Page 89 of Shattered

As soon as the room filled with light, she knew it was his. There was a large table in the corner with drawing supplies neatly placed in various containers and the walls were filled with artwork representing varying degrees of skill.

“Where are you staying?” She turned to ask him.

“What?”

“This is obviously your room. If I’m in here, then where would you stay?”

“There is a second master bedroom downstairs. You can stay in it if you would be more comfortable there and I can sleep on the couch.”

“Why don’t you want to sleep in your room?”

“I just don’t, but I’ll do whatever makes you most comfortable.” He ran his hands through his hair and she decided to drop her line of questioning.

“This is fine. Thank you.”

“I’m going to go help them bring stuff in,” Callum said as he walked backward toward the door. For some reason, he now seemed awkward, as if he was tiptoeing around her. “I’m looking forward to your chicken roll thing.” His lips quirked upward in a devilish smirk.

“You say that now. I have no clue how to work that fancy contraption you call an oven. I could burn it all up.”

“Eh, once the firefighters get the blaze under control I’ll just order pizza. Probably won’t be as good as Dianne’s, though.”

“Nothing is as good as Dianne’s,” she agreed with a laugh as he walked out of the room.

The sun may have set, but it was still significantly hotter on the coast than it was inland, or maybe that was just the rush of

heat caused by being so near him for the last few hours.

Sam was desperate to cool off so she quickly changed into a tank top and some yoga pants. She’d contemplated a sexier outfit more than once, but finally settled on the fact that friends didn’t worry this much about what they wore in front of the other.

When she made it back downstairs, this time in much more comfortable attire, she found that Callum had made himself busy by putting away all of the groceries.

“Where are the others?” she asked while looking around the empty room.

“Drew went to grab some supplies from one of our guys so we don’t have to worry about it in the morning. Micah and Kristin headed upstairs a few minutes ago. I don’t think they’ll be back down for a while.” Callum looked up and smirked.

“They can’t seem to keep their hands off each other,” Sam agreed with a shake of her head.

“What do you need me to do?” He asked.

“Have you ever actually cooked a meal?” Sam’s brows furrowed.

“Excuse me,” he feigned offense, “I own a restaurant.”

“Let me rephrase. Have you ever cooked without using the microwave?”

He scrunched up his nose.

“Let’s just say I have a feeling we’ll end up having to order pizza if you try to help me.”

“Fine.” He threw his hands up in mock annoyance. “I offered once. Isn’t happening again. I’ll just sit here and make you do all the work.”

With that, he planted himself on the counter opposite Sam and leaned back against the cabinets with a smile.

Chapter 38 - Callum

It had taken more restraint than he’d even known he possessed not to touch her on the ride down to Charleston, and then even more to quietly walk out of the bedroom he’d told her she would be sleeping in, and then even more still now as he sat quietly against the cabinets and watched her cook.

He would never tell a soul, but, god, he was thankful for that traffic jam. It had allowed him to sit and silently watch her for so long. It still hadn’t been long enough, though. He’d memorized the way her lips moved as she breathed, and the sounds and noises she made as she slept. He’d memorized the curve of her fingers and the freckles that dotted her skin. He’d memorized the way her hair fell in wild ringlets, and the way the cabin of his truck started to fill with the essence of peppermint. She was a goddamn masterpiece of her own, and he knew he would never lay eyes on anything as beautiful.

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