Page 23 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

I chuckled at his board game reference but still shook my head. Amos was seeing things, or he was trying to make me feel better about the situation. I was sure of it. Callum was engaged. He had a son. There was nothing there. Not after all this time. I’dmade sure of it. I’d made my bed, and now I had to lie in it, it just wouldn’t be not with Callum.

8

CALLUM

“Hi,I’m here to see Reagan Comfort.”

The blonde seated at a large mahogany desk in front of a wall with the words Abernathy and Associated Law written behind her, typing on her phone with nails so long I wondered how it was even physically possible, glanced up at me. Her eyes widened, and a flirtatious smile curled on her lips. She sat up straighter, rolling her shoulders back, which caused her cleavage to press against her low-cut blouse.

When she leaned forward, her breasts began to spill out of her shirt. “Your name?”

“Callum Knight.”

“Mr. Knight.”

I turned my head in the direction that my name had come from and did a double-take. When I got the call last week from Reagan, I took note that it was a unique name since I’d only met one other Reagan who was Nadia’s college roommate. She lived in New York, so it didn’t occur to me that this could be the same person, but it was. It had been over a decade since I’d met her, and I’d only seen her a handful of times, but her jet-black hairand ocean-blue eyes were impossible to forget. She reminded me of a young Elizabeth Taylor.

“I’m Reagan. We spoke on the phone. Follow me.” Her tone was impersonal and professional; there was zero familiarity in it.

My chin dipped in a nod, and I did as instructed. We entered a large corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over a picturesque view of the canals and weeping willow trees that weaved through town. She must be good at her job to land this office because I knew Jennings Abernathy, who owned the firm; he was a stingy son of a bitch. There is no way she scored this office without making him money.

As I crossed to the tufted cream lounge chair in front of her white oak desk, I was deciding whether or not I should bring up the elephant in the room and mention that we’d met before—that we had Nadia in common. Would that be strange? I also wondered what Reagan was doing here. If I remembered correctly, her stepdad had money, and she loved living in New York andhatedsmall towns. Even though we’d only hung out about four times, we instantly bonded over our shared dislike of rural communities.

I sat down in the chair facing her desk and decided I’d rather just get it out of the way. “We’ve actually met before.”

Her expression remained unreadable. “We have?”

This woman would kill at poker. I couldn’t imagine her ever showing emotion. If you googled calm, cool, and collected, I bet her image would populate the first few pages.

“You were Nadia’s roommate in college.” Before I even finished saying my ex’s name, recognition dawned on her face.

“Of course, Callum. Yes, sorry. I didn’t put two and two together.”

“No worries. Did you move here right after college?”

“Oh, no.” She shook her head as if that would be a ridiculous suggestion. “I was in New York, but then, due to…lifecircumstances, I ended up jobless and homeless, so I reached out to Nadia. There was a position open here. I came down and met my husband the first day I was in town, and, well, the rest is history.”

“You’re married to Billy Comfort, right?”

For a split second there was a chink in her detached armor, and I got a peek into her soul at the mention of her husband’s name. A flicker of vulnerability and affection.

“I am.”

“He’s a good guy.”

I always liked Billy. A lot of guys in town had issues with him because he’d slept with more than half the female population in Firefly Island, but, as far as I knew, he and Nadia hadn’t ever hooked up, so we’d never had an issue. He definitely had a reputation, though. His nickname was Panty Dropper. Billy wasn’t the sort of guy who went after girls with boyfriends. He was the sort of guy that girls with boyfriends went after.

“Have you looked over the paperwork I emailed you?” Her tone and demeanor reverted back to being pleasant but professional. The walls were back up. Windows to the soul were shut.

“I have.” I took a breath, unsure of how to word what I needed to say. “I’m going to be honest; I’m still confused and don’t understand why Danielle chose me. I didn’t know her well and only met Chloe once at my father’s funeral.”

“I wish I could answer that. Unfortunately, you know as much as I do.”

“What happens if I decline permanent custody?” As of now, I had temporary custody. I’d agreed to that so Chloe could finish out the school year. But I wasn’t sure it would be in her best interest to live with me full-time. She didn’t know me. I didn’t know her. Surely there was someone better suited than a virtual stranger who happened to share fifty percent DNA.

“In that case, typically, we’d look for other relatives. Unfortunately, that option has already been exhausted. So, Chloe would go into care. I have spoken to her and discussed her options regarding every eventuality in order to prepare her. She wants to petition the court to be emancipated. But, realistically, that won’t happen. Not at her age.”

“So, she would go into care…with a foster family?”

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