The Billionaire's Kiss(30)

And though her thoughts wandered, Callie couldn't deny that the shower had made her feel better. She just wanted to wash away all the stress of not knowing what to do next. Shit, what am I getting myself into?

She stayed in the shower for far longer than necessary. The warmth felt good, and the rushing water soothed her. She knew that sooner or later she'd have to get out and figure out what to do about Logan and her job and everything that seemed to be spiraling out of control, but for the moment, she was glad to bask in the simple pleasure of great water pressure. As long as she stayed in the shower, nothing could go wrong. No one would need to know about the kiss with Logan or the other one the night before that. No one would need to know about the longing she felt deep inside for something more.

Her phone buzzed. Ugh, I don't know if I can deal with this right now. Reluctantly, she turned off the water, grabbed a towel and stepped out to get the phone. She looked at the screen for a moment, just long enough to see who was calling. Shit, she had been caught.





***

Callie stared at her phone as it buzzed on the bathroom’s marble countertop. Charlotte was calling. Callie had promised to call her the night before to let her know how everything went at the bar. Maybe she had had a good night herself and wouldn't remember the missed call. There was only one way to find out.

"Hello?" Callie said. She tried to sound as cheerful and awake as possible.

"Someone had a good night last night," Charlotte said.

"Do I sound that bad?" Callie asked. She stopped trying to sound energetic.

"The only time I've heard you sound like this..." Charlotte trailed off. "Wait a second you didn't? Did you? You did! You and him!"

"I'm not sure you'll believe what I did."

"What or who?" Charlotte replied.

Callie laughed. "That is so unfunny at the moment. Yes, you're right. My head is spinning right now. I don't know if it's because I'm hung-over or because I threw myself at Logan last night."

"And he threw himself on top of you?"

"No, he was a complete gentleman."

"How disappointing," Charlotte said. "I was hoping for details."

“Did Mr. Darcy leave you wanting?” Callie joked.

“As always, but let’s not talk about my love, let’s talk about yours.”

“So I kissed him and he kissed me back and then he slept on the couch. This morning, while I looked and sounded terrible, he came over to me, told me I was beautiful and kissed me or I kissed him. It’s all blurry at the moment.”

"And, how was it?"

"Incredible. Charlotte, it was unbelievably good. It made me forget about everything else, the hangover, the job, all of it. It was so good."

"So why are you talking to me instead of kissing him some more?" Charlotte asked.

"He had to go to work. Thank God. I don't know if I would have been able to hold back if he had stayed. I need someone to talk some sense into me. If I call Amy she'll kill me, and she'll probably send herself into early labor and blame me for it for the rest of my life. Tell me that I can't let anything more happen with him. Just convince me of that."

"Ok, ok, easy there," Charlotte said. "Let's take this one step at a time. Do you like him?"

"Yeah. Remember how I thought he was cocky and self-absorbed? He's actually kind of sweet, and he's funny, and, God, that kiss was amazing."

"So what's the problem?"

"I'm not supposed to get involved with him. What if Amy found out? What if Hank found out? What if things go great with Logan, but then he finds out that I work for his father and have been lying to him this whole time? What if he ends up hating me forever?"

"Take a deep breath. You're not marrying him, Callie. You both happen to be young and attractive. If you think he's smart and funny, then he's smart and funny. You got shipped off to Newport against your will, and now you have a chance to enjoy yourself. Why not take it?"

"Because I know I shouldn't."

"It's not like you're lying to a saint here. Isn't his motto 'love 'em and leave 'em?' I'm more worried about you falling for him than I am about you hurting his feelings. Why don't you allow yourself to have a little fun? The Callie Haven I once knew loved to have fun. Then she took a job working a thousand hours a week for her older sister and forgot all about having a social life."

"Before I worked for Amy, I worked at a big law firm. I worked just as many hours."

"Yeah, but afterward you were able to go out and blow off some steam. When was the last time you went on a date, a real date and not some sting operation?"