Chapter 18 #2
He turns and marches away. And somewhere deep in my heart, I know I’ve hurt him somehow.
I come in from the garage and place my belongings down. “Callum, I’m home.”
“Up here.” His voice travels from one of the bedrooms upstairs.
I climb the staircase and find him in the room I was cleaning out.
“What have you done?” I scan the light-blue walls. “You painted.”
“Yeah. I wanna get a head start on the baby’s room.” He places his paintbrush into a pan holding blue paint and stands.
“I see that.” I take him in.
He’s in a white tank-style T-shirt and gray board shorts. There are specks of paint splattered all over his toned arms.
“What are you looking at, vixen?” His eyes shine my way.
“You.” I slide up to him, circling my arms around his neck. “You’re very sexy when you’re being all domestic.”
“And you’re sexy all the time.” He kisses me with a tenderness that fills my heart.
I break away but stay in his embrace. “Why did you use blue?”
“Because I’m gonna put a baby boy in your belly.”
“What if we don’t get a boy?”
“Then we’ll have to send her back.”
My eyes grow wide. “What?”
“I’m just messing with you.” He laughs, but then a seriousness washes over him. “But if I’m being honest, girls terrify me.”
“Why? Girls are easy.”
“Girls might be, but they turn into teenagers.” He steps out of my arms. “And if she’s anything like you were…”
“Go on and finish what you were going to say.”
He shakes his head. “I was just gonna say that we broke a lot of rules. I’m not as calm as your pops is.”
“That’s the understatement of the year.”
“Can you imagine me a girl-dad?” His face pales. I think he’s truly scared.
I place my hands on my hips. “Yes, I can. And you have to understand, you don’t get to pick.”
“Aren’t there ways to sway the chances?” He rests against the windowsill.
“I don’t think those myths have been verified.” I sway over to him. “What makes you think you needed to do this today?”
He rests his palms on my waist. “Today was weird, so I left early and came home. On my way, I got a wild hair up my ass.”
“You’re very cute.” I kiss him on the forehead. “Why was today weird?”
“Just was.” He gets up and struts toward the door with me on his heels.
“Why?”
“It’s nothing, Lily. I just wasn’t in the mood to be there.” He treks down the hall and takes the stairs to the main level.
I follow and trail him into the kitchen.
“Callum.” I settle onto one of the barstools at the island. “Seriously. What made today weird?”
He pulls the refrigerator open and considers the contents for a long moment. “You really wanna get into this?”
“Yep.” I rest my elbows on the quartz. “Spill it.”
He grabs a water bottle and twists the cap. “We’re still working on the album, and the studio is booked.”
“I thought Mayhem was going to be working at your old house.”
“We are, but they have crews there.” He takes a drink. “They’re laying wires all around.”
“Why are you irritated by that? You knew it would take some time to get that place to function as Mayhem’s personal studio.”
He places the bottle down, crosses his arms, and peers at me. “They’re gonna be recording us.”
“So? They do at Riot Records, too.”
He drops his arms. “Fair point.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No.” He rounds the island and drops onto the barstool beside mine. “Your turn.”
“What would you like to know, love?”
“I wanna hear about your day, Lily.” He rests his forearm on the counter between us. “How was it?”
“It was okay.” I twist to face Callum. “Jaxon stopped by on his way out.”
“Oh yeah?” Callum reaches for his water bottle, lifting himself as he does.
“Yeah. I asked him if he had received his wedding invitation, and he said?—”
“Why did you invite Jaxon?” Callum sits and scans every inch of my face.
I pull back. “Why wouldn’t I? He’s my mentor and your investor, Callum. He’s a part of our world.”
“That doesn’t mean he needs to be at our wedding.”
“He’s been kind to me since the accident. And I haven’t made it easy for him.” I run my palm over Callum’s knee.
He takes my hand and laces his fingers through mine. “I know you’ve had some issues with Jaxon, Lily.”
“And those are minor in comparison to what he’s made possible for us.”
Callum squeezes my hand. “Our wedding is personal. It’s not a business function.”
“I didn’t invite him for business reasons. I invited him because he matters. You should understand that, considering all he’s done for you.”
He presses his lips to the top of my hand, staying there for a beat. When he raises his head, his jaw carries a tension that wasn’t there a moment ago.
“All right. Jaxon can come. But I want him seated far enough that I can’t see him during the vows.”
“That’s very specific. And not something I can dictate.”
“Then we’ll figure out how.” He sets our hands down and rises from the stool. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.” I stand and follow him around the island. “And Callum?”
He glances back at me. “Yeah, love.”
“Thank you.” I reach up and press my palm to his cheek. “For not getting upset and seeing things my way.”
His gaze softens. “Always, Lily.”
“You’re the best.”
“Yeah, yeah. Besides, I know what happens when I disagree with you.”
I pretend to glare. “You know better than to argue.”
“Guilty as charged.” He taps my hip to slide past me. “Let me make us some dinner.”
“You know I’m an incredible chef.”
He turns away. “You are, but you need to rest. And I have chicken breasts marinating.”
“Why do you always think I need to rest?” I push myself up to sit on the countertop.
He gives me a quick peck. “You’ve been gone for thirteen hours. Unless you’re taking naps at work, my bet is you’re tired.”
“No, I’m fine. Would you like me to help?”
“Nope. I like taking care of you.”
He pulls different items from the refrigerator and starts cooking. I think back to my discussion with Jaxon. He didn’t seem too pleased about our wedding plans.
“Callum?”
“What?”
“Is there a reason Jaxon wouldn’t want to come to our wedding?”