“Maisie.” Her voice softened, all the lawyer edge gone now as she leaned over and squeezed my hand. “Please just let me make sure you and Brody are covered. No one thinks it’s going to come to that at the beginning of a relationship, but it’s not the beginning that’s the problem, is it? It’s the end.”
For a moment, I wanted to argue and pretend like everything would be simple, easy, and neat, but I wasn’t stupid. Callum’s name opened doors that would always be slammed in my face. If he ever wanted to fight me for Brody, no amount of truth or heartache would matter against the money and power his family wielded.
I nodded, my chest tight all over again. “Okay. Draw it up. I really just want this to work, but you’re right. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Georgia flashed me a small smile. “You’re a fool for trusting him enough to marry him, you know.”
“Maybe.” I let my gaze drift back to Brody. “At least I’ll be a fool with a hot husband real soon. That has to count for something.”
She laughed, but by the time she left, my head was buzzing like I’d stuck it in a beehive. She was right about everything. I wasn’t blind to the risk. I’d just agreed to tie myself to a man who had no idea the boy he’d bonded with today was his own flesh and blood, but beneath the stress, outside of the knot in my stomach and the weight of the what-ifs, there was a strange sense of relief.
For years, it had been only me and Brody. I’d been treading water, just barely staying afloat while pretending I was fine, but Brody was growing up fast and his needs weren’t slowing down. He was smart, restless, and starting to need guidance that went beyond me nagging him about homework and cleaning up Legos.
Having someone like Callum in his life? That wasn’t just for Brody’s sake. It was going to be a godsend for me, too. I’d never say it out loud, but the idea of not doing it all alone anymore felt like the first deep breath I’d had in years.
As Georgia’s taillights disappeared down the street, I went to the kitchen and busied myself with throwing together pasta for dinner so I wouldn’t second-guess the decision I’d made. Brody came bounding in a short while later, his face still flushed from playing and hair sticking up in seventeen different directions.
He slurped down half his spaghetti seemingly without even taking a breath, but he suddenly stopped eating to look up at me. “Can I play with Callum again sometime? I know he said he’d seeabout this weekend and about practice, but if not then, can we call to ask about another time?”
I froze, the question ricocheting through me like a stone skipping across the still surface of a lake, but then I smiled, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “Yeah, buddy. I think you can. I’ll call him, okay? I promise.”
In the end, it turned out to have been Brody who had given me the final shove I’d needed. After the dishes were cleared, the kitchen was clean, and he was tucked into bed, I sat on the edge of the couch, staring at my phone. My thumb hovered for a moment before I typed out a message, keeping it simple and to the point:
Me: I’d like to move forward with the marriage. Send me the prenup and contracts when you can.
I hit send before I could overthink it, dropped the phone on the coffee table, and leaned back against the cushions. Was I stressed? Absolutely, but for the first time in a long time, I felt like I wasn’t just surviving. I was actually taking a step forward.
CHAPTER 15
CALLUM
“How was theSave the Oceansdinner last night?” Laney asked Mom from across the table, her thumb absently stroking her swollen belly and her free hand wrapped around a glass of ginger ale.
I swore, since she’d gotten pregnant, Laney had been drinking that stuff like it was the elixir of life. Sadie suddenly perked up, not even the nausea inspired by her unborn twins enough to keep her from getting excited about any fundraising opportunity that had to do with any kind of animal.
“That was last night? Shoot. I can’t believe I forgot. Oh, that’s why we’re only having this dinner tonight, isn’t it? It suddenly makes sense now. Sorry, my brain is like a sieve these days.”
Jameson smirked. “Only these days, huh?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, but the corners of her lips were twitching into a grin. “Funny guy. I’d tread lightly if I was you, or I might just send you on another run for olives at three a.m.”
“Go for it,” he shot back easily. “I stocked up. One entire shelf of our pantry is now filled with every type of olive you could possibly want.”
“What about tinned peaches?” Laney asked with a barely suppressed smile on her lips. “Did you think about those?”
Sterling groaned. “Don’t get me started on the tinned peaches, bro, and no. Fresh doesn’t count. It’s got to be tinned.”
Jameson paled a little, knowing he’d been beat, and Mom chuckled as she looked between the four of them with a very particular glow practically radiating from her. “Oh, look at you all. I never thought I’d live to see the day.” She focused on the women. “The dinner was fantastic. I picked up a few ideas for fundraising events for your foundation, Sades. We’ll talk sometime, but I’ve been looking at these functions in a whole new way recently.”
It’s Sades now, huh?I almost scoffed out loud. A few months ago, Mom hadn’t trusted Sadie for shit. She hadn’t even really known her, but she’d been uncertain about Sadie being the right choice for Jameson purely because she had a reputation for throwing all her money after the causes she was passionate about.But look at them now.
At least it gave me hope that even if Gage had been right about my parents viewing Brody as too much of a complication, they could come around. They could—eventually—let go of their preconceived notions and embrace change. I was staring at living proof of that.
“Callum.” Mom’s voice suddenly sliced through the chatter like a tuning fork, high and clear. When I blinked myself out of my thoughts and looked up, everyone else was staring straight at me, too. “Tell us more about your friend from golf.”
Everyone around the table stilled. Except Sterling’s baby, who kicked so hard Laney winced.Way to put me on the spot, Mom. Thanks.
I set my wine glass down carefully, trying not to give too much away. “My friend?”
