I yearn for that, and when I feel the man next to me slide his own arm around my waist and pull me closer, I smile contentedly, and satisfaction blooms in my chest.
Found it.
Claire turns toward us again, her hand resting lightly on Grant's chest.
"Darling, this is Sophie, from Bailey's article," Claire smiles, turning to us. "And her boyfriend, Callum. He owns that bookstore that Bailey loves."
We share a look at the title—objectively right, but also... not.Boyfriendfeels too little for what Callum is to me, for how I feel about him.
Partner, love of my life, best friend, my otter...
All of those are appropriate and correct, and so is mine. Callum is mine. And I am his. That's that.
"Nice to meet you both," Grant says, "Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help. Anything you need. Friends of our Bailey are friends of ours."
Claire motions for us to sit at the table, Claire taking a seat next to me while Grant sits next to his son. Callum resumes his position with his arm on the back of my chair, and Bailey sits on the other side of Claire. The men start talking while Claireturns to me with a smile, "God, you girls look incredible," Claire compliments us.
"Thank you, Mrs—Claire," I correct myself. "How long have you owned this hotel?"
"Well, it's been in my husband's family since his grandfather opened it back in the fifties. Grant had to take over after his father passed, and that was about thirty years ago now."
"How did you and Grant meet?" I ask curiously, feeling Callum's fingers trailing along my spine again.
Claire smiles instantly, glancing down at the engagement ring and wedding ring set on her left finger. The gorgeous, opulent emerald-shaped diamond appears large enough to be seen from space.
"I'm an art dealer, and Grant was looking for a painting for his mother for her birthday by a specific artist, and it was one that I was featuring. He came to my gallery, and he says he was struck with Cupid's arrow when he first saw me," she rolls her eyes affectionately, and I laugh, glancing over to see Grant smirking at his wife.
"Struck me right in my ass," Grant supplies, both hands over his heart. "Saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and knew I wasn't just walking out of there with that painting."
Claire shakes her head at her husband before turning to me. "I had just gotten divorced, so I was... not doing so great," Claire admits with a shrug, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. "I had a... similar experience to yours, Sophie. Not cancer, but infertility. My ex-husband cheated on me, got another woman pregnant, and left."
"Oh, God," I breathe. "I am so sorry."
"What you said in the article—how what you lost was worth what you gained. I understood immediately, because I felt the same. Not at first, of course. I had thought that my ex-husband and I were happy. We were struggling to conceive, but... I naivelythought we would work through it together. Maybe even adopt if we continued to be unsuccessful. But he really wanted a child—a son, specifically."
Bailey lays a hand on Claire's shoulder, and she reaches up to squeeze it, smiling at her future daughter. I can hear Grant hiss a curse in Italian under his breath, and he takes a swig from his glass.
"And I couldn't give that to him, so he found someone who could," she shrugs, there's a small trace of hurt in her eyes, not a longing, but just... an echo. Kind of like how I feel when I think of Paul's betrayal.
I don't miss him, but the thought of how I felt still aches.
"And then I gave youtwoboys," Grant raises his glass, his face smug as he gazes at his wife. She sends him a dry look, and he blows her a kiss. He looks seconds away from beating his chest in victory; he has his wife, his sons, and he's completely winning in life.
"Yes, my husband will say it's his...Italian virility," Claire shakes her head in amusement as Grant appears to puff like a peacock.
"Ew, Dad," Michael gags as Grant just sits back in his chair like a king on his throne.
"You'll be thankful for that someday," Grant points a finger at his son, shrugging. "If you and Bailey decide to give us grandchildren."
Bailey beams brightly at Michael, who meets her eyes and winks at her.
"All that to say that I understand what you went through," Claire reaches out and lays a hand over mine on the table. "And I admire your optimism. As my husband said, if you need anything—money, doctors, a ride to treatment—we're here to help. You're important to Bailey, so you're important to us."
"Thank you," I reply, feeling Callum's hand brush over myshoulder and squeeze. "Thank you so much."
"A toast! To Sophie!" Grant says, raising his glass. My cheeks flush as everyone at the table grabs their own glasses. Callum grins at me as Grant looks right at me and says, "To resilience, to victory, and to kicking cancer's fucking ass.Salute!"
"Salute!" everyone repeats, then takes a sip from their glasses.
