Page 5 of Shameless With Him
“We’ll take you home,” Caleb growled.
I shook my head and almost threw up from the dizziness the movement caused. “I’m fine.”
“We’re taking you home. Heather, get the cab.”
“Sure thing, hon. We’ll get your friend home.” She squeezed my arms in affection, even as Caleb stepped over Matt’s prone body, and the crowd began to disburse.
“I just want to go home,” I whispered, not sure anyone could hear me.
Caleb’s gaze never left mine as he slipped off his leather jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. “We’ll get you there, Zoey-girl. Trust me. I’ve got you.”
Tears slid down my cheeks, and my body started to shake as I dug my fingers into the warm leather. Caleb didn’t hold me. Didn’t tell me everything would be okay.
No one touched me.
No one talked.
Because there was nothing to say. My so-called friends hadn’t been there. The boy—no, the man—from my past had been there.
Again.
Zoey & Caleb – Age 25
I hated the cold. Okay, sure, I lived in Colorado and was used to it, but it had nothing on the cold of Alaska. Why Amy had to get married to her soulmate in the so-called Alaskan wilderness for a full-on glamping wedding at a log cabin suite in the woods was beyond me. However, she was my friend and had invited me to the wedding. So, here I was, cold, in a dress I hated, and ready to take off my shoes.
I’d met Amy while working at a flower shop in Denver. I would miss her when she made her final move up to Alaska. She’d met a bush pilot who had come to Denver for work and had fallen in love quickly. Now, she was uprooting her life and moving to the wilderness. I loved Amy and wished her the best. But I missed home.
I’d moved around enough for college and my first real job. Now, I was back in Denver and about to open my own shop if things went well over the next few months. I wanted to settle. I wanted to find love and heart and start my life.
I just wanted to be happy.
As if I’d conjured him from thin air, a voice from my past echoed behind me, and I turned to see the one person I always wanted to see yet never wanted to.
“Caleb,” I whispered, then cleared my throat. “Why on earth are you in Alaska?” I blurted.
Caleb flashed that grin that always did things to my insides. “Zoey-girl. I should ask you the same damn thing.” He opened his arms, and I went into them quickly. It was almost as if we always did this. As if it hadn’t been years since we’d seen each other.
We never talked about that night at the bar. Never needed to. I was fine, and he’d been there. My knight in shining armor. One who wasn’t mine at all.
He smelled of soap and that candle I loved so much that everyone said scented of man. He reminded me of home. And at that thought, I pulled away quickly and ran my hands down my brown velvet dress.
“Seriously. I didn’t know you knew Amy.”
“I don’t. I’m friends with Don. He’s flown me a few places for work.” At my blank look, he continued. “I’m a boilermaker. Sometimes, I work on the oil line. Depends on the season.”
“I have no idea what that is,” I said, laughing.
“Not many people do.”
“Caleb?” A woman with a red dress and even redder lips came up to his side and slid her hand around his waist. “You left me all alone.” She patted his chest with her perfectly manicured fingers, and I curled my hands so she couldn’t see the nicks and scrapes that came with my work. My hands would never be pretty, and I was fine with that. Though seeing Caleb’s date in all her perfect glory just made me want to hide.
I hated that.
“Sorry, babe, just saw a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. Charlene, this is Zoey. We went to school together.”
“What a small world,” Charlene purred, giving me a little wave before putting her hands back on Caleb. I didn’t blame her one bit. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” I said quickly. “I should get going. Wedding party duties.”