Page 140 of Adoration: Isn't What It Seems (Love Isn't What It Seems 2)

Never, wife.

I stripped off my clothes and slid behind my wife, wrapping my arms around her. I pulled her closer to me, her back flushed against me, and for the first time since she left me, sleep came.

She stirred in my arms, and I kissed the back of her head as I drifted off to sleep.

Her next words froze me. “Callen, no.”

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Liberty

Iwoke up alone the next day. I wasn’t sure if I dreamt Alexander slept in bed with me or if he was really there. But I missed him with an ache.

I got dressed and went to Brandon’s room. He just woke up so we quickly schemed up our day. There was no sense waiting for Alexander. Who knew why he even wanted us to come?

Brandon and I ate breakfast and then packed some food into a backpack. We decided to go trekking through the woods of Scotland in search of a perfect picnic spot. We might as well enjoy as much of our time here.

Brandon talked, chipper and excited as we walked through the magnificent forest. I, on the other hand, felt like everything in my life had been turned upside down. From the moment mine and Alexander’s eyes met, life has spiraled out of control. I couldn’t tell anymore which decisions were bad ones and which were good ones. I glanced at Brandon and he gave me a wide smile that made me all mushy on the inside.

Damn it, my hormones were working against me. But I knew for certain Brandon was a good decision. I placed my hand gently on my lower abdomen and my heart swelled with love. I still couldn’t believe the doctor’s note. I was having Alexander’s baby. I really shouldn’t be surprised. We had lots of sex, lots of unprotected sex.

Lena, I wish you were here with me.I still hadn’t told Layla. I didn’t want to deal with her screeching reaction. Geeze, what a mess.

One good thing from hiking through the woods was that it gave me plenty of time to think. The doctor asked that I come back for an ultrasound. I would have to find a way to tell Alexander. I had a bad feeling he would go all hyper-possessive over the baby. It made me worried how that would work out.

I had eight months to get my shit together. I could do it, and nothing would stop me. My mother had had it worse and she did it. My beautiful mother. It started with her love for Alexander’s dad and it seemed it would end with our child. Even if he didn’t love me, maybe we could all move on and be civilized to each other. Brandon and this baby would be my only focus. There would be no other man for me.

We walked for a couple of hours until we finally found the perfect spot. As soon I saw it, I was awed by the beauty in front of me. It was breathtaking, deep dark waves crashing against the rocky cliffs’ shore, green Highlands and shoreline of the sea as far as your eye could see. There was a large clearing by the cliffs where we laid out our blanket and picnic.

It reminded me of my honeymoon picnic with Alexander from barely six weeks ago but so much had changed. I had changed, all the secrets came out and all that was left was the wreck in its path.

And a new life.

“This is so beautiful.” Brandon and I shared the look. We stood far away from the edge since he was very scared of heights and I was glad for it now. I couldn’t take my eyes off the view. “This must be where heaven meets the Earth,” I muttered to myself

It was mid October and I could feel a chill in the air already. I glanced at Brandon who was running around the clearing, but staying away from cliffs. It made it safe playing here since he kept his distance from the cliffs.

I sat down and pulled out sandwiches for us. I handed him his cold turkey sandwich, wrinkling my nose. I couldn’t quite stomach the smell. Thankfully, he wolfed it down. I watched him in silence, remembering days when Lena and I spent hours playing in the woods of the South Mountain. He reminded me so much of Lena, his pensive eyes, his gentleness. I wished she was here so I could talk to her, get her advice on what to do. She was always good at giving me a realistic perspective, whether I like that reality or not. She would probably scold me for getting her son and myself into such a mess.

Add it to my list of mistakes,I would have told her.

* * *

It was wellpast ten at night. Brandon was in bed, sound asleep, and we hadn’t seen Alexander all day. I felt exhausted but really wanted to talk to him. I wanted to give him the news and let the chips fall where they may. It wasn’t going to go away. When Brandon and I got back, we had dinner and I gave him a quick bath. He was sound asleep before seven, which gave me plenty of time to take a nice, long bath and change into nice and comfy pajamas.

I roamed the castle. It felt lonely and chilly.

“My wedding gift,” I scoffed to myself. I would never understand what possessed him to buy me this as a wedding gift. How many castles did the damn man need? All I wanted was him and his love… our family.

I found my way to the library where the fire was crackling. There was a little hidden corner where a station with hot and cold beverages was. I made myself a cup of hot tea, put music on my iPhone, and browsed around curiously.

I should have gone to bed; it was a long day, and I was exhausted, mentally and physically. Instead, I listened to music tunes coming from my iPhone, browsed through books, my mind restless, nervous on the news I had to give Alexander.

I read through titles standing on shelves. There was a wide variety of every genre here, from Mary Shelley’sFrankenstein, Tolstoy’sAnna Kareninato Jane Austen wrapped in an old fashioned, leather bound edition. I grabbed it and sat on the couch, sipping my tea and reading the book, the silence around me was almost eerie.

Finished with my tea, I placed it on the nearby table and pulled a throw blanket over me, getting lost in the book when a loud thump echoed through the castle, causing me to jump.

“Talk about scary,” I whispered to myself.

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