Page 26 of Callum
She looked up to see Stacey grinning at her. A massive I-see-what’s-happening grin, only there was nothing happening.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Fiona.
She set her napkin on the table. “I’m just going to the bathroom.” Maybe the short walk and separation from Callum would help clear her foggy head.
She rose and moved to the back of the restaurant. Soon it would be speeches, then dessert. She was kind of dreading speeches. Would they talk about how they came to be together? And if they did, would they lie about the timeline?
With a long exhale, she pushed into the bathroom. When she came out of the stall, she was looking at her reflection while she washed her hands, noticing that her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed. Because of Callum? Or because she’d already had two and a half glasses of wine? Maybe both.
She exited the bathroom—and almost immediately collided with a large chest.
“Freddie. Sorry, I didn’t see you.” She tried to step around him, but his fingers curled around her arm, stopping her.
His voice lowered. “Hey, I just wanted to check on you. Speak to you alone.”
Uh, that was the last thingshewanted. Like dead last on the list. “Why?”
“Well, this weekend can’t be easy for you, based on our…history.”
She could have laughed…or maybe she did a bit, because his eyes narrowed. “We’ve been over for almost a year, Freddie. I’m happy for you both and looking forward to seeing my sister married.”
Well,thatlie just rolled off her tongue. Thank you, wine. She almost wanted to give herself a little pat on the back.
“What’s with yourdate?”
Her brows rose at the way he sneered the word date. “What do you mean, what’s with him? He’s my boyfriend.”
Freddie’s light brown eyes sharpened, and he shook his head. “You wouldn’t date someone like him.”
“Excuse me? Don’t assume to know who I would and wouldn’t date.”
“You and I were together for six years. Iknowyou.”
She scoffed. “You don’t know me. I’m not the woman you cheated on anymore. And even if I was, you barely knew whoshewas. You were always out. Always away forwork.” She barely held back air quotes on that word. Trips he’d labeled as work but probably weren’t. “I changed before we ever broke up. And I should have ended things before you showed me the scumbag you really are.”
She wrenched her arm from his hold and stepped around him, but he cut her off again. “Freddie—”
“You’re in her way.”
Callum’s low, deep words sounded as he came into view. He stood behind Freddie, towering over him, with fisted hands and a granite jaw.
CHAPTER10
Callum’s muscles vibrated with the need to hit the asshole who was cornering his woman. Yeah, he was referring to Fiona ashis woman, because that’s exactly what she was this weekend.
“We’re having a conversation,” Freddie said through gritted teeth, obviously too damn stupid to sense the danger.
Callum’s muscles flexed as he moved closer to Fiona. “She tried to walk away from yourconversationmore than once. That makes it less of a conversation and more harassment. Don’t you think?”
Freddie’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t like what Callum was saying, but then, bullies rarely liked it when they were called out on their shit.
“Move.” One word from Callum. But a word so low, and so strongly emphasized, there was no missing the threat beneath it. They might be at the guy’s rehearsal dinner, but that didn’t change the fact that Callum would knock him out with a single hit if he continued to detain her.
Freddie’s chest moved rapidly with his breaths, his cheeks tinging pink.
Fiona’s voice was hard when she spoke. “You need to go, Freddie.”
He huffed, then finally turned and headed back to the dining room. Callum moved in front of her and touched her arm, right where the asshole’s hand had gripped her. He wanted to kick his own ass for not getting here faster. He’d seen the two of them from down the hall. He should have fucking run.
