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Trust.

I need to show April she can trust me.

CHAPTER 59

APRIL

Isit in the nightclub, the music thumping. It is not my usual hangout, but when Caleb’s sisters and Penelope Dawson turn up on my doorstep and demand I join them for a night out, the shock alone has me agreeing.

“Welcome to Lilith’s. A private members club. No press allowed, but there are still plenty of arseholes present, just so you’re aware,” Harper says, leading us to our table.

The club is spread over multiple floors, but the girls and I head for the main bar area, a large room filled with booths and tables.

“Wow, this is quite something,” I say, taking a seat.

“It certainly is. Come midnight, it’s packed,” Kat says. “Tonight is about getting out and letting your hair down.”

I wonder if Caleb has told them I’ve been hermitting myself away. I go to work, then straight back to the apartment.

Kat touches my arm and gives it a squeeze. “Tonight is about drinking and dancing. I expect to see you strutting your stuff on the dance floor later.”

“Only if you join me,” I tell her and when she smiles, Inotice how much like Caleb she is. She really isn’t the ice queen people make her out to be.

It’s been a week since I left Cal’s. We’ve talked on the phone daily, but he keeps his distance, giving me the space I asked for. I miss him more than I thought possible. The ache that has always been a permanent resident in my chest is back. I had not realised it had subsided while I lived with Caleb, but now it is back with a vengeance. Only this time, the longing is so intense I feel tired all the time and am no longer sleeping. I miss him.

I’ve heard nothing more from Sir Leonard Crawley. As promised, Cal and his family appear to have taken care of the situation. I’m not naive enough, to think it’s over. Men like that don’t just give up. He’s probably just biding his time until I let my guard down. There is no way I want Caleb, or his family hurt by my past, whatever they say.

The night goes on, and I find myself relaxing. Caleb’s sisters and Pen, as she told me to call her are great company. We have spent the night, laughing and dancing. I have very few actual girlfriends, so this is new and novel, and I find myself enjoying it.

“You must have one magic pussy to have tamed my brother.” Harper giggles, the alcohol clearly going to her head.

“Harper!” Kat snaps. “Don’t be crude.”

“What?” Harper answers. “Caleb has never been able to keep it in his pants. He likes sex. What’s wrong with that? It’s perfectly natural. Not sure why everyone is so hung up on it.”

Kat shakes her head at her younger sister, before shooting me a sideways glance. “He’s been searching. He wants what Mum and Dad had.”

“Don’t we all,” Harper says.

I can’t stop myself, the alcohol clearly having gone to my head too. “What did your mum and dad have?”

It’s Harper who smiles, an almost wistful smile. “Love. In bucket loads,” she sighs.

Kat continues, “They were the perfect pair. They just got each other. They could read each other’s moods. They laughed, talked, and debated. And could theydebate. Heated, passionate debates.” They all laugh at the memory. “But most of all, when they loved. They loved each other and us with a passion, both physically and mentally. That is what my brother has been looking for. What he’s found with you.”

Her honesty shocks me.

Is this what they think? That Cal loves me?

He told me he’s fallen in love with me, but…

A vice clamps around my chest, and a look of pure panic must appear in my expression because all three of the girls laugh.

“Don’t worry, when a Frazer man falls, he falls hard. My mother will tell you that. You just need to decide if you want that level of devotion for the rest of your life.”

I find the thought almost impossible to comprehend. We hardly know each other. Yes, we’re compatible in the bedroom. Caleb is a sex god. Who wouldn’t be compatible with such a man? But as for the rest? Yes, we talk, we debate. We argue, and we laugh. My mind wonders to our time together, to the simple things we do and how I no longer feel alone.

Is that love?