“It wasn’t that funny,” I say when he finally stops.
“Yeah, it kind of was.”
“Come on, let’s go find all these items,” I say, and he captures my hand as we traipse through woods, collecting pinecones and hidden painted rocks. We eventually make our way to the cold water and kick around the sand, looking for colored shells. The private beach is full of my family and friends, and I can’t stop smiling. I was so dreading this and now I’m having such a great day. The sun shines down on me and I lift my face to it.
“It’s hot out here,” Callan says and scoops me up.
“Don’t you dare,” I say and put my arms around his neck.
My sisters both squeal and cheer him on. “Hey, you guys are supposed to be on my side,” I yell, but it does me little good. Callan kicks his shoes off, steps into the water and winces.
“Freezing right,” I yell as he goes out a bit further. I’m not too worried about him tossing me in, though. It’s too cold for even him. He swings me, pretending he’s going to dunk me, but he’s too sweet to do it. He just likes teasing me and I like him doing it.
Before I even realize what I’m doing, I lean in and kiss him, my heart so darn full of happiness it’s a bit overwhelming. He kisses me back, and when I inch back he says. “Okay fine, if you’re going to be nice and kiss me like that, I won’t toss you.” He looks around. “Want to continue with the hunt? We can’t win now, but I’m not a quitter.”
He sets me back on the sand and picks up his shoes to carry them. We hunt on the beach for all the items and by the time we make it back to the deck, everyone is there, and the barbecue is going.
I don’t have to ask who won. Amanda is prancing around like the queen bee, and I have to say, I’m glad it was her and not my ex, who looks like he’s sulking in the corner, while his girlfriend desperately tries to make him happy. Good luck, girlfriend. Not going to happen. I just hope she gets out sooner rather than later, and honestly, I think he just brought her to make me jealous.
But I can’t think about that. Not when Callan is sitting close, and asking me if I want to take the boat out. It’s not his words that are intriguing me, it’s the suggestive look in his eyes that has me all hot and bothered.
Yeah, I’m having way too much fun with this guy.
12
Callan
I steal a glance at a very tired Gemma sitting in the passenger seat as we head back to the city. She’s leaning against the headrest, her eyes half closed, but there’s a small smile on her face. My heart thumps a little faster as I take in her features, reliving the amazing weekend we had together. I like her family. I even liked Brad’s parents.
The woman he brought was seriously all over him, and if it was to make Gemma jealous, he didn’t succeed. Nothing about that man sits right with me, and while he continued to watch Gemma and me carefully, following along as we played the scavenger hunt games and ate around the table, he kept his comments to himself, although he did seem to want to talk to Gemma. I wasn’t having any of that.
As if she feels me staring, she turns my way.
“Who’s the creeper now?” she teases.
I squeeze her hand. “Go back to sleep.”
“No, I’m okay.” She sits up a little straighter. “Did you have a fun weekend?”
I grin, recalling the games we played and the fun we had. “Your family is great.”
“They really are.” She stretches out her arms. “I think they were pretty accepting of you, Callan. Even Aunt Donna was smitten with you by the end of it all, and she’s a huge Brad fan.”
“Do you think he got the idea that you’re mine?”
Mine.
Jesus, as soon as that word leaves my mouth, my heart hitches. Gemma isn’t mine. I was just doing her a favor this weekend. Why then, does the thoughts of life going back to the same routine, a life without her in it, leave a knot in my stomach?
She shifts, her brow furrowed as she glances at her hands, which are tightly folded on her lap. “I hope so. A few times after dinner, he tried to get me alone to talk.”
“I know.”
Her grateful smile wraps around me and squeezes tight. “Thanks for always being there by my side, Callan.”
“My pleasure.”
“Mine too,” she teases as warmth colors her cheeks.
“I guess we owe Amanda and David a meal in the city, huh, seeing as they beat our asses.”
She shakes her head, her hair falling from the clip at the top of her head. “You don’t have to do that, you’ve done enough,” she says.
I tap my thumb on the steering wheel. “Maybe I want to.”
Careful, dude, this isn’t a real relationship.
Wait, do I want it to be?
Fuck, I just don’t know anymore. Even if it did, it doesn’t mean she wants more. She told me she wasn’t ready for anything, that she had to work on healing first. I almost snort. I should probably be trying to do the same thing, instead of living in the past, but moving on doesn’t feel right. It feels like I’m betraying Zoe. I’d already let her down by not being there to protect her and our son, like I’d vowed to do.
“I was thinking,” Gemma says, bringing my thoughts back.
“What’s up?”
“You need a nanny. Maybe I could help out.”
The way my heart squeezes with happiness doesn’t go unnoticed, but having her around full time, a girl like her, one who is so easy to fall for, might not be good for my mental health. Not only that, how the hell can I be expected to keep my hands to myself?
“You don’t have to do that,” I say. “I’m sure the agency can find someone else.”
“Maybe I want to.”
I laugh. “Touché.”
“Seriously, Callan.” She turns in her seat. “I don’t mind at all. On the nights you’re working and getting home early, you won’t have to drive Kaitlyn to the Boys and Girls club. She can come with me, since it’s where I’m going anyway. We also talked about piano lessons. I’ll be right there to give them to her.”
“What about your other students?”
“They usually come to my place,” she says, like she’s given this a lot of thought, and has it all figured out. “They’ll just come to yours instead, if that’s not a problem for you.”
“Well, no. I guess it would…”
“It’s settled then,” she says, sitting back in her seat with a smile on her face.
“It’s not settled, Gemma,” I say and her face drops.
She gives a fast shake of her head, her eyes big and full of regret. “I’m sorry, Callan. I didn’t mean to throw this all at you and give you no choice. I’m overstepping. I get it, and of course you don’t want me invading your place.”
Is that what she thinks? That I don’t want her around? Cripes, it’s the opposite, really, and to be honest, I want to keep her close for a little while longer. I want to make sure Brad gets the idea that we’re together and stays far fucking away from her.
Is that the only reason, dude?