Page 92 of Screwed
Her stomach grew tight, thinking that all he wanted from her was sex. And yet, she’d known all along that was all they could have. She was the one who’d made it clear at the start it would be just sex, nothing more, and Beau would never know about it.
Except…she’d fallen in love.
She was an idiot. She’d always known there could never be any long-term relationship between them. How could she have been so damn stupid to start hoping there could be? Cash was so loyal to Beau, and she knew better than ever how important Talmadge Hale Consulting was to him. Of course he would never choose her over Beau and the business that helped support his family.
Story of her life.
Scalding tears threatened, but she fought them back, not wanting to give in to the growing despair, afraid that if she did she’d never battle her way out of it.
It was awkward seeing Cash’s sister every day and pretending things were fine. Exhausted from all the work she’d done on the shop, stressed about sales, and hurt by Cash’s distance, she couldn’t bring herself to ask Ginnie what was going on with him. After all, she was unaware they’d been sleeping together and were more than just friends. So Callie kept a smile in place and determinedly avoided any mention of Cash.
“It amazes me how good you are at this,” Ginnie said one day, watching Callie making gum-paste violets. “They’re so perfect.”
Callie forced a smile. “I don’t think they’re perfect, but then I’m super picky and hard on myself. But I enjoy it.”
“I can help you with things back here, too,” Ginnie offered. “When it’s not busy.”
“That would be awesome.”
“I mean, don’t give me anything too technical.” Ginnie grinned. “But I can take things out of the oven.”
“Good, because those cupcakes are about ready to come out.”
Ginnie crossed over to one of the ovens to check the time.
“So, it’s Friday night—got big plans for the weekend?” Callie asked.
“Mmm. Cash is taking Kevin, Mom, and me to the Astros game tonight. That should be fun.”
Callie’s stomach cramped, and she steadied her hands. “Yeah, should be a nice evening for baseball.”
“I love baseball,” Ginnie said. “And Kevin’s crazy about it, so he’s really jacked about this. I guess Cash’s company has season tickets that they use for clients sometimes, but he invited us tonight.”
Jealousy seared through Callie. Not that she was a huge baseball fan; she’d rather watch football any day. But she wanted to be the one Cash invited to ball games. Or anywhere.
Sadness swelled in her throat, and she blinked back tears.
“How about you?” Ginnie asked. “What are you doing this weekend?”
She swallowed a sigh. “My friends invited me to go to the Crab Festival at Crystal Beach tomorrow, but of course I’m working, so first I said I couldn’t go.”
“Ah. That sucks.” Ginnie frowned. “I guess that’s the downside of having your own business.”
“True.” She wasn’t in the mood for having fun anyway. “But my friend Kristy offered to wait until five when we close here, so probably I’ll go with her and we’ll spend the night there. They got a suite at the Sea Grass Inn.”
“Oh great! That sounds like fun.”
Callie gave a lopsided smile. “Yeah.” Sure. Fun. But she needed something to take her mind off Cash, so she was grateful Kristy had offered to wait for her.
“I haven’t been to the Crab Festival for a few years.” Ginnie opened the oven door as the timer went off and peered inside. “I remember it being great, though. Damn, nowIwant to go.”
Callie smiled. “Well, you could always go tomorrow night, too. Or there’s Sunday.”
Right now Caked wasn’t open Sundays or Mondays. She reserved Mondays for the business stuff: doing the hated bookkeeping, ordering supplies, and working on cake designs. She’d see how busy things got and whether it would be worthwhile to open those days, but even though she wanted to be busy to distract herself, she needed at least one day off.
…
Kristy picked her up at home at six o’clock Saturday evening. She’d just had time to close the shop and zip home and change. She had a small overnight bag packed and a bag with several bottles of wine.
