“I do, but I also love what I do here. I get back when I can though. What about you?” he asked as he threw his napkin on his empty plate and eyed her fries. She pushed them towards him with a grin, and he dove right in.
“I miss Clay and my parents but I don’t have a lot of friends back home now. Modelling took me out of school a lot, and I ended up being home-schooled. The modelling world is cutthroat, so not too many friends there. The few I did have either stabbed me in the back or fell in with the wrong crew, and we lost touch.”
“That must be lonely?”
“I guess, but I’m so busy I don’t get a lot of time for anything anyway.”
“No serious boyfriends?”
Callie snorted at that. “You saw the list.”
“Yeah, but surely there’s someone who caught your eye for longer than a few weeks?”
Yeah, you and then only the pictures of you from my brother’s phone. “Not really,” she answered instead.
“You should meet my friend’s girlfriends, Evelyn and Pax. They’re both fashion lovers and would love you.”
She tipped her head to smile at him. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I’d like that.”
“I’ll see if I can make it happen in your crazy schedule.” He laughed and tipped back the rest of his drink and laid some cash on the table.
“Let’s get home,” he reached for her and placed his hand on her lower back as he walked her to the car. The warm feeling in her lower belly was just going to have to go ignored.
The last two weeks had been a whirlwind, from Paris to New York then Ibiza then home. Through it all, Reid had been polite, patient, and kind but with a definite do not cross the line vibe. Callie adjusted the vent towards her face, hoping the blast of cold air from the AC would keep her awake as Reid drove them home. Exhaustion was her constant companion these days.
For her part, life had continued the same, the stalker wasn’t mentioned and there had been no further incidents. Reid had as he’d promised to put her in touch with a security company he’d already vetted, and she was talking with the owner the following Monday.
“Modelling is harder work than I gave it credit for,” Reid commented as she rather ungracefully stifled another yawn.
“It’s not the glamorous life of parties that people make it out to be, at least not for me.” She turned her head to watch the drizzle coming down on the windscreen. Reid was just too handsome a temptation after two weeks together.
“How did you get into it?”
“I got scouted at a shopping mall when I was doing a cheerleading demonstration. Signed on with an agency and the rest just snowballed from there. I actually wanted to be a guidance counsellor.”
This was the first personal conversation they’d had since the pub. They’d arrived home to be met by Mitch and Liam, and things had turned to the stalker. It was nice to talk to someone, someone real, who wasn’t paid to be there like Sophia or Mel were.
“You would’ve been good as a counsellor. I mean, you’re an excellent model obviously, but you’re a good listener as well.”
She turned and flashed a smile at the genuine compliment. “Thanks. I guess I help people in different ways now. Money affords me the chance to help more people than I could have otherwise.”
Reid nodded and was silent, she wondered if it was insensitive to talk about her vast wealth, but it was part of who she was. Being embarrassed by it when she had earned it was silly. Yet, she had always felt a little guilty for being paid so much for basically having her picture splashed across the world, when so many others could barely eat.
Reid pulled into the parking garage of her building and killed the engine, before turning in his seat to face her. “You’re not what I expected, Callie East,” he said using her real name, not the professional one everyone else used.
She considered that for a second as she let her eyes wander over his strong profile. “Neither are you, Kirk Reid.”
The moment seemed charged with electricity, the cab of the vehicle practically vibrating with it. She’d done her best to keep their exchanges to friendly banter with nothing that could be considered flirty or suggestive. Reid had made it clear he wasn’t there for that and Callie wanted to grasp whatever she could from this enigmatic man.
“What did you think I’d be like?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
“I don’t know, but not sweet and kind and thoughtful. You’re a good friend, Reid.” She forced the words past a sudden lump in her throat. She didn’t want him to see how disappointed she was at the thought of only being his friend. She wanted more, and she couldn’t have it.
“I don’t want to be your friend, Callie.”
He reached up and cupped her neck with his palm, causing a shaky breath to escape. Her eyes moved to his lips that seemed to be coming closer. Her eyes closed as she waited for the second his lips would touch hers, when a loud bang on the window made them both jump apart.
“Shake a leg, you two,” Liam said, grinning at them through the window.
Reid sighed and pulled away but not before she saw the relief on his face. He’d been about to kiss her, and he was glad he hadn’t. That stung, but maybe he was right in his thinking. Kissing would only make her want something more, and the thought of his kiss made her think of forever, which was silly.
Reid wasn’t the settling down type, she remembered her brother saying so and everything she’d seen confirmed that theory. His job and lifestyle didn’t leave a lot of time for a relationship, not that she could talk. Her life was crazy busy, and she barely saw Bono these days.
Hopefully, this next project would change all that. She smiled as a bubble of excitement ran through her at the thought of finally getting to do the thing she’d dreamed of for the last two years.
The car door opened, and she smiled up at Liam, who held out his hand for her. “My lady.”
Callie couldn’t help but return the grin. “Good to see you again, Liam.”
“You, too. You look well. Did Reid look after you?”
She walked towards the building’s lift where Mitch waited, but glanced at Reid behind her. “He did, he’s excellent at what he does.”
She truly meant it too. Reid was a class-A operator. She could well see how he had been at the top of his game as part of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team. The fact he now worked for Eidolon doing—well, she wasn’t sure exactly what it was he did—but it probably involved a similar skill set.
“Good to hear.”
“Any problems here?” Reid asked from her left side.
The small elevator went silent for a beat, and she knew unsaid words and meaningful looks were being exchanged.
“Come on, guys, don’t do that. Just spit it out,” she snapped.
“Sorry, sunshine, this isn’t about you. It’s a team matter,” Reid said with somewhat of a smile in his voice. When she looked up though it wasn’t there, his face was impassive.
“Oh,” she said, feeling slightly embarrassed.
The rest of the ride was silent. The doors opened and Mitch moved out ahead of her as Reid guided her beside him with Liam behind. It seemed like overkill to her, but she shrugged it off. She needed a hot bath, food, and then lots of sleep in that order.