From Temptation to Twins(50)

“I’m not playing anything.” He looped the towel around her shoulders.

She grasped the ends and backed away from him. “I’m talking about Noah, about how you manipulated him. He’s now told Melissa that selling you the Crab Shack is our best move.”

Caleb rolled the idea around in his head. It was quite brilliant, but it wasn’t his idea. Why hadn’t he thought of it? He could buy the place outright, and solve every one of his problems. Jules and Melissa would have the money to start any business they liked.

“I didn’t suggest that to Noah,” he said.

“Come on, Caleb. I knew you offering free labor to fix the roof was too good to be true. You had two full days up there, you and Matt, to co-opt Noah to your cause.”

“I didn’t. We didn’t.” Caleb wouldn’t have done it covertly. “If I wanted to buy your property, I’d have come out and asked you.”

The words seemed to give her pause. “I wish I could believe that.”

“You can.”

She looked miserable.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“No.” She stiffened. “I’m not okay. You’re trying to destroy my dream.”

He couldn’t argue with that. He was trying to destroy her business, and along with it her dream. But Noah had nothing to do with it.

“I’ve been up-front with you,” he said. “All along, I’ve been honest about my desires and my intentions. Why would I go behind your back now? Why would I use Noah—who I barely know, by the way. Why?”

“Because you thought it would work.”

“Rescinding the easement will work.”

“It won’t get you out of the noncompete.”

“But it’ll trap you in a corner.” He gave in to his impulse, removed the towel from her shoulders and pressed it to her wet hair. “You’ll give in. You’ll have no choice.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t seem to notice what he was doing. “I could win in court.”

“You’re not going to win, Jules. You’ll be bankrupt before the first hearing. I have a simple path forward—why would I use Noah?”

She seemed to hesitate again. “Speed?”

“I hadn’t thought of that. It might be faster. But I didn’t do it. Whatever your sister said, whatever Noah told her, it had nothing to do with me. I worked on your roof to keep you from potentially killing yourself. Period. That’s it. That’s all I did.”

Her shoulders drooped. “So Noah’s against me, too?”

Caleb stopped rubbing her hair, and draped the towel around her shoulders again.

“Noah’s trying to help you. He sees the impossibility of your situation.”

“It’s not impossible.” She pressed her lips together. “It can’t be impossible.”

Caleb told himself to take his gaze off her lips.

She raised her blue eyes to look at him. They were glimmering. “And Melissa?” she asked. “How does she feel? She brought me the idea.”

Caleb wasn’t sure how to answer that. He tried to be gentle. “It sounds like she wants to sell. She may not be as committed as you.”

He couldn’t help but hope they would take Noah’s suggestion and consider selling. Then he wouldn’t have to be the bad guy. He wouldn’t have to cancel the easement. He could call Bernard and tell him to stand down. His heart lifted at the possibility. He couldn’t help it.

“How do I fight?” Jules asked, her voice breaking. “I’m fighting you. I’m fighting my dad. How do I fight Melissa, too?”

Caleb gave in and pulled her into his arms.

To his surprise, she came willingly, burrowing her head against his shoulder.

* * *

Jules couldn’t believe she was crying. But stubborn tears seeped silently out of the corners of her eyes, soaking into Caleb’s shirtfront. She accepted that he wasn’t lying. She was under siege by everyone around her. For the first time, she considered that she might be wrong, she might completely fail. Her heart hurt for her grandfather.

She desperately tried to control her emotions, to slow the deluge of tears. Falling apart in front of Caleb was the worst thing she could do. But she couldn’t seem to stop, and she couldn’t seem to give up the comfort of his embrace.

It was as if he was two different men. When she was close to him, he seemed rock solid and compassionate. All she wanted to do was lean on him. She couldn’t even picture the alter ego that was undermining everything she did. Then when she walked away, she couldn’t see his kindness. From a distance he was nothing but an enemy.

She needed to walk away now. She needed some distance. But he was hugging her tight, and she needed another minute, just another few minutes while she gathered her strength.