Page 14 of Love in Unexpected Places

On my desk, I see a note folded on my keyboard with box handwriting on the front. Not easy to narrow down, since we all typically write the same way—easier to read when we write notes on any blueprints we work with. Scooping it up, a small photo falls out. It lands on its face and before I pick it up, I read the note.

You weren’t here by the time I left, but I wanted you to see Cal. He’s more than his looks, so treat him with the respect his brilliant mind deserves.

Rachel

PS: I want my picture back tomorrow.

I bark a laugh and shake my head at her antics. Yeah, I think Rachel and I are officially friends. The thought of that makes me happy, knowing that I have someone genuine here to call a friend.

Taking a deep breath, I bend to pick up the photo and turn it over. My breath catches in my throat. My God, this man is gorgeous. In the photo, he’s standing in between Rachel and her fiancé, Vic, an arm thrown over each of their shoulders and they all look over the moon happy.

He’s breathtaking. Smooth, pale skin, a wide gorgeous smile that meets his eyes, making them crinkle on the side. He also has some of the cutest dimples I’ve ever seen. His red hair is long, flowing past his shoulders and curling at the end. His green eyes sparkle, making him appear younger than his age—Rachel said they went to college together, so I’d guess he is around her age of thirty-two.

I can’t stop staring at the photo. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so effortlessly beautiful. Cal is perfect. If Rachel is serious and he’s like a male version of her, I don’t think her hooking us up is a bad idea at all. In fact, I’m looking forward to our dinner this weekend.

chapter two

CALLUM

The incessant knocking at my front door is irritating, but I know who it is. Only Rachel, my best friend, would knock on my door without a break in the rhythm. It’s her thing. I pull open the door with a scowl I don’t mean and she ducks under the arm that I have up to block her from getting in. Well played, madam.

“Wiz, I need a favor.” Ugh. Tell your best friend you want to be a wizard when you grow upone timewhen you’re eight and she’ll never let you live it down.

Rachel bustles around my kitchen, taking out K-cups, mugs and creamer. “Help yourself,” I joke, sitting at my kitchen bar to watch her. There’s no need to stop Rachel from getting her coffee fix and no need to stop her from going through my cabinets.

“Shut it, Wiz. I didn’t get coffee before work this morning and you were closer and cheaper than Starbucks.”

“What is this favor you need?” She glances up at me guiltily and busies herself adding liquid creamer to mycoffee. I know that look. Dropping my head, I ask, “What did you do?”

“Nothing … bad,” she answers haltingly.

Of course not. Rachel is back to meddling. The look she just gave me is the same one she gave me when she set me up with my college boyfriend. And my hookup after him. And my most recent boyfriend. My best friend is not a great matchmaker, that’s for sure.

My college boyfriend was probably the best of the bunch, but he was so deep in the closet, he was snacking on Turkish Delights. I’ve been out and proud since I was fifteen—I didn’t plan to spend the rest of my life hiding who I love. He kept promising me he would come out; he just wasn’t ready. I would have been fine with that if he hadn’t told me he needed to date a woman to keep up appearances. I drew the line there. Took me two years to get over that heartbreak.

Now here she was again, trying to pair me with someone else. It’s my own fault. I introduced her to her future husband, my old college roommate. Rachel and I went to high school together and kept in touch while in college—a feat since she was in California and I was in Virginia. I kept talking up my roommate, Victor, saying he would be perfect for her, because he was. They liked some of the same music, movies, had the same weird sense of humor and the same good heart.

When I introduced them, it was almost love at first sight. From there, she transferred to Virginia and the three of us have been inseparable ever since.

She’s been trying hard to give me that same happily ever after, but I need her to not. No offense to her, but she’s terrible at it.

“Who is he?” I ask, not wanting to beat around the bush.

“A co-worker. But Wiz,” she starts and I give her the dirty eye. “Callum,” she amends. “He’s really sweet. Funny. He likes that stupid show you obsess over. And the books that go with it.”

Rolling my eyes, I walk around the bar to get my coffee. “I amnotobsessed withGame of Thrones.” Really, I’m not. “That doesn’t mean we’ll be a good match.”

“No, it doesn’t. But, I don’t know. He seems like someone you would click with. And he has the type of dad bod you like.”

That perks me up a little. I do love a man with a dad bod. I tend to look twice at a man with a few extra pounds.

Taking a sip of my coffee, I sigh at both the delicious liquid caffeine and at my best friend. “His body doesn’t make me want to date him. I don’t know if I even want to date anyone. I’m just chilling, you know?”

“I know. But I think you’ll be good for each other. Look,” she says, rinsing her empty mug and placing it in the dishwasher. “A few of us from work are having dinner tonight over at Chasta’s.” That has my attention. I love Chasta’s. Rachel, Victor, and I had dinner there a few times and I love it. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is nice. “Meet us there at eight. Please?”

“Can’t. I have a deadline.” As an animator, I can work from home—which I do four out of five days a week—but I can get my work done at any time. As long as it’s in before the deadline, I can take as little or as much time on it as I’d like.

Rachel’s shoulders drop and she pegs me with pleading eyes. “Oh. Well, I told him you’d be there tonight. Should I tell him you can’t make it?”

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