AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Even now, the very sight of Calum made her want to get closer, but she knew in order to stay mad, she should keep her distance.
Calum was dressed casually, or what Fern assumed was casual to him, in a pair of corduroy pants and a wool sweater. His outfit was still impeccably tailored, and Fern could tell by looking at him he smelled even better. His glasses were pushed up on his head, and his cane rested against the chair, the emerald eyes of the stag glowing in the low light.
“You left my office in a hurry this morning. I waited for you all day to return.” His voice was low and soothing, and Fern hated how much calmer it made her.
“I’m sorry, was that a terrible inconvenience for you? Because I was inconvenienced by—”
“You’re never an inconvenience, Ms. McEwan.” Calum cut her off, and Fern couldn’t keep the surprise off her face. Like most caretakers, Fern assumed she was a burden at all times and struggled to accept Calum’s statement at face value. She recovered quickly, shaking her head.
“Okay, sure. That doesn’t explain why you are in my apartment.”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He said it simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Fern almost pulled her hair out.
“This is insane. You can’t break into my apartment, Calum. But no, I am not okay. This is very fucking far from okay.”
“I was waiting to help you through this—”
Fern held up a hand to stop him. “Let me save you some time while you’re here. I’ve thought about it, and I’d like to formally deny your request to be the chosen one. I’m sympathetic to your cause. I really am, but this is way too much for me.”
“You can handle it.” Calum’s voice didn’t betray the slightest hitch of emotion. Fern’s blood boiled, and she let out a squeak of indignation. She crossed the room to him, and Calum stood to meet her.
“I’m glad that you think so,” Fern snarled, poking him in the chest, “but you know what? I’m tired of handling things. Ever since I was eighteen, I’ve been handling things. This was supposed to be my opportunity to do something for myself, and on the very first day, I found out that I was brought here under false pretenses.”
Calum’s face darkened, and the temperature in the room skyrocketed. “As I told you, the offer to oversee your doctorate is intact.”
“Oh, so if I tell you I won’t try to break this curse, we’ll just carry on as intended?” Fern’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but Calum had already regained his composure. It was pissing her off.
“Well,” Calum chewed his lip for a second as if he was weighing different options, “it would probably be a little different.”
Fern exploded. “See! I knew—”
“Because I intend to make good on my promise to kiss you again, so I should probably find someone else to oversee you professionally.” Calum’s calm demeanor morphed into a Cheshire Cat smirk, and Fern shivered.
They stared at each other, a heady sense of anticipation now hanging between them. For a second, Fern thought he might kiss her, but she broke the silence.
“You can’t keep doing that.” Her voice was deadly serious. Calum sobered. “I won’t say that I didn’t enjoy it earlier, but you have to stop distracting me when I say something that you don’t like. It’s confusing, and I don’t know which way is up right now. I can’t handle…” she motioned between them, “whatever this is.”
He nodded, all sense of mirth draining from his features. “I’m sorry.” He gave Fern a contrite nod. “It was unfair of me. Let me reassure you again that your academic standing at this institution is in place.” All sense of teasing was gone from his voice, and the consummate professional had returned; in an instant, the teasing prince had disappeared.
Fern was shocked by his immediate apology and stammered, “Thank you. It’s fine. I mean, don’t do it. But yes. It’s okay… What was I saying?”
“You were telling me you don’t want to be the chosen one, and I’m assuming about to make some sort of popular culture reference.”
“It was going to be a great one.”
“I don’t doubt it. Do you want to sit down? I’ll make a cuppa and you can go through your concerns with me, if you’d like.”
Fern stared at him as if he’d grown two heads. Which, who knows, maybe that’s possible? I don’t know how magic works.
“Fern?” Calum prodded gently.
“Oh, yes. That would be…nice.” The adrenaline was beginning to fade, and Fern’s exhaustion, both mental and physical, was quickly catching up with her. She put a bit more strength into her voice. “That would be very nice, thank you.”
Calum smiled in response and walked to the kitchen, found the kettle, and set to work. Fern was uncomfortable as she watched someone prepare something for her while she did nothing.
“You know, I can actually…”
“Stop.” Calum turned around and pointed back to the couch. “It’s the least I can do. It’s a cup of tea, Fern.”
