Page 3 of More Than A Feeling

"I don't, which is why I'm leaving," I pointed out. "Now, she doesn't have to worry about losing you."

"You're being so fucking childish." He shook his head as if disgusted. "Sabine is right…your parents, too. You're just too self-involved and immature for an adult relationship. Well, babe, go running back to your sad little life where you spend your days in a house you need your parents to help you afford; working a shitty job that pays fuck all."

Titus and June both gaped at him. I had no idea why Callum thought I didn't make good money. I made high six figures. Probably something my parents or Sabine told him. I had a degree in Computer Science Engineering from Tulane, and I climbed the corporate ladder fast because of my programming and leadership skills. The company had even paid me to get my master's in computer science specializing in AI from MIT.

I was one of the youngest senior directors in my company. But Callum didn't seem to have paid attention to my life whenwe were together. I couldn't tell him a whole lot about my job because of my security clearance, but I'd hoped he'd thought that I was successful in my own right.

"What the fuck, Fleur?" June asked, baffled.

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

I walked away then, not turning to see him one last time. He'd finally said and done things that killed every last feeling of hope I had for us to make it as a couple. It was time to move on, not just from Callum but my family as well. I needed to surround myself with people who saw me and not the version of me that Sabine painted. I would not mourn the end of this relationship but take it as a lesson for the future. When people show you who they are, believe them—and know they won't change. They can't.

Chapter 2

Callum

My house felt empty without Fleur. She'd been here a week and had taken it over with bright flowers and her light. Now, it felt like it always had. Quiet, clean, modern, and somehow more oppressive than before. She'd packed away her colorful rugs and throws. She'd left a vase with flowers, which now looked forlorn on the steel and glass coffee table.

She'd not put her art up—colorful Parisian café prints—but they'd been leaning against my walls, cheering the place up. They were a stark contrast to the expensive original art that hung, which was mostly landscapes; the colors being beige, blue, and black.

The moment I saw her at Sabine's, I knew it was over. I had hoped it wouldn't be, but I knew. Fleur never liked Sabine, and it had always rankled me. Sabine was quiet, sophisticated, gentle…frail. Everything Fleur wasn't. Sabine was elegant, while Fleur was the girl next door. Sabine spoke softly and never cursed,while Fleur, well, she had a sailor's mouth. Compared to Sabine and her parents, Fleur definitely seemed like the baby who was switched at birth.

I sat down and poured myself a finger of whiskey.

The truth was that I always saw myself with a woman like Sabine. If she wasn't Seamus's widow, I think she and I could have a romantic relationship.

My attraction to Fleur had been unexpected. Oh, she made eyes at me; she had been since Sabine and Seamus started dating four years ago. It still hurt to think about my brother. He'd gotten into his convertible one day and…fuck…after two years, I still waited for him to show up and talk about last night's game.

Sabine and he dated for a year before being married for another. They were so in love. It had been a fucking tragedy for her to lose him, for him to lose his beautiful and happy marriage when he'd tasted it for such a short time.Andthe shock of losing him had driven Sabine to such despair that she'd lost their baby. A piece of Seamus that would have been a balm to my family and me.

I adored Sabine for how she loved Seamus. How good she was to him. I loved her because she was family. I admired her for her grace and elegance, her smarts, and her success as a lawyer. We had always been friendly, but we'd become close after Seamus passed.

I wondered what my brother would’ve thought about my relationship with Fleur. He’d told me he liked her, but never spent much time with her—because it bothered Sabine.

"Sabine thinks her sister is hitting on me, which she isn't. Fleur is a sweetheart," Seamus told me once when we were having lunch on a Saturday at Paillard in the Marigny. Seamus had just proposed to Sabine, and he was happier than any man had a right to be.

"According to Brian, she's a bit selfish, doing her own thing, not particularly family oriented," I said as I perused the menu. I always thought that Fleur had a crush on me. She wasn't my type; she was too plain and nerdy, but it surprised me that she was also trying to get with my brother. Christ! Poor Sabine had one shitty sister.

Seamus snorted. "They have a problem with her not being a lawyer. But she's her own person; why does she have to be like them?"

"Maybe she isn't smart enough to be a lawyer," I mused.

Seamus arched an eyebrow. "You know she has a bachelor's in computer science engineering at Tulane. And she paid for it on her own 'cause Brian and Lenora would only pay for her school if she studied law."

"That's their call." I saw no problem with parents withholding their money from their children. Brian and Lenora came from the upper middle class and, with their law firm, had become considerably wealthy.

"It's petty," Seamus said.

"You're pretty defensive about her, no wonder Sabine doesn't want you spending time with her."

He laughed. "Fleur and I are friendly. I pay attention, that's all. Sabine and Fleur are very different people. She dresses like a tomboy and swears like a sailor, and her family believes her friends are not appropriate. But just because Fleur is not like Sabine doesn't mean there's anything wrong with her."

"She's definitely not in Sabine's league," I agreed.

"Is anyone?" Seamus's eyes twinkled. He was a man in love, and having spent time with his fiancée, I understood.

I always thought my brother was lucky to have married someone like Sabine. She'd been the ideal Mrs. Gallagher, even though my parents were cool towards her. I liked Sabine, not as much as Seamus though.

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