Page 33 of Simmer Down
“You’re the reason I have her. Of course you’re welcome.”
His smile is small but warm. “How is she doing, by the way?”
“Good. She mostly sleeps, eats, and wakes up for me to pet her, then she goes back to sleep.”
“Sounds like a typical cat.” He taps his fingers against his knee. “I’d love to see her when we’re back in Maui, if that’s okay?”
“I’d like that too.” My voice is too raspy for my own good, but I can’t help it. That stare, the soft way he speaks. I’d say yes to anything he’d ask right now.
Swallowing, I force myself back on track. “So why are you headed to London?”
“Our cousin Henry is getting married.”
“Finn didn’t feel like coming?”
“He doesn’t get on with Henry. I don’t, either, to be honest. He’s very much a blokey type whose life revolves around beer, football, and football chants.”
“That’s the most British sentence I’ve ever heard.”
His laugh fills our end of the cabin. It makes my heart beat faster.
“I don’t know how he ever managed to convince his fiancée to marry him. But family is family. Besides, it’s been an age since I’ve been home last. I owe everyone a visit.”
“But Finn gets out of it?”
“That’s just his personality and everyone understands. I can’t really blame Finn. Henry’s a bit of a bellend.”
I honk out a laugh so loud, it spooks the flight attendant pushing a food cart by us. “Wow. That’s some salty language coming from a distinguished former finance professional.”
He rolls his eyes. “Finance is hardly a distinguished profession.”
“But it pays pretty damn well, from what I’ve noticed.”
“You’ve got some balls bringing up money.” He chuckles.
“You dropped everything to move to Maui, a place that’s notoriously expensive. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you made bank before your food truck days.”
He rubs his neck, clearly uncomfortable with all this money talk. So I switch gears.
“But in all seriousness, you’re pretty amazing, Callum. Finn also filled me in on how your parents were upset when you quit to help him, but you didn’t care. That’s really sweet. Like, unbelievably sweet.”
Once again, his eyes fall to his lap. He’s dashing when he’s bashful. “Well, if it comes to choosing between pleasing my career-obsessed parents or working with my brother, I choose my brother. Always.”
My heart thuds. “Do you miss anything about your old job?”
“The paychecks were nice, but that’s not enough to make me give up an opportunity to work with Finn. It feels a bit like old times, when we were teenagers working for our gran. I think she’d be proud.”
“I know she would.” I look away and out the window when I realize the weird conviction in my voice. What an awkward thing for me to say, someone who has never met his grandmother.
I count to five and turn back to Callum, ready for a change of subject. “You probably don’t miss having to wear a suit all the time. Finance guys wear suits, right?”
“I definitely don’t miss that,” he says.
The expression on his face turns soft, and for a moment, I pause. Maybe I don’t have the guts to ask him about this shift in our dynamic, but I’m feeling bold enough to repay the flirty compliment he paid me before about giving him a hard time.
I fix my stare on his eyes. The perfect balance of hazel and green. “That’s too bad,” I say before turning back to the window. If I have any hope of pulling this off, I can’t keep eye contact with him. “I bet you look really freaking good in a suit, Callum.”
Again I count to five before turning back to check his reaction. I turn back and see the corners of his mouth turned up into a flustered grin. He is totally into it.
