I’ve also added one other thing for Caleb.
I glance down at my left wrist, where I’m wearing the friendship bracelet he made me. Every time I look at it my pulse quickens, and I hope he likes that I have it on tonight.
I check my hair one more time, pushing one lock back into place. I put more waves in my hair and went with more subtle makeup than I wear when I’m on camera. A nude eye, peachy-pink blush, a nice neutral lip. No mascara because we’ll be in the pool later.
In the pool with Caleb. Talk about a visual that has played on a loop in my head since he mentioned it.
I can’t get it OUT of my head.
Not that I’m complaining, of course.
Ding!The elevator reaches the top floor of the building, and nerves completely overtake me.
Ha! Overtake. Nice way to work in racing into my feelings.
The doors open, and I find myself entering right into Caleb’s penthouse.
And standing right in front of Caleb.
Oh. My. God.
This time, he’s not in a tux. He’s wearing a black T-shirt, gray trousers, and an Hermés belt.
Holy shit.
I step off the elevator. My eyes are greedily drinking him in, starting with the T-shirt that stretches across his upper body, to the leather and silver bracelets stacked on his left wrist, then down to the gray trousers that fit his lean, athletic bodyto perfection. I move my gaze back up his frame to his face, noticing how his dark hair is swept back with a bit of product.
I feel warm when I see how intensely his icy-blue eyes are roaming over my dress, stopping at the cutout that exposes my midriff, then lowering down my hips and catching for a moment at the slit that reveals a flash of leg. Caleb’s eyes slowly move back up my body, then stop when they meet mine. “Christ, Isla, you lookhot,” he says, his voice low. “So beautiful.”
My throat grows dry from the hungry way he’s looking at me. As he steps toward me, I can smell that sensual cologne lingering on his skin and the fresh grapefruit scent on his hair.
My eyes instinctively dart to his neck. I want to kiss the base of his throat to see if I can detect that cologne there.
No. I want to tastehim. I want to know what his skin would feel like against my lips and how his cologne would taste on my tongue.
Crap. I think I one hundred percent regret telling Caleb we won’t be having sex tonight.
I blink the thought away and force myself to speak. “You look good yourself,” I say, my voice taking on a sultry tone.
“Here, let me take your bag,” he says, extending his hand.
“Thank you.” I hold the canvas tote out to him. Caleb is about to take it when his gaze falls upon my bracelet. His fingertips carefully grasp my wrist, and my stomach flips upside down as his thumb glides over the beads.
“You’re wearing my bracelet,” he says.
“It means something to me,” I say softly.
His eyes immediately flick from the friendship bracelet to meet my gaze. Nothing is said between us in this charged moment, yet I feel as if everything is being said. I know what he’s thinking, both from the way he’s looking at me and from the way he’s touching me right now.
My gesture matters to Caleb.
His fingers linger on my wrist for a moment, stroking the bracelet and sending goose bumps sweeping over my skin. Then he releases my wrist and takes my tote bag from me, and I have to admit, I miss the sensation of his fingers on my skin.
Caleb walks over to the open space that is a combination dining and living room, setting my bag down on a sleek dining room table in front of me. It’s completely modern, with a ceramic travertine-colored top, surrounded by eight off-white linen chairs with metal legs. There’s a companion sideboard along the right side, with a vibrant contemporary painting hanging over it, and there are three modern ring lamps suspended over the table.
I can learn all kinds of things about him from the details of his home. He’s clean. Caleb likes things organized, I’m willing to bet money on it. And he’s definitely a minimalist.
I bite back a smile. I wonder what he would think of my suitcase implosion the other day when I was packing in my room in Miami, because I had piles of stuffeverywherebefore Hadleigh came over for dinner.