Chapter 5 #2
“I know tonight was a lot,” he continues, his voice soft.
“I want us to be able to, you know, talk. Privately, that is, without an audience. You can pick the place, or I can make reservations for a private booth at a restaurant, so we can, you know…” he trails off, looking at me hopefully now.
He’s so close now. I let my eyes drift down the straight ridge of his nose toward his mouth, wanting to run my fingers over the faint five o’clock shadow on his jaw.
I snap my eyes back up, hoping he didn’t notice.
“If I say yes, will you stop rambling?”
He looks taken aback for a moment, then his blue eyes narrow playfully, and he laughs. “Saying yes would, in fact, stop the rambling. So, do us both a favor.”
I giggle despite myself, and I see his eyes drift down to my mouth. His gaze lingers there. My breathing begins to speed up, and I bite my lower lip, trying to get a grip. He looks back up at me, his gaze hooded, the corner of his mouth lifting slowly.
“It’s a date,” he whispers. He’s even closer now, our faces inches apart.
I catch myself leaning toward him, wanting to close the remaining distance between us.
He inches closer on the bench, pressing his thigh against mine and turning his torso toward me.
I feel my lips part. He’s so still, looking at me steadily, waiting to see if I’ll make the next move.
But I don’t. I stand up and put a few steps between us. I hear Callum take a deep breath.
“It is not a date,” I say softly. “It’s just dinner. You take care of all of the details.”
He looks up at me, his face in shadow now. He leans over and casually rests his forearms on his thighs.
“Maeve,” he says, his voice silky, “the thing is, we’ll be… working closely together for the foreseeable future. We have to try to get along. We’re going to be partners, kind of like our fathers. We’re heirs to the empire, for better or worse.”
I look over at him, confused. I’ve known for a long time that my father expects me to take his place in the business one day.
I have no other siblings to do it. I never really gave it much thought.
It had always seemed like this distant possibility, barely a factor in my life.
And, for the past nine years, I’d been too heartbroken and pissed over Callum and over everything else I’ve been through to consider the reality of taking over for my father.
It indeed hadn’t occurred to me that I’d have to work closely with Callum. It’s all just too much.
“Partners?” I ask, my voice breathy. “What does that even mean?”
He sighs and shakes his head. “As I said, there’s a lot to discuss. I know it doesn’t make much sense now, but it will.”
“Something is going on, Callum,” I say, hugging my arms around myself and trying to keep my voice low.
“I’m not stupid. The way everyone’s acting in there, handling me with kid gloves while slapping each other on the back like best friends?
What the fuck is that about? And what’s up with Liam? Is he on the outs or something?”
He just looks up at me, then straightens his posture on the bench and adjusts his sleeves. I raise my brows expectantly, waiting for an answer. He seems to be deliberating something, taking his time. I feel irritation rise inside me.
“Okay, you know what, Callum? Forget it.”
I spin around, intending to march away, but I feel his fingers wrap around mine gently, firmly.
“Please, Maeve. Just sit down.”
I sigh and sink back down beside him on the bench, pulling my hand out of his.
“I knew this was going to happen,” he whispers to himself, then he glances back at me. “Look, I don’t blame you for being pissed. I’ll tell you everything. At dinner tomorrow night. Let’s not make tonight any more awkward than it already is.”
His voice is so gentle. I feel my frustration ebbing slightly. Fecker.
“Fine. Tomorrow night.”
He smiles, a slow, sensual smile, and I feel his fingers trailing up my back, light as a whisper.
“You know, I’ve waited nine years to be here, next to you. Nine years to look you in the eyes again,” he murmurs, closing the space between us again.
I want to act offended at his brazenness. Tell him to fuck off. Stomp away indignantly. But I’m glued to the spot. He smiles, as if he’s reading my thoughts.
“I know you may hate me right now. But you will hate me a little less by the end of our date,” he says with an authoritative edge, emphasizing the last word as though daring me to protest.
I take a deep breath and look up at him.
But before I can say anything, he stands smoothly, adjusts the roll of his sleeves, and walks back toward the house.
When he reaches the door, he turns to look back at me.
He smiles softly, but there’s a flash of something steely in his eyes.
Something dangerous. And despite the danger, I feel my defenses slipping for the thousandth time tonight.
He holds my gaze for a second longer, lifts a brow, then walks back inside.
Who is he? This is definitely not the soft, gentle Callum I once knew.
This Callum is a little… dark. I realize then, with absolute certainty, that keeping him at arm's length would be an uphill battle. And it might be a battle I’d end up losing.
At least I’m not the only one with these feelings welling up inside me.
I take a few moments to catch my breath, then walk back inside. As I step through the sliding glass door, I see everyone gathering in the foyer. Niall is putting Aisling’s coat on for her.
Aisling hugs me tightly. “Let’s have lunch the day after tomorrow, yeah?”
I give her a tight smile. “Sure. I’ll have my father send you my phone number, and we can work out the details tomorrow.
” Anything I had planned with Nessa will just have to wait.
Lunch with Aisling is more critical than a typical Thursday with Nessa.
It’s not like we did much anyway, or at least not much that I wanted to do.
She hugs me tightly again. “Maeve, I’ve missed you more than I can put into words.” I don’t know how to respond, but I do hug her just a little tighter.
Pulling away, she holds onto my shoulders for a few seconds more and squeezes them as she looks me over one more time, like she’s afraid I’ll disappear.
Niall walks over, grabs my hand in both of his, and gives me a gentle smile. It’s certainly a change from the stern, harder Niall I’d known years ago. “We will have you and your father over at the house later this week, okay?”
I just nod my head. He kisses the top of my hand, then the top of my forehead, and I feel tears threatening to surface.
My father had always avoided any form of physical contact as much as possible. No hugs. No forehead kisses. No pats on the head. Nothing. I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed them in my life, and I feel just a little less empty than I did at the beginning of the night.
Callum’s parents depart with Eoin, but Ronan and Callum linger by the steps that lead to the front door. My father seems to have disappeared, probably on purpose.
Great.
I take a step toward them, unsure of myself. Callum looks at me steadily, standing incredibly still. Ronan, however, looks relaxed. Entertained, even.
“Well, that went better than I expected. Much less yelling than I imagined,” he adds thoughtfully, bringing a finger to his chin.
Smartass.
Almost without thinking, I close the distance between Ronan and me and punch him in the jaw. He stumbles back a step and looks at me, eyes wide with shock.
“That’s for calling me Evie at dinner, eejit.”
He holds his jaw, trying to rub the pain out. “Jesus, E, when the hell did you become G.I. Jane?!”
I start walking back to the house, but I pause to look over my shoulder.
“The day I had no one left.”
I continue up the stairs and go back into the house, slamming the door behind me. They’ll see themselves off.