Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay #7)(53)

“Please do,” he said, smiling when she rolled her eyes. “And Sadie?”

“Yeah?”

He pressed into her a little more, wanting to see her eyes go opaque with lust for him the way they had the other night. “We’re going to do this . . .”

“Yes,” she breathed, nodding, tightening her grip.

“And it’s going to be good.”

“I know.” She tried to get a piece of that “good” right now but he pulled back and took her hand, opening the front door again.

Her eyes flew open. “What the—?”

“Date first.”

She stared at him. “So you were just teasing me to, what, drive me wild with lust?”

“Did it work?”

“No.”

He could see her nipples trying to cut through her dress. “Liar.”

She looked down at his obvious erection.

“Hey, I’m not even going to try to deny what you do to me,” he said, and though he was still smiling, he was dead serious.

Her eyes were too. “So a date,” she said. “And then . . . ?”

“Most definitely and then.”

She nodded and walked out the door ahead of him, giving him a peek at the nonexistent back of her dress and he groaned. “It’s going to be a long night.”

“Your own fault,” she said and sashayed that sweet ass down the hall.





Chapter 18




Sadie wasn’t surprised when Caleb pulled up to a gym she’d gone to a couple of times on her friend Molly’s recommendation. She’d actually run into Caleb here a few times, but she preferred her gym, which was much closer to her apartment.

That had been both for convenience and privacy.

Three years ago, after breaking up with Wes and losing her way again, she’d had to change her life up. She’d had to learn some things about herself. Things like self-care. For her, self-care meant working out as a drugless way to fight depression and anxiety and find some peace of mind.

And she’d needed peace of mind badly .

She’d also found her inner girl power at a drop-in kickboxing class. It’d diffused her pent-up emotions like nothing else. After that, she’d taken more and had kept up with it, also taking some actual MMA workshops as well. She’d learned some great wrestling moves that she’d never had to put into action but had done wonders for her butt.

Double win.

She’d given up movies, eating out, and buying new clothes for the gym membership and it’d been about two and a half years now of going at least twice a week. She was both proud and fairly confident she could kick some serious ass if needed.

She looked over at Caleb. “You’re more than a little overdressed for this, still wearing your armor for the day.”

Caleb turned off the car and turned to face her. They’d dropped Lollipop off at his sister Hannah’s house for the night and their date had apparently officially begun. “You’re big on armor,” he said. “Your own. Mine . . .”

She wasn’t sure where he was going with this so she didn’t say anything.

There was a smile on his face but his eyes were very serious. “And you’re right. I’ve got armor, but it’s not my suit. My armor’s my skin, and it’s tough as an elephant hide, born of a life that hasn’t always been easy.”

She knew all about life not being easy, but she still didn’t interrupt him because she wanted him to keep talking forever. For all his effortless charm and charisma, he didn’t really talk about himself much. She was insanely curious to learn more about him—which was a self-revelation she was slowly coming to accept.

“I made a decision once I felt you softening toward me,” he said. “A decision to show you the man beneath my armor.”

This revealing sentence took her a moment to process. “You think I’ve softened for you?”

“I know you have.” His gaze dared her to tell him otherwise, to lie right to his face.

And she could have. She was a good liar when she wanted to be, but she didn’t want to lie to him.

He held her gaze for another beat, giving her the chance to stop this, whatever this was. When she didn’t, he got out of the car and came around for her, taking her gym bag and shouldering it along with his. Then he took her hand and they walked toward the building.

It was located just between Cow Hollow and the marina, on the bottom floor of an old warehouse building. The front was reclaimed wood paneling and patinated decorative hardware, but Sadie bet this place had come by both naturally, weathered by time and use. It was showing its age but also a whole lot of personality with the wide floor-to-ceiling windows and open beam construction. The buildings on either side had been redone in more modern styles, but this one had been left in its original glory.

“I wonder why this one didn’t get renovated.”

“Maybe the owner liked it the way it was.”

“I do too,” she said.

Caleb slowed to a stop. “Me too,” he said in a voice that had her turning her gaze on him.

He’d tilted his head back and was looking up at the gym sign hanging from the second-floor window, hands in his pockets, shoulders back in a carefree, easy stance, but something about it didn’t say carefree or easygoing. He seemed far away and . . . reflective. “When I first started coming here, this place was a dojo.” He took her hand, turning her to the front door.