I’d avoided bringing him up since seeing him in the village that day because I didn’t want to ruin anything between me and Callie. In fact, both of us seemed to be avoiding discussing the seven years we’d been apart, which I wasn’t sure was healthy and knew we’d need to broach soon. There hadn’t been an opportunity to approach the subject of Gabriel. Until now. “So … what was he doing in Ardnoch?”
“Gabriel?”
“Aye.” I tried to keep my hands loose around the steering wheel. The truth was I despised how jealous that bloke made me feel. I was the one in a car with Callie, being called her boyfriend while she was pregnant with my child. That’s all that mattered. At least I wanted it to be all that mattered.
Callie released a slow breath. “He was honestly just stopping by on his travels. And he wanted to apologize.”
“For what?” I frowned. “Shit. You don’t need to tell me. It’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s fine. He … look, I told you before, what he and I had wasn’t serious. We never shared anything too personal with each other. Especially Gabriel. In fact, he could be downright evasive. But the last few weeks we were together, he was really distant, and I ended things weeks before I left Paris because of it. He acted like he didn’t care. So he was apologizing for being a bit shitty in the final weeks of our relationship.”
I nodded, trying to stop myself … but I couldn’t. “So, the kiss at the bus stop?”
“You saw that?”
“How else do you think I knew he was in town?”
“I’m sorry.” Callie reached over to caress my knee in apology. “Really. It was only a goodbye kiss.”
I nodded again.
She patted my knee and sat back. “You want the truth?”
My stomach churned. “Always.”
“It was awkward. Gabriel being in Ardnoch. Selfishly, I didn’t want him there. I wanted him to remain in Paris as a memory. He was only a distraction, Lewis. Everything that came after you … it was all just a distraction. Life … life feels real again. And I don’t know if that’s particularly healthy for either of us.” She let out a huff. “But I can’t help but feel that way. It’s like … like we really are two halves of one whole.”
Relief and joy and overwhelming fucking love choked me, and I couldn’t speak. I wanted nothing more than to kiss her so hard, she’d never forget it. I could feel her waiting nervously for my response and slumping in disappointment when it didn’t come.
Finally, after we crossed the Kessock Bridge, I pulled over onto a layby, switched off the engine, unhooked my seat belt, and cupped my hand around Callie’s head. I swallowed her sound of surprise in the hungriest kiss I’d allowed myself in the last three weeks. I stroked her tongue with mine, inviting her to devour me right back. She moaned and looped her arms around my neck, pushing up off her seat and into me. Her tongue met mine and I shuddered, wishing we were anywhere but in the car.
A horn blasted, jolting us apart.
Breathless, we held onto each other for a few seconds more. Then I pressed another soft kiss to her swollen lips and whispered, “I feel the same, mo chridhe.”
Her smile was slow and sweet as I released her so I could clip my belt back on.
As I merged into traffic, heading home, Callie suggested, “Maybe we could go sofa shopping in a few weeks?”
“And then mattress shopping after that?” I shot her a wicked grin.
“Hmm. But remember … it’ll need to besturdy.”
I burst out laughing, feeling lighter than I had in years.
Twenty-Eight
CALLIE
Mum said my bout of morning sickness lasted exactly the same length of time hers did with both me and Harry, thus reinforcing the idea we were basically the same person. I was extremely glad to no longer be throwing up everything. There was still no bump to show for the pregnancy, but that was apparently totally normal when you were only ten weeks.
It had been another good week since our first appointment with our midwife. Mrs. Rankin’s attempt to blacklist me (that sad lady needed to get a life of her own) never really got off the ground once the people who were ready to give me shit realized the rest of the village was ready to go to bat for me. The bakery had never been busier, and Mum was really impressed by how I was managing turnover with my fancy creations. I was even talking her into offering a delivery service from Inverness to John O’Groats after Verity said she’d do a two-hour round trip just to get one of my pastries.
And Lewis and I were almost perfect.
I sayalmostbecause other than the mind-blowing kiss he’d given me in the car coming home from the hospital last week, he’d been a total gentleman.
He was keeping his word about taking it slow.
