Our Now and Forever(8)
Caleb’s lips were still puckered as he blinked her way. “What?”
Snow brushed a curl out of her face, then quickly tucked the shaking hand behind her back. “You can live here with me, in Ardent Springs, until November thirtieth. That gives you exactly one month to prove that we should stay married.”
Rising to the challenge, as she knew he would, Caleb said, “I doubt it’ll take a month, but I’ll agree to that.”
“There’s a condition,” she added, certain he would never agree to what she was about to propose.
Wearing a smile of premature victory, he said, “What’s that?”
With a deep breath, Snow blurted, “There will be no sex.”
Now she was fighting dirty.
“What kind of a condition is that?” They were good in bed. Hell, they were great in bed. Why mess with the one thing they had going for them?
“You don’t like my terms, you know where the door is.”
Caleb held silent, gauging how serious she might be. Damn if she didn’t look really serious. He needed to make up for that stupid conversation with his dad, but how could he do that if she wouldn’t let him show her how sorry he was?
“We need to talk about this,” Caleb said.
“You say we belong together. Rationally belong together.” Snow tapped a finger to one temple. “Lust is what got us into this situation, and you know it. We’re aware that there’s no problem in that area, so we’ll take that element off the table while we figure out the rest.”
“You can’t take sex off the table.”
“I just did,” she said smugly. “Ready to walk now?”
This was a test. She was trying to make him admit defeat before the battle had even begun. Fine. He’d give her this one, but there were ways of making her pay.
Sliding on his best smile, Caleb said, “I can go without if you can, darling.” He’d gone without for a year and a half. What was one more month? At least that’s what his upper brain was thinking. The lower brain had reached the limits of its patience about a week after Snow had left.
So he’d call her bluff, but if Snow thought he was going to make this easy, she was wrong. He’d seen her reaction when he’d brought up that old leather chair. She was as hot for it as he was, and that was a card he’d play as often as possible.
“Good,” she said, looking less sure of herself. “Then we have a month until this farce ends. If you’ll excuse me, I need to finish closing my store.”
“Wait a minute,” he said. This wasn’t all going to be one-sided. “I have a condition of my own.”
Snow tossed the coat she’d removed over her desk. “And what is that?”
“No calling our marriage a farce. You have to give this a fair try, Snow.” Showing more vulnerability than he liked, Caleb added, “You owe me that much.”
She agreed with a nod, an unspoken apology flashing over her features.
As he watched her recount the drawer and complete her paperwork, Caleb let the relief come. He’d found her. She hadn’t left him for another man, and she’d agreed to give him a chance. Caleb had a month to bring his wife around to seeing things his way, and whatever it took, he’d do it. He had to or else go home, get a divorce, and prove his parents right.
That was not an option.
“I’m parked around the corner,” Snow said when she’d finished her closing paperwork. She flipped the switches that darkened the store except for the counter area, which remained illuminated. “You can follow me to my place.”
Caleb shook his head. “I don’t think so. Call me crazy, but I’m not giving you the chance to drive off in heaven knows what direction. You can ride with me.”
Snow bristled as they stepped through the exit. “I can drive myself.”
“Yeah,” he said as she locked the door. “Right across the state line. My Jeep is half a block down in front of the diner. Let’s go.”
She held her ground, staring hard but holding her tongue. He stared back, letting her know he could be as stubborn as she was. When Snow huffed and marched off toward his Jeep, Caleb enjoyed the minor victory.
Under normal circumstances, he’d have opened Snow’s door for her, but she was inside and in a full pout by the time he reached the vehicle. So long as she was going in the direction he wanted, Caleb saw no reason to look like a fool chasing her down the street.
As he climbed behind the wheel and latched his seat belt, Snow asked, “Why do you drive this thing?”
Caleb stared at her. “What’s wrong with my Jeep?”
“You’re rich, Caleb.” Snow tugged the seat belt strap over her right shoulder. “This thing must be like ten years old. Why don’t you drive something a rich guy would drive? Then maybe women like me wouldn’t be so surprised to learn you come from money.”