I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her neck. I pull her to me and kiss her.
“Didn’t you get my text? I wanted naked Devin,” she whines with a smile.
“Conner is napping upstairs but could wake up any minute,” I reply apologetically. “Or else I would be naked and you would be too.”
She smiles into the kiss and it makes my heart sing and ache at the same time. She is not going to be smiling when I tell her about Ashleigh. I’ve spent all day thinking about what Ashleigh said. It was impossible not to. Now I wish I could just shut my brain off—by losing myself in Callie—but I have to tell her. She deserves to know.
“How was the mall with your sisters?” I ask as we walk back into the living room and sit on the couch.
“Cold. I almost killed myself on the ice in the parking lot.”
We say nothing for a long minute and I just wrap my arm around her and enjoy the feel of her up against me as we both watch the gas flames dance behind the glass of the fireplace. The sun has started to set for the night and the room is in shadows.
“What time do we have to be at your parents’?” she asks softly.
“In about an hour,” I respond and take a deep breath. “So…Ashleigh is having a hard time.”
She doesn’t say anything for a second and I can’t see her face to tell how she is reacting. Her body doesn’t go slack or get tense. “A hard time with what?”
“That douche she cheated with, I guess.” I’m trying so hard to sound casual so it’s coming out forced. Great. “And the divorce.”
“Does she not like the settlement you’re offering?” Callie asks. “Does she…not like the idea of living in New York?”
I pause. “No. I guess maybe she doesn’t. She wants me back, I think.”
“What?”
And there’s the reaction I knew was coming. Her voice is pitchy. Her body tenses. Her eyes dart sideways up to mine and she looks completely rattled. She cares. Callie Caplan cares about me. It’s written all over her face—finally!
“She asked me to give her another chance,” I say, feeling sick.
“I see.” Callie’s face suddenly slips into a neutral expression. She pulls herself off me and slowly slides over to the other side of the couch. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I repeat, confused. “Okay what?”
“Devin, she’s your wife. She’s the mother of your child. She’s still in love with you.” Callie’s voice is weird. It’s vacant of the usual warm tone and strong emotion it normally holds. It’s almost robotic. And gone is any trace she cares about me—or anything else, for that matter.
“I didn’t say she was still in love with me,” I reply tersely and run a hand through my hair in annoyance. “I said she wanted me back.”
“Same difference.”
“Not really.”
Conner’s little voice calls for me from upstairs and the conversation ends there. I get up but hesitate. He calls out “Daddy” again and this time it’s strained.
“Go to him,” she urges. “I have to get ready for dinner at your parents’ anyway.”
“We’ll talk more later,” I say, and she just looks away.
I turn and take the stairs two at a time as Conner’s call develops into a near wail. When I get to his room, I try to smile reassuringly at him. It’s hard because I’m so incredibly tense from that conversation downstairs.
“Daddy!” Conner says and reaches for me.
I sit on the edge of his bed and hug him. “You okay, Con?”
“I was comfused,” he says. He still gets hism’s andn’s mixed up. “I thought I was at Pappy’s and Nana’s.”
“No, Mommy brought you here, remember?”
