“You’re beautiful, Cal,” I say to fill the silence, and she flashes me a small smile, one that doesn’t reach her eyes at all.
“Thanks, babe,” she says, sliding her hand into mine, threading our fingers.
“We don’t have to go,” I remind her. “We can do this another time.”
But she shakes her head. “I want to go.”
I don’t believe that, but I also don’t want to argue with her when she hasn’t eaten and she’s anxious. Instead, I’ll do what she always does, be the presence she needs. When we reach Nico and Aviva’s house, memories flood me of being here before.
It’s funny how when you find out someone doesn’t like you, all your past interactions come rushing back to you. Nico never really shook hands with me on the ice or ever celebrated with me. I thought it was mostly because Owen and I were always up each other’s asses, but now I realize it was more than that. Nico couldn’t stand us. When I was invited to the house, only Aviva talked to me, and if Nico and I found ourselves alone, he was always on his phone. It’s quite sad, really. I actually like Nico a lot. Shelli never talked bad about Nico or anything like that. The fact that he doesn’t like us because of her is ridiculous, but I can sympathize. I’m not making excuses for the dude, but nobody wants to be rejected, especially someone who has a disorder like his. Come on, though. He’s married with another kid on the way. I’m a decent dude, and I love Callie. Let it go. Trust me. Trust us.
I know that’s the point of this breakfast, but I also know that Nico won’t apologize. If he didn’t after he tore me down, he sure as hell won’t now. He’s probably just more upset. Hence why I feel like I’m walking toward a slaughter, instead of a nice “get to know the family” breakfast.
Fuck, I’m so anxious.
When Callie parks on the street, she shuts off the car, and I get out, asking her to wait. I grab the bouquet of flowers I got Aviva on the way and walk around, opening the door for Callie. She takes my hand, giving me a smile as she teases, “I think I’m supposed to open your door.”
I grin, kissing her nose. “Nope. It’s my job.”
“I’m the driver.”
“I’m your man.”
Her eyes soften as we lace our fingers together.
When she gets out, I stand beside her, pressing my side into hers. “You okay?”
“Do you want to be with me?” she asks suddenly, and I jerk my head back in surprise.
“Yes, Callie. Of course I do.”
“Okay, don’t forget that. No matter what. Because I want to be with you.”
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, square in the chest. Her eyes are so intense, so sure, and I’m in awe of her. I hold her gaze, and I swallow past the lump in my throat. She rises to her toes, kissing my jaw, and I don’t let her get far before I press my lips to hers. She glides her hands up my chest and around my neck, and I wrap my free hand around her body, holding her close as our lips play. I kiss her because I want to, but also because I want to drown in her confidence. I want to feed off her and absorb her words. I want to feel them everywhere and know they’re true.
When we part, I cup her jaw, running my thumb along her lips as her eyes burn into mine. Neither of us says anything because we don’t have to. We know. She laces her fingers with mine, and we both inhale before exhaling at almost the same time. After I shut her door, together, we head up the driveway of the huge stone home. When we reach the door, she opens it before calling out, “Hey, I’m home.”
Home. It’s her home, and I want that for her. But I want her.
Fuck, the struggle.
I want to be with you.
Her words echo in my head as I shut the door behind me. The house is just as I remember, very modern and clean, just now with a lot more baby toys around. I see Aviva with Vance on her hip first, and her smile is so welcoming, I almost forget that I could be walking into a clusterfuck.
She comes toward me, and I smile as we hug. “Hey, Evan. How are you?”
“I’m great. How are you?”
“Wonderful. It’s so good to see you!”
My face warms. I’ve always liked Aviva a lot. “Same. You’re gorgeous as always,” I say, handing her the flowers I brought for her. Callie takes Vance as Aviva takes the flowers from me. “For you.”
She gasps before taking in a deep breath of the white roses I picked out. “Oh, they’re stunning! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.”
“Absolutely. Come on. We’ve been cooking all morning. Vance is an early riser,” she jokes as she heads through the living room.
Callie kisses all over Vance, and I follow behind them through the house. I notice more pictures of Callie on the wall, along with Vance, and I still can’t believe I didn’t recognize her the first time I ran into her. All I saw was this beautiful girl who made me feel some kind of way, which I guess is good since I may have kept away if I had known Nico would be involved. Just out of respect. Even though he hasn’t made any effort to extend the same respect to Owen or me.
“This is my baby boy, Vance.”
I grin at the baby who looks a lot like Aviva to me, but I see a fair bit of Nico too. “He’s so cute.”
“He is, aren’t you?” she gushes, tickling his tummy. She’s rewarded with a giggle, and that delights her to no end. Callie’s eyes are so bright and excited as she glances over at me, and I flash her a grin. “He’s just perfect.”
When Vance reaches for me, I take him and cuddle him close. He pats my chest and then my face, babbling. “Hey, big guy. You going to be a goalie like Daddy?”
“That’s the plan,” Aviva says, putting the vase of flowers on the table. Before I can compliment how she’s arranged the flowers, my gaze meets Nico’s. The sour look on his face doesn’t take away my grin, though. How can it when I’m holding a cute-ass kid? Even if it’s his kid.
Though, I can’t ignore the immediate tension.
“Good plan,” I say as Aviva comes to grab Vance. She puts him in the high chair and then sits beside him.
“Well, come on, everyone. Let’s eat all this awesome food we made,” Aviva says, and I can see she’s going to play the ringmaster to this circus of lions.
I look at Callie, and her shoulders are back, with no intention of giving in to Nico. She didn’t even greet him. I pull out her chair, and as she sits, I say, “Hey, Nico. Thanks for having me.”
Nico shrugs. “Yeah.”
This is going to be a blast.
Aviva pats his hand. “As I said, we’re so happy to have you. Callie has talked about you nonstop.”
I sit beside Callie and move my hand into her lap, taking her hand with mine. “I think she might like me a bit, so I’m not surprised.”
She looks over at me, her lips curving just slightly. With a wink, she says, “Just a bit.”
“Small bit,” I say, returning the wink. Her lips curve even more, and I hope I’ve helped her relax some. For me, I’m still as tight as a ball of tape, but I’m really good at masking my feelings. Callie lets go of my hand to take my plate and starts to fill it with food, just as Aviva does for Nico. I look across the table at Nico and clear my throat.