For His Forever (11 page)

Kallie looked down at her. “Same here. You’ve been kind of like a sister to me.”

The admission seemed to embarrass her. “Sorry, I get super cheesy and emotional sometimes. I didn’t mean to go all dramatic on you.”

Nicole laughed. “I never had a sister either, so…maybe it’s good fortune we met when we did.”

Shortly after Kallie left the room, Red came in carrying his laptop and some files.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he said, grinning.

“This looks official,” Nicole said, as he put the stuff down on the bed and leaned in to kiss her.

“It is. Very official business. I realized that I actually do need to get some work done while we’re here, but I also want to be with my wife. This is what’s called a good old-fashioned compromise.” He pulled himself up to the headboard and sat with his back against it, the computer propped up on his lap.

“That looks like fun.”

He glanced at her. “Do you need anything?” He peered over and saw that she had a full glass of water. “Hungry?”

“I think Kallie’s going to fix dinner soon.”

He whistled through his teeth. “She’s really running a tight ship around here. I have to say, I’m kind of impressed.”

Nicole nodded. “It’s like she anticipates my every need. She’s so helpful and sweet and—“

“And maybe she should stay on for awhile,” Red finished.

Nicole looked over at him. “I thought you said having her around was a bad idea.”

“I’ve been wrong before,” he replied, pecking away at his laptop.

It was funny how slow he typed for a man of his abilities and achievements.

Nicole found it rather adorable.

“You’ve been wrong before? You don’t say.”

“I do. I do say, actually.” He smiled at her. “What do you think about it?”

“About Kallie staying on to be my nurse maid?”

Red laughed. “About her staying on to help out around here while you recover.

She’s doing a good job so far and, frankly, we could use the assistance. Work’s picking up and I don’t like the idea of not being able to give you the care you need.”

Nicole sighed. “I’m fine, Red.”

He just looked at her. They both knew she wasn’t fine.

“Well, what do you think?”

“It’s a good idea. We can pay her and give her a place to live and maybe it will allow her to continue on in New York, instead of being forced to go back home.”

“Then it’s settled,” he said.

“First, we check and see if she even wants to stay on.”

“Oh, right. I forgot.” He began pecking away at his keyboard.

***

Kallie hadn’t been able to get Hunter Reardon out of her mind. Even now, as she started prepping for the Chicken Piccata she was making for dinner, she kept thinking back to last night.

The way he’d looked at her, the way he’d touched her. It was real, wasn’t it? It wasn’t just her imagination.

She seasoned the chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper and dredged them in flour. Then she paused to return to her memory of the pool, the feeling of his hands on her thighs, the sounds of the water splashing her skin. The feel of Hunter’s body heat mingling with her own heat—and hadn’t she hoped that it could burn even hotter?

She’d kept her phone on her and checked it almost incessantly, in between helping to care for Nicole. Silently, she berated herself for being more concerned with Hunter’s call than she had been for Nicole’s health.

Shaking her head, Kallie washed her hands and started the burner under the large skillet. Added some butter and olive oil, watched it begin to heat.

Once it was sizzling, she took a fork and stabbed the chicken breast and tossed it into the pan, where it began to cook. She repeated this process for a second breast. The smell was already making her mouth water.

She took out her cell and checked it again. Nothing.

Did he forget her number? She should have written it down or had him plug it into his phone. Was it really so hard for a brilliant author to remember a few silly digits?

Unless…unless maybe he wasn’t going to call.

Kallie refused to think about that possibility. She turned the chicken breasts over, noting their nicely browned outer layers. Perfect. If only everything could be that perfect, that easy.

“Hey, Kallie.”

She looked up, startled, to see Nicole’s husband in the entrance to the kitchen, watching her cook.

“Oh. Hi.” She smiled, wondering what he wanted. Red didn’t tend to speak to her very much, so she knew it was probably something important. Probably he was coming to tell her that with Nicole feeling unwell, she’d have to leave.

“I thought maybe we could chat for a second. Will it put a crimp in the meal if we chat while you make the food?”

“Not at all,” she said, bracing herself for the news. It would almost be like getting fired a second time. Granted, she ran away from her other job, but somehow it felt as though she’d been fired anyway.

“So, obviously things have been kind of hectic and all over the place for everyone lately,” Red told her. “You’ve been dealing with changes, Nicole and I have been dealing with changes.”

“Of course,” Kallie said. “But what’s most important is Nicole’s health.” Part of her just wanted him to get it over with already. Now she’d definitely have to leave and go back to Ohio, and there would be no hope for anything between her and Hunter Reardon.

As silly as it was, her heart sank mostly because of that.

“Well, Nicole and I talked it over, and we’d like to offer you a more formal position here at the house.”

She just stood there for a long while, shocked. And then she smelled the chicken and realized it was about to burn. So she took the breasts out of the pan and laid them on a plate, where they continued to sizzle and crackle.

“What kind of formal position?” she asked, as the shock wore off.

“We’d like you to stay on and just help out like you’ve been doing. You’ll be paid by the week and you’ll get two days off per week as well.”

“Wow,” she said, completely stunned by the offer. “That’s so kind of you. I mean, it would be great to be able to stay. What would I be paid?”

“Does fifteen hundred a week sound about right?”

“Absolutely.” She couldn’t contain the surprise and happiness in her voice. After all, she’d made only a thousand a week working for the Danvers family, and she’d been taking care of two children and doing all of the cooking, cleaning, laundry—plus the parents had been assholes.

Red smiled. “Great. So, welcome aboard, Kallie.” He turned to leave and then stopped, turning back to her. “You understand that this position is only going to last until Nicole has the baby. Is that okay with you?”

Kallie nodded. “Absolutely!” That seemed to be the only word that could come out of her mouth right now.

Red smiled perfunctorily and then turned on his heel and left the kitchen.

Okay, so Nicole’s husband still wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy, but he liked her enough to offer her the job—and she knew Nicole was happy with her being around.

Kallie did a little fist pump and then a dance move or two, before starting the next couple of pieces of chicken on the skillet.

In her head, she calculated what she’d clear in two months of work—just about twelve thousand dollars. And her room and board would be taken care of too, so that would be twelve thousand bucks
free and clear
.

She took her cell out and checked it for the millionth time. Nothing.

Despite the good fortune of getting an awesome job offer when she most needed it, a little of the wind was taken out of her sails.

She knew Hunter would contact her at some point, she knew it. She just hoped it would be soon.

***

Kallie couldn’t believe it had been a week.

A week that had been, by turns amazing and horrible. Working for Nicole was great. First of all, she really did feel like a sister, and a friend. They talked and laughed all the time, except when Nicole wasn’t feeling well—which hadn’t been as much lately.

She seemed to be improving with time and her blood pressure was slowly getting better.

The awful parts came unexpectedly, like when Red went to Brad and Trina’s house to pick up the rest of Kallie’s stuff, and he came home having had strong words with both of the parents. He refused to even tell Kallie what they’d accused her of, but the look on Red’s face told her that he was less than happy about having to deal with them.

Another great moment came earlier that day when Nicole had cut Kallie’s first check, and given her a bonus out of nowhere. “You earned this,” she’d said.

The check amount was two thousand dollars. Two thousand dollars for basically hanging around an amazing house, cooking great food, and spending time with someone she’d have spent time with for free. Not too shabby.

But then there was another bad thing—A call from her nanny agency stating that they would no longer be attempting to place her with new families. Clearly, that had been a result of Brad or Trina making an irate phone call. But Kallie hadn’t helped matters, since she’d never alerted her company to the situation. She’d been too scared to deal with the recriminations and possible accusations that would likely have flown her way.

And now, as she drove to the little ice cream parlor, Scoop du Jour, Kallie couldn’t help but think about that other bad thing—the one that had been occupying far too much space in her mind of late.

Hunter Reardon.

He hadn’t called her, and by this point it had been too long for her to continue fooling herself. He hadn’t called and he wouldn’t call, and the summer fantasy was officially over and done with. She had grieved the loss of a man she’d never really gotten to know, and the fantasy that she wasn’t able to actualize.

She’d spent a couple of sleepless nights wondering why he’d acted as if he’d liked her that night, only to disappear without a trace afterward. No, it wasn’t anything so inexplicable, when she really considered it. Hunter Reardon was probably just a jerk.

Main Street was crowded this time of day, and so Kallie was forced to park quite a few blocks away from the ice cream parlor. She didn’t mind. It was gorgeous and the street was so cute, everyone was out in their shorts and sunglasses, parents pushing strollers, people walking dogs, biking, and everyone seemed to be smiling.

Kallie wondered if Hunter Reardon would be smiling if he were with her right now. And then she told herself (not for the first time either) to knock it off. He didn’t really like her. What did she know about him?

Well, she knew he was quick to throw a punch. At the time, it had seemed like a good thing, chivalrous even. Now, looking back, she figured he was probably just a violent hothead who needed little excuse to punch someone’s lights out.

Kallie smiled at a passing couple with a tiny baby in a stroller. They smiled back at her. They looked happy, complete. A piece of her heart cried out, why can’t I have what they have? The same thing she thought endlessly while watching Nicole and Red stare lovingly into each other’s eyes day after day.

If there was a downside to working for such an awesome couple, it might be the fact that it highlighted just how lacking she was in that department.

Hunter Reardon wasn’t going to fill that void, she realized. He was a pipe dream, smoke and mirrors. When he’d seemed so caring in the bathroom, touching her so gently, staring into her eyes—it was just him playing her. He was some sort of Hollywood mover and shaker on top of being a successful writer, and it was likely that he’d learned how to tell women exactly what they wanted to hear.

Exactly what he needed them to believe if he was going to find a way into their pants on a first date.

I feel like I’ve known you my entire life.

Kallie had replayed the moment he’d said that over and over again in her head—

until the memory had worn so thin as to be completely robbed of any emotional charge.

Now, when she thought back on it, she realized that this had been just another lame line he’d likely used on dozens of unassuming women.

And to think, if Red hadn’t intruded on the moment, that there was no telling how far she’d have gone with Hunter. She’d wanted him
that
badly.

There were a few people sitting and standing just outside the entrance of Scoop Du Jour, eating waffle cones and sundaes and looking generally happy to be alive.

Kallie was figuring to be one of the happy eaters momentarily. She walked inside and looked up at the menu board, trying to figure out whether she wanted a waffle cone or a sundae. The line was long enough, but moving quickly.

As she considered her order, Kallie was suddenly struck by an intense feeling of being watched. And out of the corner of her eye, she saw him. Everything happened so quickly that she didn’t even realize that she’d already recognized him before he’d even spoken.

“Kallie?” he said, walking toward her, waffle cone in hand.

Her legs were rooted to the floor and her heart was pounding. Hunter Reardon was there—in the ice cream parlor, talking to her.

She was mortified. It was like her dream—her nightmare—everything had come together like magic and manifested this demon in the flesh. “Hi Hunter,” she said softly, barely turning to look at him.

She could sense him though. His presence was so strong, so intoxicating, that she could barely keep from staring at him. He was wearing white shorts and a gray t-shirt, very casual. Everything seemed to fit him in a way that it looked thrown on, yet planned—as if a stylist might have worked hours and hours to create the perfect “thrown together” look for a photo shoot.

“What are you doing here?”

She pointed to the board. “Pretty self explanatory, I think.”

He laughed. “Yeah, dumb question.”

The line moved forward and he moved with her. She sighed and looked away, hoping he’d just go. It was too painful seeing him here, knowing that for him this was just another chance encounter, another opportunity to use his magnetism to make her want him, while he stayed pleasantly aloof.

“The waffle cones here are amazing,” he told her.

“So I’ve heard.” Now she definitely wasn’t getting one, even though it looked and even smelled awesome.