Chapter 38
VICTORIA
The crowd had thinned considerably by the time I finally let myself breathe. The servers were collecting empty glasses and the caterers were beginning to quietly dismantle the food stations. The runway was still lit.
It had been worth it. All of it. All the stress had been worth it to be standing here in this beautiful space with the auction numbers still glowing on the screens and Callum’s hand warm in mine.
I leaned into him slightly. He glanced down at me.
“You’re fading,” he said.
“I’m not fading. I’m savoring your success.”
Even after a hundred people had moved through the space for three hours, it still looked like a magazine spread. “It’s really something, isn’t it?”
“It really is.”
Cleo appeared out of nowhere and wrapped both arms around me from behind. “I love you,” she announced into my hair. “I’m just going to say it. I love you and I’m keeping you.”
“You’re drunk,” I said.
“Tipsy.” She let go and came around to face me, her mascara slightly smudged. “The numbers, Victoria. Did you see the final numbers?”
“I saw them.”
She grabbed my face in both hands and kissed my forehead and then disappeared back into the thinning crowd. I watched her go and shook my head.
“She’s going to have a rough morning,” Callum said.
Mimi found me one more time before she left. “Come back to New York soon,” she said. “I mean it.”
“I will,” I told her.
Tiana and Max were gathering coats and saying their goodbyes on the other side of the room. Dash had Krista tucked under his arm. They were staying at Tiana and Max’s place from now on, along with the rest of the New York Blackwells.
I watched the family and truly felt like they were mine. It made me a little emotional. So much had changed in a month.
“Hey.” Callum’s voice was low near my ear. “You okay?”
“More than okay.” I turned to look at him. He looked tired. “Take me home?”
He arched his brow. “Yours or mine?”
I held his gaze. “Yours.”
The corner of his mouth curved up.
The car Callum had arranged was waiting outside. He opened the door and I slid in, grateful to be off my feet. I’d worn my comfortable heels, but even they could only do so much.
The drive up into the hills was quiet. I had my head against his shoulder. Neither of us felt the need to fill the silence with anything. I’d been to his house enough times to know the view, but it all felt different now. I felt different.
Callum went to the kitchen while I wandered to the windows and looked out at the patio and the view beyond it. He reappeared a few minutes later with a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
“More?” I said.
“One more,” he said. “We earned it. I want to celebrate this. Us.”
We took it outside to the patio, which was easily my favorite place on the whole property.
I slipped off my heels and left them by the door.
Callum poured and handed me a glass. I settled into one of the lounge chairs.
He pulled another close and sat facing me, forearms on his knees, glass hanging loosely from his fingers.
I took a sip of champagne and noticed him watching me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “I’m just looking at you and thinking about how lucky I am.”
“You’re going to make me self-conscious.”
“No. You’re beautiful. And I’m never letting you go. So there’s nothing to be self-conscious about.”
I laughed softly and looked out at the view.
Then I reached over to touch his knee. “I love you, Callum. I’ve never truly loved anyone, but I love you.
I’ll try to be a good girlfriend, but I think it’s something I’m going to have to get used to.
I have a lot of very specific requirements about my professional autonomy that I need you to respect. ”
“I know. And I’m going to have to get used to being a boyfriend.” Callum grinned. “We’ll figure it out together.”
“I love you. And I know you love me. I know you will do things for me out of that love and I will try my hardest not to take it personally. It’s your love language.”
He chuckled. “I swear I will try and do better but of course I want to protect you. Yes, I have a bit of a savior complex. I’ll try to rein it in, but you’ll just have to put me in check.”
“Oh, trust me, I will.”
He set his glass down and leaned forward to kiss me. His hand came up to cup the side of my face. I sighed into his mouth and felt the last of the evening’s tension dissolve completely.
When he pulled back, he pressed his forehead to mine. His thumb moved in a gentle arc across my cheekbone.
“I love you,” he said quietly. “I’m probably going to be overprotective. I should probably also warn you, my family is always this intense.”
“They’re great.” I kissed him again.
And then he was unzipping my dress. He slid the sleeves down slowly, watching my face as he did it. The night air brushed over my bare skin. It felt so good. So freeing.
I stood and let my dress fall. His eyes moved over me with an expression that made my body come alive. He stood up and shrugged out of his jacket. I reached out and undid the buttons of his shirt while he watched me with those dark, patient eyes.
“Inside,” I said against his jaw.
“In a minute,” he murmured.
He kissed me again, his tongue slipping into my mouth. His hands moved to my waist, pulling me against him. I stopped thinking about the fact we were outside and very exposed. But he assured me it was all very private. No one could see us.
Then he bent and scooped me up with one arm under my knees and one at my back. I burst into laughter, feeling ridiculous.
“Callum!”
“I’ve got you,” he said.
He carried me through the open doors and to the bedroom, where he laid me down on the bed. He stood over me, staring at me like he was memorizing every detail of my naked body. I reached for him and pulled him down to me.
I threaded my fingers into his hair and let the night take over. There was only him. Us. Always. I could see a future with him.
The next morning, I woke up to sunlight and the smell of coffee. For a moment I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. I had slept like a rock. He’d made love to me and then we both passed out. After a week of sleepless nights, we both needed the rest.
I stretched my arms above my head and thought about the night before. It had been incredible. Even the embarrassing part about being in the spotlight. I had bought him for a dollar. I pressed my hands over my face and laughed into my palms.
That man was absolutely unhinged. I loved him so much it scared me.
I borrowed one of his shirts and padded into the kitchen in bare feet.
He was standing at the stove in gray sweats and nothing else, his back to me.
His hair was slightly disheveled. He hadn’t bothered to fix it.
I leaned against the wall and just watched him for a moment.
I stared at his bare back and thought about my lips on his skin. That’s what I wanted for breakfast.
He turned around with a spatula in his hand and caught me staring. “Morning,” he said.
“What are you making?”
“Sit down and find out.”
I climbed onto one of the kitchen island stools and pulled his shirt down over my knees. He slid a coffee mug across the counter before I could even ask for one. I inhaled the strong scent, appreciating the fact he liked the good stuff.
“You’re in a good mood,” I observed.
“Best mood of my life,” he said.
He presented me with a plate. Eggs, perfectly cooked with the yolk still soft. Toast with real butter. Sliced fruit arranged on the side. And then he opened the oven and put a plate stacked with fluffy pancakes on the counter.
“This is a lot of food.”
“I was hungry. I thought you might be as well.” He quickly plated his own breakfast and sat down on a stool beside me.
I forked up a bite of the eggs and had to resist the urge to close my eyes and moan. “These are surprisingly good.”
Callum grinned and shook his head. “You didn’t need to add the surprisingly part, but thank you.”
We both dug in, barely talking. I was hungry.
Before the party, I had eaten very little.
I was too nervous. And at the party, the snacks were good but I had spent the evening talking, only grabbing small bites here and there.
Callum’s breakfast feast was a godsend. I ate everything on the plate, including two giant pancakes.
“Do you have anywhere you need to be today?” he asked. He got up and refilled both our coffee cups.
I thought about it. The show was done. The store opening wasn’t until tomorrow. Betty had given me a few days. “No,” I said. “Not today.”
“Hell yes,” he said.
I burst out laughing.
He leaned over and kissed me on the side of my head. “Today is ours. No work. No family. No obligations.”
“We should probably check in at the store,” I said. “Just to make sure the cleanup crew has everything handled.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Absolutely not.” He gestured for me to follow him.
“Where are we going?”
“Outside.”
I followed him through the glass doors to the patio. It was a clear day. A little warm and just a touch humid. A typical LA day. The pool glistened in the sunlight.
He set his mug down on the outdoor table, hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his sweats, and looked at me over his shoulder. “Don’t overthink it.”
And then he was naked, standing there in his birthday suit in full daylight.
I stared at him. “Callum Blackwell, it is nine in the morning.”
“Best time.”
“There are neighbors.”
“There are not.” He gestured broadly at the property. “I paid very good money to ensure my privacy.”
He dove his naked ass into the pool, disappearing before coming back up with that same sexy smile.
I looked down at his shirt I was wearing and then back at him. He was watching me with that cocky smile. I pulled the shirt over my head and dropped it on the nearest lounge chair.
“There she is.” He smiled.
“Don’t make it weird,” I said, and walked to the edge of the pool with as much dignity as a naked woman could manage after a giant meal.
I dove in. The water was perfect. I surfaced and pushed my hair out of my face. Callum came up beside me, shaking water from his hair like a very large, very handsome dog.
We floated for a bit before I splashed him.
“I still think we should go to the store,” I said.
“Hell no.”
“We should check on the cleanup. Make sure everything is okay.”
“Victoria, the crew has it. The New York cousins will follow up. It’s their baby. I just helped with the birthing process.”
“Last night was really good,” I said. Obviously, he knew it was, but I felt like it deserved more attention.”
“Last night was incredible.”
“Tiana is going to be able to do real work with the money you guys raised.”
“She already has a space in mind to set up some offices,” he said. “She told me last week. She’s been waiting on the funding to make the call.”
“That’s awesome,” I said. “Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”
He turned his head to look at me. “You were the part that made it work.”
“It was a team effort.”
“Victoria, take a compliment for once.”
I laughed and looked back up at the sky. “Fine. You’re welcome.”
He pulled me against him and kissed me. We stayed in the pool until my fingers pruned up. I knew the parts of me that weren’t used to sun exposure were getting burned. When I finally hauled myself out and reached for his shirt on the lounge chair, I felt completely relaxed.
Callum pulled himself out behind me, water streaming off him, completely unbothered by anything. He ran a hand through his hair and looked over at me.
He picked up his sweats and pulled them on. “I’m thinking sandwiches. Maybe a movie.”
“A movie,” I repeated. “It’s the middle of the day. Who lives like this?”
“People who have the day off. It’s all about relaxing.”
I pulled his shirt back on and followed him inside, trailing water on the floor and not caring even a little bit.
Today was ours. The real world would find us soon enough. I could get used to this.