Chapter 17 #2
“No, I’m good.” The response is automatic, and the second I say the words, I want to take them back, especially when Callum’s jaw tightens, like he was hoping I’d take him up on the offer.
I should have, but it’s too late now, and I hate that I just ruined the moment. I want it back. I want his smiles, his easygoing laugh. I want happy Callum, not the one frowning at me now.
“How long did you say until lunch gets here?”
“Uh, about twenty minutes now. Why?”
“Oh good. We have time.”
I slide my hands beneath his shirt, dragging my nails up over his hard abs, and he shudders under my touch.
“Time for what, exactly?” he asks, his words coming out in a hiss as I do it again.
I grin. “For you to show me where that other clover tattoo is…”
I took Talia’s advice and asked the girls if one of them could go shopping with me. Imagine my surprise when they all responded with a very enthusiastic yes, aside from Rory, who just sent a thumbs-up. According to Callum, that meant she was excited.
So, we made a plan to meet up that worked with everyone’s schedules, and now we’re shopping with just four days to go until the wedding.
The guys are golfing, enjoying their All-Star break and time away from the rink.
Callum left in the wee hours of the morning, and since there was no way I was getting up that early, I stayed in bed an extra hour before getting ready to meet the girls for brunch prior to hitting the shops.
But now I’m running late.
“Hey, I am so sorry to be bothering you on your Boy Date, but I think Percy might have stolen the key you left me, and now I can’t find it, and I’m going to be late for the dress shopping date with the girls.”
“First off, do not say Boy Date. If Lawson hears that shit, he will never let it go. Second, I am still not used to hearing you say that.”
“What? Girls?” I growl. “Really, Callum? I’m running late. Help me!”
He laughs. “All right, all right. Did you check the spare bedroom?”
“Yes, but that room is a mess. I’ve been going through boxes and trying to sort through things, and I think I made it worse. Percy barely even goes in there anymore because it’s so cluttered.”
“It’s cluttered because I’ve awakened a beast, and you won’t stay out of the thrift shops.”
“Hush! You love that Canadian whiskey lava lamp, and you know it!” Okay, so maybe I went a little overboard with that one, but I’m not admitting that to him. “Can you think of anywhere else? I’ve checked the living room and our bedroom already.”
There’s a pause on the other end, and it takes me a moment to understand why.
Our. I said our bedroom, not his. It just slipped out, and I didn’t even notice it.
I think it was because it felt so natural to say.
It’s funny how, after all the time and distance between us, we so easily slip back into who we were before everything fell apart.
“Come on,” I say, moving on and acting like it’s no big deal. “Help me, or I will accidentally let it slip to Rory that you wish you could go on more Boy Dates with Lawson—just Lawson.”
I swear I can hear his teeth grinding.
“You are an evil, evil woman, Chloe Lynn Keller.”
I smile at hearing my full name. “I always liked it when you called me Chloe.”
“You like it better when I call you Clover.”
He’s right. I do.
“I do not. Now, where’s the key, Callum?”
He laughs at the emphasis I put on his name, likely thinking back to when I used to do it all the time in college. “I don’t know where the little weasel put it, but I think there’s a spare in the drawer next to the fridge.”
“Please be there, please be there, please be there,” I chant as I make my way across the apartment.
“You okay?”
“Huh? Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. You sound a bit nervous.”
“I do?”
I hadn’t realized I did, but it’s not surprising. My stomach has been in knots all morning, and I couldn’t pinpoint why. Being nervous for today makes sense, and of course Callum would catch on to that.
“I guess I am a little,” I admit. I don’t know why, though. I’ve hung out with them before, and they’ve all been so nice. Maybe it’s me hanging on to some old feelings from a long time ago.
“Don’t be. You’re going to have fun, and you’re going to look gorgeous in whatever dress you buy.”
“You want me to send you a picture?”
“Nah, surprise me. Plus, I fear if you send me a photo, I’ll get a boner, and I really don’t need that to happen on the golf course.”
“Dude! Keller just said he has a boner! It was that last swing, wasn’t it?”
The unmistakable voice of Lawson in the background makes me laugh, and I can just picture Callum dropping his head back on a sigh and giving his teammate a murderous look.
“Shut the fuck up, Lawsy! I swear I’ll club you with your putter!” He lets out a slew of cuss words before saying, “If the Serpents weren’t playing so damn well, I would request a trade.”
His words are nothing but a lie. He loves his team and Lawson, too, even if he won’t admit it.
“Did you find the key, Clover?”
Oh shit, I almost forgot about looking for it.
I yank open the drawer, and items go flying.
He wasn’t kidding about it being a junk drawer.
There are so many random things in here, from chargers to batteries that probably aren’t even good, a pocketknife, and so many restaurant menus it’s not even funny.
But no key.
“Anything?”
“No. Not yet. I just…” My fingers collide with something cold, and I pull free a key that looks almost identical to the one Percy stole. “Does it have a blue piece of tape on it?”
“Yep, I marked it so I didn’t throw it out.”
“I found it! Ah, thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate it so much. I’m sorry to bother you again.”
He laughs lightly. “You’re never bothering me, Clover. You can call me anytime.”
I smile at his words as I work to shuffle things back around so I can close the overstuffed drawer, and my eyes snag on a card lying under a piece of paper with a few scribbles on it. At first, I think nothing of it, but then I read the words in small print at the bottom.
Seattle’s Best Divorce Lawyer
It’s not at all what I expected, and I pick it up with shaky hands, hoping like hell I just really need to get my vision checked.
I don’t. There, on the card I can see very clearly, is the information for a divorce lawyer, and the words Nice chatting with you!
Looking forward to working together! are scrawled in nearly illegible handwriting.
He’s divorcing me. Or he was planning to.
It doesn’t matter which one it is, because both mean the same thing—he gave up on us.
My breaths come in short, and I have to work for each and every one.
I hate it, but mostly because this shouldn’t be a surprise.
Of course he would seek a divorce. I left him, for crying out loud.
It makes perfect sense, and I wouldn’t blame him one bit.
But holding this card in my hand…it makes it all too real just how close I came to losing him, and just how badly I don’t want to.
“Clover? Are you still there?”
I give myself a shake, forcing my voice to come out evenly and praying I sound unbothered as I say, “Sorry, I’m here. I got the key. Thank you so much.”
“Of course. Have fun with the girls. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yeah, see you tonight.”
He pauses, and I close my eyes, readying myself to hear those three words he’s uttered only a few times since I’ve been back. They never come, though, and I wish they had.
The line goes dead, and I let the phone slip away from my ear. I look at the card again, then decide it’s better to deal with it later. I don’t have time for a spiral right now. I stick it back where it came from, careful to place it just so, and head toward the door.
I’m just about to open it as my phone rings again, and I answer it without looking, assuming it’s probably Callum calling because he forgot to tell me something.
“Did you forget something?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number.”
It’s not Callum. It’s a woman, one whose voice sounds vaguely familiar.
“No, no, I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else calling. Who are you looking for?”
“Chloe Keller. This is Avery Danes calling from Sports Action News.”
Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.
My heart begins to pound, and I try my best not to make it obvious. “Um, this is Chloe Keller. Hi, Avery. How are you?”
“Chloe!” I can hear her smile through the phone. “I’m doing well, thank you for asking. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”
I look down at the key dangling out of the knob. “No, not at all. How can I help you?”
“Well, I was hoping you could help me by coming in for another interview. We would love to chat with you some more about what you could bring to the new position.”
Oh my god, they want a second interview?
That’s huge and likely means I’m on their shortlist for editors.
My eyes drift back to the drawer, the one housing the card for the divorce lawyer.
I don’t know what it means. It could be everything, and it could be nothing at all.
Whatever it is, I shouldn’t let it dictate my career.
I’ve wanted this for so long, and I’ve worked damn hard for it.
If things with Callum and me are meant to be, we’ll work it out.
“I would love that, Avery.”
“Perfect! I was really hoping you’d say that,” she says cheerfully.
We make a plan to meet two days from now, and Avery tells me she’s looking forward to seeing me again before we hang up.
I stand there for a long moment, Percy meowing at me for not leaving yet, and it’s not because I don’t want to leave—I am really going to be late now—but because I can’t.
My mind is spinning with so many scenarios that I can’t even begin to sort through them.
Callum telling me he wants a divorce. Me walking out once again. His heart breaking all over again. Mine doing so too.
It’s all too much, and just like the card sitting in the drawer, I don’t have the time to deal with it now. So, I don’t. I take a steadying breath, shove all the thoughts into a box, and tuck it into the back of my mind, then push my shoulders back.
I have a dress to find.