Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
CALLUM
My focus was absolutely shot. My office had become utterly useless because every time I set foot inside, I started reliving that kiss with Parker. Remembering what it was like to cage her in against the desk. How she hadn’t been afraid at all. How she’d looked up at me with want in her eyes. How she’d been the one to take the step toward me. And that mouth. God. I’d been fantasizing about it practically from the moment we’d met, but reality was so much better. She was sweet—of course she was. But I’d tasted heat underneath, and I suspected that she’d be willing to move a lot faster than I was. Which meant I had to be the one to keep my head, because if I’d learned anything about Parker Lawrence since she’d come into my life, it was that she was willing to leap because she trusted I’d catch her if she fell.
That trust was a heady thing. Something I wasn’t entirely sure I deserved, but I’d do my fucking best to earn it. To keep her safe. Even if I did feel like I was in some kind of free fall myself. I had no idea what any of this meant long term, but I’d let Parker in, and, for once, I was in no hurry to kick her back out.
She’d had me round for dinner last night, which ended with us cuddling on the sofa and talking.
Me. Callum Quinn. Cuddling. Having willing, enjoyable conversation.
Fuck me, but I liked it. I liked her.
Movement in the doorway caught my attention.
Instead of the object of my distraction, I found my business partners standing shoulder to shoulder, staring at me with suspicion.
“What?”
“You were smiling.” Finn’s words came out as an accusation.
“What the hell are you on about?”
“We saw it. It’s gone now, but you were smiling. You never smile.”
Damn it, he was right. And I could feel the strain in my cheeks from muscles that hadn’t been used in I had no idea how long. “I dinna ken what you’re talking about.”
“We’re just keenly aware of your usual temperament, and this is a change,” Alex said carefully.
I scowled, and somehow the expression felt less comfortable than it used to. “I’m just sitting in here, existing, while you two wankers are standing there, harassing me for no reason.” I put extra snap into the words, both because they clearly suspected something was going on, and because this reaction was expected.
Parker stuck her head between them, peering in and raising one delicate eyebrow in a way that asked, Is that really necessary?
My inner hackles settled immediately. “Sorry,” I muttered.
Her sunshiny smile seemed to have a little extra warmth as she nodded. My fingers twitched with the urge to reach for her, to draw her smaller frame against mine, and find those lips again. But I kept my hands firmly on the desk. Just because I couldn’t stop thinking about how perfectly she’d fit against me last night didn’t mean I could act on it at work.
Alex and Finn looked from her to me.
Finn widened his eyes in exaggeration and whispered, “She has superpowers.”
Alex was speculative. “Seems she does.”
Parker lightly popped both of them on the arm. “Don’t be mean.”
“Were you coming back here to wrangle the children or did you need something?” Please say me.
“I’ve decided what I want to do for my next adventure.”
My brain started down an extremely graphic list of suggestions before she began speaking again.
“I’ve been reading up on mountains in Scotland and how they’re all broken down into height levels, from Munros to Corbetts to Grahams. The bigger ones are probably out of my skill set right now, but I’d like to climb a Graham.” Her cheeks pinked. “That sounds really suggestive in a way that I did not intend.”
Damn, if I didn’t wish my middle name was Graham right now… I’d be happy to let her climb me any way she pleased.
“Well, none of us are Grahams, so I think you’re safe on that front,” Finn snarked.
Parker looked at me. “Are you game for that on my next day off?”
I thought immediately about the flare she’d had last week. I didn’t want to stress her out or bring attention to it, so I simply asked, “You think you’re up for that?”
I could tell she recognized what I was really asking.
“Yeah, I think so. I want to try, anyway.”
Then I’d do anything in my power to help her succeed. “Okay, I’ll sort the details. Block off the calendar.”
The faint jangle of the front doorbell sounded.
“Duty calls.” As Parker left to deal with the walk-in, both my mates continued to stand in the door.
“What?”
They simply waited. I knew this tactic. They expected me to fill the silence. I’d been trained better than that. But despite my silence, I could feel heat crawling up the back of my neck. Because I knew what they weren’t outright asking. Parker and I hadn’t discussed what we were or if we wanted to tell people. The only thing we were clear on was that we didn’t want to stop at just one kiss. Or, well, there’d been a few more at her place last night. But I was hardly going to blurt that out, was I?
The pair of them still stood there, staring at me, when Parker came back a few minutes later. “I’ve got a guy who needs to rent a bike out front. Can one of you help with that?”
Finn straightened. “Aye. Sure.”
“Of course,” Alex added.
“Before you go, you should know—I kissed Callum. Is that a problem for you?” There was no mistaking the look of challenge on her face.
Alex’s gaze flicked to me, then back to her. “Did you feel coerced?”
I was too busy goggling that she’d just put that out there, bold as brass, to be offended at the implication.
“Not in the least.”
“Uh huh.” Alex looked at Finn, who shrugged.
“Right. Well, it’s no’ a problem for us, if it’s no’ a problem for you.”
Parker nodded. “Good. Now, can you come help me with a bike for this gentleman out here?”
Alex followed her back out front.
Finn slouched indolently against the doorjamb, a shite-eating grin on his face. “I knew it. I knew you had a thing for her. No wonder your mood has improved.”
I didn’t appreciate the implication. “Watch it, Nomad. I can still kick your ass if you’re disrespectful.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “Nothing but respect, mate. For either of you. I’m happy for you. Truly.”
As he walked away, I had to admit to myself that I was happy for me, too, for the first time in longer than I cared to admit.