Page 38 of It's Going to Be a Chrome Christmas
The text messages just kept going. Her cell phone had just as many missed calls and voicemails. He wasn’t giving up. Trixie didn’t know how she felt about that. He was fighting for them, so why wasn’t she?
She kept replaying Sunday night in her head. Cayden had gone upstairs to get something, somethingspecial. Then Geordicame running up to her from the kitchen with his childish grin.“I’m so excited, Ms. Trixie. Cayden said I could be his best man at your wedding!”And her entire world had plummeted.
Trixie was willing to admit she’d fallen in love with Cayden. It truly hadn’t been that hard to do. He was an easy man to love. Butmarriage?
She’d seen the bitter sides of marriage. Her mother had left her husband with four kids to raise on his own. That ring on her finger hadn’t prohibited her from abandoning them. Addy and AJ had been headed to the altar and the ring he’d placed on her finger hadn’t prevented those cuffs from going around his wrists. If anything, that ring had put them there. Marco and Lindsey had made it down the aisle and he’d still been shot.
Marriage? What was Cayden thinking? He was still on parole, not that that truly mattered, but it was still a factor. Plus, they’d only known each other a little over a month. A month! Well, known each other closer to two months, but they’d only been seeing each other officially for a month. Their missed weekend had been only their fifth and he wanted them to getmarried?
Trixie really wished she had some alcohol. Her Rocky Road just was not cutting it.
She saw her phone buzz with a message. It was Cayden. Her head tilted though, because the message was in all caps.
Mr. Cocky Biker: PICK UP THE FUCKING PHONE!
Her ringtone immediately started to sing. Trixie turned the screen over, which did nothing to silence the song. A few seconds after it stopped, she heard the dual beeping that indicated she had yet another voicemail.
She wasn’t being fair to him. She knew that. She needed to put on her big girl pants and tell him the truth. But once shedid, she feared they would be over. He wanted marriage and she…didn’t. There was no getting around that, no getting over it. Dealbreaker.
She knew she was torturing herself by listening to his voicemails. As twisted as it was, though, she needed to hear his voice. His baritone brought her comfort, even when his words didn’t.
“Baby, listen, I talked to Geordi.”That got her attention. She sat up straighter. “What he said, well, he was confused. He doesn’t… He doesn’t understand things the way you or I would. To him, we’re getting married because I’ve been spending the weekends with you. In his head, a man and a woman only get together if they’re getting married. I don’t know why you couldn’t talk to me about this or why you felt you needed to shut me out. Believe me, I am not happy about that, but please, talk to me now. I swear, I’m not going to pop the question and I… Oh, hell, I don’t know what I’m trying to say. Please, Trix, just call me.”
Well, fuck.
With a shaky hand, Trixie pressed the button to call him back.
“Finally! You really know how to drive a man to the brink of sanity!”
Trixie closed her eyes, feeling her chin quiver. “I’m sorry.”
She heard his sigh. “Baby, it’s okay. I freaked a bit too when Geordi first said it to me. Mind, I think he has our wedding pretty much planned out if you ever want any pointers.” A wet laugh escaped her. “Trix, I’m not proposing.”
She nodded, even though he couldn’t see it. “I’m sorry.”
There was a small pause. “Damn, I wish I could hold you right now. Listen, I’ll be there bright and early in the morning. I’ll tell Mr. Wynn we have a delivery or something coming in. I’llbe there around seven. Please, baby, just get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Cayden,” she said quickly, not wanting him to hang up the phone just yet.
“Yeah?”
“Are you… I mean, are you mad at me?”
He let out a long breath. “Well I’m certainly not happy about the silent treatment. It was a misunderstanding that could have been completely avoided if you’d justtalkedto me.”
Sorrow and guilt warred within her. She deserved him to be mad at her. She’d acted like a child rather than a woman in an adult relationship. “Cayden?”
“Yeah?”
She glanced down at herself and then said, “I’m not wearing panties.”
Mr. Wynn pulled into the Romero’s parking lot at seven-o-two the next morning. Cayden nearly leaped out of the truck before it came to a full stop. “A delivery, really?”
Cayden gave him a sly smile. “A very important delivery.”
Mr. Wynn rolled his eyes. “Don’t forget to have her fill out that furlough paperwork.”
Never. It was currently burning a hole in his back pocket. “Thanks for the ride.”
