Page 15 of Claiming His Wife
Kalilah didn’t believe her ears.Circus? She remembered the first time she told him to take her there. She had the belief that the circus represented freedom and happiness, and that was what she’d felt with Finn years ago. Finn, the smooth talker, had laughed at her suggestion, kissed her affectionately and agreed to move to the circus with her. That promise, he never kept. Now, he had the audacity to bring it up. She fumed at the provocation.
“I know what you’re trying to do, and my answer is no.” She could see past his patronizing act and she wasn’t about to allow him to railroad her into any one of them. He seemed intent on using the past to embroil her.
“Kalilah, you always wanted to run away and join the circus, and that's the point of a date; to do what people enjoy.”
“I don’t appreciate you using your knowledge of me against me."
He was silent for so long she thought he had dropped the call.
"I understand. How about brunch at the country club?"
“That’s fine, when?"
“Tomorrow at eleven am?”
“Sure.”
“Are you staying at your parents’ estate?”
“Why are you asking?”
He answered and his voice was restrained.
“Just so I know where to pick you up.”
How chivalrous,she thought with an eye roll.
“I'll meet you there.”
"Look if we're going to do this, it means going the whole nine yards. At least the parts that you're comfortable with for now."
"I'm uncomfortable with you knowing where I'm staying right now,” she returned coolly.
“Why? Cause you feel the desire brewing between us? Scared of what you may do?”
“There is nothing brewing between us!” She responded quickly.Too quickly,she thought.
Exasperation poured through the phone.
"Keep lying to yourself then. Meet me at eleven am at the country club. Don't be late."
They said their goodbyes and ended the call. Kalilah slumped on the bed with a sigh. Now that she was relaxed, she noticed how tense she had been during the call. He had said there was desire brewing between them. She could lie to him but not to herself. She felt it. He was so far away but he still affected her with just his voice, making a mockery of her declarations in his office earlier today.
Kalilah placed her phone back on the bedside cabinet and snuggled into silk monogrammed sheets. For all the comfort if afforded her, it couldn't remove the ache from between her shoulder blades, a result of having to be strong all day.
She wondered about her younger sister, Kaiya. She hadn’t seen nor spoken to her in years. God, she felt guilty about that. She needed to remedy the estrangement between them as soon as possible.
Kalilah reached for her phone and sighed with disgust at the time. Much too late to call Jonathan; besides she only wanted some comfort to completely erase the effects of her mini nightmare. She sent him a quick text telling him she loved and missed him.
She still felt guilty, even if she was not at fault. As she rested her head on her pillow, she wondered what could have triggered that kind of dream in her. Her last thought as sleep claimed her, was how wonderful Finn’s body felt against hers.
CHAPTER 5
Finn fiddled with the box on the table and looked around the large country club restaurant, trying to catch a glimpse of Kalilah.
Well, he was early. Truth be told, last night he slept fitfully at best. He had given up on trying to sleep as early as five this morning and had instead gone to the gym for a two-hour intensive workout.
He had shaved, nearly nicking himself in his excitement. He sat down in his bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror, and gave himself a pep talk to tone it down. Then he had gone ahead and driven to her favorite pastry shop to buy her a small, double-chocolate cake. The things love and desperation made a man do.
