Page 60 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

“She is?! See, I always told you she was a borderline stalker. Don’t you think that’s weird since she knew you…”

My words trailed off when I saw the mischievous glint in his eyes and realized he was fucking with me.

“Haha. You’re so funny,” I said sarcastically.

“Am I?” He placed his hand on his chest. “Is that what my adoring public is saying?”

I shook my head and sighed. “I should never have said that.”

“Maybe not, but you did.” His trademark bad-boy half-grin was back, and I could see how much enjoyment he was getting out of this. “So, who else is in this exclusive, or maybe not so exclusive, group?”

Even though I didn’t want to confess to my crazy, I’d said too much. It was my own fault. I had no one to blame but the green-eyed monster in the mirror.

“When I was dropping Zoe off after the spa, she mentioned one of the school moms has her eyes set on you.” I didn’t want to tell Callum about Ariana, because for one thing, she was so ridiculously hot, and Ariana left Firefly Island when we were in fourth grade, so it’s not like Callum grew up with her, and he would have already gone there if he wanted to. She just moved back to town, so she was fresh meat. I studied his face to see if there was any hint that he knew who I was talking about. Icouldn’t tell if he did or not. “AndLeanne Lyons plans on using you as target practice for Cupid’s arrow.”

He waited for about thirty seconds, then asked, “Is that it?”

I blinked up at him. “Oh, I’m sorry, arethreewomennotenough for you?”

He chuckled a little, then took one step toward me. Our bodies weren’t touching, but he was in my personal space. We were maybe a foot apart.

“I meant, is that what was bothering you?” Each word he spoke was slow and deliberate. They were enticing, drawing me to him like a moth to a flame. Not that he needed any help drawing me to him. “Is that why you were upset?”

I licked my lips as my heart rate tripled. “Oh, um…yeah…I guess.”

“Do you think I am interested in Leanne, Kendra, or school mom?”

“I don’t know; you’ve been gone fo?—”

Callum took another step toward me, like a predator stalking his prey. I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. The intensity in his stare made me momentarily mute, and out of instinct, I retreated, which resulted in my back being up against the wall.

He placed one hand beside my face on the wall and leaned slightly forward. His eyes were boring down on me, and I lost myself in them. His scent wafted through the air, and I inhaled it deeply. After a long day of manual labor, his crisp citrus and woodsy sandalwood aroma was infused with a masculine, raw, earthy musk that cocooned me, making me feel safe and alive with desire.

“Do you think I am now, or would ever be, interested in Leanne, Kendra, or school mom?” He rephrased the question, and the husky depth in his untamed growl sent a thrill racing down my spine.

“No,” I admitted to both myself and to him.

I couldn’t pinpoint what made me so confident. It’s not as if I had any more information than I did when I was sitting out in my car, freaking out. It was just the way he looked at me. As I stood gazing into the whiskey-colored windows to his soul, I knew the truth. Callum would never be interested in those women. I knew it to be true, like I knew oxygen and atoms existed. I might not be able to see them, but I never doubted their existence.

The air around us was so thick with tension I was sure it had to be visible to the naked eye. Surely, there was a cloud, a haze, a fog so dense that any sighted person would see it. I wanted to look around and see, but I couldn’t do that. Callum had me held captive by his stare, and I didnot,under any circumstances, want to be set free.

20

CALLUM

As I stood staringdown at Nadia with her back against the wall, I could see my own desire mirrored in her aquamarine, sultry stare. Everything inside of me was telling me to go, to leave, to walk away. There was no doubt in my mind that I was about to cross a line I should not cross. There was too much history. Too many feelings. Too many consequences. This was an emotional can of worms I had no business popping open because, like Pringles, once I popped, there was no way I could stop. My head knew that. Logically, I was on board with that conclusion. My heart and hormones were not as convinced. If my feet’s current refusal to move were any indication, it seemed I was going with majority rules in this situation.

I’d always considered myself a disciplined person. I took the route of delayed gratification as opposed to instant. That quality was the foundation for my success in my MMA career. If I set a goal, I achieved it no matter what I had to suffer or endure to make that happen. Whether it was nutrition, training, financial, or social sacrifice, it didn’t matter. I didn’t make decisions based on what I wanted right now; I made decisions based on what my future self would thank me for. But, in this moment, I wasn’tthinking about the consequences my future self might face. All I cared about was instant gratification.

My phone buzzed again. I would have ignored it, but I saw the look change in Nadia’s eyes. It would bother her if I didn’t answer it.

I pulled it out of my pocket and saw it was a text from my mom letting me know that she’d dropped Chloe off at Kendall’s house for a sleepover, and she and Michael were taking Matty to the drive-in to see E.T. She said to meet them there if I wanted to join them.

That was the perfect out. I could go see a movie with my son, my mom, and her ‘friend.’

“I should go,” I said as I returned the phone to my back pocket.

Nadia’s lips tensed, and her cute button nose scrunched in the most adorable way, but she quickly recovered, and her expression softened. “Okay.”

---