Beyond Broken(63)

Besides, once she finished working for Caleb's business-which would only be a couple days away now-she hoped that there would be no hard feelings between them. They were adults and ideally, she'd like to part as friends.





TWENTY-THREE





What alarmed Caleb the most when he saw Maddie walk through his office door the next evening was the way his stomach jolted. Fucking butterflies erupted in his stomach like he was a goddamn teenager seeing his crush in the hallway at school.

It didn't help that she was wearing a blouse that gaped in front as she bent down to deposit her purse on the floor. Caleb almost groaned when he spotted creamy skin and the round, tantalizing tops of her breasts. His eyes drank her in like he was a starved man. He hadn't seen her at all the night before. After she left his house, he'd told himself that he needed to distance himself from her, so he'd spent that evening in the back garage working on the restoration. He only came back to the office when he was sure she'd left and the only proof that she'd been there was her sweet, lingering scent and a note taped to his computer detailing what she'd completed. Caleb had frowned down at the list, noticing that she'd gotten a lot done. He was all too aware that tomorrow night was Maddie's self-imposed deadline.

Caleb knew that he couldn't hide out in the garage again. Not only did he have administrative related work tonight, but he also didn't think that he could avoid her again. Begrudgingly, he admitted to himself that he didn't want to. So, he silenced that little voice in the back of his mind that told him to be careful, that all the women in his life had eventually betrayed him, and tried to not look at the clock every few seconds, anticipating her arrival.

When he heard the click of her heels on the metal staircase … that sound did things to him. Dark things, needful things. Things that if Maddie knew about, she'd probably be running for the hills.

He swallowed thickly.

"And here I thought you'd be avoiding me again," she said when she spotted him sitting at his desk.

If he was being honest with himself, he'd also started to miss that fucking smart mouth of hers.

"I like those claws of yours, princess," he drawled.

She ignored that and asked, "How are you feeling? Hangover from hell gone already?"

Caleb felt his lips quirk up but he smothered the smile before it could appear. "Right as rain. Although I'm sure you would've liked it to stick around longer, considering all the trouble you went through to nurse me back to health."



       
         
       
        

"Who me?" she asked innocently, placing a hand over her chest. "I would never want another person to suffer unnecessarily."

"Except me."

Maddie sighed. "You know I wouldn't want that. Truly. I'm glad you're feeling better. Although I think you should stay away from whiskey for a while."

"Trust me, I am. It was a mistake."

Maddie hesitated. "Do you want to talk about it? Why you did it, I mean … "

Caleb's lips pressed together and he ran a hand through his hair. "You already know why." How many people could he say that to? Not that many, that was for sure.

"Sometimes, it helps to talk it out," she said, shrugging. "But I also know you and I'm sure you'd rather … "

"Forget it ever happened?"

"Yeah."

"You're right. But it happened. I can't take it back. I knew it wasn't a good decision beforehand, during, and after. So yes, I'd rather put it behind me."

Maddie nodded. "Fair enough."

For a second, Caleb wondered if his frankness hurt her feelings but she seemed to accept his words just fine. He relaxed. He liked that about her. She just rolled with the situation and didn't pressure him.

"Now … get to work, you pain in my ass." There was no rancor in his tone. Caleb thought he sounded even playful and he frowned, looking away.

Caleb thought he heard a chuckle from her, but he kept his eyes dutifully trained on his computer screen, no matter how much they wanted to stray to the woman who'd become something like an obsession the past couple weeks.

An hour passed by when he started to notice her fidgeting in her seat. She'd glance behind her at the clock every so often, even though he knew there was a time display on the laptop. She'd even taken her phone out and fiddled around with it until returning her attention to her work.

He was just about to ask her why she seemed so nervous when Caleb's phone vibrated with an incoming text. It was from Luke, but he'd sent it to the group chat between himself, Caleb, Alex, and Adam.