Cal was right, it wasn’t something to risk. Because, if there was one thing I knew, Brock may be showing up just to mess with my mind, but if he got angry, all bets were off. His calm, cool facade could turn violent in a heartbeat, and being on the receiving end of that was not a place I wanted to be ever again.
“Okay,” I said softly. “You’re right. I’ll go where people are next time.”
“And call me,” he amended.
“Why?”
He glanced down the front of himself with his hands open, like I should understand. “Mass,” he said with a grin. “I guarantee I outweigh him, and I have no problem throwing my weight around.”
He winked, and I smiled. How he did this, I didn’t know. He walked the fine line of control and casual. Alpha and sensitive. He gave me credit, yet played the role of protector. He was so…easy. No mind games. No guessing what his motives were. He simply just told the truth, put it all out there.
Still, keeping reality in my mind was smart. He said he cared about my safety. He likely felt a responsibility toward me because of the kind of man he was—a fighter and protector. Taking that notion too far would only lead to feelings. Something I was trying to stay away from in general.
I took a deep breath and combed my fingers through my hair.
“You looked tired,” he said, tucking a stray lock behind my ear and running his thumb along my cheekbone beneath my eye.
“Thanks for noticing,” I grumbled.
“Aw, don’t get sassy, you’re still hot.”
I laughed. “Gee, thanks.” But his lack of seriousness made the moment more bearable. “I haven’
t been sleeping well. And my thesis takes a lot of time, and I just found out tonight that there’s more that I need to do. Not that I mind, it’s actually a great idea my advisor came up with. I just don’t know who, or where to really start.”
He whistled a low breath. “Sorry, Kitten, I’m going to need some nouns to follow you here. What is it you need to do and who and where and…what?”
I laughed and Cal just smiled. Yeah, I suppose my conversational skills were coming out in less than complete thoughts or sentences. Still, he sat there, listening intently, those blue eyes soft with patience.
“I have to interview a local business owner. Shadow them even, and see how they run their company. It will help round out my project.”
“Wow,” he said.
I nodded. “I just…”
“Don’t know where to start?”
“Yeah.”
“What about starting with the interview?” I was about to tell him that yes, that’s the perfect place to start, but the only two people I knew to interview were not going to happen. But then he added, “My aunt is a small business owner here in Golden. It’s a cleaning service, but she’s pretty successful. I can set up an introduction if you’d like?”
My eyes went wide. “Really? You’d do that?” So much hope lined my voice that even I could hear it. It was a win. Something Cal seemed to be able to deliver on. I wouldn’t have to go into Denver and call around to get on someone’s schedule. All because Cal was willing to help.
He smiled like his day had just changed, and his blue gaze went a little deeper as it focused on me.
“Yeah, of course I would.” His voice was low and soft and made shivers break out over my spine.
“You’ve just made my life so much easier,” I said, before I could think better of it.
“I’m glad. Now I have something serious to ask you.” He leaned in so close that his nose almost brushed mine. My breathing stalled and he grinned, stopping short of actually touching me. “You ever going to admit how much you like kissing me?”
My lips parted thinking about just that. “I ah…admit that it’s complicated.”
“No, it’s not.” He leaned closer. “You like it.”
“I may.”
He raised a brow. “May?” I shrugged a shoulder, and a playful growl escaped his throat. “Sounds kind of like a challenge.”