When he glanced back at her, Alejandra looked genuinely impressed. “Sounds legit to me.”
Callum grinned. “Now that I have your approval, I feel so much better.”
Alejandra chuckled, shaking her head. “So, what do we tell people?”
“You? Absolutely nothing. Me? I try to explain what Lamina does without sounding like a walking lawsuit.”
She scowled playfully, jumping down from her stool and stepping closer as he arranged some flyers.
“You explained it well to me, so I think you’ll do great.” She patted his shoulder.
“And again, your approval means so much,” he teased, grinning down at her.
Alejandra stuck out her tongue, grabbed a flyer, and started reading it.
“Oh my God, are you Alejandra López Romero?” a voice squealed from the window of the stand.
Alejandra looked up to find a little girl draped over the counter, a big hat sliding down her forehead, a surf shirt with the Spanish flag on the shoulders. She had big green eyes and black hair. Callum blinked.
For a second, his brain genuinely stalled.
The kid looked like a tiny version of Alejandra. Same coloring. Same bright eyes. Same energy vibrating out of every movement.
“Yes, I am. And you are?” Alejandra smiled.
And there it was again. That smile. The one that made her whole face light up. The little girl squealed, jumping up and down, clapping her hands with pure, unfiltered joy.
“I’m Maggie! Margaret, but my friends call me Maggie. You can call me Maggie!”
“Okay Maggie.”
Callum leaned slightly against the stall frame, arms folding loosely across his chest as he watched the interaction unfold. Something warm spread through his chest. God, she was good with kids. Not in a forced celebrity way. Not in the polite, scripted way he’d seen athletes do fan interactions before. Alejandra was completely present.
Maggie spun around proudly.
“I’m your biggest fan!”
Her black hair in two bouncing ponytails swung from side to side, revealing the name López Romero and the number 23 on the back of her jersey.
Alejandra’s eyes widened immediately.
“How did you get that?”
“My mom made it for me! I wanna be just like you when I grow up!”
Callum watched Alejandra’s expression soften.
“Do you surf?” Alejandra asked, clearly amused.
“Yup! Since I was five. Just like you!”
“Basically twins.”
Maggie squealed again. Callum felt a grin spread across his face before he could stop it. God, that smile. The one Alejandra was giving the kid right now. It wasn’t the teasing one she used on him. Not the sarcastic one either. This one was softer. Warmer. Unfiltered.
He’d put Maggie on a pedestal right now for how good she was making Alejandra feel.
“Can we take a picture together?” Maggie asked. “Please?”
