Bride 2 Be

Chapter 18 - Leaving

Chapter Eighteen
Leaving



LISA INSISTED ON DOING the dishes since he cooked for her, and he was pleased to see her eat instead of pick at her food for a change. After dinner, they sat in the living room making small talk over coffee, sitting next to one another on the cozy green and beige loveseat. Sitting beside her this way seemed so natural, with his arm around her, keeping her close, and Lisa's head resting on his shoulder intermittently. Though all he really wanted to do was take her to bed again, he managed to show restraint—barely. He'd have to fly back to New York tomorrow, yet as much as he was excited to give his presentation to the board, his heart sank thinking about being away from Lisa. He never thought he would be so close to another woman after Jules, but here he was, with Lisa, on the brink of something completely new and significant.

"I was thinking," he began. He had no idea how she would react to his question, but he needed to ask.
"Hmmm," Lisa purred contentedly, snuggling deeper into his chest.

He wondered if she was feeling the same emotions he was, and if so, would she admit it? It puzzled him that she stayed emotionally guarded yet let go freely when they were intimate.

"Why don't you fly back with me tomorrow?"

Lisa sat up and stared at him, her bottom lip hanging open. She closed her mouth to hide her surprise, and her face paled. "You're leaving tomorrow?"

He saw the disappointment that took over her pretty face and suddenly knew she didn't want him to go. "Yes, but you could come with me. It's just a day earlier."

"True, but I already have my ticket."

Cal rested his palm on her thigh, stroking his hand from her knee to mid-thigh and back again. "You can use it another time."

Her eyes closed briefly before she opened them, staring at him. There was no mistaking the intensity of her eyes while desire danced in pools of crystal blue. "Possibly."

Cal inched his face closer to her. "Are you teasing me?" he asked, gently squeezing her thigh.

Lisa blushed but shook her head. "No, I wouldn't do that."

Cal chuckled softly, knowing that that was precisely what she did to him. Couldn't she see that? "I wouldn't mind," he teased back.

Lisa blushed deeper, the light color of her cheeks darkening from a pretty pink to a deep red. He loved knowing this sophisticated woman had such a profound reaction to him. He had to convince her to fly to New York with him. Cal leaned in to brush his mouth over her lips feather-light before his mouth traveled to her jaw, planting delicate kisses along the jawline and moving up toward her ear.

"Come with me," he whispered. "Let me take you back to New York."

"Hmmm," Lisa hummed.

Lisa's cell phone rang, disrupting his persuasive kissing expedition. Lisa pulled back, her eyes in a delightful daze of passion.

"I need to get that," she uttered, slipped away, and moved to the coffee table to grab the phone. She gasped and turned to him. "It's Penny."

Cal knew how much Lisa wanted to speak with her sister. She'd been hoping for two days that Penny would reach out. Now that she finally had, he got up and slipped into the kitchen to give them privacy.

Less than five minutes later, Lisa appeared in a daze. He couldn't tell if the conversation went well or was a disaster. All he knew for sure was that Lisa was in shock.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

She nodded once and reached for the counter.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Two years," Lisa uttered.

Cal looked at her, not understanding what two years meant but knowing he would have to let her digest the information and tell him what she was referring to. Watching her process whatever had her confused was torture. He got up from the table and stood before her, the countertop separating them.

"Go on," he coaxed, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

Snapping her eyes to him, the hazy expression faded as if she had somehow been pushed back to reality.

"Penny and Edward have been secretly dating for two years."

Cal's jaw dropped, and he stared at her. "That can't be right. He was dating that Ginger girl from the Midwest a year ago." Wasn't he?

Lisa gasped. "And Penny was supposedly seeing someone in Kalamazoo." She shook her head, and her eyes closed for a moment. "They've been playing us for two years."

Cal didn't want to believe it, but things were becoming more apparent now.

"Penny is four months along. Four months!" Lisa shouted, turned, and started pacing the small room, her hands balling at her sides. "And now she's the proud owner of Green's Boutique Two, which she wants to rename," she stopped and turned to him. "A Perfect Fit!"

"Catchy," Calvin uttered.

Lisa glared at him. "You think so? She suggested I rename my Boutique. And we all know where she got that bright idea from," Lisa bellowed.

Cal moved around the counter and took Lisa by the arms, halting her from continuing to circle the room.

"What else did she say?" he asked, wondering what else was going on, his gut screaming that there was more.

"Aside from stealing Anna's brainchild and lying and deceiving everyone for two years?"

"I don't quite follow," Cal said. What brainchild? What was he missing? Everything she'd just told him ran through his mind again, and he couldn't make a connection for his life.

"A Perfect Fit. Anna came up with that name wanting to buy into the Boutique and change the name once her clothing line took off, I'd say about two years ago," Lisa acknowledged.

"I hadn't heard about that. I'm assuming the buy-in never happened, just the exclusive rights to the Boutique to sell AO's apparel?"

"Correct." Lisa sighed. "I'm sorry."

Cal looked at her, wondering why she thought she needed to apologize to him. "For?"

"For being ranting like a lunatic," she said.

Cal laughed. "Love, you're not a lunatic, and as far as I'm concerned, you have every right to vent when necessary."

Lisa scowled. Cal pulled her into his arms and held her, kissing the top of her head. It was amazing how much information Lisa learned about Edward and Penny. He wondered when his brother had purchased a store and how no one in his family knew about it, which led him to wonder what else those two were hiding and up to. It was a safe bet that more was going on, making his pitch to the board necessary. He had to get to New York; the sooner, the better, and call a board meeting for tomorrow if possible. Now, if he could only get Lisa to agree to go home with him.


IT WAS JUST AFTER midnight when the plane touched down, and Calvin was excited, unsure if he'd get any sleep tonight, worn out by the day's events. Nolan managed to get him a copy of the mockup Taylor put together, which, along with pricing for both the office space and warehouse and his proposal for the next juncture of this business expansion, had him wanting to dance into that boardroom. But Lisa by his side sent elation through him like a jolt of electricity. He still couldn't believe she'd agreed to come a day early, though he suspected Penny had something to do with that. She was here, and that was good enough for him.

When they reached the hotel, they dropped their bags at the door, got naked, made love again, and climbed into bed exhausted. Having her here, sleeping in his bed and arms, made everything feel right with the universe. He never would've dreamt that his entire world could change so profoundly within a week.

In the morning, he could finally do the one thing he'd longed to do since this all began—he awoke to the sound of her gentle breathing and watched her sleep, still amazed that she was even here. Calvin rolled over onto his side and brushed a stray strand of hair off her face, his fingers itching to trace her eyebrows, nose, jawline, and lips before kissing her awake, but he decided to wait. He wanted to be the first thing she saw when her eyes opened, to look upon her as she greeted the day. Now, if he could suppress every urge to bring her around, it would be the beginning of a beautiful morning.

Cal studied her face, his eyes relishing what his hands wanted to touch. From the slope of her small nose, down and across her kissable lips, and her jawline back up to her ear and that delightful neck where he spent time breathing her in, manipulating her ability to say no when every other part of her screamed yes. She didn't need to tell him that information; he witnessed it firsthand, and that knowledge sent his mind to places of commitment, marriage, children, and a lifetime with Lisa Green at his side.

As he continued to watch her, he noticed her breathing change and her lip tugging in the corner.

"You're staring," she mumbled.

Calvin laughed, "You nymph. How long have you been awake?"

She smiled and opened her eyes; it was the most glorious thing he'd ever seen.

"Long enough to feel your eyes on me. What are you doing?" she asked, staring back at him, puzzled.

Calvin poked the tip of her nose. "I'm watching you sleep because the last few times, you robbed me of that pleasure."

Lisa blushed and sat up in bed. "I highly doubt watching anyone sleep is pleasurable."

He reached for her hand and pulled her back down on the bed. "I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree." Their eyes locked as he stared down at her for a moment, and just like that, his lips landed on hers, powerful and claiming. He had no control when it came to his appetite for her. If Calvin had nothing better to do, he'd stay in bed and love on her for the entire day, but work needed to be addressed, and if he could move that meeting up a day, he would do it.

Pulling back, he smiled. "Good morning, love."

Lisa sighed, reached up, and pulled him back for another kiss.

He hated like hell to stop this, but today was an essential step toward their futures.

Pulling away, he smiled down at her. "We need to get moving," he said.

"There's the pity."

He couldn't help the laugh that followed and then planted one last hard kiss on her mouth. "I need to shower. Feel free to order breakfast."

Calvin got out of bed, stood, stretched, and was ready to head into the bathroom when Lisa's arms wrapped around his waist, and she rested herself against him.

"Take me with you," she whispered, planting delicious kisses up his spine toward his shoulders.

Calvin groaned and was hard-pressed to devise a reason why he shouldn't do just that, though his mind searched for one. He turned, grabbed her hand, and tugged her off the bed. Lisa giggled as they headed through the suite and to the bathroom.

Under the spray of the hot water, Lisa lathered a washcloth and ran it across his shoulder, sending bursts of heat through his body in anticipation of which part of him she would caress next. It still amazed him that these simple things she did cause such a profound reaction in him. Was this the kind of connection his parents had, or was this something even more incredible? He didn't know for sure, but he knew he never wanted it to end.

The washcloth slid down his torso, and she looked at him, her eyes full of wonder, sliding it further down his body to his manhood. Calvin groaned, his eyes slamming shut as the sensations she stirred rushed through him again like a fast-moving river. Every part of him she touched seemed more sensitized than the last, leaving subtle pulsing in their wake. It was sweet torture. How often had he longed for a woman who was just as confidant and knew how to take control like him?

Lisa grasped his hips, spun him around, and pushed him toward the wall of the shower stall. The washcloth moved across his shoulders, down his spine, and back up again before settling on his bottom. She scrubbed in a circular motion before running that cloth into the crevice. Groaning again, he couldn't take it and wanted some fun.

Calvin turned to her, snatched the washcloth from her hands, and washed her body as if in a daze, slowly, deliberately, memorizing every inch of her body before tossing it aside, putting her into the corner, and lifting her enough to gain entrance into her heat. Just the feel of her wrapped around him in every possible way turned this coupling into a mad frenzy as his mouth took liberties with Lisa's neck, then her mouth and back again, her cries of passion echoing off the walls and driving him deeper to the hilt.

Her arms clung around his neck, and her head leaned back as they moved together. Her feet snaked around his knees, keeping Calvin upright and in place as if she feared he would disappear. They climbed the passion ladder, with every thrust pushing them up another rung, until the reached the top. The first wave hit, and still, he wanted more of her; he couldn't see himself ever getting enough.

Cresting over the pinnacle, he reached for the wall for support, nuzzled her neck, and whispered, "I love you."

Lisa froze in his arms, her legs slipping down his until she stood. She stared at him, her mouth open, and for a brief second, he thought she would reciprocate. His heart drummed so loudly that Calvin figured he wouldn't hear her even if she said the words.

"What did you say?" she asked.

Cal closed his eyes briefly. Either she was shocked and heard exactly what he said, or his voice was muffled, and she didn't hear him clearly. He didn't know what the right thing to say was now. The last thing he would want to do is drive her away by moving so fast, but his heart told him she felt the same.