California's Calling (Hunt Family Book 3) (11 page)

Chapter 18

I had been in the best mood ever since the moment I got the news that Cub was on his way. This translated into me miraculously having tons of energy—I cleaned the house and everything.

I could barely sleep that night. I thought about all the possibilities.
Would he like it here? Would he stay forever? Would we get married?
I didn't want to be exhausted the next evening when he arrived, but it was almost impossible to make myself fall asleep that night. I think the last time I looked at the clock it was 3:30AM.

Cub's plane was scheduled to arrive at 8PM the following day. It was difficult for me to think about anything but what it would be like to see him.

"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked from next to me in the back seat of the limo on our way to pick up Cub. Logan had originally said we could take his SUV to the airport, but after thinking about it, he decided to hire a limo.

It was a nice gesture, and would have been an awesome surprise, but the only problem was that there had been an accident on the 405, and we were now thirty minutes late. Cub had expected us to be there to pick him up when his plane landed, and instead we were stuck in traffic.

That wouldn't have been such a big deal if we had a way to get in touch with Cub. One of the first things on his list was to get a cell phone, but for now he didn't have one. I actually had his new phone with me. It was one of the things I took care of in my hyperactivity.

Logan didn't seem worried about it at all. Nico and Phillip were with us as well, and all the guys seemed to think that Cub was a man and he'd be just fine waiting for us without a phone or any way to reach us. Rachel and I however, weren't quite so optimistic. We were both stressed and felt terrible about being late.

Her phone rang while we were sitting there in slow-moving traffic. "It's an L.A. number," she said to us before picking it up. "Hello?"

I could tell by the way her face morphed into a smile that it was her brother.

"Where are you calling me from?" she asked.

She was quiet while he answered. I wanted so badly to hear what he was saying that I felt the urge to wrestle the phone away from her and put it to my ear—put it on speakerphone at least.

"We're on our way," she said. "We got stuck in some traffic… welcome to L.A."

She paused and then laughed at something he said.

"Hang on," she said. She leaned over and pushed the button to talk to the driver.

"Yes sir?" the driver said, assuming it was Logan who was calling.

"Do we have an ETA?" Rachel asked.

"Ah…" the driver hesitated like he was calculating. "Hopefully about thirty minutes," he said.

"Thank you," she said, settling back into her seat. "He said thirty minutes. I'm so sorry. We had planned on getting there early. There was a bad accident. We're past it now, though."

She paused while he spoke again on the other end. I imagined myself punching Rachel out in cartoon fashion to get that phone away from her. Cub was in my town. He was here, and I felt like I wanted to jump right out of my skin to get to him.

I looked out the window to see how close we were to the airport just in case running the rest of the way was an option.

"We'll be there as soon as we can. Love you."

She pressed the button to hang up the phone, smiling at all of us when she finally looked up. "He borrowed some guy's cell phone," she said. She smiled and shook her head. "Thank goodness he had my number memorized."

"Even if he hadn't, he would have been fine," Logan said. He flexed his bicep. "He's a man," he said in some accent that made him sound like a mobster.

"He said he had a good trip," Rachel said, looking at me and ignoring Logan's silliness.

"What else did he say?" I asked. She smiled. "Not much. I could tell that guy was standing right next to him while he used the phone. He was just making sure we had the times straight."

It was a good thing we had music playing in the limo because I could barely contain my nervous energy. I hoped my twitchy movements came across as dancing.

The driver was correct in his estimate. It was right at thirty minutes later when we pulled up to the loading zone at LAX.
Who knew the airport could be this busy at night?
Traffic was barely creeping along as we entered the crowded area where everyone was meeting their rides. People were everywhere, and cars in the two right hand lanes were stopped completely as they loaded luggage into their trunks and picked up their passengers.

"What is this, Grand Central Station?" I asked, feeling frustrated that we were already running late and now it was impossible to see Cub in the midst of all these people.

"You're just used to flying private with your brother," Nico said pushing at my leg. "This is how us commoners have to get picked up."

"I've flown on commercial airlines," I defended, pinching Nico just for fun. "I'm just saying, it's really busy tonight.

"I forgot to tell him we'd be in a limo," Rachel said, as she and I peered out of the window, trying to see her brother. "This is probably the last kind of car he'll be looking for."

The driver's voice came over the speaker. "Do you have a certain place you want me to pull over?" he asked.

"I forgot to ask him about that," Rachel said. "Just pull over anywhere if you don't mind, and we'll get out and look for him."

"10-4," the driver said. I felt him get over one lane as soon as he said it, and it became apparent that he was jockeying for a place to park as we crept along. Rachel and I continued to peer out of the window looking for any sign of Cub.

"I see him!" she said. She pointed through the crowd and I followed her finger, trying desperately to find him. "He's got on a blue shirt," she said. "Right through there. He's talking to another guy."

I put my head next to hers in an effort to see what she saw. "I see him," I said when I finally caught sight of him. He was about five or six car lengths ahead of us, sort of standing toward the back of a huge group of people. He was indeed talking to someone. They were both smiling as they carried on a conversation. My body flung itself to the door of the limo, which was unfortunately locked. I searched around for the button to unlock it, but couldn’t find it right away.

"Char, you can't open it while we're moving," Logan said.

"Why not?" I asked. "We're barely going anywhere. I could walk faster than we're driving." I reached up and pushed the button to speak to the driver. "Can you please let me out?" I asked. "I'm in a huge hurry, and I can't get this door open."

"I'm waiting for this parking spot right here," he said, still creeping to the lane on the far right.

"That's fine, but I need to get out right now this very second," I said. "Can you please just stop and unlock this door or whatever you need to do?"

"We'll be parked in like thirty seconds," Logan said.

"Then
you
can wait thirty more seconds," I said, staring at my brother like he was out of his mind. "I'm getting out now."

He smiled at me and held his hands up in surrender as if I was overreacting. I didn't care. They could laugh at me all they wanted. I'd been desperate to see Cub for over two weeks, and I wasn't going to wait any longer than I had to.

The driver stopped the car right where we were and I threw the door open. I barely glanced behind me before closing the door. I didn't care where they parked or how long it would take them to do so.

I was in a daze as I began navigating through the crowd of people that separated us. I could see Cub more clearly as I approached. He was dressed in some of the clothes Rachel had bought him—looking like someone who had lived in L.A. their whole life. I could see his dimples as he laughed at whatever the guy next to him was saying.

Syrup.

Maple syrup.

Or maybe it was honey.

Either way, I felt like I was trudging along in some sort of thick liquid that was making it hard for me to move—like slow motion was as fast as I could walk.

"Cub!" I yelled, not feeling like I could get to him fast enough.

I must have been close enough for him to hear me because he looked around curiously when I yelled his name.

"Cub!" I repeated, still moving toward him as quickly as I could. By the time he caught sight of me, I was already throwing myself into his arms. I barely saw him look at me and smile before he caught me up into his embrace. I could care less where we were or who saw us. I sank my face into his neck, and wrapped myself around him, holding on for dear life. I squeezed the living daylights out of him as I breathed in the smell of his neck. He was laughing at being pounced-on, but he held onto me tightly so I wouldn't fall. I regained my balance and we pulled our faces back just far enough to focus on each other.

"Charlotte, this is Jerry," he said, smiling lovingly at me before glancing at the guy he'd been talking to. "Jerry, this is the lady who brings me to L.A."

"It's nice to meet you, Charlotte," the man said. He tipped his hat at Cub as if it had been a nice conversation but he didn’t want to interrupt us any further.

"Nice to meet you, Jerry," I said not letting go of Cub. I rested my face on his chest as I continued to hug him. My body was alive with all sorts of wonderful sensations. Sheer joy pulsed through me as I relaxed into his arms. I sighed.

"What in the world are you doing in Los Angeles?" Rachel's voice said from behind me. "Are you lost or something?"

Cub's chest shook as he laughed at her. "I'm looking for a place to stay if you know of anything," he said.

My ear was resting on his chest, which made his deep voice sound even deeper than it normally was.

"I guess you can come stay with us if you don't have anywhere else to turn," Rachel said casually.

"I was going to look for a hostile, but if you have an extra bed for the night…"

"We happen to have a really big car parked right over there if you need a ride."

"That?" Cub asked. "You brought a limo?"

I wasn’t looking at him, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yep," she said. "Logan and the boys are in there waiting for us."

I hugged him the whole time he spoke to his sister. I knew we needed to make our way to the car, but I wasn't planning on moving until someone told me I had to. It was like a dream having him here. He pulled back, and pushed me away slightly so that he could see my face. I had taken my time getting ready, and felt fairly confident about how I looked, but tears were welling in my eyes, so I smiled shyly at him as I glanced away.

"Charlotte," he said softly.

My eyes met his and he smiled. He took his arms from around me so that he could use his hands to hold my face, and then he stared at me for several long seconds before saying a phase in Swahili.

I stood there feeling breathless and stunned by the amount of love I felt. I had no idea what he said, but I could tell the words were sweet and heartfelt.

"Cub Stephens!" Rachel said. "You stop that right now before you make me start bawling my eyes out."

Neither of us looked at her. The tears that had been welling in my eyes threatened to spill out onto my cheeks. I wiped at my face with the back of my hand before popping up to kiss his cheek. I did it again and again, placing four or five kisses all over his cheeks.

"I love this girl, Rachel," he said to his sister without taking his eyes off of me.

"Oh my goodness, you two are killing me!" Rachel said.

I glanced at her to find that she was wiping her eyes. "I love you both so much. I can't believe this is happening right now-ow-ow." She was sobbing by this point—not just lightly crying, but boo-hooing like a baby with her fist in front of her face to hide its contorted appearance. "I'm gonna wait in the car," she said, barely able to speak.

"Ray," Cub said, his deep voice startling me.

She had already turned to walk away, but she faced him again when he called out to her. Her hand was over her face as she continued to cry.

"Come here," he said, sweetly.

She came toward us, and Cub pulled her in. I tried to step to the side to give him room to hug his sister, but he held me in place with one arm as he brought her in with his other.

"I live in America now," he said, squeezing both of us.

She sniffled and smiled at him. "You live at my house," she said, causing us all to laugh.

Doing her best not to cry, she put her hand on his face and scratched his short beard. "I love you so much, brother."

"I love you, too," he said.

Chapter 19

The plan was for Cub to live at Logan's until he figured something else out. Logan and Rachel had plenty of room, and they wanted Cub to stay with them as long as he wanted. There was already talk about Cub working as a set builder on Logan's next movie. They were talking about how creative Cub could be with set building and design once he learned the ropes and made the right connections. They talked about those sorts of things the whole way home in the limo.

I was happy to sit there and listen. I snuggled up to Cub, resting my head on his shoulder while he put his arm around me. It took about an hour to get back to Logan's house, and by the time we got there, we had all voted for a swim. Cub had been stuck on planes for an entire day and said a swim sounded like the best thing he could imagine at the moment.

Rachel had told Cub how nice Logan's house was, but it didn't fully sink in until he saw it. He smiled the whole time we showed him around, teasing Logan about "roughing it" out here in California.

Cub didn't see the pool and patio area until after he had taken the grand tour of the house and changed into his swim trunks. We all beat him out there because he wanted to send his parents a quick email saying he had a safe trip.

Logan and Rachel were already in the pool. Nico had gone home to get ready for some hot date with a girl he'd just met, and Phillip was at his own place, so it was just the four of us.

I was sitting at the edge of the pool with my feet dangling in the water when Cub came outside. Tess had been in the backyard the whole time, and didn't get to see him until he came to meet us out there. She didn't notice him at first, but she came running when he let out a short, shrill whistle. I thought she was going to put her paws on his chest to give him a hug, but she didn't. Instead she ran at him full speed and sprang into his arms when she got there. Cub had no other choice but to catch her. He stumbled backward, but quickly regained his balance, laughing at how she nearly knocked him over. It was a hilarious sight. This 90lb dog just threw herself into the air, knowing he'd catch her. It looked like a practiced maneuver even though I was pretty sure it was unexpected.

"I think she missed you," Logan said.

"Charlotte did that same thing at the airport," Rachel said, causing all of us to laugh.

Cub set Tess down before stooping to scratch her vigorously in all the places she loved best. He talked to her in a sweet tone I'd heard him use with her before. I could tell they'd missed each other, and the reunion had me wanting to cry again.

"You coming in?" Rachel asked.

"You know I am," Cub said. He grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it up and over his head, tossing it onto a nearby chair. I had seen him without a shirt when we were in Africa, but I had somehow forgotten what to expect. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had myself convinced that I only loved him because he was smart, kind, giving, humble, patient, and other things like that which could all be found on the inside. I knew I loved his face, but somehow I had truly forgotten that he had the body of a male model. I was already head over heels, and the sight of him with swim trunks hugging his hips was too much.

"I, uh, I'm, uh." I stood, dusting off my bottom absentmindedly. It was so hard to believe that the amazing man standing three feet away was actually in California for
me
. I wasn't sure if I had bargained for what a package deal he was. It was overwhelming. I felt oddly like I didn't deserve him, and I said a quick prayer, thanking God that this moment was actually happening.

I forgot that I had been stuttering and was about to say something until Cub said, "You're what?" like he was waiting for me to finish.

"Oh, uh, I'm…" I glanced at him, and again, got lost in his abs. I was staring straight at them when I said, "I'm gonna use the restroom for a second."

I dazedly took off for the house, hoping I could get myself together enough to stop gawking at him.

"Keep it together, keep it together. Charlotte, keep yourself together," I whispered, making almost no sound at all as I walked into the house. My heart was so full that it translated into extreme nerves. I was shaken and found it difficult to get a good breath of air. It's crazy how your brain works. It was like I was so happy that I was in turn terrified of one day
not
being that happy. "Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord," I said several times in a row since I felt like He was the only one who could have delivered me this brand of joy.

"Ladybug!" I heard Cub call from behind me.

I was halfway across the living room when I glanced back at him.

He smiled. "You okay?" he asked with a curious tilt of his head. We both stopped and stared at each other from across the room.

I nodded and returned his smile. "Fine. I was just coming in to use the restroom."

"Are you glad I'm here?" he asked. There was mischief in his eyes, which made my smile grow bigger.

I tilted my head at him and narrowed my eyes slightly, telling him he already knew the answer to that question. "I'm so happy I feel like I might spontaneously combust."

He smiled as he took a few steps closer to me. "Don't do that," he said with a teasing grin.

"I think it's the shirt thing," I said, pointing at his chest. "I forgot you looked like that under there, and you've got me feeling all ooey and gooey." I wiggled my arms, demonstrating just how
ooey and gooey
I was, which caused him to laugh.

"It's the dimples, too," I said, shaking my head as if it was a crying shame.

"I like you ooey and gooey. I want you ooey and gooey," he said, taking another step as he reached his hand toward me. I was helpless to do anything but go to him. By the time we each took a few more steps, our hands connected.

"Cub," I said breathlessly as I stared at him.

"Charlotte," he said.

"I want you to never leave," I said.

He smiled and tugged me into his arms, catching me when I fell forward willingly.

"I want you to never leave, either," he said.

"I live here," I said. "It's you who's got to get used to it. I, I'm so happy that it's sort of scary. I guess I'm just scared you'll get homesick or whatever." I knew I was babbling, and regretted saying any of it, but it was too late. The words were already out of my mouth.

Cub wrapped his arms around my waist, and I put my hands on his bare shoulders. I loved the feeling of his muscles under my fingertips. The thought of touching him made me remember to check his pulse. I pressed two fingertips under his jaw.

"It's through the roof right now," he said smiling at me.

"Out of control," I agreed.

"How about you?" he asked, taking one hand off my waist so he could touch my neck.

"Like a wild animal that just fell into a trap," I said before he even had the chance to touch me.

"A wild animal, huh?" he asked. He closed his eyes as he found the area on my neck where he could feel my heart racing.

I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling that my heart belonged to him. He replaced his fingers with his lips, gently pressing his open mouth to the most vulnerable place on my neck.

"Cub," I said. I whispered, but the urgency in my voice was unmistakable.

He knew I was saying it was too much. He took his mouth off of my neck, kissing my cheek before he pulled back to stare at me. He smiled and I returned it, biting my lip shyly in the process.

"I didn't know how you'd feel about me kissing you in the pool right in front of everybody, so I figured I'd follow you in here just to make sure I got one."

"One what?" I asked.

"I came all this way," he said, shrugging. "Seems reasonable that I get to kiss my girl when I get here."

"And I'm your girl?" I asked, feeling short of breath.

He cocked his head at me and smirked with narrowed eyes.

"What? I'm just making sure," I said, self-consciously.

"You, Charlotte Ritchie, are indeed my girl." He bent to kiss my cheek, hesitating with his mouth next to my ear. "You're my girl and no one else's."

Cub pulled back, and I focused on his face, staring into his hypnotizing blue eyes.

He squeezed my waist. "This is it, you know."

He meant
we
were it—that I was his, and he was mine, and that's just how it was gonna be from now on. He was absolutely right. Everything that had happened in our lives was meant to bring us together at this very moment.

I nodded. "I know," I said.

"I'm gonna kiss you now," he said.

I nodded and whispered, "Yeah."

He was smiling as he tilted my chin up so our lips could meet. He licked his lips just before he put them on mine, and when we touched, he felt warm, and soft, and slick. The sensation made me stand on my tiptoes to get more leverage. Cub took this as encouragement and wrapped his hand around the back of my head so he could pull me closer. He held a handful of my hair, bringing my lips to his in a way that seemed more urgent than ever before. He sucked my lip into his mouth, and the feel of part of me being pulled into him made me let out a tiny, uncontrollable whimper. This only caused him to deepen the kiss. He turned his head to the side, and let his tongue dip into my mouth.

I lost myself in the deepness of the kiss for several seconds as our tongues mingled. Cub pulled back and kissed me softly several times before breaking the kiss altogether. I shook my head, smiling at him.

"I'm, I'm just crazy about you," I said, since I was at a loss for words.

He gave me a stunning confident smile.

"Good," he said.

"And you're crazy about me too," I said.

"Oh yeah? What makes you think that?"

"You coming across the whole world like you did," I said.

He continued to smile. "I guess that does make me sort of crazy, doesn't it?"

"I probably would have broken down and moved eventually," I said, staring at his shirt as I made the confession.

"Moved where," he asked, "to Africa?"

I nodded and put a hand to my chest. "I wasn't right in here without you."

"I wasn't right either," he said. "I wanted to get on that plane the day you left. Then I came home and read that ridiculous note you left me, which did nothing to stop me from wanting you. For the next few days, I tried my best to forget about you, but like you said…" He paused and patted his chest. "I wasn't right in here. Anyway, when I got your email, I knew what I had to do."

"Does it make you feel weird that I said I would have come to Africa if you hadn't come here?" I asked. "Does it make you regret coming?"

He shook his head. "Maybe it's cliché or cheesy, but I understand the phrase
home is where the heart is
now." He smiled at me. "Home is where you are."

I blinked at him. "Can we just be in love like this forever?"

He let out a little laugh. "I think we can," he said, nodding. "I think we can make that happen."