Lewis, at sixteen, was already taller than his dad, Thane Adair. When relaying every detail about her boyfriend that she could, Callie had told me Lewis was six two and on his way to being his Uncle Lachlan’s height of six four. He was also broad of shoulder and had completely skipped that gangly stage most teens went through. With his messy “I’m in a band” chin-length dark hair and piercing blue eyes, Lewis Adair was exactly the kind of boy that teen me would have crushed on.
As he wrapped a casual arm around Callie, pulling her into his side to press a tender kiss to her temple, I swooned for her.
Callie didn’t stand a chance.
“What?” Callie cocked her head at me.
I realized I was staring. “Nothing.”
She narrowed her eyes but when they dropped to my feet, she gaped. “Are those Muaddis?”
“You know your designers.” I was impressed. I was, in fact, wearing a pair of Amina Muaddi sandals. They were adorable rose-pink metallic mule heels with an open toe, a funky pedestal heel, and a little embellished bow accent on top. I’d thought them perfect for Ardnoch Estate’s end-of-summer party. The D&G black-and-white polka-dot dress I’d paired them with made the shoes pop. It also made me look curvier than I was, designed to accentuate the hips and bust. Jared had almost ripped me out of the dress when he saw me descend the staircase earlier.
“God help us all,” Walker muttered in response to the designer shoe conversation as he wandered into the room. He looked almost as delicious as my husband did in his tux.
Speaking of wanting to rip someone’s clothes off … I’d seen Jared in a kilt at Sarah and Theo’s wedding. It was a wondrous sight to behold. But for the summer party, both he and Walker had opted for tuxedos.
Jared McCulloch might have been born to wear a kilt … but in a tux, my husband was freaking hot. Like James Bond hot. But the Daniel Craig rough around the edges kind of hot, not the smooth, clean-cut hot of all the James Bonds who came before him.
“You look good,” I told Walker.
He gave me a brief nod of thanks before his gaze zeroed in on Lewis.
Lewis straightened but didn’t remove his hand from Callie’s waist. “Sir.”
“I’ll be calling your father to check that you and Callie are at your house, and in separate rooms, by nine o’clock.”
“Of course. We’ll be there.”
Callie grinned. “Aye, that gives us a whole hour to get me pregnant.”
While I let my laughter rip, Jared did Walker the courtesy of trying to smother his. Lewis let out a nervous chuckle that quickly disintegrated into panic at the murderous expression on Walker’s face. “She’s kidding.” He nudged Callie. “Tell the ex-Royal Marine that you’re kidding, Callie.”
“You’re a black belt in tae kwon do. You can take ’im.” She nudged her boyfriend back.
Lewis stared at her in horror.
Laughing, Callie turned to her stepdad, completely unrepentant. “Don’t worry, Dad. Lewis is a perfect gentleman.”
Walker did not look like he believed her one bit.
Lewis shot us a panicked look. “Tell my parents that I love them and I’m sorry it ended this way.”
Jared and I snort-laughed as Sloane strolled into the room, her dress fluttering around her ankles. “Stop torturing Lewis and your dad, Callie.”
Callie shot me a wicked smirk.
That girl.
God, I loved her.
“Mum, you look gorgeous.” Callie leaned over to press a kiss to her mom’s cheek.
“You do,” I agreed. Sloane wore a maxi dress that was high at the neck but backless. The light and airy fabric was a mix of teals and greens with hints of yellow. Perfect for a summer party.
Sloane smiled at me. “As do you. We all scrub up pretty well, huh?”
“Aye, aye, we all look gorgeous,” Walker retorted grim-faced, even as he slid his arm around Sloane’s waist and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Let’s get this over with.”
