Page 36 of Untroubled Heart

She looks ahead, and a subtle blush covers her cheeks. “I would.”

I hope no one’s coming my way, because in this moment, I can’t take my eyes off Callie. I know I can’t be looking at her like this, but I can’t seem to make it stop.

I’ve never had feelings like this before, actively squashing them down whenever they threatened to surface. Even with my high school girlfriend, it was never like this, like a cadence of anticipation building with every smile, every touch, every minute leading up to when I see her next.

When I first overheard Christie telling her friends how good her life would be as Mason Heart’s girlfriend, I scoffed. It didn’t hit me square in the chest until I took the time to notice just how much she was using my name and my family’s connections to benefit herself. I pulled away, hating how used I felt. I don’t know why I kept dating her for a few months beyond that, but after she realised I’d grown disinterested, she told me to go fuck myself, that it wasn’t like I was anything special. I was hot and rich, and anyone claiming they saw past that was lying. So, I made sure that’s all I’d ever be and never wanted more. That was all going fine until something about Callie made it impossible to switch it off.

I don’t even know what I feel, what I want. I just know something happens inside me that both settles and invigorates when she’s around. And I keep wanting her around.

“Are you getting something?”

Sick? Most certainly. “Ahh, what?”

“Are you getting a cookie?” she asks, and that’s when I notice we’ve come to a stop in front of a tiny, vintage-style camper.

The whole thing’s painted in a red-and-pink checkered pattern, and a panel on the side is open, with a display case running along the width of the van, full of assorted cookies, from standard choc chip and red velvet to more elaborate flavours like caramel pretzel crunch and apple pie.

“What do you recommend?” I ask.

“I’ve been making my way through the flavours, but I only get the vegan ones.”

“You’re vegan?” Why didn’t I know this before now?

She nods. “A lot of the vegan flavours come as standard flavours too. I think I’m going to get the lemon cheesecake tonight.”

“How are they gonna make cheesecake vegan?” I ask.

“Some things we don’t question, Mason. We just roll with it.”

I chuckle as I reach for my phone, pulling up my card app as I ask the woman behind the register for two vegan lemon cheesecake cookies.

“Thank you,” Callie says when I hand her her cookie. “I didn’t expect you to pay. If anything, I should pay since you accompanied me.”

We take a seat on a bench nearby that overlooks the water. Callie turns the pram around so Navie faces us as we eat.

“Considering I pay you, I’m not sure it makes a difference.”

She snorts, the sound rumbling in the back of her throat. I really like how she doesn’t filter herself around me.

I can spot a fake laugh a mile away. God, it’s annoying. You don’t have to think I’m funny—I already know I am—but don’t pretend to be amused because you think I’ll like you more for it. I was never seeking women out to like them. I wanted one thing from them, the exact same thing they wanted from me.

But with Callie, I want her laughs.

I take a bite into my cookie, amazed that it’s actually pretty good. It’s thick and chewy, and lemon cream is laced through the crumb like veins, balancing out all the flavours and textures.

A second bite is on its way to my mouth when Callie lets out a soft moan.

“So good,” she mumbles as I turn just in time to see her eyes roll back.

The hand on my thigh squeezes as I try to control what that reaction does to me. I’m getting turned on by a woman eating. I can’t seem to pull my eyes away as she licks her bottom lip, making my dick twitch.

“Do you do this every week?” I ask, trying to steer the conversation back to a place where blood is in my head and not my…

Her head drops back with a sigh, exposing the long length of her neck. How can a neck look erotic when it swallows—Oh, never mind.

“No, I just needed comfort food tonight.”

“What’s tonight?”