He took off toward her, but I stayed rooted where I was, watching Brody collapse into the grass with the puppies piling over him in a tangle of limbs and tails. Sterling’s words echoed in my head, sticking harder than they should have.
We did look alike. More than a little, if I was being honest. I’d noticed it before, but it was suddenly taking up an enormous amount of space in my brain.
It’s funny how life works, bringing Brody and me together when we look so much alike, but we’re not related at all. Just crazy, really.
CHAPTER 24
MAISIE
Scraps of fabric were all over the dining table, hot glue was tacky on my fingertips, and a half-finished pirate vest was draped over the back of a chair. Halloween was around the corner and it fell on a Saturday this year, which at least meant that I had the rest of the week to get this done, but with everything that had been going on, I’d only just gotten around to starting.
My phone rang.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Mom said once I finally picked it up. “Guess where I am?”
I froze with the needle mid-stitch. “Please don’t say you’re at the airport.”
“Okay,” she said cheerfully. “I won’t say it, then.”
I groaned and shot to my feet, nearly spilling buttons everywhere in the process. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m leaving right now. I’ll come pick you up. I just lost track of time with Brody’s costume and?—”
“Don’t worry, honey,” she said gently. “I’m already in line for a rental car.”
She made it sound so simple, but my chest still felt tight when we hung up. I paced the kitchen, glancing out the windowevery few seconds like I could will her car into the driveway. I knew it would be a while before she got here, but I felt terrible about not noticing the time.
When I finally heard tires crunching up the drive, my stomach twisted. I hurried to the door with my heart hammering, ready to fling myself into Mom’s arms and beg for her forgiveness, but it wasn’t her.
It was Callum.
Of course, he’d get here while I have stray sequins stuck to my shirt and glue in my hair.Meanwhile, he climbed out of his luxury SUV looking like a male model who’d just stepped out of a photo shoot for a men’s fall fashion magazine.
Tall and steady, he moved like he had all the time in the world, his shoulders broad under a lightweight navy blue sweater and a stylish, fitted jacket. He wore jeans and boots with it, that near-black hair once again artfully mussed and his features sharp and clean shaven.
All the while, I stood frozen on the porch, wondering why such an elegant, stylish, gorgeous man would ever even have looked at me, but I also braced myself because he hadn’t just looked at me. He’d freakingproposedand I was sure he’d come to finally corner me about going down to the courthouse.
About paperwork. About what came next.
Basically, I was certain he was here because of everything I’d been deliberately avoiding while I tried to stitch my life into something that made sense. Instead, he just shoved his hands into his pockets when he reached me, those icy blue eyes weirdly warm and tender as he studied me for a moment.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly, his gaze quickly dropping with a flicker of a frown creasing his brow before a light went on in his eyes. “You’re actually hand-making a Halloween costume, aren’t you?”
Before I could even start to form a response, the sound of feet smacking against pavement made me look away from him. Brody came barreling toward us from the street, obviously having seen Callum pull up. He had a huge grin on his face and excitement dancing in his eyes.
“Callum!” he shouted, looking so happy to see him that my chest squeezed. “Can you help me sharpen my skates?”
Callum glanced at me, that soft smirk that was becoming so familiar on his face, and raised his eyebrows as if silently asking permission. I hesitated for half a second, then nodded, giving him the go-ahead.
My mom would be here any minute and I was going to need a bit of time alone with her. Plus, there was no way I could say no with both Brody and Callum looking at me like that.
“All right, buddy,” he said. “Let’s get to it.”
I watched him lead Brody out to the garage, my heart doing that weird flip-flop it always did around him. They were gone only a few minutes before the low rumble of tires made me whip my head toward the driveway again.
Mom.
This time, it was her, pulling up with her energy practically vibrating through the car. My head was still spinning because of Callum’s surprise visit and that warmth in his gaze, but Mom’s eyes immediately landed on his brand-new, ultra expensive SUV, and I knew it was time to pull myself together.
I jogged down the porch steps toward her, to help with her luggage and to intercept her before she went looking for Callum with all guns blazing.
