Page 45 of The Proposal Pact
She looks to be deep in thought for a moment as if she’s solving a world-class problem right now and then she says, “I don’t know yet. But I’ll show him!”
“Uh-huh.” I tilt my head up. “You know, maybe he just cares about you? He’s older, I assume? Hell, if you asked my sister she’d call me the pinnacle of overbearing. Not that I am! But…yeah.”
Marsha snorts from her spot and I shoot her a look.
I have no idea where I was going with that or why I even started this conversation in the first place. Why the fuck do I care?
I look over to Sophie, wondering why she hasn’t snapped back yet, but all I find is that tiny firecracker, spread out on the bench, sleeping like she’s the star of the sea, limbs in every direction. Her damp short hair scattered around her head like a halo.
Of course, she’s not one of those cute, sweet sleepers. The kind that rolls into a ball, tucking their hands under their head. Nope, that’s too tame for this super-stable adult.
I shake my head, once again trying to fight off the twitch on my lips. What the fuck is wrong with me? I shouldn’t find this cute.
I take my phone out to dial Luke so he can deal with his wife’s friend, but my finger hoovers over his name for a few beats without pressing down.
Ah, hell…I pocket my phone and call out to Marsha, “I’m out for the night. Dial me for emergencies.”
She gives me a nod right before I unlock the cell and bend over sleeping Sophie.
“Hey, little menace? Wake up, let’s get you home,” I tell her, but there’s no response other than a few mewls, and then both her arms come up to my neck, circling around it as she clings onto me.
Great.I sigh, slipping my arms under her body and scooping her up. Almost immediately, she burrows into my body, her face tucked into the crook of my neck as her warm breath runs down my skin, sending a wave of shivers down it.
I stop, looking at her all cozy in my arms, such a difference between this and the woman who was spread out on the bench a second ago. How can someone with so much attitude and sass be so small and so fragile? Sophie keeps burrowing into me closer and closer, almost like she needs me to protect her and the burn in my chest returns.
Instinctively, my arms tighten around her. My basic training and reflexes never forgotten as I feel this need to be exactly what she needs me to be.
But I’m not her protector. She’s not my problem. I’m simply doing my job.
I go to take another step out of here when I stop once again, drawing another lungful to make sure I wasn’t imagining it.
No, it’s there. That fresh, crisp undertone.
It’s not the first time I’ve been this close to her, but this time I catch the faint scent of mint on her body. Something takes a hold of my chest and squeezes, a feeling of home washing over me, bathing me in warmth and love and comfort. Mint’s always had that effect on me since that herb grows all over my childhood home to this day.
It must be left over from the bar drinks, and at this moment I’m very glad it’s this and not alcohol I smell on Sophie. Still, it’s quite unsettling.
She’squite unsettling. So, hastening my pace, I carry her to my car, taking her to her home and hopefully, not seeing her ever again unless it’s an emergency.
Jesus Christ. She brought in reinforcements with herself today.
“To what do I owe the displeasure of the whole Fantastic Four coming to greet me this early in the morning?” I ask Fanny, Willa Loverson, Nina Colson, and Jenny Levine—Hope, Joy, and Grace’s mother—who are strolling up to my desk, wearing an array of colors that will rival a rainbow.
“There’s your coffee, Callum.” Jenny, the sweetest yet most devious of the four, sets it on my table.
I eye the cup with caution because I don’t trust the woman at all. She set up all three of her daughters simultaneously. Who does that?
“And your cake pop.” Nina sets it next to the cup and my hackles rise even higher, watching them from underneath my eyebrows as they tower over me.
It’s a controlled move to intimidate me. I’ve been in the Navy, I know that. The question is, how do they? And what are they trying to get me to do this time?
Next up, Willa pulls out some scent sticks to set around me as well, and I decide to get to the point. “Cut the chase, what are you all here for?”
Fanny narrows her eyes at me, unhappy that I stopped their little plan and then moves to take the seat in front of me.
“You’re going on a date tonight.”
The fuck? Speechless, I just blink and then… “Fucking hell! I’m not going to any dates! You better cancel it all right this second.”
