Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CALLIE
My sister is a gorgeous fall of rain after a long drought.
I hate not being able to see her often. When she steps through the front door, her presence regulates my equilibrium and restores balance to my nervous system at once.
Her hair is long, dark with a gentle wave, and her cheekbones are high and pronounced.
But the best thing about her is the smile.
I know that smile so well. The moment she catches my eye while holding my squishable nephew, my body anchors, grounded and flooded with overwhelming gratification.
It’s like I walk around missing a limb, but when Luna’s here, my body is entirely whole again.
“You made it!” I squeal, crossing the room with my arms out. Gavin is in the kitchen checking on his roast, and it’s been dark outside for a few hours, even though it’s just past six.
Luna puts an arm around me and we hug around Oliver, who squirms for freedom. “Not the best drive, but we’re here now.”
Violet runs inside, her copper curls bouncing as she stomps in from the cold. Her little four-year-old cheeks are rosy and her blue eyes bright. She’s followed by her mom, Ruby, holding Poppy on her hip.
“Ruby!” I say, leaning in to hug her and avoiding her long, auburn ponytail. She’s shorter than me, and the resemblance between her and her girls is uncanny. “Poppy has gotten so big.”
“Me too! I’m so big too, aren’t I?” Violet asks, her tiny English accent so adorable it’s making my insides squeeze. Her hair bounces as she hops on her little feet. “I’m almost five now, you know. I’ll be five on January ninth.”
“You are enormous, Violet,” I say, crouching to her level. “You can’t be turning five. Surely you’re turning fifteen.”
She giggles. “Mum, Callie thinks I look fifteen. Do I look fifteen?”
“No, love. She’s just being silly.”
“Fifteen,” I whisper, winking before rising.
Rhys and Hamish approach the door overladen with bags, so I move to hold it open for them.
Each new addition adds a little more peace and comfort to my heart.
How could I possibly have been disappointed that they were arriving? This is what wholeness feels like.
“Hello, Callie,” Rhys says, pulling me in for a tight hug. He smells like the cold.
Hamish gives me a wave, and I don’t make him hug me. “Gavin’s in the kitchen,” I tell him.
“Of course he is,” Hamish says with amusement.
“You could join him,” Ruby tells him. “Learn a few things.”
Hamish’s red eyebrows lift. “My wife, my best friend, and my cousin are all excellent cooks. I have no need.” He brushes copper hair from his face, then heads outside, presumably for more bags.
Ruby rolls her eyes but laughs.
Rhys puts his arm around my shoulders and gives me another squeeze. He’s tall, with dark hair, and has on a thick sweatshirt. “It’s good to see you, Cal. How’re you holding up?”
“I’m fine.” I shrug, giving a little shake of my head that tries to communicate just how unbothered I’ve been the last few days in isolation with the most attractive man in all of Scotland. “We’ve done okay here on our own.”
Rhys’s smile is friendly. He’s always had the ability to put me at ease. “Glad to hear it.”
“Done okay?” Luna asks, skepticism dripping from her tone.
I’m almost afraid to look at my sister, but I brave it out. Oliver wiggles to be set free and she puts him down. If I open my mouth now, I know I’ll give myself away, so I plead the fifth—internally, of course, gotta keep that mouth shut—and wait her out.
She’s patient, though, and presses me for more information. “What does that mean? Has it been better than you expected?”
The door to the kitchen swings open. Gavin blows in, running a hand through his hair as he smiles at the group.
His cheeks are pink from working over the oven, but the effect looks more like a blush, lending further credence to the possibility that we might have something to feel guilty about. “Welcome, everyone. Hiya, Ruby. Luna.”
Gavin circles the room, hugging the women and giving the children massive high-fives, making them leap in the air to reach him.
“It smells amazing in here,” Ruby says.
“I hope you’re hungry. I’ve got a roast on.”
“Practically a whole cow,” I add.
Violet wrinkles her nose. “An entire cow? I don’t want to eat a cow.”
“You can just have the roast, then,” Ruby says. “You already love roast.”
She looks relieved. “I do.”
“Are there more cases to bring in?” Gavin asks.
Rhys shakes his head. “Hamish is fetching the last of it now.”
“Right then, I’ll show you to your rooms.”
We all gather bags and babies, then follow Gavin up a flight of stairs. He shows each of them their rooms, then Hamish carries in a rectangular bag and sets it on the floor with a thud. “Here’s Poppy’s cot.”
Gavin claps him on the back. They might be cousins, but they don’t look at all alike. “Welcome, Hamish. Can I fetch you anything?”
“A bit of peace wouldn’t go amiss.”
“We’ll get dinner on, eh?” Gavin says. “Fill their mouths with food.”
Hamish looks grateful. “I think they’ll be asleep shortly after.”
Gavin shoots me a look and ducks his head. “Come down when you’re ready to eat.”
“I’ll help,” I say, slipping around the suitcases and reaching for Oliver. “Want to come with us?”
He leans into his mom, which I try not to take great offense at.
“He’s not used to you yet,” Luna says. “Give it a few days.”
“Okay, heartbreaker.”
“Come help me unpack?” she asks. “My hands are so full.”
I glance at Gavin, who’s waiting at the top of the stairs.
Things are already different. That didn’t take long.
He smiles, heading down the stairs, which feels like a dismissal, in a way.
This is going to take some major recalibration.
I’ve passed the last few days spending every moment with that man, not needing to worry about anyone’s schedule but our own and what we’d like to do.
Now my sister is here, his cousin is here, and things are going to be different. Gavin’s in the same house as me, but I miss him. It makes no sense.
Snap out of it, Callie. This man is an acquaintance. I don’t even have his phone number. We’re so distant, he’ll forget the sound of my voice before my plane lands in California.
Except I can still feel the energy that pulsated between us when we were talking about stockings earlier. Smell his earthy warm scent. Feel his arms around me, my back against his chest.
I let out a breath and follow Luna across the hallway to the room she’s staying in, where Rhys is kneeling on the floor putting together a portable crib for Oliver. I need to talk to her about the whole fake-girlfriend thing so she doesn’t get the wrong idea if she ever catches wind of it.
“Close the door, Cal?” she asks. “I want to put Oliver down, and I’m afraid he’s going to run for the stairs.”
I shut it while Luna drops on the end of the bed and puts her son on the floor. He immediately runs toward the short bookcase in the corner of the room and pulls out children’s books. Elephant and Piggie stories, by the look of them.
“Okay, tell me everything.”
I look up sharply. Luna is watching me with a greed I’ve never before seen on my sister’s face.
But what the mistletoe is she wanting from me?
She has no idea I need to talk about the party.
Is my face giving me away? Can my sister see through my facade and discern the weird feelings I’m battling? “There’s nothing to tell.”
“That’s not true. You were so upset when you found out we couldn’t make it straight away, then yesterday I didn’t hear from you once. What did you call Gavin that first morning? Toxic and self-absorbed, right?”
Had I really said that? It couldn’t be further from the truth. “I was having a bad morning.”
“See!” She points right at me. “You’re so into him.”
“Leave it, Lu,” Rhys says, his attention on fitting two metal poles together. “You’ve done enough, haven’t you?”
Her eyes whip toward her husband, widening in a secret spousal message.
The thing is, as her sister, I know a little of the language too. My hand finds my hip, and my gaze narrows in on her. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“I know you didn’t have the roads closed, because that would be insane and you can’t control the weather. But you did something. What was it?”
She casts me a stubborn smile. “Rhys exaggerates.”
“We both know that isn’t true,” I counter.
She rolls her eyes. “It’s all in the past, okay? The good thing is that we’re here now, Mom and Dad will be here soon, and we’ll all be making fudge and caramels and singing carols before you know it.”
The picture she paints is a cozy holiday full of traditions in a warm household where no one ever forgot important things like stockings.
My gut tugs uncomfortably, considering the difference in my upbringing and Gavin’s.
Will having my entire family in his house be difficult for him?
Or will it be a nice change of pace? Give him a taste of something different?
He isn’t six anymore, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t appreciate a good Christmas.
A strange protectiveness slides over me.
Maybe waiting to talk to her for a bit longer wouldn’t be the end of the world.
If I tell her about the party and the fake girlfriend situation, I’ll have to give her some background, and I don’t really feel like sharing Gavin’s past. I trust my sister more than anyone, but it feels disloyal to Gavin somehow.
Just like I haven’t posted the picture we took together yet. I can’t quite identify why I hesitated.
Luna slides to the floor to begin a yoga routine. “I’ve been working on our movie list so we don’t forget anything.”
I welcome the change in conversation with open arms. “I might have already watched White Christmas.”
She bends forward, exhaling. “I forgive you, and we can watch it again.”
Yep. Predicted that. “Can I take Oliver downstairs? I’m going to see if Gavin needs any help.”