Page 77 of Callum
“I’m sorry.”
She found a crease in his jeans and traced it with her finger. “I feel bad that I left my parents in such a rush.”
Yes, she knew her actions were warranted, but the sadness in their faces, and fear, as if they thought they were going to lose her… They weren’t. They should have been honest with her, but she still loved them.
“It will take time to mend things,” he said quietly.
She wrapped her fingers around his powerful thigh. “Thank you. For being with me. For not making me talk about any of it last night.”
His silent companionship had been everything she’d needed.
“I’m here for whatever you need.” He tilted his head. “Are you going to work today?”
“I texted Rick last night that I was sick.” She wasn’t one to call in, but she’d regretted not taking time off the day after the incident in the library, so today, she was doing the right thing for her mental health. The man had been far from happy, but she barely used her sick days, so he’d have to deal with it.
Callum watched her carefully. “I was going to go into the office for a quick meeting, but—”
“No, no. If you need to go to the office, you go.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. You’ve got top-notch security and locks. Besides, I’ve been eyeing your huge bathtub since I first saw it. I could use a little time in there to digest it all.”
Ha. Like she could do that in one bath. She’d probably need a few years’ worth.
“A bath?” His hand slid up her thigh. “Maybe I should come home early and join you.”
She chuckled. It felt good to laugh. “I don’t think any digesting would happen if you did that.”
He would be one big, hard distraction.
She swallowed. “Hey, I’ve been thinking that maybe those texts I’ve been getting are from this…sister?” God, that was hard to say. “I mean, if she’s been impersonating me, she’s clearly got issues.”
Maybe she was even insane?
He slid some hair from her face. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”
“Well, at least that’s just one person gunning for me instead of two!” She meant to inflect humor into her words, but Callum didn’t even smile.
“I’m going to look into your birth mother today,” he said slowly. “See if I can find anything about a second baby.”
Her belly gave a little turn. “Okay. Thank you.”
“I won’t be long.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She wanted to pull him into bed, still the moment and make it last a bit longer, because around him, she still felt like herself. Too soon, he straightened. “Call if you need anything.”
She didn’t get up as soon as he left. Instead, she grabbed her phone to see a string of messages. From her mother and father. There were also some from Stacey.
Lying back, she sucked in a long breath before responding to each text, telling everyone she was okay. That she had Callum to help her through it and just needed some time to process. And that she loved them. Because she did. Her parents had risked a lot to keep her. If they hadn’t, what would have happened to her? Would she have been tossed into the foster care system? God, she would have lived a completely different life.
The responses were instant, which told her they’d been sitting on their phones, waiting for her to reply. She’d already texted Jenny that morning to let her friend know she might get a call from Rick to fill her shift. She hadn’t shared why she wasn’t coming in, just that she wasn’t feeling the best and was staying with Callum, both of which were true.
When her phone finally stopped buzzing, she pushed up, her gaze catching on the coffee.
Hello, how did I forget about you?
Almost desperately, she reached for the mug and basically inhaled the stuff. Yep, it was exactly what she needed.
In the bathroom, she turned on the tap. While the bath filled, she pulled her hair up into a bun. The bumps on her head felt better every day, but there was still a slight ache there. At least she couldn’t see the damage.
