“And that’s why you love me.”
He pressed his lips to her, taking her breath away. “One of many reasons, cariad.”
56
CALLUM
Sorry Scusa Lo Siento - Pinguini Tattici Nucleari
He didn’t truly carewhat Alejandra said—she needed a doctor. Hauling a paddleboard into a stormy harbor and dragging his taid, wasn’t something she should’ve done with a still-recovering shoulder, especially just weeks after getting the sling off.
Now, waiting for her scan in the hospital, Callum sat in the waiting room next to his mam and taid, who had already been checked by a doctor and was more than fine. He had dozed off in the chair, while his mother sat beside him, visibly tense.
“It’s all my fault if her shoulder gets worse. It’s all my fault. I should’ve kept an eye on him. It’s always my fault. Why did he even go there?” his mam kept repeating.
“It’s not your fault,” he said softly, wrapping an arm around her. “It could’ve happened to anyone. You were having fun. You’re supposed to have fun.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Why was he even there? Did he say something?”
“Alejandra said he kept calling nain’s name. Thought she was her. I don’t know what triggered it exactly,” he replied, running a hand through his damp hair, brushing it back.
“Will she be okay?”
“Her mood was good,” he said. “Let’s see what the doctors say.”
Then he sighed, hesitant. “I know this might not be the right moment. Maybe I should wait. But between what Vanessa said at the beach, and taid dropping something today that made me think… I need to ask.”
Hesitation was etched on her face. Panic even, but she prompted him to continue. “Sure, darling. You can ask me anything.”
“When I told taid about Alejandra being a surfer, he said something likea surfer like that asshole of your father, Mick.”
His mother’s face went pale. Her lips parted slightly. Then she inhaled, long and deep. “Alzheimer's is a terrible secret keeper.”
“Vanessa too, apparently.”
“I didn’t tell her anything, she found out by digging her nose into my past and probably asking that bitch of her mother.” His mam frowned. He couldn’t help but snort at her calling his ex-mother in law a bitch. But in reality, that woman had always been one.
Callum continued. “Why does it have to be a secret, mam? I’m thirty-five. Don’t you think it’s time I know who my father is?”
“Do you want to know?”
“It won’t change much,” he admitted, shrugging. “He could’ve found me in these thirty-five years. It’s not like I was hiding under a rock. But… yeah, I’d like to know.Ifyou want to tell me.”
“You’re letting me choose?” She blinked, genuinely surprised.
“I love you. And I’d love to know. But I can’t force you to share something that could hurt you.”
“It’s been thirty-five years. I should be over him.” She sighed, her brown eyes fixed on an invisible point in the waiting area.
“Do you still care about him?”
“He was my first love,” she admitted. “I was fifteen. He was sixteen. Not much older, but back then it felt like a lifetime.”
“Wow. You were both so young,” he said quietly. “Does he know about me?”
“Yes. He helped pay your tuition up to Harvard. After that, there was no need.”
Callum blinked. “What? Are you serious? You kept in contact?”
