Beyond Broken (The Bay Boys #3) (25 page)

Her face burned when her eyes landed on a box of condoms, nestled on the bottom shelf, and then she swallowed, looking away.
 
So what if Caleb had sex?
 
Perhaps regularly?
 
It didn’t mean anything to her anyway.
 
And it was a complete coincidence when her eyes landed on the expiration date and saw that in a few months, they’d be out of commission.

She ignored how that date made her feel a little bit better.
 
He’d bought them a long time ago.
 
That didn’t mean she wanted to know the last time he’d used them.

She slammed the medicine cabinet door shut with a little more force than necessary after she located mouthwash and swished the blue liquid around in her mouth until her tongue burned.

Once she finished in the bathroom, she felt a little better.
 
As she passed the closed doors in the hallway, she resisted the urge to snoop and be nosey, no matter how pressing her curiosity.
 
That
felt too private, even for her.
 
It was obvious that even Caleb kept out of the rooms, for good reason.
 
It was a little creepy even being here by herself and she wondered why Caleb didn’t move out of the house, especially if he hated it as much as he obviously did.

Eyeing the cardboard boxes lining the walls, Maddie thought that perhaps he
was
in the process of moving out.

When her stomach growled, she looked through the fridge and cabinets one more time, as though they’d replenished themselves magically over night.
 
Not finding anything, she dug into the leftover pizza, reasoning that she’d bought it.
 
She left a few slices for Caleb anyway when she replaced the box in the fridge.

Looking at the time on her phone, she realized that she had a couple hours until she had to meet Kate for coffee in the city and then head to her job on campus.
 
She had no classes today, but had work until five o’ clock and she’d hoped to squeeze in some library time beforehand.
 
She needed to start applying for internships at museums.
 
Without some experience, she wouldn’t be able to graduate from her program.

Yet, she didn’t know what to do about Caleb’s house.
 
She couldn’t just leave it unlocked.
 
Even though it was in a nice neighborhood, if something did happen, it would be her responsibility.
 
At the same time, she couldn’t wait for long.
 
She still needed to drive home, shower, and change before taking BART into the city.

Just as she was wondering if she could lock the door from the inside and escape through a window, the lock on the front door turned and Caleb walked inside.
 
In earphones and running shoes, Caleb looked absolutely drool-worthy with his shirt plastered to his broad chest with sweat, his hair mussed, and cheeks flushed from the cold November air.

Maddie realized she was gaping when he spotted her in the kitchen and she closed her mouth.
 
When he pulled out his earbuds, she said the first thing that came to her mind.
 
“I was just debating crawling through a window.”

A sardonic brow shot up.
 
“Oh, really?”

Well, he’s in a fine mood this morning,
she thought.
 
He edged around her in the kitchen, opening up a cabinet to pull out the protein powder she’d seen last night.
 
Maddie caught a delicious whiff of him as he passed and all she wanted to do was bury her face in his neck and smell him all day, despite her annoyance.
 
Was that normal?
 
She’d read about pheromones once, but she’d never really believed that someone’s sweat could smell good until now.

“Well, I thought you left.
 
Your keys were gone,” she told him, trying to mask the irritation in her voice.
 
“I couldn’t just leave your house unlocked.”

He cast her a side glance as he scooped out his protein powder and mixed it with water.
 
“I went on a run.
 
I took my keys so
I
could lock up.”

“I realize that now.
 
A note would’ve been nice.”

He scowled at her tone.
 
“Are you pissed at me or something?
 
Or are you just in a bad mood?”

“Seriously?” Her mouth dropped open in disbelief.
 
“I drove you home and stayed with you all night and you’re going to throw
that
in my face this morning?”

“I didn’t ask for your help last night.”

“You weren’t in any state to ask for
anyone’s
help even though you clearly needed it,” she shot back.

Caleb’s lips pressed together in a thin line.
 
“I don’t want to fight with you right now.
 
My head’s already pounding as it is.”

Maddie had the strongest urge to scream but she bit back the cutting reply she wanted to lob at him.
 
“Fine.
 
Whatever.”
 
She stalked over to her jacket, wondering why she even tried with him.
 
Jamming her arms in the sleeves, she bit out, “Do you need a ride back to the garage?”

He studied her and then shook his head.
 
“I’ll catch a ride with Brian.”

“Okay.”
 
Fine by me
, she thought.
 
“See you later.”

Maddie resisted the urge to stomp to the door and reminded herself to act like an adult.
 
She snagged her purse off the entry way table and looked through it to locate her keys.

Caleb sighed and she heard his footsteps as he trailed after her.
 
“Hey,” he said.

She pulled out her keys and opened the front door.
 
Looking over her shoulder, she murmured, “Bye.”

Before she could make it two steps, Caleb grabbed her wrist and pulled her back inside.
 
“Just wait a minute.”

She avoided his eyes.
 
“I’m gonna be late.”

“Look at me,” he growled.

Barely refraining from rolling her eyes, she lifted her gaze.
 
“What?”

Maddie thought that his features softened ever so slightly, but then dismissed the idea as quickly as it came.
 
This was Caleb Montgomery, after all.
 
He was about as soft as a desert cactus and twice as prickly.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, his eyes briefly dropping to her lips.
 
When had he stepped so close?
 
“I do appreciate last night.”

“Okay.”

Now, had that really been so hard
? she wondered.

He looked like he wanted to say something else and she waited what felt like a couple minutes for him to spit it out.
 
But in the end, he didn’t.
 
Instead, he nodded and said, “See you later tonight.”
 
Then he released her arm and stepped back.

Maddie stared at him, but he kept his eyes trained just over her shoulder.
 
Now
he
wouldn’t look at
her.
 
Ignoring her disappointment, she told him, “By the way, I used your mouth wash.”
 
And just as she was about to close the front door behind her, she left him with another parting message.
 
“Oh, and your condoms are almost expired.
 
You might want to check on that.”

She pulled the front door shut just as his eyes narrowed.

And then she smirked all the way to her car.

Take that, you surly asshole.

TWENTY-TWO

Maddie quickly entered the coffee shop she was meeting Kate in, glancing down at her phone to check the time.
 
She was a few minutes late since there was a slight delay on BART.

She spotted Kate, already at a table, in the corner, along with a familiar blonde.
 
It was Christie, one of Caleb’s friends, who she’d met at Hemlock Tavern.
 
Maddie waved when Kate spotted her and made her way over.

“I’m sorry I’m a little late,” she said, putting her purse down and shrugging out of her jacket.

“No worries,” Kate said.
 
“I hope you don’t mind, but Christie wanted to tag along when she found out about our coffee date.”

“Not at all,” Maddie said, smiling as she took a seat.

“I told my boss I had a doctor’s appointment,” the blonde explained, winking, “but I just
had
to come and get all the gossip on Caleb.”

“Um,” Maddie said, a sudden laugh escaping her.
 
“Gossip?”

Christie waved her hand, beautiful gold bangles jingling on her wrist.
 
“You know, an insider’s perspective on the mysterious man himself.”

Maddie didn’t follow and Kate must’ve seen the confusion on her face because the brunette said, “Sorry about her.
 
She’s had too much caffeine already and is too nosey for her own good.
 
But speaking of caffeine, what can I get you?”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it.
 
I’ll order.”

“Nonsense.
 
I asked you here and I know you’re busy.
 
Now, what do you want?”

Maddie caved when she saw how determined Kate was.
 
“A latte, please.”

“Right.”
 
She stood from the table.
 
“I’ll be right back.”

As Kate ordered their drinks, Christie smiled over at her, wiggling her eyebrows.
 
“So, about Caleb…”

Even from the counter, Kate yelled over, “Stop it, Christie.”

Christie pouted.
 
“Oh, she’s no fun.”
 
She leaned forward, whispering, “She’s just as curious, even though she won’t admit it.”

Maddie laughed.
 
She liked Christie.
 
There was something refreshing about her, lighthearted and carefree.

She wouldn’t tell her that she’d just come from Caleb’s house after looking out for him all night, but she figured she’d at least give the blonde
something
.
 
“Well, he seems to have an endless supply of black t-shirts.
 
And his car is freakishly neat.”

“You’ve been in his car?” Christie asked, mouth dropping.
 
“He doesn’t let anyone in his car.
 
Not even the boys!”

“Oh,” Maddie said dumbly, wondering why.
 
“Well, he gave me a ride home after what happened with my car.”

“Woah, woah, woah, start from the beginning,” Christie commanded, just as Kate sat back down.
 
“And don’t leave anything out.”
 
She turned to Kate.
 
“She’s been in his car.”

So, Maddie told them how she and Caleb met, leaving out the fact that she’d had a crush on him in high school.
 
She figured that if she told Christie
that
, the stunning blonde would pop a blood vessel and interrogate her on what Caleb had been like as a teenager.

When she finished recounting that night, Christie said, “How romantic.”

Romantic?

Maddie laughed.
 
“Caleb is probably the
least
romantic man I’ve ever met.”
 
The thought of him giving some girl flowers or chocolate, or treating her to a candlelit dinner was actually hilarious.
 
“I can’t picture him doing anything romantic for someone, especially for me.”

Christie exchanged looks with Kate.
 
Maddie suddenly felt like she was about to be privy to some information she shouldn’t know.

“He told Alex and Olivia about you,” Christie said, leaning forward on her elbows.
 
Maddie’s brow furrowed.
 
They had also been with Caleb on Saturday night, if she remembered correctly.

“When?”

“I think early last week.”

“What did he say?”

“I’m not sure.
 
Olivia wouldn’t tell us everything, but that’s not the point.
 
The point is that he told them about you.
 
This is Caleb we’re talking about.
 
He doesn’t talk about women.
 
Ever.”

A server brought over their coffees, which was a relief.
 
Maddie didn’t want to think about why Caleb brought her up to his friends.
 
She didn’t want to hope for something that would never happen.
 
She took a sip of her coffee before answering.
 
“I’m sure he just told them that I was working for him.”

“Then why did he drag us all to Hemlock Tavern on Saturday night?
 
Caleb hates that place.”

So her suspicions
had
been correct.
 
Caleb went there because he’d known that she would be there.
 
Again, she didn’t want to read too much into it.

This time, Kate jumped in.
 
“Do you like him?”

“What?”

“Do you have feelings for him?”

“I—I…” she stuttered, caught off guard.
 
Frowning, she realized that she’d never questioned what she’d felt for him.
 
It was like she’d always had feelings for him, always in the background, over the years, even when she thought she’d never seen him again.
 
He’d given her a hopeful, beautiful moment in that courtyard, and it wasn’t something she’d ever forget.

Kyra’s words rang in her mind.

You’ve always had a weird thing for him.

Weird, indeed.
 
And stupid.

Finally, she settled on a half-truth, “He makes it hard to have feelings for him.”

“I can imagine,” Christie drawled.
 
“We didn’t exactly hit it off either.”