Page 34 of Untroubled Heart

I squeak in horror and clumsily pull myself from my boss’s grasp.

“I am so sorry.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I usually pump at lunchtime, and I missed it. Now I know, five hours is about all my breasts can handle until they explode.”

Oh fuck me, now I’m talking about my breasts.

Mason chuckles. “I would have waited if you needed to do that.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, shaking with mortification.

“Hey,” he says, his hand resting on my shoulder. “Hey, Callie?” He says my name so softly. In any other circumstance, I might mistake it for affection.

“Please don’t be embarrassed, especially by anything you have to do as a mum or a woman. I promise I’m not that insensitive or insecure in my manhood that I can’t handle breastmilk and periods.”

I swallow down the moment that I’d rather sink into. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Come on.” He steers me towards the stairs. “Let’s find Carmen. I wanna see if she has the floor plans for this place. I’ve got some spare shirts in the car we can change into.”

“It’s not been your day for that,” I say, as we make our way through the house. “This is the second time you’re changing your shirt.”

“Oh yeah? You weren’t checking me out earlier, were you, Moore?”

Our arms brush as we walk in sync, neither one making an effort to create any distance. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, Heart,” I fire back.

Mason hurries ahead only so he can turn and face me, walking backward with his hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face. “Keep telling yourself that. I know you were looking.” He pulls a face as he lifts one arm, flexing his biceps. He’s playing around and stirring me up, but he’s not wrong. Who wouldn’t look at all that?

“Your ego is quite impressive. Has anyone ever told you that?

“Telling myself that is part of my daily self-care routine. I love a bit of praise.”

I don’t know where I’m going. I just continue to follow him, even though his eyes don’t leave mine as he keeps stepping backwards. How is he not bumping into walls or tripping over his feet?

I’m well aware we’ve slipped into flirting territory. The traded barbs skirting the edges of intention masqueraded as disinterest. As long as they stay as words, no one gets hurt. Right?

“There you two are.” Mason’s eyes go wide. The confidence he was just wearing shatters when Carmen speaks up, causing him to fumble as we find ourselves back in the kitchen. “What did you think?”

“I personally love it.” I raise my brows at Mason in challenge. “I think it would make a beautiful home.” My thoughts turn sombre as I think of my own idea of home. I’m raising my daughter on my own, but I’m determined to give her everything I had, as well as all the things I wished for. “I can see a lot of happy memories being made here.”

Chapter fourteen

I attached my signed acceptance letter to the email before sending it to Carmen to start the settlement process.

For some reason, when I walked through the place with Callie, everything she said was so easy to visualise. It didn’t work with any other house I’d looked through cos no one was there to paint an actual picture of what it would be like to live in. Beth offered design advice, Mum would comment on the decent-sized bedrooms, Dad and Caleb would praise the location, but Callie put life into it.

When she talked about sitting on the front porch and watching kids play, family gathering around the fire and the dinner table, and the porch swing—she filled every empty space.

My phone lights up beside me with a reminder that it’s time to leave. There’s a club opening tonight, which Beth and I are attending, along with her best friend, Tenley. Months ago, I would have been itching to go to something like this, but lately the appeal is gone.

My thirtieth birthday’s coming up. Maybe this is just a natural part of getting older. I still crave the company, but just at a slower pace, a more intimate one.

I grab the keys for my Bugatti on my way out, then take the private elevator to the underground car park.

I’ve loved living by the marina. With uninterrupted views of the ocean, I can even see my catamaran where it’s docked from the terrace off my lounge room. There’s one bedroom, one sink in the bathroom, one big open wardrobe… all clear signs of a bachelor. It was perfect once, but now it’s quiet. Lonely.

I take my time pulling out, deciding to go the scenic route that passes along the ocean rather than taking the inroads that lead straight to the city centre. The sun has already gone down, but the path along here leads straight back to the marina boardwalk that’s full of restaurants, bars, and arcades, as well as the aquarium, which is always open late on Friday nights. Bright lights, pop-up stalls, and roaming entertainers fill the place during the spring and summer months.

At first, I think my mind is so consumed with thoughts of her that I don’t recognise Callie until I’ve passed her. I quickly glance back, certain it’s her, then hook around when I reach the next roundabout.

I spot her again pushing a pram, just as a car pulls out of a parking space up ahead. I pull in, keeping one eye on her until I can catch up.