Then again, he hasn’t done anything lately to indicate he’s still trying to buy Holley Ridge from me. If anything, his actions have demonstrated that he wants me to hold on to it.
But is that what I want?
I’m no longer sure.
A gentle tapping on the door brings me out of my thoughts, my pulse immediately kicking up. On a long exhale, I run my hands down my dress, checking my reflection one last time. I almost didn’t get dressed up tonight. That would make this a real date. I’ve refused to label anything as a date. We may fuck, but a date means feelings.
I’m not supposed to have any feelings for Callum.
But when I open the door and see him standing outside of my apartment looking more handsome than I thought possible with his dark suit and festive tie, holding a stunning bouquet of flowers, it’s a losing battle.
I’ve already fallen hard, despite resisting it at every turn.
“Wow,” Callum exhales, his eyes drinking me in as they roam my frame, the little black dress accentuating my curves. “You look…” He licks his lips as he brings his gaze back to mine. Then he brushes a soft kiss against my cheek. “You’re stunning, Parker.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, pushing down the wave of emotions threatening to overwhelm me at the reminder that this is one of the last times I’ll ever hear him call me beautiful.
A voice in my head that sounds eerily like Grandma Estelle reminds me it doesn’t have to be.
He clears his throat, handing me the bouquet of red roses. “These are for you.”
“Thank you.” I hoist myself onto my toes and touch my lips to his. Then I turn from him and grab a vase from my kitchen, setting the flowers in water.
After admiring them for a moment, I return to him. “Ready?”
“Always.”
He helps me into my coat and we head to the lobby. But instead of walking toward the parking lot out front, he steers me out onto the veranda.
“I thought we were having dinner.”
“We are.”
“But—”
“While I’m sure the restaurants in town are quite good, if this is to be my last opportunity to have dinner with you, I’m not taking you somewhere you eat all the time. You deserve to be spoiled. So that’s what I plan to do tonight.”
A part of me wishes he’d just take me to one of the casual restaurants in town. It would make our inevitable separation much easier to swallow.
We walk in comfortable silence along the dirt path toward the cottage. A pang squeezes my chest over the idea that, starting tomorrow, I won’t be able to knock on the door and have Callum yank me inside for a quickie before I go back to work.
It’s not just the sex that I’ll miss.
It’s the passion.
I’ve never experienced such hunger and intensity before.
But is it enough?
As I step inside, my eyes adjust to the dim lighting. A fire flickers in the gas fireplace, the dining room table already set with a few candles in the middle. The distinct notes of jazz-inspired Christmas songs fill the air, everything about it oozing romance.
God, I wish it didn’t.
It’s only going to make me want more of this.
“Let me take your coat,” Callum offers, and I allow him to help me before he shrugs out of his own. “Wine?”
“I’d love some.”
