19. Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Fleur
W e spent Christmas at Callum's place, just the two of us. He told his parents he wouldn't be able to visit them because I needed a caretaker. We'd talked to them on FaceTime, and James had even apologized to me for making the remarks about how I wasn't family-oriented.
Rose had been herself—openly happy that Callum and I were dating—and that she wanted to visit soon and get to know me better. She also wanted us to visit them in Scotland and meet all the Gallaghers. Apparently, there were quite a few.
They wanted me to have their family as I didn't have any of my own. My parents had decided, as Callum put it, not to get their heads out of their arses and have a relationship with me. Old habits die hard! I knew that. They'd been forgiving Sabine and making excuses for her for so long that they didn't know how to live any other way.
Did it hurt? Yes . Was I going to go back to the way things were with them? No .
I didn't even feel the need. Callum had become my family. His friends had become our friends, and mine had become ours as well.
It would take several months for his background clearance to be finished (that's how things were), but since I was cleared to read him the basics of what I did, he met the rest of my team on an encrypted video call.
I physically healed slowly, a bit too sluggishly for my liking. But by the start of the New Year, I was back at work. I had let Callum see my office, and he'd been impressed.
"How do I set this up for you at my place?" he asked immediately, which warmed my heart.
He made me happy by just being him. A little domineering. Okay, a whole lot of that, but also kind, sweet, and loving.
The sex was still damn good, but we were waiting for my cast to come off to go at it the way we used to. It was still hot, still fun, and still sweet—but sometimes you didn't want to make love; you wanted to fuck.
So, finally, right before Fat Tuesday, when my cast came off, and I got a clean bill of health, instead of fucking me hard , Callum decided that we had to celebrate. He took me out to dinner, which I didn't complain about because it was at The Court of Two Sisters one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans.
But I really wished we'd gone somewhere else when I heard my father's voice.
"Callum."
My father was behind me and facing my boyfriend, who looked at me with an arched eyebrow, silently asking me if he should ask Daddy to go fuck himself or give him the time of day.
To make it easy for him, I turned and smiled. "Hey, Daddy."
My father immediately sobered. "Hi, Fleur. How are you?"
"I'm good," I murmured.
"Brian." Callum didn't smile.
"It's…it's good to see you," Daddy said uneasily.
"Brian, where are you…?" My mother looked at me and her eyes went from confusion to guilt. "Fleur, ah…it's good to see you, honey. How are you?"
"I'm well."
Callum greeted her just as coldly as he had my father. Talk about awkward. This was the snapshot in the dictionary to explain that word.
"Would you like to join us for dinner?" I offered politely. No matter how they treated me, these were my parents and if I had a chance to spend time with them, I'd take it.
I had told Callum I thought I was pathetic to keep trying with them, and he had said, "No, Grian , you have a big fucking heart; that's not pathetic; that's a gift to cherish."
I loved this about Callum. He made it okay for me to feel the way I did—even if I thought it was stupid. He never asked me to behave differently or be someone else.
He had tried to get me to quit my job, but that had been only once, and he relented after I told him that my going to war zones was not common—and no way in hell was I going to leave a job that I loved.
"I'm afraid not," my mother said tightly. "We're having dinner with Sabine and her new beau."
"That's lovely," I said sincerely. "I hope she's well."
"She's great." This came from my father.
We were still sitting; they were still standing, and Callum looked like he was ready to put a fist through something.
"Well, then you should get along to your table," Callum interjected. "Fleur and I are celebrating."
"What are you celebrating?" My mother demanded, her eyes filled with something ugly and malicious. I felt bad about that. Why couldn't she be happy for me?
"That Fleur and I are ready to finally fu—"
"Gallaghers just signed a big contract with the Oilers," I cut in and saw his eyes were filled with mischief.
"As I was saying, Fleur and I are ready to finally start her education in ice hockey," he teased.
My parents looked at each other in confusion, not sure if we were speaking in code.
"Fleur, it's a good thing that we bumped into you because we need to have a conversation about a few things." My father didn't even sound like he was trying to convince me; he was ordering.
"I don't think so, Daddy." I wore my biggest smile because as much as I would love to have a relationship with them, I was done with the abuse and negativity they doled out in spades.
"Young lady—"
"Brian, she said no." Callum stood up. He was taller than my father, and his tone and demeanor were threatening at best. "You want to talk to her? I told you what you need to do. Apologize and make amends for treating her like shit. And if you can't do that, stay the fuck the hell away from us."
My father glowered, but we all knew he wouldn't make a fuss. We were in public and facades were important to my parents.
My parents huffed, called me ungrateful and rude under their breaths, and left.
"You okay?" Callum asked.
I did an inventory of my emotional status. "I think so," I finally admitted. "I can't say it doesn't hurt because it does, but I can say that I'm not prepared to deal with their bullshit. Who do you think Sabine is dating?"
"Another lawyer who works at your father's firm," Callum told me, and then when I looked surprised that he knew, he grinned, "I saw them at Antoine's when I was at lunch with a client, and I know the guy. I put two and two together. You worried I'm still talking to her?"
"No," I said honestly, "You can talk to whomever you like. I'd never interfere. I trust you."
"The guy is an asshole." He sounded very happy about that. "He's divorced and has a bad reputation. I think they suit each other—two narcissists."
"She wronged Seamus," I said softly, "but wishing ill on anyone doesn't do any good."
"You're fucking amazing. I don't know how you stay so…full of light and love for people who don't deserve it."
"I can't let them change me," I explained.
He laced my fingers with his. "How the fuck did I get so lucky with you?"
I smiled. "You eat pussy real good."
He laughed out loud then and waved a hand at our server. "Check, please."