Every Kiss (25 page)

I nod, confidently stepping into an elevator before
absolutely hyperventilating after the doors close.
Expecting
me? Shit,
did he find out that I met with his mother? Oh, God. He’s going to kill me
before I ever even get the chance to explain. By the time the doors reopen, I
feel like I’m going to pass out.

“Good afternoon, Callie.” Sandra greets me as the doors
open. “Mr. Baxter is in a meeting upstairs right now. Was he expecting you?”

“He isn’t. But you lied for me?”

She leans closer, speaking softly. “Well, I thought that if
you were brave enough to try to get through Victoria, you had a pretty good
reason to come. Would you like to wait for him in his office? He shouldn’t be
too much longer.”

“Oh, no thanks. He probably wouldn’t like that. Uh, I mean,
he’s just so busy. I shouldn’t have come here. I can try to catch him at home.”

“You should wait. Trust me on this.” Sandra calls out to
another woman behind the reception desk. “Janet, I’ll be back in a moment. If
Mr. Baxter comes in before I return, please let him know I’ve shown a visitor
to his office.”

I follow her down the long corridor toward his office, but
I’m confused why she’s showing me how to get there. She knows that I’ve been
here before. She pauses to allow me to step through the door and follows me
inside, shutting the door softly behind her. Should I be nervous?

“Callie, I need to tell you that Mr. Baxter and I work very
closely together, and he confides in me often. Not just about work, but also
with other areas of his life. He’s become like a son to me, so I want what’s
best for him.”

Great. She’s going to lecture me for coming here. “Look, I
know I shouldn’t be here. He’s made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t want
anything to do with me, but this is important. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.
I can just go. It was inappropriate of me to show up where he works to speak
with him about a very personal matter. I apologize.” I turn to leave, but her
hand gently grasps my elbow.

“Goodness, girl. I wasn’t about to say anything of the sort.
I just want you to know that I don’t know everything that’s happened between
you two, but I just want to ask you to be patient with him. He’s not as hard as
he seems. He’s one of the most kind, compassionate people I’ve ever known. And
regardless of how he acts, I know he cares for you. I’m completely overstepping
my boundaries here, but I want you to know that.”

I surprise myself by laughing aloud. “Well, he’s made it
clear that, regardless of what feelings he has, we don’t have a future. I hope
that I can help him see things a little more clearly, but I’m under no
impression that we’ll ever have an actual relationship. It’s going to take the
right person to really get his attention and get him to take a chance on life .
. . and love.”

Sandra takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. Her eyes
flash to Wes’ desk and scan over the surface. After spotting what she’s looking
for, she circles around and rests her hand on a thin spiral bound book. “This
book may tell you something that you don’t realize. You see, every morning, Mr.
Baxter begins his day by making a list on this calendar. He says it helps him
to clear his mind, so he can better focus on his work. He writes down anything
that’s weighing on him, anything he needs to take care of later, sometimes even
what he needs from the grocery store. Everything that he writes down is
something that he feels he needs to resolve or doesn’t want to forget. I’m not
telling you to look at his calendar, though.” She smirks at me and walks toward
the door. “But what you do when I walk out this door is up to you. Have a nice
evening, Callie. I do hope to see you again.”

As soon as the door clicks shut, I skirt around the desk and
stare at the book. If I read his personal thoughts, it would be like reading
his diary or something. It’s a serious intrusion into his privacy. Nevertheless,
my hand doesn’t seem to have any reservations about opening the cover. He’d
believe that I had no control over my hand, right?

I open to one of the first days of the year, and in the
notes section of the page, there’s a short list.

Quarterly reports.

Taxes.

Dry cleaning.

Diapers and formula.

Mom’s birthday.

Okay, so there are the baby items again. I wonder how long
he’s going to keep up this “no kids’ charade with me. Pretty sure he doesn’t
routinely pick up those things for friends, so he clearly has at least one
child that he’s caring for. If I had to guess, he makes really good money here,
and he lives quite modestly, so I have a feeling a good portion of what he
makes goes to child support. That’s a little disturbing, but at least he takes
responsibility for them. I hope.

I flip through day after day of the calendar, skimming over
the list for anything remotely interesting. I’m turning the pages so quickly
that, when one of the items on the list catches my eye, I have to go back a
page. My heart skips a beat or two when I see it.

Callie.

Judging by the date, it was the first day he worked right
after his birthday party. The day after he took care of me when I had that
massive hangover. Okay, well, that makes sense because he did say that he called
Shane a few days later to check on me. I flip to the next page, and I find my
name at the top of the list again. And again. And again. Day after day, my name
is there, right on top.

Out of curiosity, I turn to today’s date. He said that he
wanted nothing to do with me, so I’m sure I’ve been replaced with other
thoughts by today. Or not . . .

Callie.

Callie.

Callie.

My name is listed three times, and I’m all that’s on the
list for today. Why the hell does that make me smile? It really should piss me
off, but knowing that I’m in his head, knowing that I’m affecting him . . .
damn, I like that. Honestly, he’s just as deeply rooted in my head. Not that
I’ll ever admit that to him.

Trying to force the grin from my face isn’t too hard of a
feat when I hear footsteps coming down the hall. I slap the calendar closed and
walk over by the window, waiting to hear the door open. I don’t know how I’ll
ever hear anything with my heart pounding in my ears like this. My nerves have
decided to make themselves known, sending a flood of adrenaline into my
bloodstream.

The door closes with a little more force than necessary, and
I flinch, afraid to turn around to face him.

“What are you doing here?”

I spin slowly on my heel. “Well, it’s nice to see you, too.”

Wes approaches his desk, tossing a pile of files onto it and
folding his arms tightly over his broad chest. His face gives nothing away. No
emotion whatsoever. After seeing his calendar, I know better.

“Callie, I really don’t have time for this. And I didn’t
take my number out of your phone, so you’d have a reason to stalk me at work. I
need you to leave.”

I plop down into the chair facing his desk. “No. Not until
you hear me out.”

“We’re not going through this again,” he growls. “I don’t
want to see you anymore, and we have nothing else to say to one another.”

“This has nothing to do with us, you stupid jerk. I didn’t
come down here to try to convince you to be with me or anything like that. I
came here because you’re running out of time. If you don’t stop being such a
stubborn ass, you’re going to be too late, and you’ll never get anything
resolved.”

His aquamarine eyes cut right through me. “Fine. If it has
nothing to do with us, then what could you possibly be here to resolve?”

“I met your mother today.”

“Oh that’s nice.” Wes jerks his arms free from his jacket
and flings it onto his chair, crossing the room to stand in front of me. “So
you went and whined to my mom about me? I did nothing but stick up for you when
Shane told me what you said about me to Makenna. I told him they were stupid
for treating you that way, when it was my fault to begin with. I told him that
everything you said was true. And you repay me by bringing my mom into it more
than she already has been? Complaining to her isn’t going to change my mind.
She
can’t change my mind.”

Oh, hell. And he just thinks he’s pissed right now. “No,
Wes. I didn’t speak to your mom today. I said that I met your
mother
. As
in Chesley Adams.”

Every muscle in his body freezes, except I can see the ones
in his jaw flexing as he clenches it. “Get the hell out of my office,” he
seethes through his teeth.

This is the first time I’ve ever been scared of him. Not
that I’m afraid he’ll hurt me physically, but that he’ll tear my heart to
shreds. He looks like he could rip me apart right now, but I have to stand
firm. I have to make him understand.

“I will. But first I need you to listen.”

He throws his hands in the air. “There’s nothing you have to
say that I want to hear. You had no right, Callie. None. How dare you stick
your nose in my business? My life isn’t any of your concern, and it never will
be. I don’t want you in my life. I don’t want you talking to my parents or my
brother or my friends. I sure as hell don’t want you talking to my mother. Why
can’t you understand that I want nothing to do with you?”

His words cut me deep, and I almost believe him. I know he’s
trying to scare me off, but all he’s doing is pissing me off. “Would you just
shut the hell up and listen for once? You think you know everything, but you
have no freaking clue. I’ve put up with your shit countless times, and yet, for
some reason I still care enough to try to help you. You don’t want anything to
do with me? Fine. But you
will
sit your ass down and listen to what I
have to say first. Then, and only then, will I walk away so you’ll never have
to see me again. If you want to spend the rest of your life as a coward, well,
I guess you have the right to do so. If you want to close yourself off to the
rest of the world when life gets hard, be my guest. Because it’s you who’s
going to be unhappy and alone. It’s you who’s going to lie in bed at night,
wishing you hadn’t pushed everyone away. So this is my last effort to help you.
Not because I’m under some stupid impression that I can be the ‘one.’ It’s
because, no matter what you want from me, I care about you enough to want to
see you happy.”

“No, I—”

“Would you just shut up?” I interrupt his rebuttal. “Sit
down, be quiet, and give me fifteen minutes of your undivided attention. Trust
me . . . you’re going to want to hear what I have to say. Then, when I’m
finished talking, I’m going to walk away, just like you asked. You don’t have
my number, and you don’t know where I live, so you can’t track me down and tell
me how wrong I am. You just get the opportunity to listen. After that, we’re
done for good. You won’t see me again. I’m not here to convince you to be with
me. I just want you to hear what she told me, without interrupting me or
sharing your opinions. You don’t get to talk. Understand?”

“Fine.” Clearly infuriated with me, Wes moves around the
desk and sits, folding his hands neatly on his desk and glaring at me. “For the
next fifteen minutes, I won’t say a word, but you better run like hell when
those fifteen minutes are up because you won’t want to hear what I have to say
to you when you’re done.”

He’s right. I don’t.

“OKAY, I’M HERE,” Eve says, hanging
her purse on the back of her chair. “You catch me up on everything on your end,
and I’ll tell you what I know.”

It’s been five days since I showed up at Wes’ office and
forced him to listen to me about his mother. Just as I promised, I walked out
when I was done, and he said nothing to stop me. I haven’t heard a word from
anyone until Eve called me this morning, asking me to meet her for lunch.

“Well, as I started to explain earlier, I told him
everything that Chesley told me. The reason why she disappeared. The reason why
she didn’t ever try to come back into his life. And why she’s trying to now.”

“And?” she asks before sipping her water. “What did he say?”

I shrug. “Nothing. He didn’t want to listen to me, so I made
him a deal. He had to listen without saying a word, and I would walk out for
good when I was finished talking. I held up my end of the deal, and I haven’t
spoken to him since. But then again, he doesn’t have my number anymore, and he
doesn’t know where my parents live, so it’s not like he can contact me. Not
that he even wants to. Have you spoken to him this week? Has he said anything
about it?”

“Not to me, no.” She peers over her menu at me, her chestnut
hair sweeping perfectly across her forehead. Is she ever
not
flawlessly
put together? “Robert told me that he called him yesterday though. He actually
talked to him about her, asking if she really disappeared from the hospital
like she said. I think he’s looking to validate her story, which Robert did
confirm. But there’s something I haven’t told you.”

That doesn’t sound good. “What?”

“She called me last night . . . right after Wesley emailed
her.”

I slap my hands down on the table, causing the salt and
pepper shakers to clink together. “You’re kidding, right? He actually made
contact? Oh my God. Was it bad?”

Eve reaches across the table and pats my hand. “It’s good.”
She beams a stunningly white smile, crinkling her eyes. “You did it, Callie. He’s
going to meet with her this afternoon. He actually invited her over to his
house to talk.”

I jump up from the table and tackle her in an embrace,
garnering the attention of everyone in the restaurant. It wasn’t all for
nothing. I actually somehow convinced him to meet his mother, regardless of his
reservations. This could be such a life changer for him, and I’m kind of proud
of myself now for stepping in. Sometimes, I guess, sticking your nose in
someone else’s business can pay off.

“It actually worked. I can’t believe it.” I whisper when her
arms tighten around me.

“Thank you, Callie,” she says, running one hand over my
hair. “I told you that he’d listen to you before he would anyone else.”

Since the entire restaurant is focused more on us than their
food, I slink back into my seat. “Well, let’s just hope that it all works out
and doesn’t make anything worse. I’d like to think that this will change
everything for him, but I know it won’t be immediate. It will probably take a
while for him to alter his way of thinking, but if this doesn’t do it, I know
there’s nothing else I can do.”

“Sweetie, I told you the morning you came over for brunch.
There is something you can do. Don’t give up. Don’t allow him to walk away from
you. I don’t think that this is going to be a magic fix; he’s still going to
need someone to show him that they care enough to not let him run. You know
that as well as I do.”

The waiter chooses this moment to come over to take our
orders. As Eve gives her complex, none-of-this-and-extra-of-that order, I use
that time to think about what she just said. I’m pretty sure she’s saying that
she expects me to keep pushing him, to keep chasing him. I don’t know that I
have it in me to do that anymore. I’m not going to chase a guy that’s
constantly telling me that he doesn’t want me, no matter what his reasons.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for him to finally say that he wants to take a
chance with me. Being in a relationship with Wes, without any reservations or
walls to climb, would be nothing short of incredible. We have an undeniable
chemistry that clearly he can’t even seem to shake, regardless of what his
insecurities are.

“Ma’am?” The waiter’s voice snaps me back into
consciousness. “Would you like to order?”

Eve laughs and shakes her head emphatically. “Don’t
overthink all of this, Callie,” she says after I give my sandwich order and the
waiter shuffles away. “Just let it play out and decide what to do. You’ve done
something that a woman hasn’t done for him in a long time. You made him
question his own rules, and you got under his skin, making it incredibly hard
for him to cut you loose. But with that said, he’s complicated, and I
understand if the extra effort isn’t worth it for you. I’m just saying that, if
you care about him at all, just wait it out.”

“I honestly can’t tell you what I want to do,” I admit,
nervously winding a ribbon of hair around my finger. “Maybe we’re both too
stubborn to ever work things out. I know I can’t keep doing this to myself,
though. Really, I think this is something that he’s going to have to decide for
himself. Once he realizes he’s tired of being alone for no reason, maybe he’ll
find the right person and take that blind leap.”

“You might be right about that.” Eve straightens in her seat
and nods confidently. “He’s never been one to leap, so I just hope I’m there to
see it happen when it does.”

And I’m holding out hope that I’m the one he’s leaping with.

“OKAY, UNIVERSE . . . HAVEN’T I had
enough drama this week?” I grumble to myself as I approach the driveway to my
house.

Makenna’s car is parked in my usual space, and as I
approach, I can see the silhouette of two figures. There’s no doubt in my mind
that Shane is the other person in the car. I guess I should’ve expected this
because I know Makenna never stays mad at me for long, but if she’s looking for
some sort of apology from me, she’s not going to get one. I’m sick of being the
one she’s always blaming anytime Wes decides to be an ass.

“Hey, Cal,” Makenna says sheepishly when I get out of my
car. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

“Uh, sure. My parents are gone, so the house is empty. Come
on in.”

They follow me inside, and I turn to face them after tossing
my purse onto the island in the kitchen. Shane steps forward to speak first.
It’s a little strange to see his direct gaze for a change, instead of a passing
glare.

“How was lunch with my mom today?” he asks, making an
uncomfortable attempt at small talk.

“Good. It’s always nice to see her.” I guess she told him
she was meeting me today.

“It is.” He looks down at his shuffling feet. “Look, uh,
what happened in Gulf Shores . . . I feel terrible about how I acted.”

Makenna takes a step forward. “How
we
acted. Callie,
Wes told Shane everything that’s been going on with the two of you, and I wish
you’d told me. If I had known, I probably would’ve agreed with everything you
said that morning after he left. I knew he was difficult, to say the least, but
I don’t think anyone really realized exactly
how
messed up he is.”

“I know I didn’t.” Shane’s shoulders slump. “I’ll be honest,
when he asked how the week in Gulf Shores went, I told him what you’d said
about him. He unloaded on me, saying that we didn’t have a right to treat you
that way and that it was all his fault. He said that you were right. It wasn’t
until I pinned him down a few days ago and made him tell me
why
you were
right that I finally understood. Although, I’m sure there’s a lot that he left
out.”

I’m absolutely positive he did. “Makenna, I would’ve told
you if it was my story to tell. Wes has confided in me on some deeply personal
issues, and there’s no way I’d break that trust by telling anyone. I guess I
could’ve told you exactly that, but I just avoided it. I think I was so hard on
you that morning because, every time Wes takes off or acts like an ass, you ask
me what
I
did wrong. I was already reeling from the fight with him the
night before, so I didn’t take it well.”

Makenna steps forward and rests a hand on my forearm; the
simple touch is a peace offering of sorts. “I’m sorry, Cal. I have a lot of respect
for him, and he’s a nice guy. I guess I forgot for a second that I know
you
.
I know you don’t play games with people, and I know you always try to do what’s
right.”

“I’m sorry, too.” I reach out and snatch her shoulders,
pulling her into me so fast she squeals. Shane wraps his arms around the both
of us and murmurs his apology, as well.

“You know his biological mother is supposed to be at his
house right now, right?” Shane pulls back from us. “I’m kinda freaking out a
little bit for him. I know he must be losing his mind.”

“Right now?” I look over at the clock on the wall.

“Any minute now. No offense, but I can’t believe it was you
who set all of that up, especially after the way he’s acted.”

Makenna elbows him. “What was she like? Does he look like her?”

I think back to her kind smile, troubled eyes, and the
ticking time bomb counting down the final days of her life. And all she wants
is a few minutes with her son. Just the thought makes tears prick at my eyes.
“She’s been through a lot in her life, but it doesn’t seem to have affected the
way she treats people. She was very sweet to me, but it’s clear that she’s
lived far too long with regret eating away at her soul. I think this will be
healing for both of them. And yes, they do look a lot alike.”

Shane pulls out his phone and checks the screen. “Mom is
supposed to call as soon as she hears from him.”

“I don’t want to know. Unless it turns out really good.
Okay, and if it turns out bad. I might want to hide out for a few days.” I
press a hand to my stomach. “Why did I do this? I just
had
to get
involved.”

“As always, you were being selfless and trying to help a
friend. It’s what you do. And we love you for it.”

“Love you, too, Mak.” I drum my fingertips on the counter
and look back over my shoulder at the clock again. “Wanna stay and watch a
movie? It’ll help kill a couple of hours, and maybe before it’s over, we’ll
hear how it all went.”

“Sounds perfect, but no musicals,” Makenna pleads. “If I
have to watch any more characters dancing and singing their way through a plot,
I swear I’m going to hurl.”

Sinking into the couch, Shane cranes his neck around to see
me. “I’ve been making her watch my Gene Kelly collection. Needless to say,
she’s not a fan. This may be a deal-breaker for me.”

“
You
watch Gene Kelly movies?” I point my finger at
him accusingly.

He shrugs. “Yeah. So?”

“I love
Singin’ in the Rain
and
Brigadoon.
Just another reason why I love your mom.”

A sly grin breaks his stoic expression and he starts
singing. “
It’s almost like being . .
.”

“
In loooove
!” I belt out dramatically.

“Seriously . . .” Makenna pretends to stick her finger down
her throat. “I just don’t get the obsession with these old movies.”

“
Classic
movies,” I correct. “Don’t worry . . . hang
around with us long enough, and we’ll convert you. Then you’ll be the one
singing ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’ from
My Fair Lady.
”

“What the hell’s a loverly?”

Shane and I just shake our heads and laugh. If she has to
ask that question, we have our work cut out for us.

With Makenna’s blessing, I pop in the
Mean Girls
DVD
and we all curl up together on the couch to watch it. Just an hour ago, we
still weren’t talking, so I’m glad we’re finally past all of that. It seems
weird that everything is all puppies and rainbows with us again, but that’s how
it’s always been with us. No sense in dragging shit out when everyone is over
it.