Page 5 of In Good Company

LUCY

I’m delicately balancing a tub of cooking utensils and my bag with additional supplies while I walk out to my car when a shadow pushing off the side of Laurent Hughes’s house takes me by surprise.

I stifle a scream. “Oh my God.” I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. If my hands weren’t full, I think my fist would’ve connected with a face out of sheer panic and surprise.

“Need a hand?” Callahan asks, already taking the tub from my grasp before I can even respond.

“I’ve got it,” I snap, trying to pull it back against my body.

What’s worse is he doesn’t even apologize for coming out of nowhere and scaring me. He lets out a low sound of amusement as he effortlessly tugs my things out of my hands completely.

“Callahan!” I yell, watching him walk down the driveway, acknowledging nothing I said to him. “Give me my stuff back.”

“Which one is yours?” he calls over his shoulder, pointing to the cars parked neatly up the driveway.

Annoyed he’s ignoring what I’m saying, I stop. My hands find my hips as I wait for him to realize I’m no longer trailing behind him. It gives me the chance to take a few calmingbreaths. My heart still races in my chest from the way he took me by surprise.

It takes him a few more seconds, but eventually, he glances over his shoulder. He sighs as he stops and turns around. “Lucy? Which one’s your car?” he asks, his tone firmer this time.

I take a moment to look at the man in front of me. His hair is so dark it almost looks black. He’s over a head taller than me, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He wears a white, crisp button-down and a navy sport coat with a pair of chinos. Every item of clothing he wears is perfectly tailored to his body. The light from the moon catches on the expensive gold watch on his wrist. Everything about him screams wealth.

He looks good. But no matter how good he looks, right now, he’s getting on my last nerve. I’m tired, my feet hurt, and the last thing I want to be doing is dealing with Callahan.

I let out a slow sigh, trying to pull my gaze away from the frustrating man in front of me.

It’s been years since I last saw Callahan Hastings.

Well, sort of.

Sometimes late at night, I’d look up the Hastings family to see what they were up to. Not because I missed Callahan’s brother, Oliver, who also happens to be my ex-boyfriend. Our year together was fun, but there’s something about your ex breaking up with you and immediately dating who you thought was your best friend that quickly makes you fall out of love with someone.

Or realize that you were never really in love with them at all.

But naturally, I’m a curious person. It isn’t a sin to google your ex after a breakup. Everyone does it. It’s a right of girlhood.

And sometimes…I’d stumble upon pictures of Callahan. Sometimes I couldn’t help but be more interested in what he was doing than what Oliver was doing. Oliver didn’t speak much about his older brother. Callahan seemed like some mythical creature in the year Oliver and I were together. Even at family functions, my ex-boyfriend did everything he could to not be in the same room as his brother.

Which only made me want to know more about the mystery that was Callahan Hastings.

Time has been kind to him. He looks even better in person than any photo I could find of him online. Seeing him seated at Laurent’s dining table tonight was something I didn’t expect. Finding him still here long after the dinner ended is even more surprising.

“Were you waiting for me?” I ask before I can stop myself. The thought just occurred to me.

Callahan’s lip turns up in the cockiest of smirks. “Yes.” One word. So simple, yet for some reason, it sends a shiver down my spine.

“Why?” The night feels way too quiet as my question lingers in the space between us. Can he hear my racing heart? I blame it on the fact I’m still recovering from him taking me by surprise in the dark. My heartdefinitelydoesn’t beat erratically because I’m standing alone in the dark with Callahan Hastings.

He adjusts his grip on the tub, reminding me he’s still waiting for me to tell him which car is mine. The cocky smirk on his lips disappears before he opens his mouth to speak. “Because I felt like it. Now, which one is your car? Don’t make me ask again.”

My cheeks heat at the commanding tone of his voice.

Because I felt like it.

I try not to read too much into his answer. Instead, I point to my parked car. “Right there.”

A slow laugh rumbles deep in his chest. “I like the baby blue.”

I can’t help but smile, following him to my car. “I wish I could say it’s mine, but I’m only renting it for the summer. A little treat to myself before I have to return home.”

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