Page 26 of Love in Unexpected Places

John continues, “I’m so glad everyone could join us.While Derek and I have been together for over a decade,” he pauses and stares down at his fiancé, “they’ve been the best years of my life. Derek, my love, this is just a formality. You have been my husband since the day I met you. It’s always been you.” Derek smiles and mouthsI love you. John focuses on us all, looking around as he speaks. “I’m thankful you all could join us and I hope you’ve enjoyed the activities today. After the wedding ceremony, we’ll have a small reception and then we’ll mingle for the rest of the evening. It’ll be a long day, so we figured we could sit around and talk, catch up and just enjoy each other’s company tonight.”

John sits back beside Derek and kisses him gently, brushing a hand over his face. Callum lets out a softawwand I raise an eyebrow at him. He grins and whispers, “What? They’re cute together.” I snort and shake my head.

We sit around the fire pit for a few hours, talking and laughing, really enjoying ourselves. I hadn’t met John or Derek’s parents and they’re delightful. They get along with each other and are happy to see their children finally get married. I had fun learning how John and Derek were as kids, the stories of them cracking us all up. Neither John nor Derek is embarrassed by the stories being told, even if some are a little embarrassing. The atmosphere is just relaxed and comfortable.

Sooner than I expected, my stomach starts to growl. Standing, I stretch and tell John I’m off to grab something to eat. The kitchen the resort staff uses has food prepared for us and I’m ready to indulge. “Want anything?” I ask Callum.

“Whatever you’re having. Thank you.” I kiss him quickly, then head off to get us some food.

It’s only finger food, so I load a plate up for Callum and I to share. I hear the door open behind me and I saywithout turning around, “I know you don’t like these little sausages, but they’re for me, so hands off.” I chuckle, remembering Callum told me once when we went to a rainbow mixer that tiny sausages freak him out because they looked like bloated fingers. I still don’t understand that, but I won’t tell him he’s ridiculous.

“I like them fine,” a voice that doesn’t belong to Callum says. I whirl around, almost dropping my plate. Henry walks closer to me and I wonder what the fuck he’s doing. I take a step back and he stops walking, eyeing me in confusion. “You afraid of me now?”

Giving him a dry look, I say, “No, Henry. I just don’t want you this close to me. There’s no reason for it.”

He runs his hand through his hair—a sure sign that he’s stressed and doesn’t know how to express what he wants to say. I hate that I still know his mannerisms, but we were together for years. It’s a habit. “Hudson … I miss you.”

“Don’t,” I say sharply, making Henry take a step back this time. “Don’t do that. Don’t disrespect me or Callum with that.” I would add Alex into that equation, but he knew Henry was with me when they got together, so fuck him. “You don’t get to miss me after you tore my fucking heart out.”

“Hudson—”

I shake my head and hold up a hand. “Henry, stop. Just stop.” He snaps his mouth shut and stares at me with wide eyes. “What did you expect to accomplish by coming in here? Did you think I’d be happy with your admission? Did you think I would want you back? I’m with Callum. I’mhappywith Callum. IloveCallum. I want nothing to do with you.”

“You don’t want to fight for us? You’re throwing awayyears for what? A tiny redhead that looks like a ditzy teenager.”

I laugh. I can’t help it. This is a joke, so I have to laugh. “Callum is an amazing man. A smart man. He’s an animator and has a heart of gold. We have almost nothing in common, but you know what? He has my whole heart. In the short time I’ve known him, he’s been the breath of fresh air I’ve needed since you stomped all over my heart and the love I had to give. Callum wouldn’t dream of doing that. He’s a good man that cares for me and I would be a fool to give that up for someone that wouldn’t know love if it hit them in the face.”

Henry’s face gets paler and paler as I continue to talk. Sighing, I step around him and say, “We’ll never have anything in the future. There’s nothing I’m missing from you that I’m not getting from Callum tenfold. He’s the man for me. The one I want to be with. I used to think that man was you. But what I felt for you for years pales in comparison to what I’ve grown to feel for Callum.”

With somber eyes, Henry nods. “You really do love him.”

“Yeah, I do. And there’s no way I would jeopardize that for someone that couldn’t appreciate what was right in front of him. I don’t have that problem. I see Callum and I know that he is a good man. I know he’s the man for me.”

The door opens behind me and I turn around to see Callum. His eyes are dancing, and his smile is ethereal. God, I really do love him. “Henry, Alex is asking where you are. I won’t tell him that you were in here trying to salvage the relationship you screwed up with your ex. Do yourself a favor and go out there with your boyfriend while I eat finger food with mine. John and Derek are your friends. Don’t fuck up their wedding because you can’t take responsibility for your actions.”

Henry opens his mouth to argue but thinks better of it and breezes past us to the door. Before he pushes it open, without turning to look at us, Henry sighs heavily and says, “You’re both right. I’m sorry.” Then he leaves us alone.

Peering down at Callum, along with his beautiful smile, I see the tears brimming in his eyes. I rub a thumb under his eye, catching the one tear that falls. “How long were you listening?”

He chuckles softly and grips my wrist of the hand on his face. “Long enough to hear that you love me too.”

“Too?” I ask, glad that we’re finally going to talk about what he said while he was inside me.

Nodding, he replies shakily, “Yes, too. God, Hudson, how could you doubt it? How could you think that all this time, I wasn’t hopelessly in love with you?”

To anyone else, the questions would sound harsh. But I understand what Callum is saying. I respond in kind. “How could you think I wanted you to pretend to be my boyfriend?”

Callum stands on tiptoe and I bend to press my lips to his. No tongue, just the meeting of our lips in a chaste kiss. “What fools we are,” he quips when we separate.

“This was never fake for me,” I say earnestly. “I want this. I wantyou.”

“I’m sorry I even said that. I knew I wanted more from you then, but I was afraid. We’ve both been hurt. Are we ready for this?”

“I am,” I answer quickly, then dial it back. “I’m ready. Hell, I’ve been ready since the night I saw you walking toward me with a burgundy suit and a smile that lit up the room.” He gives it to me now, making my chest ache with affection. I rub a thumb over his cheek and kiss him softly. “I’ve been waiting for you, Callum. I’ve been waiting foryou to make me feel loved, appreciated, adored, seen. I’m so glad I found you.”

Taking shallow breaths, Callum asks, “You want to be with me?”

“For as long as you want me.”

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