His eyes shifted away at the straightforward question before he looked at me again. “I prefer to share that with her first.”
I wasn’t the type of man to pry, but if this secret hurt my daughter, I was emotionally involved. “Will this hurt her?”
He was quiet for a while as he considered how to respond. “From the moment I laid eyes upon her, I’ve been committed and faithful and loyal to her—and her alone. But prior to that, I committed atrocities that bring me great shame. I can’t continue this relationship until she’s aware of my crimes.”
“If these happened before you met, I don’t think they matter, Callum.”
His eyes suddenly filled with a weight of sadness I could see. “I wish that were the case.”
I remembered who I was before I met Calista, hell-bent on revenge and going full scorched earth on the world—no matter who I hurt. “I did some horrible things myself. Things that directly impacted Calista before I met her.”
His eyes narrowed slightly on my face, like that meant something to him.
“My decisions literally ruined her life.” And those actions still haunted me all these decades later. “And as you can see, our love was enough. I believe that your love will be enough, Callum.”
His eyes held on to mine like a plank of wood that kept him afloat when he was lost at sea. “She doesn’t know about Anya or my boys either.”
“I think that will make her love you more, not less.”
“I loved and married someone before her. I had a family with someone before her.”
“Every love is different,” I said. “And Lily doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman to be insecure about someone you loved before. I loved my first wife with my whole heart, but my love for Calista is…very different. It seems to be the same with you and Lily.”
His eyes dropped as he considered what I said. “I know her love for me mirrors mine for her. That our two souls fit perfectly together. It’s the first time I’ve been with her as a fully restored man, and everything is far more intense than it was before.”
I kept my eyes on his face even though his words made me tense.
“And I hope that will be enough for her to forgive me.”
“If this happened before you met, then it sounds like there’s no way she could ever know about it.”
“No, she wouldn’t.”
“Then why tell her?”
He continued to look away for a long time before he found the strength to meet my eyes again. “Because that’s not the kind of man I am.”
8
LILY
When I walked in the door, Callum was in the kitchen.
“Something smells good.” I slipped off my sandals by the door and joined him in the kitchen.
He was in a new pair of trousers, like he’d gone into the village that day and shopped for attire. But he was shirtless, exactly as I preferred, a mountain of a man. A large pot was on the stove, and the smell of onions and carrots wafted to my nose. He turned to me, a subtle smile on his lips but with a luminous light in his gaze. His arm circled around the small of my back, and he bent his neck down to kiss me, slow and soft but with a passion I could feel. When he pulled his mouth away, he glided his hand over my ass and gave it a manly squeeze before he turned back to the stove and turned off the burner.
He didn’t say a word, but that was just fine with me.
I set the table with napkins and silverware and wine with glasses while he plated the food. I hadn’t expected him to beable to cook. This was a bonus I hadn’t anticipated. He carried the bowls of hot food to the table and set them on the plates before he sliced up a baguette he must have gotten at the market. He tossed the slices in a fresh linen in a basket then set it on the table before he took a seat across from me.
“I didn’t know you could cook.”
“It’s just meat and potatoes.”
I looked at the dark gravy that covered the beef filets and the carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms. “It’s the best meat and potatoes I’ve ever seen.”
It was too hot to eat right away, so he sat with his elbows on the table and just stared at me.
