Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
I was going to make Stevie an offer she hopefully wouldn’t be able to refuse.
CHAPTER SIX
Stevie
I’d never been one to eavesdrop, but it was difficult not to overhear the heated conversation between Caleb and Alyssa as it drifted down the hallway and into his bedroom. Their voices were raised, and there was no mistaking the anger in Caleb’s tone, or the disdain in hers when it came to me.
I was normally a confident woman, but I couldn’t deny the way she’d initially called me a whore, then mocked my clothing, my job, and insinuated that Caleb was slumming it, had dug up old insecurities. Because for a girl who’d grown up in a trailer park, a man like Caleb was out of my league. Not that he’d ever made me feel that way, but I could understand why anyone in his affluent social circle might look at me and wonder what a wealthy, gorgeous man like him was doing with a simple, unworldly woman like me.
There was also no misconstruing what he’d said to Alyssa. Stevie isn’t random or casual. She’s a serious girlfriend and we’re in a committed relationship.
Yeah, that declaration made my jaw drop in shock.
Having been privy to their discussion, I understood why he’d tell Alyssa that lie. He had Owen to think about, and even though I doubted Caleb had violated that morality clause they’d talked about since Owen hadn’t been here during our time together, he’d been nervous enough about the situation, and how Alyssa might twist it to make that statement.
And now, as I sat on his bed and listened to him order Alyssa to leave, I wondered how he was going to get himself out of that little lie.
A few minutes later, I heard him heading down the hall, then he walked into the bedroom carrying my dress, bra, and shoes. He looked harried and distressed, and I hated seeing him so troubled when he was a man who was always so composed and seemly unflappable.
“Is it safe to come out?” I joked, trying to lighten the moment.
A deep sigh escaped him as he set my clothing on the mattress beside me. “Yes, and I’m sorry you had to hear any of that.” Genuine regret shimmered in his eyes.
My fingers absently pleated the hem of the T-shirt I was wearing. “You dug yourself a hole,” I said with a teasing smile, because there was no ignoring what I’d overheard. “I’m not even close to being your serious girlfriend.”
He grimaced and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that…” He trailed off, obviously unsure of what he wanted to say or perhaps how he wanted to say it.
“Yes?”
“Can you and I discuss the possibility?”
“Of what?” I frowned, momentarily confused.
He held my gaze. “Of you being my girlfriend.”
I blinked, stunned, his words the last thing I’d expected to hear.
“Temporarily,” he was quick to add, as if he sensed I was about to reject that request. “Just until the custody case is over.”
My head spun. Of all the ways I thought he might resolve the girlfriend comment he’d made to his ex-wife, asking for a pretend relationship for the next few months wasn’t it.
“I…uh…” Still flustered by the request and certain his ex wouldn’t buy the arrangement regardless, I shook my head and stared up at him. “Caleb…I don’t think—”
“Dad, I’m hungry.”
Interrupted by the smaller voice, my gaze went to the doorway of the bedroom to see Owen standing there the same time Caleb turned around. The tense set of his shoulders relaxed a fraction as he looked at his son.
“Didn’t you have breakfast with your mom?” Caleb asked him.
Owen shook his head. “No. She woke me up and said she was bringing me home. I didn’t have time to eat anything.”
I couldn’t see Caleb’s face, which was probably schooled for Owen’s benefit, but I could easily imagine he was livid that Alyssa hadn’t fed her own son because she’d been more concerned about getting to Caleb’s to catch him in the act with a woman after being tipped off by a friend.
“I was just going to make some eggs,” Caleb said in a neutral tone. “Want some?”
“No.” Owen made a face that would have made me laugh under different circumstances. “Can I have cereal?”
“Sure,” Caleb relented, clearly not in the mood for an argument with his boy.
Owen glanced around his father, and he smiled when he saw me sitting on the bed. “Hi, Stevie. What are you doing here?”
I wasn’t sure how he’d missed seeing me earlier in the kitchen when he’d arrived, but I was grateful that he hadn’t witnessed that awkward moment between myself and his dad. As to how to answer his question, I was at a loss for an explanation.
“I…um…”
Caleb jumped in. “Stevie came by to have breakfast with us.”