The memory of him with a face full of mace, bent over and cursing, popped into her mind.Explaining that wouldn’t help this conversation along.“I think he was mad.Angry at Hayden, mostly.”
“He thought he’d lost you.”There was a strange softness in Mari’s voice that Grace didn’t understand.“Maybe we should talk to him.”
A knot thickened in her throat.Grace couldn’t explain why Mari’s tone affected her.“I’ll tell him, if he wants, to call you when he gets back.”
Her parents were unnervingly quiet.
“Well,” Grace broke the awkward tension.“Look, I know I fumbled and scared the hell out of everyone.I’m sorry.”
“We just want to know you’re doing okay,” Mari said.“Is everything taken care of, honey?”
She bit her bottom lip and didn’t want to lie.Apparently, she’d done too much of that lately, even if everyone had known she would not have been living a normal life.“It’s more complicated than I expected, but Cal’s helping me work it out.”
“What about Dominic?”Dad demanded.“If he’s giving you trouble, then Callum and I can sort that out.”
“No, Dad.Dominic is…”An unstable lunatic.“…possibly in more legal trouble.I don’t even know if I should have said that.Can we not talk about him right now?”
“Does he know where you are?”
Damn it, she didn’t want to lie to them.“Callum is handling it.”
“That wasn’t a no,” Mari said.
“No, it wasn’t,” Dad agreed.
“Look, I’m safe.I’m with Callum.He won’t leave my side until everything is fixed.”
“What does ‘fixed’ look like, Gracie?”Dad asked.
Callum’s promise of a new life, of a little house with a vegetable garden and friendly neighbors, surfaced front and center in her mind.She didn’t want to get her hopes up and certainly wouldn’t want to do that to her parents.“I’m not sure, to be honest.”
She stared out the window at Alicia and Callum making their way back to the house.“I have to go, but I love you and will let you know if I have any news.”
Their phone call ended, and she continued to stare out the window.Argos and Toto contentedly walked along as Alicia and Callum chatted.If Grace had been forced to predict the future, she never would have guessed those two would have met, nor would she have imagined Callum kissing her.Twice.
They entered the back door and unclipped the dogs in the kitchen.They trotted off as Alicia and Callum washed their hands.
“Who’s ready for tacos?”Alicia asked, drying her hands.“I’ll drive myself.I have to run errands after we eat, and then I’m having drinks with friends.Callum, you drive Grace.”
Callum crooked an eyebrow as Alicia ambled out of the kitchen, her purse in hand.“She likes to give orders, doesn’t she?”
“I like to organize,” Alicia called from the living room right before the front door shut.
They were all alone again, and now the house didn’t seem to hold enough oxygen.“I’ll grab my bag.”
She got two steps in before he stepped close behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, belting her to his hard body.Every nerve in her jumped to life, and Grace was acutely aware of how warm and solid his muscles were.
His hot breath teased against her ear.“You looked scared of me when I walked back into the kitchen.”
The scent of his cinnamon gum and the warmth of his words twisted her insides.Maybe she was scared.A lifetime knowing each other, and suddenly now it was different.“I’m not scared of you, Callum.”
His lips brushed against her ear, and fireworks sparkled up her spine.“I’m in a hell of a predicament right now.I’m supposed to be heading for dinner, but the only thing I want to eat is…”
“Callum.”She shivered.
He squeezed her closer.His lips drifted against her neck.“But I’m not doing anything if you look that wary around me.Are we on the same page?”
She nodded, breathless and squirming, wishing he would pull them into bed anddowhat he almost said, but she was completely terrified that he’d even thought it.
