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Realizing he’s not here to hit on Callie, my shoulders relax a little. The newcomer looks right at me. Our eyes meet, and my gut tightens up all over again.
For God’s sake, he’s not that good-looking. Get a grip, Thorpe.
The announcer calls Raleigh’s name and, with a wobbly grin, he heads up to the platform on the other side of the bar.
6
Callahan
“Would you mind?” the stranger—Raleigh—asks gently. I wonder if he’s here for the wedding, since I saw him talking to Elliot a little while ago.
“Of course I don’t mind,” I say, accepting the cell phone from him. He shows me how to use the camera function, then excuses himself. I get the impression he’s pretty nervous—shaking voice, unsteady hands. If he needs a video to show his friends back home, he must not do this kind of thing very often. Good for him, getting out of his comfort zone.
It’s not what you’d call my strong suit, personally. This guy seems to be doing it on purpose, of his own volition. As far as I can tell, nobody’s bribed or coerced him. It’s admirable, and intriguing.
I couldn’t do it in a million years. But then, I also can’t carry a tune in a bucket.
“We need to talk,” West says after Raleigh walks away. Mrs. Weaver had wandered off right before he came over. This is the first time we’ve had anything like a moment of privacy since West kissed me on the balcony.
“Now?” I whisper. I look around for my brother, but Finn is still posted up at the bar with Alex and a couple of other wedding guests. The ambient noise is loud enough that nobody beyond our table could hear us if they tried.
“Callahan. Listen to me,” says West, demanding my attention. I meet his eyes, feeling my stomach pitch. God, he’s handsome.
And he wants me. It’s like being thrust into some alternate universe—the information does not compute.
“What happened on the balcony…” West starts. His gaze drops to my mouth again, like it had right before he kissed me. He seems to lose his place, not speaking for a moment, but I already know what he’s going to say.
Trying to get this part over with, I nod. “You’re right,” I say. “It was a mistake.”
West jerks his head up and looks at me.
“It’s not—”
“If you dare say ‘it’s not you, it’s me,’” I warn.
West huffs out a humorless laugh. “It’s Finn,” he says, keeping his voice low. His jaw tightens. “Callie, don’t think for a minute I wouldn’t rather be finishing what we started. But I promised Finn I’d look out for you and nothing—nothing—is more important to me than my friendship with your brother.”
I nod again, more slowly this time.
“I know that,” I say, leaning in a little in sympathy. “I get it.”
“It would hurt him,” says West. “I can’t betray his trust like that. No matter how much I might want to.”
My heart trips at those words.
“Want to what?” I can’t stop myself from asking. If I get nothing else out of this trip, at least I can take this home with me. My high school crush wanting me back? That’s the score of a lifetime.
If all I can have is this moment and the words out of his own mouth, I swear it’ll be enough.
West and me, it’s impossible, and it’s never going to happen, and I already feel the guilt creeping in when I imagine Finn’s reaction if he knew we were even having this conversation. He’d be furious.
And all of that takes a distant second to the way I feel when West looks me in the eye. He drops the mask I’m used to seeing and lets me see his thoughts, and… God.
God.
“We can’t,” West says, his tone gritty and final.
“Can’t what?”
