I wake up the next morning excited and ready to meet with the contractor. Now that things with Cal seem to be resolved, I feel more prepared to work with him around the house.
I go through the morning routine with enough energy to rival Cami. Her excitement about starting summer camp rubs off on me, and we spend the entire car ride listening to her favorite song from the latest Dreamland princess movie.
I gave up my battle against the Kanes and their fairy tale empire a long time ago. It was a pointless fight, especially when all of Cami’s friends are obsessed with Dreamland and its princess movies. I even have to admit that the movies are pretty cute, although Cami and I agree that it would be nice for them to have a movie about someone from Colombia. Extra points if you are from Barranquilla like my family.
By the time I get home, my mood can’t improve. “Why are you smiling like that?” Cal looks into the kitchen.
I drop the saucepan I was cleaning into the soapy water and turn off the music coming from the portable speaker on the counter. “It’s the first day of summer.”
“Congratulations. What do you plan to do first?”
I gesture towards the plates. “I need to finish this before the contractor arrives.”
He begins to roll up the sleeves of his linen shirt, exposing his thick forearms. “How about I dry off while you wash?”
I look up from his arms. “Because?”
“Because I finished the attic and I have nothing else to do before the contractor comes.”
“Did you finish that attic yet?”
“Yeah.” He grabs a towel hanging from the oven and throws it over his shoulder before turning to me.
I can’t help but smile at him. “Domesticity suits you.” Her lips twitch. “Maybe Iris was onto something.”
My spine stiffens. Who the hell is Iris?
She’d never heard that name come out of his mouth before, but he obviously cares a lot about her based on the way his eyes light up at the mere mention of her name.
I grab the Brillo pad and start scrubbing the leftover eggs from the pan. Cal is next to me, drying the pot I washed a minute ago. The rubbing of the scouring pad against the metal makes my ears hurt.
He pushes me with his elbow. “What happen?” “Nothing.”
Iris says the same thing when she’s angry. Her voice sounds lighter, and she looks up to meet her bright eyes.
What an idiot.
I rub so hard that a piece of the pad breaks off and floats away.
“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” he scoffs. “Yeah.”
“If you insist. I’d hate to put our friendship at risk already. “Here you go.” I rinse the pan and pass it to him to shut up.
He leans in to whisper in my ear, “It’s nice to see you get jealous over my sister-in-law, but it’s really not necessary.”
Flicker. “Sister in law?”
“Iris Elizabeth Kane . Also known as Declan’s wife. “Did Declan get married?”
He nods with a smile. “For my best friend.”
Well, you don’t look like the stupid one now.
“It’s good that you two are around.” My nose wrinkles. He touches it. “Declan doesn’t seem to agree either.”
A laugh catches in my throat. “How is he?” “Insufferable as always.”
“It’s a shame. Hopefully, he finally had that surgery to help with his resting penis face.”
Cal throws his head back and laughs. The combination of his smile and the light coming through the window makes him rival the sun. I move closer, desperate for the warmth that only he can provide.
“God, I’ve missed you.” He wraps an arm around me and pulls me against him. The gesture is meant to be completely platonic, but the tingling from your head to your toes definitely isn’t. Cal doesn’t seem to get any better with the way he leans over and sniffs my hair while he thinks I’m not looking.
My heart pounds, blocking my hearing.
The first day of being just friends goes well. I can’t wait for what’s in store next.
 |
Ryder Smith, Lopez Luxury’s general contractor, pulls out a tape measure. “Should we start with a tour of the house?”
Cal looks at me with a tight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Ready?” My right eye twitches. “Of course.”
Cal and I are careful to keep a wide distance between us as we show Ryder around the house. The few times we end up touching each other, one of us has a knee-jerk reaction. I’m not sure if this is what Cal had in mind when he suggested we be friends, but I hope we can get through it.
Ryder doesn’t seem to notice. He takes notes on his clipboard while he asks us a bunch of questions, some of which I don’t know the answers to.
Ryder crouches near the kitchen entrance where the hardwood floor turns to vinyl. “Is the wood floor still under here?”
Cal looks at me like I should know the answer.
“I remember my mom saying that the previous owner covered the kitchen floors, so I think the original floor runs throughout the house.”
“I can have one of my guys take a look and confirm if that’s true. If they are original, we just have to restore them, which will save us a lot of time compared to waiting for a new floor.” “With us setting such a high asking price, would buyers expect something more modern? Like marble, perhaps? Cal crosses his arms against her chest, giving me a perfect view of her veiny forearms.
I almost missed what he was saying because I’m too distracted by the arm porn that’s going on right now.
“Marble?” Asked.
“What’s wrong with marble?” Cal frowns. “It doesn’t fit the style of the house.”
“Neither does the price tag, but that didn’t bother you before.” He smiles. I could strangle him right here, right now with Ryder as my only witness. Maybe for the right price, he would be willing to provide me
some cement sneakers.
Ryder’s dark eyes bounce between the two of us. “If you want marble floors for a house this size, you’re looking at a six-month wait, at least, depending on our supplier.”
Cal waves his hand in the air. “That won’t work then. “Let’s continue with the original floors.”
Ryder heads to the kitchen as Cal and I follow him. He pokes and scribbles notes on his clipboard while he makes different noises to himself. Some sound confirmatory while others make the hair on my arms stand up.
He seems especially unhappy when he pulls out a handy tool and starts cutting into a damn wall. He mutters a curse under his breath before turning to us. “So, do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
Cal leans against the island with a smile. “Did you find anything good in the place? “I am absolutely shocked.”
I pinch him in the side. “I’ll take the bad news first, please.” “You have asbestos.”
Oh no.
“Are you kidding me.” Cal frowns.
“It’s pretty typical in homes of this age. “We need to contact an asbestos removal contractor working with us to come and carefully remove the mineral fiber from the walls, floors and insulation.”
Cal pulls out his phone and starts investigating, completely ignoring my panicked gasp.
“Are they going to have to tear out walls?”
“Potentially. I’m not going to open any more holes without the proper equipment.” “What’s the good news?” I rub my temple.
“It shouldn’t take more than three weeks, about how soon someone can come here to clean it up. By the time it comes back, everything should be removed and we can start the demo. It will set us back a little with our timeline, but you can pass the time choosing finishes.”
My world spins around me as if I had just stepped out of a whirlwind. “Wow! Wait. What do you mean come back? Where we go?”
Ryder frowns. “Now that we found asbestos, I don’t recommend you stay here until the professionals remove it.”
“Why not?”
Cal speaks, his jaw working. “Because there is no way I would let you live around something that could give you cancer.”
“Cancer?” My eyes open.
“Pack your bags because you and Cami are staying with me at the guest house.”
|
After Ryder leaves, I do my own extensive research on what kind of health risks asbestos poses while Cal takes the lead and books an abatement crew to start on Friday once I pack up the rest of the house.
I only have two options for a temporary living situation, one of which is automatically impossible because Violet has two roommates right now and doesn’t have a guest bedroom for me and a toddler. Delilah and Wyatt’s two-bedroom starter home is my only other option. I just need to call Delilah once she gets off work and ask her first.
Cal doesn’t seem to like me evading his order to stay at the guest house. He hasn’t stopped following me all afternoon, which has been annoying and helpful when I need to reach high objects.
I make my way through the garage, careful not to run into any of the stacks of boxes Cal packed for the moving company.
I am distracted by his presence and journey. He grabs my elbow before I fall face first into a row of boxes.
“Will you stop following me everywhere?” I remove my hand from his grasp. “Not until you agree not to stay here tonight.”
“Good!” I throw my hands in the air. “I didn’t plan on sleeping here anyway.” Her eyebrows knit together. “So, are you staying at the guest house?” No. _ I struggle to reach the luggage on the top shelf despite balancing on the tips of my toes.
Cal reaches across my body and grabs the suitcase off the shelf for me. The brush of his chest against my back makes me suppress a shiver, a fact that doesn’t seem to go unnoticed based on the way he drags a single digit down my spine.
“Where are you going then?” His question has some advantage.
Oh, that’s all.
I turn on my heels and our chests touch. “I don’t know, but there’s no way I’m sharing the guesthouse with you.”
“Why not?”
I throw my hands in the air. “Because it’s a terrible idea!”
“Are you afraid that you can’t control yourself around me?” Her signature smile returns in full force, turning my entire world upside down.
My mockery lacks its usual bravado. “I can control myself.”
“Is that so?” The pad of her thumb follows the curve of my bottom lip, sending a jolt of energy down my spine. My head pathetically leans closer to him.
Emphasis on pathetic.
I push him, although the push is weak at best. My fingers itch to dig into his shirt and pull him back, just so I can feel the thrill his touch provides.
That’s the reason you can’t live with him.
I slip out of his cage and run, dragging the suitcases behind me to the soundtrack of Cal’s laughter.
|
I spend the rest of the day packing up necessities for Cami and I, which is an exhausting endeavor in itself. I don’t feel like packing up everything else before the asbestos removal team arrives.
I don’t have many memories. The most important thing I have is a shoebox full of memories. I climb the stairs to my closet and look for the box. It’s out of reach, hidden behind an old gift from Santa that I forgot to put under the tree a couple of years ago.
I run a trembling hand over the dusty lid of the shoe box before removing it. My hand shakes as I look through the countless photos, tickets, some of Cal’s hospital sashes from all the times she got hurt because of me, Cami’s favorite pacifier, and other memories from throughout my life. It’s bittersweet how twenty-nine years of memories can fit into a single shoebox. There was a time when I dreamed more for myself than this town. I love Wisteria Lake, I really do, but it was never intended to be an adventure.
It was supposed to be the final destination.
Now you will finally have the opportunity to make your dreams come true.
With the money I’m going to get from the sale of the house, nothing stops me from traveling the world and opening my own bakery here.
Well, nothing except for me. Doubt always rears its ugly head at the worst of times, making me wonder if I really have what it takes to succeed.
You’ll never know unless you try.
“Mommy!” Cami runs to the closet.
My grip on the shoebox slips and falls against the floor, bottom up.
“Oh no! I’m sorry!” Cami kneels and lifts the box, proceeding to empty out all the contents.
“I got it. Don’t worry about it. I’m going downstairs.
She holds up a photo with a big smile. “Look! It’s you and Cow-l holding hands!”
Of all the photos he found, it had to be the one of him and I at the Strawberry Festival six summers ago.
“Mm-hm.” He snatched the photo from her hands and dropped it into the box. His head tilts. “Do you like it, mommy?”
We were friends.
“Like kissing friends or friends friends ?”
For the love of God. “Just friends.” A strange frown crosses her face. “That?”
“Nothing,” she responds with a tone that says otherwise.
You have to be more careful with him when you are around her.
Cami is the last person who should have hope for us. Whatever happened in the past between Cal and me is just that.
