I jumped off the sofa, wiping my eyes, but my body relaxed as I turned around and found Callum in the doorway. Those green eyes were always so bright, unlike Jason’s, which were full of darkness.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, stepping in, placing a few bags with two coffees on the table. “I didn’t mean to make you jump.”
I smiled at him. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault. I was in my own little world. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
“I had to go deal with some business out of Leeds.” He furrowed his brow. “Why are you in a jumper? It’s summer.”
My eyes darted around the room, anywhere but his, as I twisted the ring. He placed his fingers on my chin, tilting my head to the side. My breathing became shaky, and his eyes widened. He’d just seen it.
“Shit, Aria.”
He moved the neck of the jumper down and ran his finger softly over the bruises. His touch was a furnace, melting my icy skin.
He rested his hand on my cheek and gazed into my eyes. “Let me help you,” he whispered.
I took hold of his hand on my cheek and lowered it. “You can’t.”
We stood there for a beat, locked in a moment neither of us wanted to break free from, because we knew reality was about to crash back down on us.
I cleared my throat, taking a step back from him.
“What’s in the bags?”
He smiled. “All your favourites.”
“How long are you staying?” I asked, rummaging through the bags until I found what I was looking for.
Pulling the bacon sandwich from the paper bag, I took a huge bite. Callum let out a little chuckle.
“What?”
“You’ve got some mayo on your face.”
“Oh.” I grinned, wiping it off, then took a sip of coffee. The taste of sugar hit me.
“That one’s yours,” I said, handing it to him.
“I’m here a week. He’s gone over to France to sort out some business.”
I let out a heavy breath of relief. The times he was away were the only times I could truly relax. He didn’t trust me in the house by myself, so Callum always came to stay, the only man who was allowed to be around me without permission from Jason.
We sat down on the sofa as I finished eating my bacon sandwich. They always tasted better when they came from a café.
He sipped his coffee. “I got that appointment you wanted for tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll go out early, but you’re going to have to let me buy you some things; otherwise, it would look a bit odd coming back without any bags, and I don’t want anyone to suspect a thing.”
“You just want an excuse to spend your money on me,” I teased.
“What’s the point of having it if I can’t spend it on the people I care about?”
“You’re a good man, Callum.”
“I try.” He grinned.
I swatted his arm. He was always soft with me. Jason had dragged me to a few of their meetings. It was a way of showing everyone that I was his, so they all knew not to touch me unless he told them to. I’d seen a different side to Callum at those meetings. They all feared him and wouldn’t dare say a word wrong to him. Yet, I could tease him, and he’d laugh about it.
