My smile wavered the longer Callan stared.
“You… made me… lunch?” he said.
Had I overstepped the mark? Maybe he counted macronutrients like Jeremy. I bit down on my lip. “It’s nothing special… A bento box I got you…” I downplayed it even more by shrugging. “Til loves her bento.”
Matilda nodded. “If you good, you get a cookie.”
Callan blinked at me.
“It’s a container that you can pop lots of different things into,” I rushed to explain. “I used up the last of the roast beef you had in the fridge to make a sandwich. There’s a tub of gravy you can pour on when you’re ready to eat. I would’ve done it, but I didn’t want the bread to get soggy…” I wilted worse than soggy bread. The pained expression on Callan’s face made me stammer through the rest of what I’d packed for him. “There’s also potato salad…and fruit…and…a…a chocolate muffin…”
Callan opened his mouth before snapping it shut again.
Devastation poured out of me with the pitiful, “You don’t like it.”
Callan’s hands clasped my shoulders, and he bent lower until our eyes were level. “I love it.” The soft smile that spread across his face stirred new flutters in my belly. What wasthislook? He’d never smiled at me like this before. “I’m going to walk out this door ten feet tall, but I don’t want you doing this because you feel you owe me.”
“I did this because you work so hard… I wanted to spoil you a little…”
Without a word, his arms wrapped around me, and he yanked me against his chest so hard and so fast I wheezed out a strangled breath.
“Thank you,” he said.
I wasn’t sure if he heard my muffled “You’re welcome.” And I didn’t pull away. I didn’t even try. His powerful arms were quickly becoming addictive. I leaned in, my nose tickled by the metallic scent of sunblock, but underneath…
Oh.
My heart stuttered in my chest. Fresh soap. Clean but rough skin brushed against my forehead, even though he’d shaved that morning. My lips perfectly lined up with the bob of his Adam’s apple when he swallowed heavily. What would happen if I kissed him there? Would he push me away? Maybe he’d gasp but urge me to do it again. Did I want that?
Nuzzled in that safe spot tucked under his chin, my mind spun out of control, and my index finger toyed with the top button of his work shirt. What did he look like under there now? I hadn’t seen him shirtless since we were teenagers, watching him dive-bomb off a rock to splash water on everyone lazing on the riverbank…
“E-Erin?” He uttered my name in a choked whisper.
Callan never called me that.
I was Ez.
Just Ez.
“I, um… Yeah. I—I better go.” The intoxicating heaviness of his muscular arms loosened, and the soft smile I’d gotten earlier was replaced with one so forced it looked like his face would crack. “Thanks for the lunch. It’s…” His head dropped, fingers spearing through his hair. A frustrated and quiet “fuck” was all I heard next.
Matilda’s eyebrows shot up. “That a no-no word, Cal!”
I tipped a smile at him. “You’d better get going before she chases you to the back field with her wooden spoon.”
Grinning, he grabbed a fresh muffin and took a bite. “It’ll be just like the good old days growing up then.”
I kissed Matilda’s foreheadand eased away from the tiny girl sleeping soundly on my bed. Afternoon naptime was a quiet time on the porch for me.
Well, itusedto be…
Lonely moments on the outdoor lounge overlooking the valley were noisy now, full of confusing feelings, and the deafening sound of my thudding heart when I remembered Callan’s palm on my waist. His hand was enormous. What would it feel like if he slipped that warm, firm grip a little lower? Would he be rough if he squeezed my ass? I shivered. No, not Callan. He’d treasure me.
I sighed.
Was that what these feelings were? Callan was close by. He was rugged and a little unpolished, but genuine—the opposite of Jeremy’s slick charm. Was I searching for a man’s validation that I was still attractive after Jeremy had ripped my confidence to shreds? Maybe…
Speaking of the devil himself, I glanced at my phone.
