Page 42 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
Callie nods, but she doesn’t respond. I’m sure this whole thing is overwhelming, so I don’t attempt further conversation.
We round the corner and run into Jonah waiting for the elevator with his security. He greets us with a nod, and I don’t miss the way his eyes linger a little longer on Callie. He waits for her to return his nod before he glances back at me.
“They went up. I stopped to smoke.”
“Okay...”
Jonah’s never felt the need to explain himself to me, so I get the feeling it was for Callie’s benefit. Why, I don’t know. I arch a questioning brow, but his face stays blank. He’s always a goddamn statue—impossible to read unless he allows it.
When the elevator opens, we step inside and ride it silently to the top floor. Jonah heads to our shared suite without a word, and I walk Callie to hers.
“I’ll be back in two hours to take you out,” I tell her, and she glances up at me nervously.
“Take me where? Your show isn’t until tomorrow night.”
“A date, obviously. We have to make public appearances, remember?”
She chews on that plump bottom lip of hers, straight white teeth denting the pillowy surface, and stares at something over my shoulder. “How much PDA are we talking?”
“Nothing big. We’re going to dinner. I have reservations at eight.”
Her eyes go wide, and she whips them back at me. “I don’t have an outfit for somewhere that requiresreservations.You saw my apartment. You know about my jobs. Hell, I’ve even allowed myself to be pimped out to you, for god’s sake. What makes you think I go to places withreservations?”
My lips twitch with the need to smile, but I don’t. She’s cute when she’s frazzled, and I don’t want to think she’s cute.
“If you check the closet in your room, you should be able to find something,” I tell her, and she blinks rapidly at me. Before she can open her mouth to question it, I take two steps backward. “I’ll be back at seven thirty.”
I turn on my heel and head to my suite, running the day over in my head. Since our little photoshoot in Sav’s driveway, I keep coming back to the light, fresh way Callie smelled. Every time I successfully direct my brain to something else, it somehow manages to revert back to her scent. Like a damn dog. It’s all I thought about for the six-hour bus ride. Her scent, and the soft, sexy way she felt under my hands. The way her breath hitched. The way her lips parted. She acts like she can’t stand me, but her body language when I touch her says something else entirely.
I find Callie James attractive and extremely intriguing, and that’s not a good thing. Attraction is harmless. I’ve been attracted to a lot of women. But attraction paired with intrigue? That’s dangerous.
I let myself into the suite I share with Jonah and find him already smoking another cigarette on the balcony. I take out my phone and text Sav.
Me
Jo’s chain smoking again.
Sav
Watch him.
Me
No shit.
I wait a few seconds for a snarky retort, but when one doesn’t come, I sigh and stick my phone back in my pocket, then walk to the balcony.
“You good?” I ask as I step through the door. He doesn’t look at me when he shrugs.
“Been worse.”
“Not what I want to hear, Jo.”
“It’s what I got for you.”
I sit in one of the chairs and prop my feet up on the wrought-iron table. He flicks his eyes toward me and takes a drag from his cigarette. I wait him out.
“So, Callie...” he starts, then trails off.
