Falling for the Wingman (The Kelly Brothers, Book 3) (16 page)

“Should I hang around?” he asked.

She shook her head. Kourtney was already going to be pissed enough that she was late. She didn’t need to bring Caleb into this. “I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t mind waiting.”

“I know you don’t, but I want to spare you the drama.” She pulled the key to her place off the ring. “Just make yourself at home, and I’ll be there in a few hours if Kourtney doesn’t kill me first.”

He gave her a crooked smile like he thought she was crazy, but took the key. “Call if you need me to rescue you sooner.”

“I will.” She opened the door, but he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into one more searing kiss that made her hate every article of clothing she wore. “What was that for?”

“To give you something to remember when she’s trying to get under your skin.” He gave her a sexy grin that told her he’d probably be picking up a new box of condoms on the way home. “By the way, can I use your computer to check my email?”

“Sure. The password is “IROC Z28,” all caps with an underscore between the words.”

He laughed. “Why am I not surprised?” He placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. “See you in a few hours.”

The warm glow that had surrounded her all morning lingered even after he drove away. Her plan had worked. Caleb had finally fallen in love with her, but there was only one thing that kept her from celebrating. She still hadn’t told him about the letters.

Tonight
, she promised herself. She would come clean about the emails tonight, and hopefully, he wouldn’t mind her deception once he learned the reason behind them.

Kourtney and the other bridesmaids were still waiting in the front of the boutique when she entered, but that didn’t stop Bridezilla from singling Alex out. “You’re late.”

“By what? A minute? Besides, it’s not like they’ve pulled out the dresses yet.”

Mindy placed a hand on Kourtney’s shoulder and pulled her back, whispering something in her ear. Whatever she said, it calmed Alex’s sister down enough to where she could give a halfway genuine smile when the staff appeared from the back room with a rack of dresses.

The actual fitting was easy enough. Alex lacked the artificial curves of some of the other women in the bridal party, and her dress had fit well even without alterations. She quickly changed back into her clothes and waited for her sister to finish.

She had to hand it to her sister—she certainly knew how to make an entrance. Kourtney pulled back the curtain and emerged from the fitting room like a queen holding court. Her strapless white dress hugged her figure and cascaded to the floor in a long train fit for royalty. She put one hand on her hip and stuck out her chest. “How do I look?”

Her other bridesmaids gathered around her with
ooh
s and
ahh
s, but Alex stayed back. Knowing her luck, she’d step on the train and rip it two days before the wedding.

After she’d been inundated with compliments, Kourtney focused her attention on Alex. “Be a good little sister and help me out of the dress.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to do anything to ruin your wedding.”

Kourtney gave her a tight smile. “Just promise to be careful.” She whirled around, whipping her skirts behind her, and disappeared behind the curtain.

Alex tiptoed into the dressing room in the same way Kourtney had always entered the garage, taking care not to touch anything. “Is there a reason why you asked me and not Mindy?”

“Yes.” She stared at her reflection, both hands on her hips and waited. “Start with the top hook.”

There had to be at least thirty tiny hook-and-eyes holding the dress together. Alex fumbled with the first one for about ten seconds before unfastening it. “I’m sorry I wasn’t at the garage this morning.”

“Do you think I brought you back here to fuss about that?” Kourtney met Alex’s gaze in the mirror. “I saw Caleb dropped you off this morning.”

“So?”

“So I’m going to give you a bit of sisterly advice—don’t fall too hard for him, Alex. He’ll only end up breaking your heart.”

“You have a lot of nerve trying to tell me that, especially after what you did to him.”

“And you have a lot of nerve chasing after him when you know deep down inside you have no future with him.”

Alex tugged a bit harder at the hooks. This conversation had gone on long enough. “Who says we don’t have a future together?”

Kourtney swatted her hands away and turned around. “Then answer this question. If he asked you to pack up everything, leave Jackson Grove, and follow him to Utah, would you be able to do it?”

Her mouth went dry, and a jab of fear paralyzed her.

“I thought as much.” Kourtney turned back to the mirror and squared her shoulders. “Like it or not, you’re just like me. Neither one of us is cut out to be an Air Force wife, and he won’t give up flying. You’re only kidding yourself if you think you have any chance of a happy ending with him.”

Alex finished unfastening the final hooks in silence, mulling over her sister’s words. She’d been so wrapped up in trying to make Caleb fall in love with her that she never even considered what would happen next. Caleb had to leave on Sunday to report back to his base, and she would remain back in Jackson Grove with her garage and the life she’d built there. The heavy dose of reality dropped into her stomach like a hemi engine. She couldn’t imagine giving it all up to move across the country, nor could she imagine asking him to give up what he loved the most.

The sinking feeling in her gut intensified into nausea as she exited the dressing room. She refused to be like Kourtney and ask him to leave the Air Force for her, but in making that choice, she was grounding their relationship before it even had a chance to take off.

Chapter Eleven

Caleb unlocked Alex’s computer and opened up a browser. Time to do some reconnaissance work. He was ninety-nine percent certain that Alex had written those emails, but until he had proof, he was going on nothing more than a hunch.

And he needed more than that, especially after he’d almost told her he loved her this morning. In the heat of the moment, when everything felt so right, it was easy to forget about all the unanswered questions. But he’d managed to keep it from slipping out.

He went to the home page for the web-based email service and started typing in Kourtney’s email address. The auto fill popped up with the complete address, and his heart skipped a beat. Someone had used this computer to access that account, but it still didn’t give him the proof he needed. He moved to the password section and held his breath while he entered Alex’s password. The hourglass appeared and did a couple of rotations before taking him to another page.

Jackpot!

He went straight to an inbox that contained nothing but the emails he’d sent while he was deployed.

Caleb leaned back in the chair and stared at the list, his mind flying at supersonic speeds. He seriously doubted Kourtney would’ve come to Alex’s place to use her computer in the first place, and he knew she’d never use a classic muscle car as a password. Therefore, it was safe to conclude Alex had been the one to hack her sister’s account and change the password. Also, if Kourtney was to be believed, this had happened shortly after he left for Afghanistan, making it easy to deduce that Alex—not Kourtney—had written the emails.

That left only one question.
Why?

And that made his mind ache. Why had she hacked her sister’s email? Why did she send those emails? Why did she sign them as Kourtney and not as herself? And why hadn’t she come clean about them?

After finding no answers on his own, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contact list. He could ask Adam what he thought about this. Or maybe his mom. Or maybe even his twin, Dan. But every time his finger hovered over a number, he chickened out until he got to Gideon’s number and found a solution.

His youngest brother answered on the first ring. “Hey, Caleb, how are you doing?”

“Well enough.” He ran his finger along the neck of his shirt. “Is Sarah around?”

“Why?”

“Just put her on the phone if she’s there. I need some feminine advice, and I know she won’t give me any crap.”

It had been a long shot expecting to reach her by calling Gideon, but his brother’s assistant was never far away. The family often credited her from keeping Gid out of trouble in Hollywood, especially since she was more than familiar with fame’s dark side.

“Fine, I’ll go get her, but when you’re done, I’d at least like more than a few words from you.”

A moment later, Sarah came on the line. “The Kid said you wanted to speak to me,” she said, calling Gideon by the nickname she’d given him years ago.

“Yeah, I need some insight into the female psyche.”

“And you decided to ask me?”

“You’re a redhead, so maybe you’ll have better insight into this woman since she’s one, too.”

“Oh, yeah, because all redheads are the same.” Sarah’s usual dry sarcasm filtered across the line. “What did she do?”

“She posed as her sister and sent me a bunch of emails while I was deployed.”

“And?”

“And I kind of fell for her. But why would she do that? Why make me fall in love with her sister when she’s really the one I should be falling for?”

“Ah, we have a classic Cyrano case here.”

“Cyrano? Wasn’t he the guy with the big nose?”

“Bingo. Glad to know those g-forces haven’t squeezed all the intelligence from your brain.”

“Not completely, but that still doesn’t tell me why she did it.”

“Cyrano—the guy with the big nose—was secretly in love with Roxane, but he didn’t think he stood a chance, especially when he saw that this hot guy in his unit, Christian, was making a move on her. So, he offered to help Christian woo Roxane through a bunch of letters that he wrote under the hot guy’s identity. Following me so far?”

Caleb got up from the chair and paced the loft apartment. “Yep, and it’s starting to finally make sense. So what happened to Cyrano?”

“It’s kind of a tragic ending. Roxane ends up marrying the pretty boy, and Cyrano dies never telling her that he was the author of the letters.”

A chill coursed down his spine. So very close to what almost happened here. “Why would he keep that a secret?”

“Pride, self-doubt, frustration—you name it. So, is there a reason why this redhead would think she doesn’t stand a chance with you?”

“Yeah, but I’m starting to see things much more clearly now.”

“Good. Then don’t be a ditz like Roxane and marry the wrong girl. Brains are always better than boobs.”

A shuffle filled the line, and Gideon’s voice returned. “Did that help?”

“Immensely, but why do I have the feeling Sarah’s pissed off at you?”

“Long story, but I think she’s a little perturbed with the model I’m dating.”

“‘Perturbed’ doesn’t begin to explain it,” Sarah shouted in the background.

“Hold on a sec.” Caleb could almost picture Gideon running from the room and his irate assistant. The crash of waves echoed in the distance when his brother spoke again. “Sorry, but Sarah can’t stand Kinzy.”

“Why?”

“It’s like she said—she thinks brains are better than boobs, and while Kinzy’s smoking hot, I have to admit, there’s not much up there.”

“And why are you dating her again?”

“Would you turn down a chance to date a Victoria’s Secret model?” The “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” tone in his voice told Caleb he’d done more than just go out on a few dates with her. “Besides, it’s nothing serious. Just a bit of fun in between movies. And weren’t you the one who told me to never turn down a chance to get laid?”

“I see I’ve been a bad influence on both you and Frank.” Caleb rubbed his jaw. “Just make sure you don’t knock her up.”

“Not a chance. So, will we see you at Adam’s wedding next month?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good, because I missed out on seeing you the last time you were home, and we have some catching up to do.”

“Will do. Stay out of trouble, and don’t piss off Sarah.”

“Nah, I’m not worried about Red,” he said, using his own nickname for Sarah. “She huffs and puffs, but I know I can count on her. Later.”

Caleb hung up his phone and retrieved his good luck charm. As he stared at the crooked halo, he flashed back to something Alex had said last night.

I’ve always wanted you.

Could she have felt this way about him before he deployed? Was she like Cyrano, constantly showing him what was in her heart only to have him not notice it?

He squeezed the figurine in his hand. He wouldn’t be like Roxane.

****

It was late afternoon before Alex returned. She breezed into the loft with a garment bag in tow and collapsed on the couch. “I’ll be so glad when this wedding is over.”

Caleb glanced over his shoulder at the computer. He’d spent most of the day re-reading the letters, only this time hearing Alex speak the words instead of Kourtney. With each line, it became more and more clear that Alex had spoken from her heart. And with every letter, he fell deeper in love with her.