To Love a Player (16 page)

We walked into the house and found Eli stirring something on the stove. It smelled delicious. Lacey peeked over his shoulder and said, "Looks like Dad made his famous macaroni and cheese for lunch today!"

"Yum!" the kids all squealed. Elly smiled at me as she said, "My dad makes the best macaroni and cheese ever. It's so good!"

Eli smiled at me, holding out a small spoonful. I gingerly took a bite off of it and it felt like it melted in my mouth, it was by far the best thing I think I had ever eaten. I nodded as I finished and smiled, "Yum, that is good!"

"Thank you Mollie, I'm glad that you think so," Eli smiled and then stuck out his hand to Marnie as he flashed her a charming smile, "Hi, I'm Elliot, but you can call me Eli."

"I'm Marnie," she said and added, "Mollie's best friend."

"It's nice to meet you, Marnie," he said, smiling warmly at her. I noticed him slowly look her over as she turned around and helped Lacey with the kids. Was he seriously checking out my best friend? I was a little weirded out by that thought. His gaze slowly focused on me and I saw him flash me a flirty smile, so I gave him a small look of disgust. He just shrugged and turned back to the stove. I was shocked that he would do that, let alone with his wife and children in the same room.

I shuddered slightly as I walked away from him. Eli was attractive, with piercing blue eyes and a toned body for a man of his age, but for him to be openly checking out Marnie was disturbing. Lacey gave me a curious glance as I sat down at the table. I realized that my face must have been scrunched in disgust, so I quickly flashed her a smile. She looked at her husband and I noticed her eyes harden slightly. She must be aware of his wandering eyes. She didn't deserve that.

After lunch, Lacey showed Marnie her in-house studio. Marnie looked around it in complete awe, touching everything that Lacey had sitting out. Lacey smiled as she asked, "Is Marnie a fashion student?"

I nodded, "She's minoring in fashion design."

"Hey, Marnie," Lacey said as a broad smile crossed her face. Marnie turned slowly to look at her and asked, "Yes?"

"How would you like to work on a project with me? I have a show in New York in a couple weeks and could use an extra set of hands," Lacey said and you could almost hear Marnie's jaw dropping to the floor as her eyes flew open wide. She was so shocked she was speechless, but she gave Lacey the biggest and tightest hug possible. Lacey laughed as she patted her on the back and asked, "Is that a yes?"

"Oh my gosh, that would be so amazing!" Marnie said and I could see tears forming in her crystal blue eyes. I gave her a heartwarming smile as she hugged me. I was happy for her and I knew that her mom was going to be ecstatic.

"I'll get your information and email you the details of what I need you to do," Lacey said, pulling out her phone and got Marnie's contact information. When she was finished, she said, "I'll need you to come to my office at least once or twice a week to get familiar with it, too. Is that going to be a problem? I will pay gas and mileage and you can stay over with Mollie if you need to."

"No, it won't be a problem, I can be here," Marnie smiled as she hugged Lacey again. I tugged her off of her and thanked Lacey as I steered her out of the studio. She needed to get home and I needed to get ready for my date.

19

Callen

Everything was perfect. The four tiki torches that were on each corner of the blanket that I had spread out on the beach were lit. The luminaries along the dock were glowing bright and the canoe tied at the end of it, rocked lazily against the dock. The picnic basket on the blanket was set perfectly in the middle, just waiting to be opened. I just hoped that she liked what I had prepared.

I looked at my watch and knew that I needed to get back to the house to get her. All of a sudden, a wave of nervousness hit me like a ton of bricks. What if she thinks this is all too much? I looked around, wondering if I should take some of it down. I checked out the scene once more and rubbed the back of my neck. I took in a deep breath and decided that I would just walk away or else I was going to drive myself crazy.

I trotted over to the driveway where my jeep sat. I started it and drove back to the house. Before I got out, I grabbed the beautiful bouquet of Forget-Me-Nots off the front seat. I felt my nerves kicking in as I stood on the front porch, my finger hesitantly hovering over the doorbell. I had decided earlier today that since this was an official first date that I couldn't just walk in, I had to ring the doorbell.

Before my brain could talk me out of it, I quickly pressed the button and heard the bell ring inside the house. I waited, holding my breath, while she came to answer it.

"You look amazing!" Marnie said as she stepped back to observe her work. She had spent the afternoon with me helping me get ready and she had just finished putting the final touches of my make-up on. I smiled at her in the mirror and she said, "I do great work, don't you think?"

"Yes," I said, looking at how the grey eyeshadow sparkled in the light. I loved how it brought out the gray in my dark blue eyes. The make-up was light, but it highlighted all of my facial features just perfectly. My navy blue halter top flowed nicely over my body, hitting every curve in just the right spots and my khaki shorts showed off my toned legs.

I stood up and gave her a hug after she had gathered all of her stuff. She squeezed me back and said, "I expect to hear details about this tomorrow, got it?"

"Of course!" I laughed as I linked my arm through her elbow. We heard the doorbell ring and I gave her a curious look. She gave me a knowing smile as she said, "There's your Prince Charming."

I smiled at her nervously and the butterflies in my stomach threatened to take off as we got closer to the door. I was glad that Marnie was still here, I would have been a nervous wreck if I had to be in the house by myself waiting. I took a deep breath before I opened the door to a bouquet of my favorite flowers. Marnie opened her mouth and I quickly shot her a look before she could ruin the moment. She closed it as she bit back a soft smile.

She kissed me on the cheek and whispered, "Have fun, love you!"

My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest as I waited. It felt like an eternity from the time that I pushed the doorbell to when she opened the door, looking incredibly beautiful. I swallowed nervously as her eyes widened at the flowers and she gave me a heartwarming smile. I noticed Marnie's mouth start to open, so I flashed her a look and noticed that Mollie had done the same. Marnie smiled softly and kissed Mollie on the cheek before stepping out the door.

She touched my arm and stood on her tiptoes to give me a kiss on my cheek. I smiled when I heard her whisper in my ear, "Nice job with the flowers."

I gave her a soft smile as she waved at the both of us and left. I turned my attention back to Mollie, who was smelling the flowers, her eyes closed as she inhaled the sweet scent. She opened her eyes slowly to look at me and said, "They're beautiful, Cal."

I felt my smile spread slowly across my face as I gazed at her. I studied her eyes as I said, "You're beautiful, Mollie."

She bit back a wide smile and I pulled her to me, leaning in, kissing her softly. I pulled away, reluctantly, and said, "Let's put these in water and go for a walk."

"I thought that we were going on a date?" she asked as she looked at me in confusion. I kissed her forehead before I went to find a vase and said, "We are."

I set the flowers in the vase and she let out a soft laugh as she said, "Flowers twice this weekend, Cal. What are your player friends going to think of you now?"

"They would say that I'm whipped, but honestly, I don't care," I said, pulling her to me. I brushed a strand of her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her eyes shone with adoration and I knew that mine reflected the same. I utterly, wholeheartedly adored her. She had changed me and I knew that I had fallen for her the moment I ran into her. Wow, that seemed so long ago. I never knew how much my life would change after that moment, but I was glad that it did.

I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss as I said, "Come on, I have something to show you."

He took my hand and I could feel the electric current that seemed to spark whenever we touched jolt through my body. We set out in the warm summer night air as we walked silently side by side, hand in hand. We walked along the route that we usually ran down, so I knew exactly where we were going. I bit back a smile as we traveled down the familiar route, it was perfect.

I looked over at him, smiling softly as I looked him over. It was weird that I had really only known him for about a month, it seemed longer than that and if someone had told me then that I would be here in this moment now, I would have thought they were crazy. My feelings for him then were so different than what my feelings were for him now. I couldn't explain it, but I felt complete when I was with him. I had never really believed in all that stuff about finding your other half, but I could see now that it was possible. I had completely fallen for him—hook, line, and sinker. I just hoped that my heart wouldn't get broken because of it.

When we came to the lake, I felt my mouth drop open and felt my heart melt. I looked over at him and noticed his nervous smile. I pulled him to a stop and caressed his face before kissing him. I showed him how appreciative I was of his hard work. The lights were beautiful and it was so sweet of him to go to this much trouble.

"It looks amazing, thank you," I said when we parted from the kiss. He looked deep in my eyes as he asked, "You really like it?"

"Yes," I said and he led me down the path to the sandy beach where a large blanket was spread out over the sand. We sat down on the blanket and he gave me a serious look as he asked, "You don't happen to have any food allergies, do you? I mean, I didn't prepare anything that is unusual, but I just want to make sure."

I shook my head and watched as he breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the basket and pulled out little plates along with two wine glasses and napkins. He filled the plate with a little sandwich wedge, a little bunch of grapes, and something that looked like caviar on a cracker. I bit into that first and thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was so delicious.

His eyes were questioning and I smiled as I said, "I don't know what this is, but it is so delicious."

"It's caviar that I marinated in some spices and put on a toasted flatbread crostini." Callen explained. I swallowed it and said, "I've never had caviar before."

"Really?" he asked surprised and I shrugged, casually, "I didn't grow up where caviar was a regular item on the appetizer menu."

"I want to hear all about you growing up," he said, giving me a soft look. I stared at him softly for a moment as I smiled, thinking about my family. I let out a soft sigh and said, "Well, I grew up in this really small town about two hours from here. My dad is the town vet and my mom is a teacher at the elementary school. I have a sister named, Margaret, but you can call her Maggie, who is three years older than me. She got engaged during Christmas to a wonderful guy named Jack, who she has been dating for the last two years.

"The house I lived in growing up was big, but not huge like Lacey's or Evan's. My dad runs his vet office and I helped him out a lot by taking care of the animals. For a while, everyone thought that I would become a vet so that I could take over the business from him, but my dad let me have my own choice. I decided to major in business marketing with a minor in photography. I start my photography classes this week, so on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of summer, that's where I'll be," I smiled, shrugging my shoulders. Callen gazed at me softly for a few minutes before he asked, "Why didn't you want to be a vet like your dad?"

"It just wasn't something I wanted to do. I love taking care of animals, but I couldn't do the stuff my dad does," I replied. I felt my eyes get wet when I explained further, "I remember one time, this couple brought in their dog because he had been having some heart issues. He was only five years old, but he had to be put down because he wasn't really expected to live much longer and the couple didn't want to come home one day to find him dead, so they made the decision to say goodbye to him in their own way. I can remember crying, thinking that they were so cruel to put down this cute dog. I knew that there was no way that I was fit to be a vet."

"What about passing down the business to family?" he asked softly and I shrugged, "Oh, my dad has Jack for that, in fact, that's how Maggie and Jack met. Jack was in his last year of school and interned with my dad the summer before he graduated."

"You are so great with kids, didn't you want to be a teacher?" he asked, popping a grape in his mouth and I shook my head as I replied, "I love kids. I was the most requested babysitter in my little town, but I could not be a teacher. I just didn't have the patience, believe it or not. My mom is a saint and it was going to be hard not to compare myself to her."

"So, what does a girl who is majoring in business marketing and minoring in photography want to do with her life?" he asked, giving me a wide smile. I let out a soft laugh as I said, "I'd love to just be a photographer and have my own business, that's why I'm majoring in business marketing. I want to know how to get my name out there and not go into it blindly. How about you? What do you want to do with the rest of your life?"

Callen repositioned himself to where he was now laying on his side and propped up on his elbow. He popped another grape in his mouth and chewed it slowly as he thought. His gaze seemed far off as he said softly, "I used to want to be a chef, but I've never told anyone that before."

"Why not?" I asked softly and heard him sigh as his steady gaze connected with mine. I gave him a tender look as I said, "You are an amazing cook, why wouldn't you want to explore that?"

He shrugged before blowing out a breath and rubbing the back of his neck. He looked up at me and said, "Well, my dad wasn't so accommodating to my dreams. I have been placed on this path to take over my dad's business practically since they found out I was going to be a boy. I used to think that it was so much fun going to work with him and even have a picture of me somewhere in a little business suit, identical to one he used to wear."

I smiled at the thought of a smaller version of Callen in a suit. It was a sweet image. His smile slid off his face as he said, "I remember how I couldn't wait to follow in his footsteps, but then one day that changed.

"We had a cook who made these amazing meals for our family, I called her Mama Sue," he said with a sideways smile on his face, "and one time, when I was ten, my parents had to go out of town on a business trip. Lacey was supposed to watch me, but being sixteen and busy with her budding clothing design, I was left home a lot by myself. Mama Sue came over to provide meals for us and she taught me how to cook. I can remember her being so impressed with how fast I picked up everything she taught me and she kept encouraging me to continue it. One night, Lacey was home and I cooked the entire meal, all on my own, Mama Sue just stood back and only helped if I needed her to.

"When my parents got home, Lacey went on and on about the meal that I cooked and Mama Sue told my dad that I was a natural in the kitchen." Callen's bright smile started to fade as he said, "My dad didn't want to hear it and it was then that I had started to rebel against the idea of what my birthright was. He made me stop cooking by not allowing me anymore time with Mama Sue and eventually sent me to boarding school. In the summers, I spent my time here with my grandmother and between then and now, I rarely cooked for anyone."

"Except me," I said softly, reaching over and took his hand. He kissed the back of mine and softly said, "Except you."