Chapter 21
Dom
In the gym, Dom grabbed a towel, then stopped to fill his water bottle while Joe caught up. As his friend pulled up next to him and threw his towel over a shoulder, Dom said, “I have to cut out of class ten minutes early so I can catch the plane.”
“Yeah, no worries. I’ll just catch the bus over to my office.” Joe didn’t drive much at all. He and Betsy lived right on a bus route and only had one car. He left it for her most of the time. “Hey, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?”
“No plans. Probably spend the day in the kitchen at the restaurant . . . take advantage of it while it’s quiet and the staff is gone. Sometimes, I really miss having a commercial kitchen to myself.”
“What about your new girl? Calli? She was all you could think about on Sunday.”
“Yeah, that’s history.”
“History? The story hadn’t even started.”
“Yeah, so Kyle . . . ” Dom waited for Joe to register the name of his investment advisor. When Joe nodded, Dom explained the situation, finishing by saying, “She chose a business relationship. End of story.”
“That blows, man! I’m sorry.” After a few more steps, he said, “Betsy is so close to the due date that we can’t really go anywhere. She suggested I invite you over for some stuffed bird.”
Dom eyed his friend. “She shouldn’t have to cook a full meal when she’s almost ready to give birth.”
“I think she’s hoping it’ll send her into labor.” Joe laughed. “And I can’t boil water.”
“Doesn’t she still have a few weeks?”
“Yeah. The baby’s due the week before Christmas.”
Dom pushed the door to the gym open. “Maybe the two of you should come to Moretti’s. It’s closed for the holiday, and there’s nothing like a gourmet kitchen to make the food prep go faster.”
“I’ll talk to her and let you know.”
Inside, they walked over to the group. Trish was setting up the speakers, so class would begin in the next couple of minutes. Calli’s friend Jordan looked over, but Calli didn’t turn. Dom sighed and did a couple of jacks to loosen his calves and shoulders, then sank into a runner’s stretch.
Trish called the class over and handed out a sheet of paper, explaining the day’s drills. Dom knew this one by heart—The Hundred, Trish called it. One hundred of each strength exercise and three sets of stairs in between, it was one of his trainer’s favorites and always promised to leave the muscles fatigued, then sore, for the two days that followed.
Dom finished in forty-five minutes—record time. Calli hadn’t looked over once from what he could tell. He said goodbye to Joe and Trish, then jogged off to the showers, telling himself, You need to move on, dude. She certainly has. Somehow, the thought of her moving on was less than helpful. At the gym entrance, he stopped one last time and looked back. When their eyes met, she immediately flinched away. He smiled and pushed the door open, stepping out into the weight room. Maybe there was a crumb of hope. Maybe she was fighting the attraction too. Maybe their connection would become even more obvious as they tried to work together on his investments. Maybe, just maybe, all he needed was to be patient.
Calli
Workout done, Calli was ready to be at work and lose herself in the numbers and meetings that’d pepper her day at Moffitt & Hall. Mentally, she’d been preparing for her first client since she stepped into the shower. She continued practicing her words as she dressed, and after, as she walked to the parking lot with her best friend.
“Seriously, Cal, you wouldn’t even look at him during class.” Jordan interrupted, slinging her bag into the back seat, and ducked into the driver’s seat of her car.
Calli sat in the passenger seat with her gym bag in her lap. “There are so many reasons this is not an option, Jordan. Just get us to work already.” She dropped her head back onto the headrest and stared out the window into the gray morning.
“But when you talked about him, everything about you lit up.”
“Not anymore.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Now you’re moping!”
Calli turned to her friend and ranted, “Listen, Jordan. It’s just too much to deal with a new relationship already. I need to focus on me, on getting the boys graduated, and on my career to make sure I’m secure for my own retirement. Yeah, I got part of Bennett’s 401(k) in the settlement, but I’m not sure we’d saved enough before. He always managed that, and I’m trying to get my arms around what I need. The Moretti account is a huge step toward my financial security. I know Kyle will be back one day, but Moffitt said he had been considering moving the account to my portfolio anyway. I just can’t do anything to jeopardize that income right now.” She sighed and turned back to the passing buildings. Quieter, she added, “It was a huge mistake. I think I’ll save the whole dating thing until after Jax and Kent are on their own.”
Oh, thank the heavens, Calli thought. Her rant seemed to have done the trick and shut Jordan up, at least temporarily.
“Would you mind terribly if I bowed out of the movie this Saturday?” Jordan switched topics.
“No,” said Calli, turning back to her friend, slightly confused. Jordan was a movie-aholic; totally unlike her to skip out on the latest chick flick they’d planned to see. “What’s up?”
“Well, I have a date.” She gave a shit-eating grin, then rushed to add, “I was kind of hoping you’d have another one yourself.” Jordan held up her hand. “I’m not pushing. I’m just not superexcited about bailing on you.”
“It’s not a problem, really.”
“You’re sure?”
“Of course. Why don’t we just go on Monday?”
“Yeah, then we can head over to Fireside. They have half-priced bottles of wine on Mondays.”
“That’s awesome. The boys go back to Bennett’s on Sunday afternoon, so I won’t feel like I’m losing any time with them. It works out better for me.” Calli smiled and shifted her gym bag to the back seat.
“What are you doing for Turkey Day?” asked Jordan.
“Going down to Lindleyi with the boys to see my parents. Why?”
“Oh. Never mind,” Jordan said.
“No, what? You were going to ask something.”
“Well, you know my parents retired last year.”
“Yeah?” said Calli.
“I don’t have anyone to hang with. Guess I’ll binge Outlander or something that day.” Jordan shrugged. “Just another Thursday, right?”
“Nonsense. If you don’t mind my crazy family, you should come with us!”
“Really?” Jordan’s blue eyes brightened even more than normal.
“Yeah.” A satisfied smile grew on Calli’s face. Not only did it make Jordan’s holiday better, it’d give her a buffer with her mom. “Did I tell you how much fun Kent had with my dad when he was in town?”
Jordan turned to check her blind spot. “No. What did they do?”
“Dad had a lecture at the U, and Kent went with. He was talkative when he got home. It did my heart good to see him excited over anything except video games.”