Chapter 29 - Evania
By the time dinner ended, my father leaned back in his chair with the satisfied look of a man who had just eaten a meal he didn’t have to cook.
After dinner, my father and brother asked Callahan to step away with them for a while.
It wasn’t phrased like an interrogation, but I knew my family well enough to understand exactly what it was.
My father had that calm, measured look he always wore when he wanted answers, and my brother had the same quiet intensity that made most people feel like they were being evaluated even when he wasn’t speaking.
Callahan glanced at me briefly before following them out of the dining room, his expression curious but not nervous.
I had a feeling he could handle whatever questions they were about to throw at him.
My brother pushed his chair back at the same time, already rising. Callahan glanced at me for half a second, one brow lifting as if silently asking if he should be worried.
I shrugged lightly.
“Good luck,” I murmured.
His lips twitched before he followed them out of the dining room. The moment the door closed behind the three of them, the room fell into a silence that felt… suspicious. I turned slowly to find that my mother and sisters were all staring at me.
They looked like a pack of detectives who had finally cornered their suspect.
“Oh no,” I said immediately. “Absolutely not. I know that look.”
My mother didn’t respond. Instead, she calmly stood up and walked toward the kitchen. When she returned, my suspicion turned into reluctant amusement.
My favorite ice cream. Chocolate fudge swirl.
She walked back into the room and set it down in front of me with exaggerated care.
“Tell us everything,” she said sweetly.
I crossed my arms. “Bribery isn’t going to work, especially when I own a supermarket.”
My mother’s eyes narrowed. “And?”
“You’ll have to offer something better.”
The smack to the back of my head came immediately.
“Hey!” I rubbed the spot and glared.
“You’re lucky I love you,” she said flatly.
Sabrina snorted. “That was generous of her.”
I sighed dramatically.
“Fine. Fine.” I pulled the ice cream toward me and grabbed a spoon. “But just so we’re clear, this was not a strong enough bribe.”
“Talk,” my mother said.
I scooped up the first bite and took my time eating it, savoring the sweetness while they all watched me like hawks.
Then I leaned back. “Alright. I’ll talk.”
I started from the beginning, explaining how Callahan and I first got together.
I told them about the circumstances that led to our arrangement and how things had unfolded from there.
I explained the complications that came with his world—his ex trying to insert herself where she didn’t belong, and his mother attempting to stir trouble between us.
As I described everything that had happened, I could see the range of emotions moving across my sisters’ faces. Shock, amusement, disbelief. My mother, on the other hand, remained quiet and observant, absorbing every detail without interrupting.
“You said yes just like that?” Serena asked.
“Pretty much. He didn’t want to ask me at first, but I insisted.”
When I finally explained how I had handled the situation—how I had maneuvered both his ex and his mother exactly where I wanted them—her lips slowly curved upward.
“Well,” she sighed, leaning back in her chair, “I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself."
Elena chuckled. “I knew you’d be a fearless daughter-in-law. You’re always plotting.”
“I always am,” I replied coolly.
My mother studied me for a moment longer. Then her voice softened slightly. “Are you happy?”
“I think,” I said slowly, “I’m on my way to falling in love with him. But I need more time to be sure of my feelings.
My sisters immediately started smiling.
My mother nodded thoughtfully. “That’s fair.”
“I just want to be sure,” I admitted.
Callahan had been honest with me. Patient. Kind in ways he probably didn’t even realize. But love? That was something that took a lot of effort from both sides. It was something I didn’t want to get wrong.
Serena reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "Well, we like him.”
“Very much,” Sabrina agreed.
“And if his mother gives you trouble,” my mom said casually, “We’re willing to help you.”
I laughed. “I appreciate that.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
She leaned forward slightly. “You shouldn’t have to deal with people like that alone.”
Warmth surged in my chest, radiating outward until holding still felt impossible. It was such a simple gesture—her words, her hand on my shoulder—but they settled deep, grounding me.
“That’s sweet,” I said softly. “But I’ve got it under control, and I’m not alone. Callahan has been really helpful.”
Her brow lifted. “As he should be.”
My sisters exchanged amused looks.
“But,” I continued, smiling, “it’s nice knowing I have backup.”
My mom squeezed my shoulder. “Always.”
The conversation lingered for a moment before I stood up from my seat.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” I announced to no one in particular.
My sisters were already whispering again by the time I left the room. I walked down the hallway, genuinely planning to go to the bathroom. But when I passed my father’s office, voices drifted through the slightly open door.
My brother’s voice. “…just asking.”
I slowed. Then I heard my father. “Answer the question.”
Curiosity tugged at me. Without really meaning to, I paused outside the door. My brother spoke again. “Are you in love with her?”
My heart skipped. I wanted to barge in and tell him he didn’t have to answer, that my family was just being nosy, but I couldn’t.
Not that I expected him to be in love with me; it was probably too early for him to be, even so.
The way he answered the question would determine how we moved forward.
I was annoyed they’d question his feelings when it was still so new, and at the same time, I was grateful to hear his response.
There was silence, then Callahan spoke. “She’s my oasis in a desert.”
His words knocked the air from my lungs. I froze, not daring to breathe, terrified the sound would betray me. The simple poetry of it—she’s my oasis in a desert—lanced deep, raw and unexpected.
His voice remained calm, sincere. “I don’t think I even realized what I was missing in life until I met her.”
My chest tightened. Emotion rushed through me so quickly that it made my eyes sting.
“If I had a choice,” he continued, “I would choose to meet her sooner just for the chance that she might choose me too.”
“I believe in choice. People choosing each other every day.”
“If that’s what love is,” he finished quietly, “then I’m deep in it.”
Tears rushed to my eyes instantly. Oh no.
No, no, no.
I had to get out of there. Before someone opened the door and found me standing there like a dramatic eavesdropping fool.
I turned and hurried down the hallway. By the time I reached the bathroom, my vision was blurry.
I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, pressing my hand over my mouth as I forced myself to breathe.
“Get it together,” I whispered.
But my chest felt too full. Too warm. Because the truth was, if I had the chance… If someone asked me to go back and choose again… To say yes to his ridiculous proposal. To enter that fake marriage. To step into his chaotic world.
I would.
Without hesitation.
Every single time.
Given the chance… I would choose him again.
I knew I had to keep my cool.
Really, I did.
The entire time we were saying goodbye to my family, walking down the driveway, and climbing into Callahan’s car, I kept telling myself the same thing: be normal. Be calm. Do not lose your head.
Apparently, my brain and my body were not on the same page. Because the second the car door shut behind me and we were alone, I completely lost whatever composure I had been trying to maintain.
Before Callahan could even reach for the ignition, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him toward me, pressing my lips firmly against his. It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t hesitant. It was deep, desperate, and full of everything I had been holding back all evening.
If I thought he might be surprised, that thought disappeared instantly. His hand slid around the back of my neck without hesitation, warm and firm, his fingers threading through my hair as he pulled me even closer. The movement tilted my head just enough for him to kiss me better.
And he did.
The kiss turned consuming almost immediately.
His mouth moved against mine with a slow intensity that made my stomach tighten and my heart pound harder in my chest. The grip he had on the back of my neck wasn’t rough, but it was confident, grounding me there with him while his thumb brushed lightly along my hairline.
I felt like I was being completely devoured.
My fingers curled tighter into the fabric of his shirt as I kissed him back just as fiercely. The warmth of him filled the small space of the car, the faint scent of his cologne mixing with the steady heat of his body only inches away from mine.
For a moment, the world outside the car completely disappeared.
There was no driveway.
No family house behind us.
No lingering noise from the evening.
Just the quiet hum of the car around us and the intensity of his mouth against mine.
He kissed me like he meant it.
Slow, deep, and deliberate.
The kind of kiss that made it impossible to think about anything else.
The kind that made my head feel a little light and my chest tighten in the best possible way.
His hand tightened slightly at the back of my neck, guiding me closer as though he had no intention of letting the moment end anytime soon. I could feel the warmth of his breath between kisses, the faint brush of his lips when he paused for a fraction of a second before kissing me again.
I leaned into him without even realizing it, closing the small distance between us until the center console pressed lightly against my side.