Callum (Blue Halo Book 7)

Callum shot a glance Fiona’s way. She’d driven for the first hour, and they’d switched over about twenty minutes ago. He’d offered to drive the entire distance, but she’d insisted. Not that he was surprised. Independence seemed important to this woman.

Since leaving his place, she’d been overly polite. He’d tried for a couple of jokes, but either he wasn’t as funny as he thought, or her mind was elsewhere. He was going with the latter. He wasn’t annoyed by her demeanor. More intrigued. What caused this woman to get her guard up so easily?

He knew Kasey’s visit had affected her, but her attitude wasn’t in proportion to that brief interaction. Whoever had hurt her had made her trust fragile.

“I think we should play twenty questions,” Callum said, breaking the ten-minute silence that had passed since his last attempt at conversation.

Her gaze turned from the window to him. “Twenty questions?”

“Yeah. Get to know each other a bit better. Also, get details of our relationship nailed down.”

A crease formed between her brows. “What if you ask a question I don’t want to answer?”

Interesting first thought. “You say red raisin, and I’ll ask something else.”

Her lips twitched. “Red raisin? Did you make that up?”

“I did. I like red, and I like raisins. Ready?”

“Okay, sure. You go first.”

“How long have we been dating?”

Her brows rose. Maybe she’d been expecting a more personal first question. “Two months. But we were friends before that.”

He nodded. The woman had put some thought into this.

“Favorite color?” she asked.

“Chestnut.” He shot a look into her chestnut eyes and saw her cheeks bloom. “Yours?”

“Blue. But a deep, dark blue, not a pale one. Like the ocean when it’s really deep. How old are you?”

“Thirty-three. Why don’t you get along with your sister?”

There was an audible shift in her breathing. “I don’t know. She’s always hated me, and I’ve never known why. She’s five years older than me and just seems to despise my very existence.”

What kind of person blindly hated a family member?

“It’s her loss,” he said quietly, wanting to ease the obvious hurt.

She lifted a shoulder. “I get along with my parents. Really well, actually, and I think that makes it worse for me and Amanda. Like she thinks they like me more than her or something. Which is ridiculous, they love us both. Who’s in your family?”

“Just my dad, who lives in Seattle. My mother passed away when I was young, and I don’t have any siblings, but I always wished I did. Although, the guys feel like brothers.”

One side of her mouth lifted. “That’s nice.”

“What’s your history with the groom?”

The soft smile fell from her lips. “Red raisin.”

Fair enough. Although Callum was hoping that, after some time, she’d trust him enough to share. He already knew the guy was an ex. But he was dying to know how long ago they’d broken up and what had led to him marrying her sister.

“Why’d you move to Cradle Mountain?” he asked instead.

“Because it was the perfect distance from my sister and Freddie. Too far to drive regularly, but not so far you need to catch a flight and make it a long trip to visit.”

Before he could put much thought into that complicated answer, her next question came. “Favorite food?”

“Apple pie. Favorite day of the week?”

She laughed, and the sound hit him square in the chest like a damn freight train. God, it was beautiful and soft and melodic. And her smile…he had to forcibly shift his eyes away from her and back to the road.

“Funny question, but my answer is probably the same as everyone else’s. Sunday, because I get to put my feet up and read my books.”

“Ah, yes. Sunday is a common favorite. But it’s not mine.” He felt her eyes on him.

“What’s your favorite day?”

“Definitely Wednesday.”

Her brows creased. “What’s Wednesday?”

“It’s the day the new recommendation tags get put up in the library. Which means I get some awesome new reads, and I also get to see you.”

In the beat of silence that followed, her pulse quickened, and when he looked at her, it was to see her lips parted and her eyes on him, brow slightly furrowed, like he was a puzzle she was trying to work out.

“You make it really hard not to like you, you know,” she said quietly.

“Why would you want to not like me? I’m awesome.”

He’d been aiming for humor, but her answer was anything but.

“Because I don’t want to be burned again, and you’d be able to do that without even trying.”

His hand itched to touch her thigh. Graze her skin. Give her some kind of physical reassurance that he wasn’t that guy.

“Are you dating your neighbor?” she asked.

“No.” One word, quick and easy. “Kasey’s been my neighbor since I moved to Cradle Mountain. Until recently, she was married. Since the divorce, she’s struggled being in her house alone. We’ve also grabbed breakfast once or twice. It’s nothing romantic.”

“Try telling her that.”

His lips quirked. She’d muttered the words so quietly under her breath, he was sure she hadn’t meant for him to hear them. “I don’t feel anything beyond friendship for Kasey. I’ve had my eyes on someone else for a while now.”

Her head whipped toward him, eyes widening.

Yeah, beautiful. That’s you.

She opened her mouth to reply, but her phone vibrated in her lap before she could say anything. He put his gaze back on the road, but he felt the shift in her energy the second she read the text. A thick tension coated the air. Then came the quickening of her heart, but he was almost certain it wasn’t in a good way this time.

She’d done that before, at the library. “Everything okay?”

She quickly locked her phone and turned it over…because she couldn’t bear to look at it? “Of course. Next question?”

Another message. She’d received another damn message.

I’ll be watching you, whore.

A shudder coursed down her spine. Were these texts really for her? Was this person really watching her?

“Hey, you sure you’re okay? You’ve gone pale.”

Her gaze went back to Callum. They were almost at the hotel, and she was trying to pretend she was okay after receiving the message. Looked like her acting skills were as bad as her don’t-let-this-texter-bother-you skills.

The idea of telling Callum had crossed her mind…fleetingly. He was a security expert, after all. But for one, it wasn’t his problem. The man was already doing her a ridiculously huge favor while asking for nothing in return. And secondly, they were just texts that hadn’t even mentioned her name. The chance some weirdo was actually watching her was minimal.

“I’m just dreading the rehearsal dinner tonight.” Which wasn’t a lie. “And the wedding tomorrow.” Big, mammoth, get-me-the-hell-out-of-Twin-Falls dread.

When she felt his gaze on her, she turned. He had that same I-don’t-believe-you look on his face. “I read that you can tell when people are lying.”

“Afraid so.”

Great. One giant, muscular lie detector. “How?”

“Little things give people away. Just now, it was your heart rate. It does this little skip and changes rhythm when you tell me something that isn’t true. Your breath also hitches. And if I was looking at you, I may also see your pupils dilate.”

Oh, man. “That’s not fair.”

“If we’re both honest with each other, it doesn’t affect anything.”

“Are you always honest with me?”

“Always.” His answer was immediate, and it came out so firmly that she couldn’t not believe him.

She looked ahead to see they were a street away from the hotel. “Take a right here.”

There it was. The hotel where her sister was marrying the man Fiona had always thought she’d marry.

“How’s it feel to be back?” Callum asked.

Like a bucket of ice water over her head. “My sister used to go out of her way to make sure my life was miserable. Any time she was with her friends and saw me around town, she’d make it a point to harass me. If we were out with our parents, she’d start arguments over nothing. I always tried to keep the peace for my parents’ benefit, but she’d always get to me, and I’d argue back.”

“Good.”

She frowned. “What?”

“You should argue. Bullies should be held accountable for what they do and say.”

Bully. That was the perfect word for Amanda. “I tried to stay here to be close to my parents, but when they got engaged…”

She’d had to get out. The need had been like a living, breathing thing inside her.

He pulled into a parking space in the hotel lot. “One day, your sister will realize what she lost by not treating you better.”

She snorted. “I doubt it.”

“I don’t.”

She gave him a look. “Stop being so nice to me.”

“Never.” He winked at her before getting out of the car.

She wasn’t yet willing to climb out. To touch her feet to the ground of her hometown. Because that would mean she was really back for her sister’s wedding, and she’d actually have to accept it, wouldn’t she?

Another beat ticked by. Slowly, she moved her fingers to the handle, but before she could touch it, the door was whipped open.

Callum raised a brow. “Come on. You can’t hide in there forever.”

“Why not?”

“Because then I’d go in and enjoy both my meal and yours.”

Ha. He was welcome to her food.

She climbed out of the car, grumbling as she went. “You’d still go to the rehearsal dinner without me?”

“Of course. And the wedding. Free food is free food.”

Yeah, because Mr. McMansion House needed free food. “You wouldn’t know anyone.”

“I’d just explain that I’m your boyfriend, and you’d come down with a bad cold. Once I dazzle them with my wit, they’d welcome me with open arms.”

The sad part was, he was probably right.

She walked around to where he’d pulled her bag out of the back and grabbed the handle, rolling it forward. “Fine. But only because I don’t want anyone touching my salmon.”

At least, she’d put salmon on her RSVP. Her sister would probably switch her choice to spite her. She’d then have to switch it back when Amanda went to the bathroom and blame it on Callum.

They crossed the lot and stepped into the reception area of the hotel. Immediately, her feet stopped.

Because there, in front of her, stood not only her parents but Freddie. And he looked exactly the same. His jawline was still chiseled, his brown hair immaculately slicked back, and his Ralph Lauren polo shirt fit perfectly across his thick chest.

Her mother rushed forward. Both her and her father were in their late fifties, with graying hair. She tugged Fiona into her chest. “Baby, you’re here!”

“I’m here, Mom.”

The second her mother released her, she cupped her cheek. “It’s so nice to see you.”

Next, her father stepped forward, and she leaned into his embrace. Her father’s hugs had always meant safety for her. Warm. Cozy. And that scent…mint and whiskey. She breathed it in. It was the smell of home.

“We’ve missed you, darling,” he said quietly.

She closed her eyes, hugging him tighter. “I missed you too, Dad.”

Her parents almost made her forget about the third familiar face standing behind them…almost. They parted, and Freddie stepped forward.

“Hey, Fiona.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek, his hand on her elbow, but she moved her head so he kissed air. She did not need to feel his lips on her flesh. In fact, just having his hand on her elbow had her fingers twitching to nail the cheating bastard in the gut.

His smile was tight when he lifted his head. But she didn’t have time to think about that—because a thick, warm arm slipped around her waist and tugged her against an equally warm body. Freddie’s hand dropped. Good.

“Hi, everyone. I’m Callum Thomas. The boyfriend.” He said it with all the ease in the world, like a lie hadn’t just rolled off his tongue.

Her parents, of course, gushed over him, her mother giving him a kiss on the cheek and her father shaking his hand. Freddie, on the other hand, only managed a bumbled, “Hey.”

“Well, we should be getting to our room,” Fiona finally said, beyond ready to get the heck away from Freddie and his hard gaze.

But even as they walked away, she felt him staring after her.