He leans back, reaching for his glass. “How so?”
“Well. My family was very picket fence. Not like yours, I’m sure. But enough that we were never in want of anything. My dad has a name for himself and my mom is very…executive wife material. They liked that I had an interest in music, but they wanted piano lessons. Violin. Solo and Ensemble. Chorus.”
“You play the violin?” Callum asks with a lilted eyebrow.
“I do. Very well, actually. But all my interest in music was in a different vein. One that wasn’t allowed to bleed freely. So, I started listening to punk and indie rock when they weren’t around. The more alternative the better. To their faces, I was the responsible, put together one with the straight A’s. And when they were busy worrying about Kate who was much wilder and always giving them a run for their money, I was able to learnguitar and keys and drums and even make it to a few concerts at the Fillmore…”
That finally earns me the full smile as Callum runs his hands through his hair. He shakes his head at me and reaches for my hand, but he stops, resting his hand on the table right in front of mine.
“You are…something else, Amanda Ambrose.”
“A good something, I hope?” I ask, taking a sip of my wine and letting it swirl around warmly in my head.
“A very good something.”
“And to think that it all started with you stripping in Vegas.”
My words nearly make him spit out his wine.
“That was Noah’s fault. He made me do it.”
“And do you always do what Noah tells you to do?” I challenge. And I can tell by the way his eyes darken that Callum is not a man who is used to being challenged.
“Do you always do what your sister tells you to do?” he flips it around.
“Would it be so bad if I did?”
“How so?”
I cross my legs under the table and lean in, fully aware that my boobs are on display at this angle. “Well, my sister is the one who dragged me to that auction in Vegas. She’s also the one that made sure I went out with you and wouldn’t let me just bolt back to the hotel.”
“Did you want to bolt back to the hotel?” he asks, letting his hand brush mine.
“Maybe. A small part of me. But another part of me, a stronger, louder, harder to ignore part of me…wanted to go with you. To meet you and talk to you. Because I knew you weren’t the kind of guy who wanted to be up on that stage. And I wanted to know what kind of man that meant you were.”
Callum lets out a lowMmmsound before taking my hand in his. “And what have you decided?”
“I think it’s too early to say. I still need to get to know you better.”
Callum drags his lip through his teeth. There’s a beat of silence. And then…
“Would you be interested in a nightcap?” he asks. “At my place.”
I thought Hardin Records was fancy. I thought the Rise was fancy. But neither of those places really holds a candle to the penthouse Callum leads me into. It’s in a high rise in uptown. The windows span to the ceiling, overlooking the city. There are two levels, one overlooking the other with black walls and stone accents, marble floors and granite countertops. Everything about it is modern chic. But at the same time there is a coziness to it. A gunmetal colored couch that sprawls in front of the massive mounted flat screen. A minibar. A wrap-around balcony.
“Jesus,” I let out as I step inside behind him.
“What was that?” he asks, over his shoulder as he loosens his tie.
“Nothing. It’s just…you live here alone?”
“I do. Why?” Callum asks as he heads over the mini bar and grabs a bottle of cab sauv off the rack.
“It’s so big,” I smile, motioning around.
He looks around too. “Yeah. But it’s quiet. Private. Nothing about my life is private. But here…I can do anything I want and there’s no one watching.”
Callum steps closer to me, sliding his finger under the strap of my dress.
