Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (classic literature books .TXT) 📗

I stare at the twin red lights of Cassie’s brakes as she runs a stop sign, not caring in her haste to get away from me. Luckily for her, downtown traffic is light at this time of day, but it just leaves me more confused.

What the fuck just happened? Cassie was so pissed, and if anyone else had flipped their shit on me like that, I’d be running for the hills. But Cassie? God, she’s beautiful when her eyes are flashing fire and her cheeks are all pink with anger.

The problem was, she caught me off-guard. I truly didn’t know what she was talking about when she began screaming at me in the middle of the sidewalk. Even now, as the pieces start to come together, I’m still feeling stunned. Sportscar Blondie . . . oh, sweet hell. Never, in all my life, have I run into a situation like this. If I weren’t in the middle of it, I’d swear it could never happen.

The door to Mindy’s Place opens up, and Mindy peeks out the door, looking uncertain. “Uh, Caleb, everything all right out here?”

I turn and realize that everyone inside is staring at me. The advantage of having big glass windows—you get a front-row seat to any streetside action. At least Mindy looks concerned, not just drama-mongering. I’m half tempted to spread my arms and ask the people staring at me if they’re not entertained. “No, I don’t think so, but what the fuck do I know?”

Mindy, who’s always been sort of a sister to me since I started working with Oliver, comes closer. “Wanna talk?”

“Nah, not right now,” I reply, trying to save what little scrap of dignity I have left. I shake my head, “Listen, I just gotta take care of some work. Tell Oli I’ll stop by later. I need to give him an update on the projects he’s got me working on and turn in my expense statement.”

I wave an apologetic goodbye and hop in my truck. I want with every fiber of my being to chase Cassie down and demand that she tell me what the fuck just happened, but I don’t even know where she went. And I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. In addition to getting a delivery at my place for some supplies for Oliver’s properties, I’ve got another job today, and then this afternoon, I have to get out to Douglas Street to check that the porch crew finished their work correctly.

I head to my house, calling Cassie multiple times, but it just goes to voicemail. I sit in the driveway at the house and text her as I wait for the delivery guy.

Call Me. Now.

When Cassie doesn’t text me back by the time the delivery guy and I have finished loading his stuff into the back of my truck, I shake my head and head off to work. I get the first job, a simple gutter cleaning for a young mother, finished quickly, giving her toddler a half-hearted fist bump before she waves goodbye. Oliver’s units are coming along well, and he’s going to have no problems getting them rented out when the university students start coming back, and with the little improvements he’s made, he’s going to be able to get even more profit out of them.

After a quick lunch of grilled chicken breast salad, I head over to Douglas Street. As Cassie doesn’t respond to me, I become a man on a mission, working harder and faster, my emotions giving me an endless amount of energy. I ignore my tired body and let all of my mounting frustration out in my work, and it feels like I’m a Marvel Hero or something. I become . . . Handy-Man.

I get all the cabinets installed, countertops and backsplash complete, and the appliances placed before I take a quick dinner break. If you can call it that—it’s just a couple of meal replacement bars I barely even taste as I chew them mechanically in order to have the energy to keep working. Apparently, confused and pissed is a good work mode for me.

As I gnaw the last of my second bar, I check my phone again. Still no reply from Cassie. It’s well after dark and I don’t know what to do. She won’t answer my calls, so I decide to drive by her house. Yeah, maybe it’s a bit stalkery, but fuck, I need some answers. Grabbing my keys, I jump in my truck and head for her place, the radio off for once. I’m not in the mood for ‘happy’ music, and I don’t have the time to change out my playlist. Instead, I focus on Cassie and the deep desire inside me to see her, to explain what happened, and to let her know the truth.

No dice. As I drive by her apartment, her car isn’t there and my mind whirls. Is she trying to keep busy like me? Usually, Oliver doesn’t keep Martha and Cassie this late, but then again, she might not be following normal protocol. I hope that’s all it is because the thought of her talking to another man makes my blood boil. It seems I’ve become a little possessive over Cassie . . . just like she obviously has over me.

Fuck. I’m too riled up, and I used to know just the thing to calm me down. Once upon a time, I’d go grab a piece of ass for a quick pick-me-up, but the thought of that just turns my stomach. I haven’t been with anybody but Cassie in ages. Hell, even when I’ve jacked off, it’s been her in my mind every time.

There’s really only one thing to do, so I go back to Douglas Street. At least working distracts my mind and tires me out, keeping me from driving all over town to hunt her down. When I get there, I take the time to load