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The hope on Finn’s face makes my heart hurt.
“Seriously?” he asks, wide-eyed.
I nod, giving him a half-hearted smile. Finn smiles, wide open, his relief so profound it damn near shifts the air in the room. He scoops me up into a fierce hug.
“I’m so proud of you, Callie Bell.”
I swallow, hard. Finn hasn’t called me that since about the third grade.
“Thanks,” I say, fighting back the tears and clearing my throat. “What are you all dressed up for?”
Finn rolls his eyes, but he lets me change the subject. “Hardly,” he says. “I’m meeting Sully for dinner. Where are you off to?”
“Oh.” I avoid his eyes and spot the perfect excuse sitting on the counter behind him. “West left his phone charger here ages ago, I was going to drop it off while I’m out.” I shove the charger in my bag. As pretexts go, it’s flimsy, but at least it means I can tell my brother the truth, if not the whole truth. Thank God my overnight bag is already in the car.
“Perfect,” says Finn. “You can give me a ride. Sully asked me to bring him along tonight anyway. You’ll save me the drive.”
I stammer out something that sounds like agreement. When Finn turns to head to my car, I hit redial as fast as I can, trying to reach Raleigh, then West.
“West, I’m on my way, but Finn is with me. I’ll stall him as long as I can,” I say. “Call me back when you get this!” Hanging up, I tap out a text to them both to warn them.
Raleigh
“Callie, that’s fantastic,” I say, shouldering the phone so I can get the door to West’s apartment unlocked. “When’s your first appointment?”
“They’ll have me video chat for the first session in a couple of weeks,” she says. “After that, we’ll determine a schedule. Dr. Attenboro thinks every other week will work best, but we’ll see after the chat.”
“I’m so proud of you,” I say, finally getting the door open. I manage to get the groceries on the counter without breaking anything or dropping my phone and plop down on the couch to give Callie my full attention.
“Thanks,” she says. She sniffs a little, and I swallow hard against the wave of emotion. “I’m pretty proud too, actually.”
“You should be,” I tell her. “Have you got plans tonight? Maybe we can celebrate.” I haven’t seen her in days, not since the night after Callie surprised West at his office.
Let me tell you, that’s a night I will never forget. My anticipation grows.
Unfortunately, it’ll have to wait. West has been coming home later and later the last few days. He’s not half so aloof as he was that first week after we came home from the beach; no ghosting, which would be pretty hard to do since I’ve been sleeping on his couch.
Well, since he offered me the use of his couch. Half the time I wake up in his bed. But technically, I’m crashing on his couch.
Regardless, he’s been working a lot and I have no idea how late he’ll be tonight, so there’s a good chance this celebration will have to be just between Callie and me.
My dick perks up at the thought.
“What’d you have in mind?” Callie asks, her voice faintly suggestive.
The doorknob turns, and in walks West. My phone hits the floor between my feet.
“Hey,” I say to him, holding up a finger for him to wait and scrambling to pick up the phone. “Callie, can I call you right back? West just walked in.”
We hang up as West loosens his tie, tossing his suit jacket over the back of a chair at the breakfast bar.
“Callie?” he asks. I nod. “You didn’t have to hang up.”
“It’s rude to talk to somebody else while you’re on the phone,” I say, my cheeks warming.
“You’re adorable,” says West, coming over to the couch and kissing me. The kiss is long and slow, the same way he kisses me every day when he gets home from work and I’m keenly aware that if I’m not careful, this man could crush my heart under the heel of his twelve-hundred-dollar shoes.
“Call her back,” West says against my lips. “Tell her to get over here.” He heads for his bedroom and I hear the shower start.
