Every Kiss (17 page)

He stops with a little more gusto than necessary and looks
in the rearview mirror at me with one eyebrow cocked. “Oh yeah?”

“I hate you both. Shut up and drive.”

They burst into laughter as the car lurches forward, pulling
out into traffic. The wrong way.

“Where are we going? Shouldn’t we have turned left?”

“No, we have to go back to my parents’ house. I promised we’d
have brunch. Mom has been cooking all morning.”

Makenna’s head whips in my direction, and she wiggles her
eyebrows. “And maybe Wes will stay, too.”

Damn it. He’s the last person I want to see right now. And
I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to see me either. Now, I’m going to have to
spend half my day with a fake smile plastered to my face, in the company of a
man that couldn’t even give me the courtesy of driving me home this morning.
And his entire family. Perfect.

I’m suddenly at a loss for why I thought all of this was
such a good idea. I told myself it wouldn’t be a big deal. I knew it would end.
I knew it would really suck. But after just one night, why do I even care? Just
a few hours ago, I was tangled in the sheets with that man, knowing full well that
it was over before it ever started. But damn it, leave it to me to make that
kind of stupid arrangement with a guy that I actually really like.

“Does Wes know you came to pick me up?”

Shane glances at me in the mirror. “Nope. Mom said he and
Dad were up in the office talking about something. But I didn’t ever see him.”

So he doesn’t even know I’m coming. Just great. “You didn’t
tell your mom you were picking me up from Wes’ house, did you?”

“She didn’t ask, and I didn’t tell.” Shane laughs. “But
she’s not stupid. We learned long ago not to hide anything from her. She always
knows. I promise you, though, she won’t think anything of it.”

“Good.” I point my finger at each of them. “You two better
behave yourselves.”

When they only respond by laughing at me, I know they’re
going to be nothing but trouble. This is going to be the longest day of my
life.

When Shane turns the car onto their street, I squint my
eyes, searching for signs of Wes’ vehicle and praying that he’s long gone. But
after spotting the slick black jeep in the front of the house, I slump back
into my seat, running through a list of possible greetings when I inevitably
run into him. What the hell am I supposed to say to him? How do I act?

But I can’t let this be weird, or everyone there will know
exactly what’s going on. I have to keep cool. I have to act the same way as I
did before all of this happened. Back to the way things were before I could
imagine his mouth on every inch of my body.

Yeah, no big deal at all. Right.

“Callie, sweetheart, it’s so nice to see you again,” Mrs.
Baxter gushes as soon as we walk through the door, rushing up to greet me with
an enthusiastic embrace. “I’m so glad you’ve decided to join us for brunch.”

“Thank you. It’s lovely to see you again, too.”

“This used to be somewhat of a Sunday tradition around here,
but now that the boys are all grown up, it’s so rare anymore. And now, they
each have a lovely young lady at their side. It’s about time we evened the
score a little. After being the only woman at the table for all these years,
I’m just excited to have more to talk about than sports scores.”

She’s not kidding; she’s practically bursting with it. But
then again, something tells me that she’s always this energetic and
plain-spoken. She’s a small woman—about my size—but she’s as big as life. The
way she carries herself, her smile, her demeanor. It all plays a part in the
impact she has on everyone around her. She’s incredibly kind, but I can tell
she’s a very no-nonsense kind of person, too. She’s a force to be reckoned
with.

“Is there something I can do to help you, Mrs. Baxter?”

Shane snickers. “You just said a four-letter word—help.
Guests aren’t allowed to use that word in this house.”

“Honey, you can call me Eve.” She smacks Shane on the back
of the head. “Don’t listen to Shane. He just knows how neurotic I can be. As a
matter of fact, you
can
help me. We can get to know each other while we
chop the fruit for the salad. Shane and Makenna, you can be dears and set the
table in the dining room for me.”

Great. Now, I’ve opened myself up to be in the kitchen with
their mom. Alone. “Sure.”

After I wash my hands, she places a cutting board and knife
at the end of the island and sets a bowl of fruit between us. “Okay, just chop
it into bite-sized pieces and toss it into that glass bowl. Simple enough?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Although, I’ve never really chopped fruit
before. How hard could it possibly be? I’ll just watch her and do whatever she
does.

Eve plucks an apple from the bowl and gracefully slips the
knife just underneath the skin, shearing it away and leaving only the juicy,
white flesh behind. Umm, I think I’ll start with a banana. “So, Callie, Wes has
told me a little about you. You know, when I first started college, I was
actually an early childhood education major, too. It wasn’t until my second
year that I took that great big U-turn into interior design.”

“Really? I’ve always wanted to teach. I can’t see myself
doing anything different.”

“Well, I don’t know you very well, but if you can put up
with my Wesley for very long, I know you definitely have the patience for it.
He’d try the patience of Mother Teresa.”

I feel the corners of my mouth curl up in a soft grin. I
think she and I will get along just fine. “No truer words have ever been
spoken.”

She tosses two large handfuls of perfectly cubed apples into
the bowl, and I’m just now finished with the first banana. “He’s a tough nut to
crack sometimes, but if you’re persistent, he’ll split wide open.”

Why do I get the feeling she wanted to get me alone to give
me relationship advice? This must be some sort of “how to date my son and live
to tell about it” seminar. “Maybe you’re right. But he also has more than one
shell. You might crack through one, but there are plenty more layers behind
it.”

“Callie,” she begins, dropping her knife in the bowl and
wiping her hands on a towel, “If you’ve already figured that out, it means that
you’ve
seen
those layers. So many people don’t. Look, I’ve heard you’re
a straight-shooter, and so am I. Let me level with you, okay? I know my son enough
to know that he really likes you. He hasn’t talked to me about a girl since
high school, and he actually told me about you a few days ago.”

This conversation just went from light to heavy without me
even realizing it. “We’re just friends. It’s nothing serious.”

“Maybe not now, but it has some definite potential. He
thinks he’s in control of his life and knows everything that he wants. I know
all about his ‘no relationship’ rule, and I know why he feels that way. I’m
sure you’ve already figured out that, at some point, he’s going to run. If you
really want to be his friend, don’t let him. If one person would chase him, if
they’d show him that quitting isn’t an option, then maybe he could break this
cycle. Even if you aren’t interested in a romantic relationship with Wes, just
showing him that you care enough to fight to keep him in your life . . . it
would be a major breakthrough for him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I scrape my pile of banana into
the bowl and contemplate what she said as I start slicing another one. I can’t
help feeling that this conversation is one of desperation. She wants her son to
be happy. She wants him to break free of the chains holding him captive in his
own dark soul. I wonder if she has this conversation with every girl he brings
over, just begging anyone to help her save him.

Eve sinks her knife into an orange, pausing midway through
to look up at me. “I know you went home with him last night. And I’m not
telling you this to make you ashamed. I know about it because he told me you
did. He also confessed to leaving you there this morning. Never, ever would
Wesley feel the need to talk to me about something like that. He wanted my
advice. Whether he takes it or not will be a different story. But when I found
out you were coming here this morning, I knew I had to get you alone to talk.
Regardless of what he says, regardless of how he acts, Callie, you’ve made a
deep impression on him.”

“Well, he’s made quite the impression on me, too. I’ll
certainly try to keep everything you’ve said in mind.”

She flashes a glance behind me and straightens, resuming her
meticulous orange slicing. “Good. And the secret ingredient to my sauce that
goes over the top is marshmallow fluff. It gives it the perfect amount of
sweetness to balance the tart of the fruit.”

“Callie?” Wes’ voice is edged with surprise.

I spin around so fast that I fling a chunk of banana onto
the floor. “Oh, hey.” He’s in his casual uniform of jeans and a black t-shirt
today, and his hair is perfectly mussed on top, as always. But his eyes cut
right through me, almost accusing.

“I’m going to go check on Shane and Makenna. Be right back,
doll.” Eve scrambles away to give us a moment in private, I’m sure.

“Sorry,” I whisper, wiping my hands off and turning to him.
“I had Shane and Makenna pick me up, but they brought me back here, saying they
promised to have brunch. I didn’t know until we were on our way here. I swear.”

He shrugs. “You don’t have to apologize. I came by to meet
with my dad on a few things and Mom talked me into staying to eat, but I’ll be
leaving right after.”

“Okay, well, I just didn’t want you to give you the
impression that I’m stalking you or something.”

“I didn’t think that,” Wes says coolly, his facial
expression not giving even a hint of emotion. “Before I leave, though, we need
to talk.”

I hate when people say that. “I know.”

He gives a terse nod and walks out the back door toward the
guest house, probably avoiding me at all costs until he absolutely has to be in
my presence.

I can’t blame him; I feel a lot more comfortable with him
out of the room, too. To be honest, it’s a relief because, when he’s not
around, I don’t have to pretend. I don’t have to pretend that the way he’s
acting isn’t a slap in the face. I don’t think I realized just how much this
would suck. Just hours ago, I was in his arms, lost in perfect oblivion with
him. His hands never left me; the desperation we shared kept us clinging to
each other as if the world would end if the connection was broken.

But the world hasn’t ended. It just completely stopped. Like
everything I thought I wanted is hanging in the balance, just waiting for even
a hairline fracture in his stone exterior. Unfortunately, though, what I
thought had cracked has a new layer right over the top of it, just reinforcing
what I’d worked hard to chip away. Not that I’d ever tell her this, but I think
his mom is wrong. Just because he asked her for advice about me doesn’t
necessarily mean that he’d be willing to free his demons long enough to give us
a real chance.

I don’t think he’s all that taken with me, really. I think
he’s just flummoxed by me. The usual types he dates are more than willing to
agree to whatever he says and spread their legs when he asks them to. I can’t
help wondering if he sees me as a challenge because I don’t roll over like a
trained dog. He admitted to me that he likes power and control, so I think all
I am to him is something to conquer.

And he did last night. I let him win. Now he’s done.

I thought I saw his walls come down because that’s what I
wanted to see. I only imagined that we shared any feelings on a deeper level.
Most likely, it was all part of his game, sealing the deal to get me underneath
him like he wanted all along. I thought he was a good guy, but he’s only a
player. And I was just another one of his conquests. I should’ve picked up on
all of that when I figured out he’s hiding the fact that he has a child.

“You ready to help me get everything to the table?” Eve
sweeps back into the room. “I’ll just finish the fruit salad while you start
carrying everything in there, and we’ll be ready to eat.”

“Okay,” I say, breaking my trance.

Wes still hasn’t appeared again by the time everything is
set out on the table and we’re all about to be seated. The massive dining table
seats eight, but one chair from each side has been moved back against the wall.
Shane and Makenna take the two seats on one side, so I take the one directly
across from Makenna, leaving one chair to my left and one at each end. This
way, all of the women can be at one end and the men at the other.

“The other two guys should be on their way. I sent Robert to
let Wesley know it’s time to eat.” Just as I thought, Eve takes the space on
the end between Makenna and me. “Shane, if you would, pass the juice around, so
we can start filling glasses while we wait.”

“Yes ma’am,” he says politely and, like a gentleman, fills
Makenna’s glass before standing to fill his mother’s and mine before returning
to his seat to pour some in his own. I guess the hospitality training stuck
with this one, too.

A giant of a man fills the door frame, and a gleaming smile
stretches across his face. “I bet you’re Callie.” He steps forward to offer his
hand to me.

“Yes, sir. I am.” I stand to greet him, craning my neck to
look up at him. Wes’ biological mother may be tall, but I think this is who he
got the real height from. Their stature is exactly the same, the width of their
shoulders, the lean and lanky build. And those trademark Baxter eyes look even
more aquamarine against his olive skin. Maybe my Greek god reference about Wes
isn’t too far off base because his dad seems to have more than a little
Mediterranean in his blood.

He squeezes my hand before releasing it. “I’m Robert. Nice
to meet you, finally. Makenna talks about you all the time, so I feel like
you’re already a part of the family.” He motions to my chair. “Why don’t we get
started? Wes will be here in just a moment.”