Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
LEWI S
“ I t’s architect designed,” the estate agent informed me as we walked through the brand-new home. “Award-winning architect Thane Adair was behind this beauty.” She frowned as she glanced down at the note in front of her and looked back up at me. “Any relation?”
“Aye.” I nodded, standing in the middle of the living space and feeling already at home. It had my dad’s style stamped all over it. “He’s my father. We work together.”
“Oh, you’re an architect too?”
I nodded again. Dad was the one who gave me the heads-up that a house he’d designed, one that was among his favorites, had come on the market. It was situated on a small piece of private land, nestled in woodland, between Ardnoch and Golspie. The home was designed so that the living space was upstairs and the bedrooms downstairs. The first floor was a modern midcentury dream with two walls made entirely of glass. With woodland at the back of the home, the living space emulated the experience of being in a treehouse. The stairs brought you up into the kitchen and island, and beyond that was a living and dining area. Off the dining area, Dad had des igned an oversized square window box.
I stepped into it and sat down on the plush window seat. There were windows on all three sides and it literally felt like you were hanging in the trees. Below I could see the twinkle of water from the man-made moat around the house. Water was taken from a downhill stream on the back of the property through underground pipes and pumped into the moat, where propeller turbines attached to a hydropower system created hydroelectricity to power the home. There was also a bank of solar panels out front where there were no trees to block the sunlight.
The nook Dad had created off the dining room was a bit of magic.
Callie would love it.
The estate agent prattled on about details I already knew because Dad had told me everything. The client was an Australian businessman who wanted a holiday home in the Highlands. However, recent financial troubles meant that he was selling the home and for less than it was worth so he could sell it quickly. It was still expensive. But as the home was run on the latest eco-first technologies, the next owner would save big on utility bills.
I followed the agent down to the ground floor to the four bedrooms. The primary suite had a floor-to-ceiling window that abutted the moat so while lying in bed, it was like being on a boat. Dad had outdone himself with design experiences in this house. I could see why it was one of his favorites.
But was it too much for only me? A four-bedroom home in the woods. It wasn’t a massive home, but four bedrooms for a single guy …
I hadn’t heard from Callie in over two weeks. Not a word. I’d gotten on with getting settled back into Ardnoch, enjoying distracting family dinners that had gotten so unruly we needed two tables to accommodat e everyone. But it was nice being surrounded by my aunts and uncles and cousins. Between family and work, I didn’t have much time during the day to contemplate Callie or the future.
Nighttime was hardest. Lying in bed, wondering if I’d wasted seven years of my life secretly believing that Callie and I would find our way back to each other.
“What do you think?” the estate agent asked as we stepped outside. The front of the home, the driveway that led into the property, still needed a bit of work.
Yet it was a spectacular house and knowing how much Dad loved it, it would be nice to keep this particular creation in the family.
I just … it was a lot for a twenty-five-year-old bachelor.
Still, I couldn’t help but imagine Callie here. I knew, like I knew myself, that she’d fall head over heels in love with this place.
“I’ll have my solicitor reach out with an offer.” I found myself saying.
Apparently, I was still a hopeless fool for Callie Ironside.
Since I’d taken time out of a working morning to view the house, my intention was to return home and get stuck into projects. It was great not having to be in the office often since the commute was a bugger. I didn’t know how my dad had done it every day, back when working from home wasn’t as popular.
I knew Dad was out with a client, so I could use his office. The other good thing about having my own place was I could use one of the bedrooms as an office, and Dad would get his space back.
Truthfully, I was feeling a bit jittery, which was normal considering I’d called my solicitor ten minutes ago to ask him to put an offer on the house. Without discussing it with anyone. I’d talk to my family later. For now, Mum was working at the preschool and had roped Morwenna into helping there during the summer holidays for extra pocket money.
My parents’ home was one of five built on a parcel of land along the coastline of Caelmore, just outside Ardnoch. It was land owned by my family, and each house was lived in by my aunts and uncles and cousins. There was no excuse for missing Sunday dinners in this family. Some folks might have hated living that close, but I liked it. Whatever the situation called for, I always had an aunt or uncle I could turn to growing up.
As I rode down the country road that led to the homes, I spotted a vehicle in the driveway of my parents’.
One I didn’t recognize.
But as I approached the house, a figure came into view. A person sitting on the front porch.
It didn’t take me long to recognize her, and my pulse quickened as I pulled in beside the white car and watched Callie push up to her feet. I wasted no time getting off the Harley and removing my helmet.
Callie walked down the steps slowly, looking a bit peaky and a lot nervous.
Worry overrode my relief at seeing her. “Callie, what’s wrong?”
She gave me a wan smile. “We … we need to talk.”
My concern was growing by the second. I couldn’t stop glancing over at Callie as she sat on the sofa, twisting her fingers nervously. I’d never seen her so antsy, and the fact that she didn’t look well was freaking me the fuck out .
I brought over the glass of water she’d asked for and sat on the sofa opposite. There were dark circles under her eyes. “Are you sick?” I blurted out, palms sweaty at the thought of something being seriously wrong with Callie.
“I … I did go to the doctor this morning.”
No.
Fear rose up inside me. She was sick.
The Adair men were cursed after all.
Hadn’t Uncle Lachlan thought that for years before he met Aunt Robyn? The Adair men were cursed to lose the women we loved. There was a long line of evidence to support the theory, leading all the way to my birth mother, Francine, dying in her sleep from an aneurysm. Anytime I thought of what it must have been like for Dad waking up to find her gone, I couldn’t … the idea of Callie …
“Lewis, no.” She leaned toward me, suddenly recognizing the terror on my face. “I’m not sick. Sorry. I … Lewis, I’m pregnant. I’m just over five weeks pregnant. And since you’re the only person I’ve had sex with in the last three months …”
The baby was mine.
Holy fuck.
First, I experienced a wave of relief that Callie wasn’t ill.
Then terror.
Then more relief that the baby was mine.
Then more terror.
And finally, an overwhelming mix of terror, relief, hope, and more terror.
Callie’s anxiety registered through all of that. “Fuck.” I pushed up off the couch and sat down next to her, taking her hands in mine. “Don’t look like that. You must know I’m going to be there for you and our baby.”
“You’re not angry.”
I frowned. “Callie, you didn’t make the baby alone. And …,” I winced, “I used two re ally old condoms that night, so it’s probably my fault.”
She burst into laughter, and I couldn’t help but grin in relief as she full-body cackled at my confession. As her amusement tapered off, a tenderness and sorrow crossed her face. Then she was throwing her arms around me, and I melted into her, breathing her in and holding her close.
“Thank you,” she whispered tearfully.
“For what?” My voice was gruff.
“For being you.” Callie eased out of my arms and I reluctantly let her go.
“So …” I exhaled heavily as the reality of the situation weighed down on me. In less than eight months, I’d be a father. To a tiny human. That wasn’t terrifyingly daunting or anything. “What’s the plan? What do we do?”
“Well, I have my first antenatal appointment in three weeks, and we’ll go from there. For right now, the doctor says I’m healthy. I’ve got some morning sickness and I’m a bit tired, but otherwise I’m fine.”
Which explained her peaky pallor. I reached for her hand and folded it into mine. “That’s great. I want to be there for everything. But what I really meant was … what do we do? My mind hasn’t changed, Callie. I want you. This hasn’t changed my mind about that. Has it changed yours?”
She nervously licked her lips. “We have a lot to talk about.”
Hope filled me because she hadn’t said a flat-out no. “Could we talk about it on a date? Would you go on a date with me?”
Callie stared at me in awe for a second, and after the past few weeks of rejection, I honestly didn’t understand her current expression. But I was relieved as any man could be when she whispered, “Aye, Lewis. I’ll go on a date with you.”