Our Now and Forever(46)

“By that look on your face, I’m guessing the chicken is good?” Caleb asked.

“Words cannot describe how good this is.” Snow dragged her mind back to the subject at hand. Caleb had mentioned a trial period. Eventually becoming a manager . . . “Wait. Did you let them think that you’re staying in Ardent Springs?”

Caleb shrugged, continuing to avoid eye contact. “I didn’t make any long-term promises.”

“But you didn’t tell them that you have no intention of keeping this job.” Snow set her plate on the table. “What are they going to do when the other guy retires, you leave, and they’re stuck with no one to fill the position?”

Snow would have enough explaining to do as it was, without Caleb pretending to become a permanent part of this community.

Stabbing three green beans in a row, Caleb pointed his fork Snow’s way. “The better question is, why are you acting as if my leaving town is a foregone conclusion? What do you know that I don’t?”



Caleb wasn’t sure where the question had come from, but by the look on Snow’s face, there was definitely something he didn’t know.

“I don’t know anything,” Snow answered, regaining her dinner and sitting back on the couch. She kept her eyes on her plate as she said, “We both know this isn’t your kind of town. You said so yourself. Baton Rouge is your home.”

“I also said that wherever you are is where I will be. You’re here, so I’m here.” Caleb assured himself that Snow was the only reason he was developing a connection with the area. He didn’t want to leave her. The town had nothing to do with it.

In a low voice, Snow mumbled, “It isn’t as if I’m the only woman in town who’s interested.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Snow said, her voice higher than usual as she continued to avoid his gaze. “It just seems as if you’ve made a powerful impression on one of your coworkers.”

So Piper did say something. Gerald was a smart man.

“I assure you,” Caleb said, loading his fork with potatoes, “I did nothing to encourage the woman.”

Snow’s eyes went wide. “So you know Piper wants you?”

The woman had done everything but write her number across his palm. Of course he knew. “She wasn’t exactly subtle, but I barely spoke to her,” he defended. “And it doesn’t matter what Piper wants, she’s not getting anything that involves me.”

“She said if she has her way, you’ll be under her tree come Christmas morning wearing nothing but a bow.” Snow tapped her fork on her plate. “And I have a pretty good idea where she’ll want that bow.”

Unless his ears were deceiving him, his wife was jealous. The night was suddenly looking up. “Nothing but a bow, huh?”

A wadded-up napkin flew his way. “Wipe that smug look right off your face, Caleb McGraw. That woman is at least twenty years older than you, and if word around town is true, she’s pretty free with her bows, if you know what I mean.”

There was nothing unattractive about Piper Griffin on the surface, but Caleb wasn’t interested in becoming any cougar’s boy toy. Besides, he was married. Maybe their little game of pretend had Snow forgetting that part.

Caleb set his plate on the table and reached for his wife’s. Her body tensed as he set her plate next to his.

“I had eighteen months to find another woman if I’d been so inclined,” he said, looking into obstinate gold eyes. “I don’t want Piper Griffin or anyone else. I want you. And as much as it strokes my ego to know that you’re jealous, I need you to believe that.”

Snow rubbed a finger along his knee. “I’m not jealous. The way she talked about you made me want to smack her is all. An urge I’m not proud of, nor do I like it.” Rolling her eyes, she added, “So maybe I did get a little jealous.”

The confession could not have been easy for her, which made Caleb more determined to reassure her.

Nudging his wife’s chin up, he asked, “Did you tell her that I belong to you?”

Snow shook her head.

“Next time,” he said, leaning close, “feel free to stake your claim. Because I’m yours, Snow. All yours.”

Unable to help himself, Caleb pressed his lips to hers. He kept the pressure light, letting her know that he was a patient man, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her in every way. When she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, his intentions went to hell and his instincts took over.

Before Caleb knew it, Snow was pressed into the pillows, her body half under his. She tasted like buttery panko crumbs and strawberry lip gloss. His fingers slid beneath the hem of her shirt, garnering a purr from deep in her chest as Snow threw a leg over his hip and writhed up, pressing their bodies as close as their clothes would allow.