“How noble of you, dear knight. Your bravery is honorable.”
Releasing my hand, he softly smiled. “I don’t always feel brave. Every time we confront a demon horde or face a foe, there’s a tangle of nerves in my gut.”
“I heard that true bravery comes from being afraid but marching forward anyway,” I said. “Men without fear aren’t brave. They’re fools.”
“I like that.” He tipped his face to the sky. “But I suppose that makes Quincy a fool. He charges in without a thought.”
“Cookies give him courage.”
“Cookies and sweet buns,” he said with a laugh. One that trickled off as another breeze swept down from the trees. “You give the captain courage. He kisses his ring every time we march out. Making it home to you is his driving force.”
I lightly rubbed at the sudden ache in my chest. “Well, you need to come home with him tonight. I have the engagement ball coming up soon, so Miles and I will be practicing recipes and flavor combinations. Which means I’ll need taste testers. You two are my biggest fans.”
“A rival for muffins.” He softly smiled. The approaching dawn lit his features, revealing soft brown eyes that crinkled at the edges. “If only I…”
“If you what?”
“Had realized sooner.” His gaze lowered to my mouth. “I would’ve done everything differently, Ev. Then maybe I’d be the one who…”
His words trailed off as he leaned in. Breath feathered across my lips, and I froze. Surely, I was imagining it. Right? His face wasn’t getting closer, and I definitely didnotfeel the lightest pressure of his mouth on mine. A pressure that elicited a tingling spark that shot straight to my heart.
A familiar spark. One I’d felt four other times.
Callum then jerked away, taking that spark with him. He stood from the step and grabbed his sword, sheathing it at his hip.
“Cal?”
“I need to leave.” He stepped off the porch, turning his back to me.
Fire ignited in my core. I pushed from the step and followed after him in the grass. “Stop walking and tell me what the hell’s going on.”
He took bigger strides, putting more distance between us.
“Hey!” I broke out into a jog to catch up. “Damn you and your long legs. Hold on a second. You can’t just leave. Callum!” I lunged forward and grabbed his wrist. “Hah. Got you. Now, will you tell me—”
Callum spun around and pushed me against the nearest tree, one arm coming around my lower back and the other slapping against the trunk above my head.
The world came to a sudden stop, much like my heart.
“Gods, Evan.” His voice quaked. “Why couldn’t you just let me walk away? Why did you have to come after me?”
I stared up at him, too shocked to speak. An impressive feat seeing as to how I could rarely keep my mouth shut for long. But he’d taken me by surprise. It fried the wires in my brain, overheating my system.
“My head’s a mess.” Callum lowered his hand from the trunk and grabbed my jaw, keeping his other secured around me. “Put a sword in my hand, and I’ll take down any foe you throw at me. But this? With you? I’m at a loss.”
Tingles of heat spread along my skin. “I… I don’t understand.”
“When I learned you were with Rowan? There was this pain in my heart so deep I feared it’d shatter.” His hand trembled as he rested it on the side of my neck. “He’s yet another man who’s allowed to touch you and make you happy. To wake up to you each morning.”
“W-What are you saying?”
He exhaled a sad laugh. “You truly are so oblivious.”
“I’ve heard that once or twice.” The spark reignited in my belly as he grazed his fingers along the base of my throat. “I saw you with a girl.”
“A girl?” he asked.
Those stirrings of jealousy returned. “A pretty brunette. You were with her at the Guild Hall. She kissed your cheek.”
