I frown at the change in tense. Was?
“He told me to just give up and basically I’m not part of his life,” he clarifies, and my hand flies to my mouth with shock. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me, no matter how hard I’ve tried all of these years.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, and I want to go and hug him, but I stay where I am. I’m surprised I haven’t dropped my fucking coffee from the shock.
He waves my comment off with his hand, and I can see he’s struggling with Danny’s decision. And then something inside of me burns for him, for seeing him like this and knowing that Danny has hurt him.
“His mother did a grand job of turning him against me, and no matter what I tell him, he just won’t listen. He’s an adult now, and if he was ever going to change his mind, he would have done it already.”
“He spoke to me about you briefly. Mentioned that you’d abandoned him, didn’t want anything to do with him, and basically you dropped his mum when she got pregnant, but that never tallied up with the Caleb I knew,” I tell him, because I feel like he needs to hear that not everyone sees him the way Danny does.
And I see the first hint of a smile gracing his face as a little of the sadness disappears, and I decide to say more. “We may have only known each other a few weeks back then, Caleb, but I know that you’re a good man. You fight for the ones you love, you stand by those that mean the most to you—”
“Except I didn’t, did I?” he says quietly, cutting me off, the sadness returning, and I gulp as a lump forms in my throat. “I didn’t fight for you, and I let my fears push you away.”
“Caleb…” I whisper, as tears sting the backs of my eyes.
“No, it’s the truth. I was a coward. I took what I thought was the best option, the easiest option, and I let you go, but the fire inside of me that burns for you never died. I never stopped wanting you, Cameron, and I swear, I will make it up to you for the rest of our lives.”
Words get stuck as I hear what he’s saying.
“I will never fully forgive myself for letting you go, and I know it was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”
And whoosh, the air bursts out of my lungs.
“But I don’t want to live in the past anymore. I want to look to the future, to us, to what I know is going to be a fucking epic love.”
Epic love.
Jesus.
He’s come in here and totally floored me.
“I want to live. And I want to do that with you.”
“And… when Danny comes to his senses and wants you in his life, what would we do then?” I have to ask, because I can’t put my all into this if there’s a chance that he will give up on me.
“Then he’ll have to deal with it. I don’t want us to hide, Cameron. I want everyone to know that you’re mine and I’m yours. Hell, I’ll put a fucking banner outside of these offices if you want me to,” he says, and I chuckle. “I’m putting us first, which is something I should have done before now, but what can I say, I’m an idiot guy who fucked up spectacularly.”
“Yeah, I’m not gonna argue with that last part,” I say with a smile, because even with the heaviness of the topic, I know that he’s trying to make amends the only way he knows how. By showing me his truth. By wearing his heart on his sleeve. And I need to take a leap of faith if we are ever going to make a real go of this, us.
“So, we’re doing this?” he asks.
I’m out of my chair and rounding the desk, and he’s standing up, pulling me into his arms when I reach him. And then his lips are on mine, both of us taking what we need—each other.
And when we pull back, I say, “We’re doing this.” The smile that breaks out on his face is so fucking big, and I mirror it before cheekily adding, “If you’re meaning that we make things official, that is.”
He growls and lifts me until I’m sitting on the desk, and he’s standing between my legs. Thank fuck for flowy skirts, huh? “Fuck yes I am.” And then he slams his mouth back on mine and time just seems to get away from us both, until I’m finally reminding him that we’re at work, and then he invites me to his for dinner, again, and I can’t help but bite my bottom lip as I watch him walk out of the door… I’m more than ready for another trip to the snug.
ChapterThirty-One
Caleb
There is literally no place I would rather be right now than in my kitchen, with Cameron, my lips on her neck and her moaning as I pepper kisses over her skin.
I was cooking us dinner, but she’s more delicious than any fucking meal, so the curry currently sits on the stove, simmering away. It could burn for all I fucking care, because when she reaches up and runs her hands through my hair, I just want to take her and worship her until she’s begging me to stop because it’s all too much.
“Caleb,” she whimpers, her voice all breathless and making my dick hard.