Page 48 of On The Rocks

“Even if I wasn’t, it’s too late to close the stable door now. The horse bolted, and he’s halfway across the darn field, neighing to his horsey friends about how he’s finally found freedom.”

Martha laughed.

Within a minute, our plates and coffee had been loaded onto a tray, and we weaved our way across the coffee house to a secluded table.

My belly felt tight and full of butterflies.

Callum took me by surprise. I knew he’d told Bowie and Atlas he’d married me and, of course, Carbine, but to declare we were husband and wife to the community at large had left me at a loss for words, and I didn’t know if it was in a good or bad way.

On the one hand, I knew our news would come out eventually, but on the other, I always assumed it would be lowkey.

The way he’d just announced it made it seem like we’d had some kind of whirlwind romance. We were an unlikely couple atbest, who didn’t look like we belonged together, and I couldn’t help worrying if he’d screwed the pooch on this one.

On the flight to Wyoming, I gave myself a good talking-to. By the time we landed in Rock Springs, I’d come to terms with my new and really strange situation. After Callum announced his intention to lead separate lives, I ached with the humiliation of it, and I knew that wouldn’t do. Somehow, during all his support with the wedding, I’d unknowingly begun to romanticize what we were, even though I knew better.

Then we talked in the car, and shortly afterward, I overheard him and Shannon arguing, and I came back to earth with a bump so hard that I was still reeling from it. I knew then that I needed to pull back, get some space, and gain some much-needed perspective. The dull ache his words and actions had left inside me proved how attached I’d already gotten and how easy it would be for him to really hurt me if I continued down the path I was on.

And I didn’t want that.

Callum was so beautiful, strong, and confident. Shannon and Erin would call him an eleven out of ten.

I was Maeve, the nerd—they would call me a four at best, and that was only because I was funny. I knew I was more, but society as a whole didn’t. So much respect was attached to looks and a certain personality type, both of which I didn’t possess.

For a minute there, I’d forgotten that elevens and fours didn’t mix well—we were too far apart to ever have anything of substance, and Callum had proved himself too shallow anyway.

But I wouldn’t forget again.

“Penny for ‘em,” Callum’s deep voice rumbled.

A warm shiver flickered down my spine, but I steeled myself against it, pulling my shoulders straight and sitting up stiffly in my chair. “I’m just pondering a few things.”

“Shoot,” he ordered gently.

I moved my index finger between us. “This is the most unlikely marriage in the whole wide world, Callum O’Shea.”

His eyes fell to his coffee, and he slowly stirred it. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’re you, and I’m me,” I said decisively. “Men like you end up with the Shannons of the world, while I end up with quiet accountant types. We live in a small town where you’re well-known, and now we have the challenge of convincing everybody for both our reputation's sake that this is real. Maybe in the future, you should run any big announcements past me before you... well… announce them.”

He placed his stirrer on a napkin and sat back. “You think we could keep it quiet in this town?”

“You were the one who wanted to keep it quiet, Callum O’Shea,” I reminded him.

“Why do you always call me Callum O’Shea?” he asked. “Why not just Callum?”

“I… err… Do I?” I asked nervously.

“Yep.” He took a sip of coffee, studying me closely over the rim of his mug. “Callum O’Shea this and Callum O’Shea that. I’m your husband, and I know it’s not what you want, but we have to at least try and make this marriage work.”

My eyebrows pulled together. “But I thought...” I sighed, my voice trailing off. “You’re being confusing again. I’m not used to playing games, Callum O’Shea, I don’t know how. I’m not experienced with games of the heart, but you distinctly said you didn’t want us to have a real marriage. Now you’re saying you want to try to make it work?”

“I was wrong to say that shit to you in the car,” he admitted. “I went into this completely unequipped.”

“At least we can agree on something,” I deadpanned.

Callum sat forward. “The fact is, you confuse me too. I’m not used to girls like you, and I get stressed that I’ll keep sayingthings to fuck it up even worse than I already have. I like you as a person, but I don’t really know what to do with that either. All the girls I’ve known weren’t really friend material; they certainly weren’t marriage material, so now I’m actually wifed up, it’s messing with me. I keep getting really fucking spooked that I’m caught in something so goddamned permanent, then you do something cute to make me laugh, and I can’t help thinking what a cool person you are.”

My breath caught in my lungs.

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