Moira: Are you sure? You love that cafe
Callum: I do love the cafe, but I love you more
Moira: I love you too, but I don’t want you to give it up for me. There must be something we can do
Callum: We’ll see what Mam says first
Moira: Text me when you land? I’ll be sleeping, but I’ll text you when I get up. I love you
Callum: I will. Sweet dreams, I love you
I put my phone down and sigh. I wish this were easier, I thought that hiring a management team would make this run smoothly. But it hasn’t, and Moira’s right, the cafe is important to me. But she’s worth more to me than the cafe. So if I have to sell it, I will.
Moira
I’m really bad at keeping secrets. Isabella and I are the worst when it comes to secrets. We get too excited and blurt it out to everyone. But this time I’m very proud of myself. This surprise is going to be so much fun.
In the short time I’ve been with Callum, I’ve realized that I can find him in any crowd. It helps that he’s six foot three, so whether he’s sitting or standing, I can find him quickly. But it’s also like I’m just drawn to him. He says it’s the same with me. I’m only five foot five and he still finds me, no matter where we are.
“Hey sexy, you look like you could use some company,” I say quietly as I run my finger down his arm.
Callum pulls his arm away from me, then slowly turns and looks up. The frown he has on his face suddenly turns into the smile that I love so much. He leaps over the chairs and yanks me off my feet to hold me.
“What are you doing here?” he asks as he buries his face in my neck.
“I wanted to surprise you. Your mam told me your flights and I made mine to match yours.” I giggle as he kisses me.
He squeezes me tighter and kisses me again.
“Here I was, feeling sorry for myself and you’ve been on a plane coming to see me.” He smiles. “I love you.”
“I love you too, you don’t even know how hard this was to keep from you. When you texted me earlier, I panicked a little. I didn’t know if my wifi would work.”
“I thought you might be sleeping, so if you hadn’t answered, that’s what I would’ve thought was going on.” He chuckles. “So wait, my mam knew you were coming?”
“Yep.” I grin at him.
“You and Mam, making plans behind my back.” He chuckles.
“I was worried that you might not like my surprise. So I called her to see what she thought.”
“Why? How could I not like it? This is the best surprise ever. How long are you staying?”
“I’m staying a week. Maybe two if you’re nice.” I bat my eyelashes at him.
He pulls me in closer. “I’d like to keep you with me forever. And it doesn’t matter if we’re in Scotland, Ireland or Chicago. As long as you’re with me.”
Callum always says things to me that I want to say to him. But I’m always so afraid of scaring him off. When he first asked me out, I almost said no to him. Maeve Flanagan has become one of my best friends. And Callum is her ex. Girl code states you don’t touch your bestie’s ex. But Maeve doesn’t see it like that, she told me that she’s really happy Callum and I found each other. Maeve has also found the love of her life. She’s always known who it was, they just took a detour getting to their fairytale ending.
Callum
When we get to my mam’s house, she’s standing outside, smiling. I love how Moira’s comfortable enough to call my mam when she needs to. I know Moira didn’t grow up with her parents and that makes me really sad. There are so many times that I wonder why my faither chose to leave us. And there’s a part ofme that wants to find him. But there’s another part that doesn’t care. He doesn’t deserve to know me or my mam.
“Hi, Mam,” I say as I hug her.
“My baby. How was your flight?” she smiles as she hugs me, then Moira.
“It was better after Moira joined me.”
