Chapter 12 Maeve
Maeve
Esoteric (adj) only understood by a small, select group of people
His eyes glitter an icy, sharp blue as he looks into mine. There’s a sincerity there that I can’t question or deny.
But Nessa…
How could she do this? Why would she do this? It makes no sense. What was it for? To fuck Callum? Why would she go to such drastic lengths? There has to be something else to it, something I’m not seeing.
He leans his forehead against mine.
“What do you say we take our food to go and we get out of here? I have something I want to show you,” he says softly, just above a whisper.
“That sounds great,” I say, nodding.
As if he had been cued in, the waiter opens the door to the suite.
“We’ll be departing earlier than anticipated,” Callum says, straightening his posture and adjusting his collar. “We’ll need our food to go.”
“Very good, sir,” the waiter says with a nod and hurries away. In a few minutes, he returns with the bill and our entrees, boxed and bagged. Callum pushes his chair back and starts to stand, but I reach for his arm, stopping him. He sinks back down slowly, looking at me intently.
“Cal,” my voice small, “I’m sorry I didn’t let you explain sooner. That’s on me.”
He reaches over and takes both of my hands in his, planting a slow, lingering kiss on the back of each one. The scruff on his jaw scrapes lightly, leaving my skin tingling. I bite my lip. The intimacy of this moment is almost too much.
“Hey,” he says softly, looking up at me. “As frustrating as it was, there were other things going on that prevented me from pushing harder to see you, talk to you. At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do was to just… give you space. But I was wrong, Maeve. Hindsight is always 20/20.”
He stands, keeping my hands in his, pulling me up gently. This time, holding his hand feels different. Like the current has changed directions, pulling me back to shore, away from the abyss I’d drifted to.
Callum settles the bill, leaving a generous tip, and we head out of the restaurant.
The blonde hostess is nowhere to be seen.
As the valet pulls the car up to the curb, I catch a glimpse of Orin and Ronan, as they climb back into a car parked down the street.
Their faces are hidden by darkness, but I know it’s them.
I’m annoyed by all the surveillance, but I am looking forward to telling both of them how terrible their stealth skills are. Eejits.
And suddenly, I remember. The information I was hoping to get from Callum tonight was about what has been going on between our families.
His revelation about Nessa had distracted me, but seeing Orin and Ronin sneaking around in the darkness reminds me that I’m the one who is truly in the dark.
Have been for a long time now. My father told me that the feud was a ruse, but to what end?
Callum opens the car door and helps me in, and I offer him a small smile as I slide into the passenger seat, making a mental note to revisit the conversation. He’d told me that he would fill me in, tell me everything. No more secrets between us. And I’m determined to hold him to that.
The Mustang rumbles as we take off. Once we are on a long stretch of the road, he reaches over for my hand, sitting in my lap, and pulls it to his lips.
I lay my head against the seat, watching him.
Mine again. I sigh, more relief than the frustration coursing through me.
Even though I’m angry about all of the secrets, the hidden reasons behind the fake feud between our families, I’m glad that this real rift between Callum and me has begun to heal.
He rests our hands on the shifter before he shifts us into a higher gear, sending the car forward a bit faster.
I giggle as the car increases speed, Callum grinning with easy amusement.
We didn’t speak. We simply existed together.
Roughly twenty minutes later, we’re driving down a familiar road, and I wonder where he’s taking me. We pull up to an estate I’d only ever seen in passing, or from the back while on the other side of the lake.
Our lake.
Callum clicks a button on a small device clipped to his sun visor, and the iron gate blocking the rest of the drive swings open smoothly. I look over at him in confusion, and he just has a coy grin plastered on his face.
I look back out of the windows, taking in the Sweet Bay Magnolias that line the long driveway.
I wonder how beautiful they look in full bloom.
The grass is freshly cut, the smell permeating the air.
The large fountain is the centerpiece of a large roundabout, with the driveway splitting to different buildings on the property.
Water cascades from the top, sparkling in the moonlight.
Then I see it. The most beautiful home I’d ever laid my eyes on.
It’s an old Victorian-style home, just like the home I’d envisioned for myself my entire life.
Just like the home we’d talked about living in together years ago.
The steeply pitched roofs, pointed arched windows, dark brick, and wrought iron accents pull me in, giving a Gothic Revival feel.
The dark siding and dark green accents were not completely visible, but the gold hanging lanterns lit portions of the house, allowing me to see more as we got closer.
Callum pulls the car gently around it and comes to a stop right in front of a stone staircase leading to the front door.
Callum quickly jumps out of the car and hurries around to my side, opening my door for me.
He grabs my hand and leads me up the stairs, the dark brick matching the vibe of the house.
He fishes a set of keys out of his pocket.
He unlocks the heavy, dark wooden door with beveled glass panels, flanked by more gas lanterns, and an antique brass knocker matching the handle.
He pauses for a moment before opening the door, looking back at me with a hopeful expression.
The foyer is stunning. I peer up at the antique brass chandelier set in between a double staircase leading up to a second-floor hallway connecting both ends of the home.
There are dark hardwood floors, velvety wallpaper with damask patterns covering the walls, and ornate crown molding wrapping around the entire room.
I turn to Callum, who is now leaning against the front door frame, his hands in his pockets and a bright smile on his face. But there’s hesitance in his eyes.
It makes me ask, “Is this yours?”
He straightens and walks over to me as I look around, taking the space in once again. This is stunning. He steps into my space, causing my insides to tighten, not in fear, but in desire. I wanted him to be standing this close to me. Closer, even.
“Ours.”
“Ours? But when… how… I don’t…” I trail off.
“Well, ours if you’d like to stay here with me. I know you must be ready to get out from under Cormac,” he says, a timid smile on his face. “And, I know that living alone might not be the safest option, or even what you want, considering…”
He looks at me meaningfully, and I nod. I understand his meaning perfectly.
“It’s time for me to fly the nest too, you know,” he says a little too casually, breaking eye contact with me and strolling around the foyer. “I’ve been living at my parents’ estate long enough. So, now that we’re… friends… I figured that maybe we could, you know, be roommates—”
I slam my lips into his, cutting him off and making him take a small step back to catch his balance. His hands find my hips, and I can feel the smile on his lips. A chuckle rumbles deeply in his chest before he wraps his arms around me completely. My skin tingling at every point of contact.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he says, pulling back to look down at me. He tucks a stray hair behind my ear.
I’m so surprised that I just hold his face in my hands, staring into those blue eyes I’ve missed so much.
After all these years, he still knows me so well.
He knows that I want independence from my father.
I know that I’m still too shaken up to live on my own.
And he did all of this… for me. I feel another wave of shame wash over me as I remember how he tried so hard to explain himself nine years ago.
But I just ignored him. I let him go because of my pride.
It’s all too much. A shadow of concern passes over Callum’s features, and he places a gentle palm on both my cheeks.
“Hey, hey, hey. None of that right now, okay?”
“But, I lost nine years with you.”
“Look, Maeve,” he says, gesturing behind him at the beautiful home. “Let’s not focus on the past, not right now. Okay? We have tomorrow, and every day after, so let’s just be in this moment now.”
He kisses me on the forehead and grabs my hand, leading me up the stairs past multiple rooms so quickly that I don’t have time to see inside.
Just blurs of rich wood and high ceilings.
He pauses in front of the only closed door in the hall, excitement and expectation radiating from him.
But suddenly, a series of flashbacks wash over me like a tidal wave, rapid and unexpected.
The smell of cheap beer in the air. A closed door.
A darkened bedroom. Nessa straddling Callum’s lap.
I shake my head, trying to clear the images away. I don’t want Callum to notice my reaction and start asking questions. He grabs my shoulders and places me in front of the solid wooden door.
“Close your eyes,” he whispers into my ear.
I smile and obey, then I hear the door swing open. Callum gently guides me forward into the room with another whisper, “Not yet.”
He closes the door behind us, then says, “Okay, open.”
Holy. Shit.