Page 20 of Sunflower

“You’re welcome, sir. Your server will be along soon. I hope you enjoy your time at The Majestic.” She gave me a genuine smile then turned around to head back to her podium at the doors.

Glancing around the room one last time, I let my eyes settle on the menu in my hands and took a deep breath in, releasing it slowly. Why was I so nervous? It was just a meal. A meal with a stranger, sure. But a meal, nevertheless.

My eyes widened at what was listed on the menu. Anexpensivemeal. Damn.

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and quickly navigated to my bank app to make sure I had enough money to cover whatever I ate tonight.

I was heaving a sigh of relief as I realized I was fine financially—for tonight, at least—when I sensed movement in the chair opposite me. I pocketed my phone and looked up, only for my jaw to drop and my eyes to widen in shock at who was now sitting across from me.

“Hello,mo lus na gréine. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Chapter Eight

Joey

“Callum?!”Ifeltmyeyebrows furrow as my brain tried to play catch up. “What are you—Um, it’s good to see—Um, sorry, but why are—Fuck.” I paused to take a shuddering breath. “I don’t mean to sound rude or anything, but I’m here on a date…”

Callum settled into the seat, making himself comfortable and draping the white cloth napkin across his lap. “Yes, I know.”

With my heart beating faster than it should have been, I blinked, not sure if I was annoyed with how cavalier he was being or impressed that he seemingly just didn’t care. “And yet you’re still sitting opposite me. Why?”

He looked at me carefully and tilted his head to the side with curiosity. “I would’ve thought that’d be obvious, Joey.” He leaned forward and cupped a hand around his mouth like he was going to tell me a secret. “I’m your date.”

And with that unexpected declaration, my heart stuttered. I blinked again. “W-what?”

He grinned and sat back in his chair, picking up his menu to look it over. “Dinner only, I swear.”

My throat convulsed, and I choked a little at the words taken directly from the message I’d received earlier in the day. He reallywasmy date.

“B-but… You’re Callum!” I stammered. “You’re my stepbrother! And you’re not supposed to be here until tomorrow!”

He chuckled as he put his menu down and let his playful, sparkling eyes linger on mine for a moment. God, how I’d missed that spark. “Yes, I’m Callum. Yes, I’m your new stepbrother, but we barely know each other, so I don’t think anyone can hold that against us. And yeah… I lied to Mam about that.”

I rubbed my forehead as I felt my headache coming back. I seemed to be suffering from a lot of those today. Maybe I needed to get checked out by a doctor. “Why? Why did you lie to Erin?”

Callum waffled his head back and forth, then picked up the menu again. Just as I thought he was going to dismiss my question, he responded, “Because if she knew what I was doing, she’d want to get involved.”

My elbows met the table as I brought both hands to my forehead and pressed at my temples, regardless of how rude the action might be in such a fine dining establishment. “Involved in what?”

He sniffed and pursed his lips in thought, his eyes still scanning the menu. “In something that has been in the works for a long time and should remain between us. At least for now.”

I abandoned my temples and placed my palms on my cheeks. “Can you please stop talking in riddles and explain what’s going on?”

Of course, that was the precise moment our server arrived to introduce himself and request our drink orders.

I was still too shocked that my stepbrother was apparently my date for the night to give much thought to what I wanted for a drink, so it wasn’t until we all fell silent that I realized both Callum and our server were staring at me. “Oh, crap. Um…” I frantically looked at the menu, trying to find something reasonably cheap to order.

“He’ll have a lemon, lime, and bitters. I would like a glass of the house red, please.”

My head sprang up to glare at Callum. I’d never had the drink he’d ordered for me. Why had he ordered for me?Whathad he ordered for me?

“Certainly, sir. Would sir like to hear this evening’s specials or would sir like some more time?” the server asked us both, even though he was clearly directing the question to Callum, his hands clasped loosely behind his back.

How was he taking our drink orders with no notes? I felt panic spread through me. Why was the server talking so fancy? Why was he looking at me like that? I tugged at my collar. He asked me a question. What was the question? Oh, God.

“If you could give us some more time to peruse the menu, we’d appreciate it,” said Callum, taking control once again.

I felt my heartbeat slow down a little. Not a huge amount, but enough to let me not feel like I was still choking on air.

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