Chapter 25
CALLUM
I’d been sitting in my house for an hour, eating leftover takeout at the kitchen island and staring at the wall. It was too quiet. I’d gotten used to having Victoria around. My house would never feel the same. I needed her in it. I missed her.
I threw away the rest of the takeout and grabbed my keys.
She’d told me she had work. A lot of it.
I understood she was probably falling behind as well.
We’d both been devoting all our time to one another, which was great for us but not so great for our jobs and responsibilities. But I couldn’t stay away.
Even if that meant sitting in the same room with her and just watching her work. I wouldn’t disturb her. I just needed to be in her presence. That was something I would examine later. Since when did I depend on breathing the same air as another person?
Whatever.
I stopped at a coffee shop that stayed open longer than most others.
They catered to the swing-shift and graveyard folks that didn’t drink coffee at six a.m. I knew they had good pastries that were made fresh throughout the day.
I ordered two coffees and chose a variety of pastries.
I had a good idea about the one Victoria would like, but I wanted to give her options. It was kind of my thing.
I would bring her sustenance, sneak a kiss, and then go home. She had work. I only needed a quick hit of my beautiful Victoria and I would survive another day.
And because I’m not a total animal, I sent her a quick text before just knocking on her door.
Me: Knock knock.
Victoria: Who’s there?
Me: I’m right outside.
Victoria: I’m right outside, who?
I laughed and shook my head. Good to see she still had her sense of humor. I got out, grabbed the goodies, and jogged upstairs. She had the door open when I cleared the landing. She was in an oversized sweatshirt and leggings with her hair up.
“Hey there,” I said.
“Hi,” she replied. And then she leaned in and hugged me, planting a quick kiss on my lips. “I’m really happy to see you, but I have so much work.”
“I know. I’m not staying.” I held up the bag when she pulled back. “Caffeine and sugar. Consider it an apology for missing lunch today.”
She took it from me and looked inside. Something shifted in her face. “Is that an almond croissant?”
“And a chocolate thing. I don’t know what it’s called. It looked like something you would like.”
“Come in. I will take a coffee break.”
The kitchen table looked like a filing cabinet exploded. Papers, pens, and several highlighters. Her notebook with its arrows and margin notes. Her laptop was open with two empty takeout containers next to it.
She grimaced like she was just seeing the disaster for the first time. “Don’t judge the mess,” she said. “I’m in a zone.”
“I’m not judging anything,” I said. “Leave it.”
I set the coffees down on the one clear corner and pulled out the pastries. She sat down and took a long sip, closed her eyes for a second, and exhaled slowly.
“How bad is it?” I asked, nodding at the table.
“I told Betty I’d have a proposal ready tomorrow.” She pulled the croissant out of the bag and took a healthy bite. “The proposal didn’t exist this morning.”
“How long have you known about it?”
She gave me a look.
I laughed. “Sorry.”
I sat down in the only other chair at the table.
“How did lunch go?” I asked. “Honestly. Don’t hold back.”
She looked up. “Your mother is terrifying.”
I winced. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I liked her. And she liked me. It was actually really nice. I like both of them.”
“Good. They’re pretty fun.”
“Did you get the problem solved at the store?”
I rubbed my face. “Yes.”
“Good, crisis averted.”
“I didn’t know how much of my time it would eat, though.” I reached for one of the strawberry and cream cheese pastries. “This damn store. I agreed to oversee the whole build-out for my cousins, and I genuinely thought I knew what I was signing up for.”
She nodded, chewing her croissant. “I guess you’ve never opened a brick-and-mortar store, huh?”
“No, but I’ve managed bigger projects,” I said.
“On paper, this was straightforward. Retail space, custom finishes, plans already worked out.” I shook my head.
“But this one is different because it’s family, you know?
It’s important. I’m so worried I’m going to screw up this big launch at the last minute. ”
“The fact that you care this much is why the launch will go great,” Victoria said. She set the croissant down and turned toward me slightly.
“I wasn’t paying attention the way I should have been and some orders got jumbled up.”
“But you solved those issues, right?”
“That’s not really the point.”
“No,” she said softly. “I know.”
We sat quietly for a few seconds.
“We picked a bad time for this,” I said.
She looked up. “For what?”
I wiped my fingers on one of the napkins. I’d been thinking about it all day. It wasn’t fair to have the thoughts and not tell her. “You. Us. This.” I glanced up at her. “Whatever we’re calling it.”
She didn’t say anything. I think I almost expected her to deny it. Argue that I was wrong.
“I’ve never done this before,” I said. “Not like this. I’ve dated women.
I’ve been in what I thought were relationships.
But I was always half somewhere else. Always watching the clock and planning my exit.
” She was watching me. “Tonight I sat in my house staring at the wall because I couldn’t stop pacing.
I needed to see you. That’s never happened to me. Not once.”
She offered a small smile. “That’s sweet.”
“I’m not saying it to be charming,” I said. “I’m saying it because it’s true and because I think you should know.”
“I get it.”
“I’m really sorry about today. That’s not who I am. Or it’s not who I want to be.” I shook my head. “I don’t miss things. I don’t let down the people I care about.”
“Callum.” She leaned forward slightly. “These things happen. To everyone. Even to people who have their entire lives together, which, for the record, you do. Shit happens. It was fun and I had to work, anyway. You’re still kicking ass.”
“I don’t feel like it lately.”
“That’s because you’re human.” She finished her croissant and I saw her eyeing the other pastry. I pushed the bag toward her. She grinned and picked it up. “You’re allowed to be distracted. You’re allowed to want something outside of work. That’s not failure. That’s just life.”
She took another bite, chewed and swallowed while I sat mulling over her words.
“Whatever this is between us,” she said. “We should both be careful not to let our personal lives bleed into our work. We’ve both got too much riding on the next few weeks.”
“Completely agree,” I said.
“Good.” She nodded once, like the conversation was over. Decision made. “On that note, I need to get back to this proposal.”
“Right. Can I hang out if I don’t talk to you? You won’t know I’m here.”
She grinned. “Absolutely.”
I stood and moved to the couch with my coffee.
She started typing and I was a good boy and completely quiet for all of two minutes.
“So the thing about the auction timeline,” I said.
She didn’t look up. “Callum.”
“I’m just thinking out loud.”
“Think quietly.”
Another minute of silence. I stretched my legs out and looked at the ceiling.
She was typing steadily now. I should go home.
My presence was not helping her meet her deadline.
But I didn’t want to sit at home alone. Her place was small.
Cozy. I tried to imagine her living a life of luxury.
It just didn’t fit. Her apartment didn’t fit either.
I got up and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. On the way back I passed behind her chair and caught a glimpse of the screen. She had a solid paragraph going. Good. Progress. Maybe she’d be done soon and we could hang out.
I put my hand on her shoulder without thinking. And then I got an idea. I started to move my hands over her shoulders, gently pushing my thumb into the muscle at the base of her neck. She exhaled audibly. I rubbed outward, feeling the tension in her shoulders relax just a bit.
“That’s not fair,” she said.
“You’re tense.”
“I’m working.”
I pressed the knots I could feel even through the sweatshirt. “Keep typing. I’m not stopping you.”
She lasted about forty-five seconds before her head dropped forward.
“This is sabotage,” she said.
“Work. You’re supposed to be working. You’ve got a proposal to do. I’m just providing support.”
She made a sound that was half laugh, half groan. I worked my way up the back of her neck and she went very still.
“I’m going to finish this,” she said.
She tilted her head to one side and I followed the line of her neck with my thumbs. She reached up and put her hand over mine. I thought she was going to move it away, but she didn’t.
She turned her head and looked up at me. The highlighter fell out from behind her ear and landed on the keyboard.
“You’re a problem, Mr. Blackwell.”
I laughed. “Never.”
I leaned down, kissed her neck, and then walked back to the couch.
The tapping on the keyboard picked up again.
I pulled out my phone and did some scrolling.
Chantilly’s face was all over my social media feed.
We ran in similar circles and there was no getting away from it. I was so glad I’d dodged that bullet.
I heard a growl and then the laptop slamming shut. I sat forward and looked over. “Everything okay?”
She stood and walked to me. And then she dropped, straddling me on the couch. “You’re a distraction.”
Before I could answer, her mouth was on mine.
Her hands slid into my hair and I forgot every single thing I’d been worrying about for the last twelve hours.
The feeling that I was losing my grip on my responsibilities.
All of it just evaporated. I pulled her closer, my hands finding her waist under the sweatshirt.
She pulled back just far enough to breathe. Her forehead dropped to mine.
“You were supposed to go home,” she said.
“Do you want me to go home?”
I gave just a little hip thrust, letting her feel me between her legs. If she still wanted me gone, I was doing something wrong.
She made a frustrated sound but she didn’t move. Her fingers were still in my hair. I tilted my head and caught her mouth again, pulling her lip between my teeth and then kissing her again. I felt her exhale and melt against me.
“This is your fault,” she said against my mouth.
“For being born this sexy.”
She laughed and pulled back to look at me. “You massaged my shoulders on purpose.”
“It wasn’t an accident. My hands didn’t fall on your shoulders.”
“I need to finish that proposal,” she said.
“I know.”
“Betty is counting on me.”
“You mentioned that.”
Victoria kissed me, rubbing herself against me. I slipped my hand under her shirt and caressed her breast. She moaned and arched her back, jerking her mouth away.
“You are so bad.”
“I’ll leave,” I said, summoning every ounce of willpower I had.
She climbed off my lap. I stood and was fully prepared to walk out the door, but she snatched my shirt and pulled me against her. “Like hell you will.”
She took a step backward, still holding my shirt. I followed her down the hallway without needing to be asked twice.