgeon.”

Cal didn’t move. Didn’t even blink.

“Yeah,” I continued, swallowing twice, my mouth dry as Arizona in July. “Um…I…I made him up.”

The only sound was Fritz the Cat, ticking away, and the jingle of Angus’s tags as he snuffled around the kitchen.

Tick…tick…tick.

“You made him up.”

“Well, yeah!” A panicky laugh burst out of my tight throat. “Of course! I mean, come on! You suspected, right? A good-looking, single, straight pediatric surgeon? I could never get a guy like that!”

Oh, boy, did that ever come out wrong.

“But you could get a guy like me.” Callahan’s voice was dangerously calm.

Shit. “I…well, I didn’t mean it that way. I meant that there’s no such animal. He’s…you know. Too good to be true.”

“You made him up,” Cal repeated.

“Mmm-hmm,” I squeaked, clenching my toes in discomfort.

“Tell me, Grace, why would you do something like that?” The calm in his voice was downright ominous.

I didn’t answer for a minute. The day I made up Wyatt Dunn seemed a long, long time ago. “Well, see, we were at a wedding.” As quickly as I could, I told him about the comments, the bouquet toss, Nat in the bathroom. The words fell out of my mouth like hailstones. “I guess I didn’t want Natalie thinking I wasn’t over Andrew,” I said.

“And to be honest—” Cal lifted a sardonic eyebrow but remained silent “—I was tired of everyone looking at me like I was…well, the dog no one wants at the pound.”

“So you lied.” His voice was very quiet. He sat still as a bronze statue, and my heart raced a little faster, making me feel ill. “To your entire family.”

“Well, you know, it made everyone feel better. And Margaret knew,” I mumbled, looking to the floor. “And my friend Julian. And Kiki, actually.”

“I seem to remember you on at least one date with this man,” Cal said. “And flowers…didn’t he send you flowers?”

My face was so hot it hurt. I glanced at Callahan’s face. “I, um, sent them to myself. And…I pretended to be on a date or two.” I winced, then cleared my throat. “Cal, look. It was dumb, I know that. I just wanted everyone to think I was okay.”

“You lied, Grace,” he said, his voice no longer so quiet. Getting a bit loud, in fact, and one could even say rather angry. “I can’t believe this! You lied to me! You’ve been lying for months! I asked you if you were done with that guy, and you said you weren’t seeing him anymore!”