Rocking His Fake World (Love You Forever #3) - Alexis Winter Page 0,47
no time.
I leave Luna with the girls while Calvin takes me into his home office. The place is already decorated nicely with a dark wooden desk, leather chairs, rows and rows of books, and a fancy liquor cabinet. He pours us each a drink then sits across from me.
“So, I see things are still moving quickly with you two.”
I shrug and take a sip of my scotch. “We’re spending time together because it makes us happy, but we’ve vowed to let go when the time comes.”
He nods. “So you’re putting off the pain for another day.”
I laugh. “Basically, but there’s no better option. Why stay away from each other when we can still be together?”
“Hey, it’s your life. Live it however you want.” He reaches into his desk and pulls out a stack of paperwork. “Here are the plans I have for the new office. What do you think?” he asks, handing them over.
I flip through the pages, impressed. “You did these on your own?” The building is rather small. It looks to have a front desk area, a public restroom, a storage/break room, and two offices. “Why two offices?”
He shrugs. “I just thought it would be better to plan ahead. I don’t want to get so busy that I need to hire someone else and not have the space for them. Plus, you never know . . . you may want to move out of the city and settle down one of these days.”
I laugh long and hard at that. I’ve always been a city boy. I’ve never lived in the country and highly doubt I’m going to start now. I wouldn’t know what to do with a house of my own. I’ve never used a lawn mower, and have never had to fix a leaky pipe, or deal with any other kind of home improvement issue. If something breaks, I just call the super. And grass is something I can honestly say I’ve never even thought about. I grew up in a penthouse apartment. I lived in the dorms in college, and live in an apartment now. I’ve never lived in a house and find the thought of it to be weird. It just seems wasteful to me. Who needs that much space? And what the hell do you do with it all?
Preston walks into the room and drops down in the chair next to me. “Hey, Dan. Nice to see you again.”
I reach out and shake his hand. “You too. How have things been?”
He smiles. “As good as ever. My wife is in there driving your girlfriend crazy with questions. Sorry about that.”
I laugh. “I’m sure she’s not bothering her. She’s probably used to it, and if she’s not, she’s going to have to get used to it sooner rather than later.”
“Guys, dinner is ready!” Piper says, sticking her head into the room.
The three of us get up and go into the dining room where Riley and Luna are already seated. I take the open chair next to her and take her hand in mine. “Everything okay?”
She smiles. “Mm-hmm.”
Preston and Riley sit across from us with Calvin and Piper at either end of the table. We all take turns making our plates of spaghetti, garlic bread, and a side salad. Based on Calvin’s warning, I prepare myself for the first bite, but to my surprise, everything tastes amazing. The salad is fresh and crisp. The pasta is cooked perfectly and the sauce has a nice balance of sweetness and robustness. The garlic bread is perfectly toasted and it’s smothered in butter and garlic. It’s easily the best home-cooked meal I’ve ever tasted.
“This is all amazing. Thanks for having us,” I say before stuffing another bite into my mouth. With all the extra hours I’ve put in at the gym lately, my hunger has been insatiable. I can’t get enough.
“We’re happy to have you both,” Piper says.
Riley nods. “So when are you guys moving out here?” She offers up a sly grin.
Luna and I both laugh nervously. “Well,” Luna starts, “we’re not exactly sure of our future just yet. This is all so new that it’s hard to know if we’ll make it or not. That, on top of my busy schedule and the fact that the band is going on tour soon, just makes it feel like the odds are against us.”
“That’s right. I forgot about your tour,” Calvin says, looking only at me as a way to remind me of what I’m getting myself into.