CC’s perfectly arched brows lifted. “Yes, the one I met with you at the club today. Maisie, wasn’t it? Maisie Morgan.”
Before I could deflect by pointing out that her question had startled her unborn granddaughter and that we should all be concerned about Laney right now as a result, Harrison leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Wait. MaisieMorgan?”
I frowned. “Do you know her? How? We were out of college before you were even born.”
“You’re only five years older than me, ass—” He cut himself off when Mom pursed her lips, but then he grinned like he’d just won some kind of bet when he refocused on me. “Of course, I know her. Everyone knows her, don’t they? Her brother is a broadcaster on ESPN. Carter Morgan?”
“That’s her brother?” I honestly didn’t think I’d known that. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?”
“That depends. How many Carter Morgans are there with sisters named Maisie? She was a diver, right? Champion level. If memory serves, she was a favorite for making the Olympic team, what, about eight, nine years ago, but she dropped out of the running pretty suddenly.”
The words landed like small explosions in my head.Diver. Champion level. Dropped out suddenly eight, nine years ago.
I remembered hearing her name all over campus, people whispering about the next Olympics, but then, one day, she’d just been gone. I’d never seen her again. I stared at my plate.
“Callum?” Laney’s voice cut into my thoughts, soft and curious. “Are you okay?”
I forced my features into something neutral, though my pulse was slamming against my throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. That’s her, yep. Maisie Morgan. Diver.”
Inside, the pieces were snapping together in a way I couldn’t ignore. Maisie had vanished from campus. She’d told me she’d stopped diving and had left college because she’d gottenpregnant, but for the first time in a long time, I felt the ground tilt beneath me.
She gave up herdreams. An actual shot at theOlympics. I mean that’s nuts. That’s the kind of woman I propositioned to marry me for the sake of convenience. A woman who is now seriously considering it not for the money or the name, but for that same child.
God, she deserves so much better than me.
“Why did she drop out, darling?” Mom asked, tilting her head as she looked at me like I was a specimen pressed between two thin strips of glass. “That seems unusual for an athlete rumored to have a shot at the Olympic team.”
I glanced at my dad, finding him already staring back at me, his gaze sharp and assessing. Suspicious. Shifting in my chair, I ignored the weight of my dad’s gaze and cleared my throat. “Maisie has a son. She decided to step back from diving to raise him.”
There was a beat of silence before Mom gave one of her emphatic, approving nods. “How very admirable. There are far too many young women who chase glory and neglect their children in the process. Good for Maisie. Our babies don’t ask to be here, but once they are, they’re our responsibility.”
“Yeah, sure. Admirable,” I echoed, though the word tasted strange on my tongue.
Leaving the feminism argument to my sisters-in-law, if they chose to have it and to point out to my dear mother that women could have kidsandcareers, I shoved another bite of potato into my mouth.Why the hell am I suddenly feeling guilty?
I couldn’t deny it, though. There was a sour wave of guilt rising up within me, and the only thing I could think about was her. Maisie, barely twenty at the time, her whole future stretched out ahead of her and then, one day, it had just been gone. She’dwalked away from it all for Brody, a baby I assumed no one—including her—had seen coming.
To add insult to injury, there was some deadbeat dick out there, walking free after leaving her to shoulder it all alone. The very thought of it made my head ache. Right now, there was nothing I wanted more than to know his name. I wanted to find him and exact some kind of vengeance on her behalf.
Maisie was private to the point of being secretive, though. I had to respect that. If she hadn’t told me who Brody’s father was, then I had to leave it alone for now. Until she felt safe enough and comfortable enough with me to tell me a truth I would imagine would be deeply private for anybody in her shoes.
In that moment, however, I realized thatifshe agreed to go through with marrying me, she deserved someone who would pull out all the stops. Someone who wouldn’t just treat her like a business partner, but an equal. Someone who valued her. Showed up for herandfor Brody.
Can I be that guy?
Around me, the conversation moved on. Laney complained about swollen ankles, Sterling told our parents about the progress with the house he was building, Sadie delved into Mom’s ideas about fundraising, and Harrison and Jameson laughed about whatever they were discussing.
It was the usual Westwood family dinner chaos, but I didn’t contribute tonight. Every time I lifted my gaze, I learned that my father wasstillwatching me. It wasn’t casual either, or with idle curiosity about this new friend.
Instead, he was looking at me with that sharp, unblinking suspicion he was so good at. After dinner, I found him in his study, a glass of bourbon in one hand while the faint tick of the grandfather clock filled the silence in the room.
The rest of the family was still gathered around the table, but I needed to do this now. Plus, I had a feeling he was waiting for me.
He didn’t look up immediately when I stepped into the study and shut the door with a quiet click behind me. Bringing his glass to his lips, he took a slow sip of his drink and swallowed it with a deceptive sense of calm about him. Finally, his eyes flicked to mine. “Is there something you’d like to talk to me about?”
“Yes.” My throat felt dry, but I forced the word out. Thankfully, my voice was steady. “Have you got a minute?”
“Is this Maisie friend of yours joining the family?” He gestured to the chair opposite him.
