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‘Oh,’ Callum said. What else could he say? It must have been hard for Hailey.
‘Paul, he was confused…He wanted to do the right thing by Eric…He ended it with me.’ Hailey paused, knowing she had skimmed over the details but the pain and betrayal of that moment still stung nearly two years later. Coming home to find them in bed together. She took a shaky breath. ‘They reconciled for a couple of months. I stayed on because of Eric but the situation was getting untenable for me.’
‘It must have been hard to have their reconciliation shoved in your face every day,’ Callum sympathised.
Hailey nodded. ‘It was. But she left again after eight weeks and I’m glad I stayed on. They were both devastated by her desertion. And then less than a month later Eric died.’
Callum regarded Hailey as he took a sip of his beer. She had gone silent, staring hard at the photo in her hand. ‘How?’ he prompted after a while.
‘From meningitis. We’d been out all day, shopping and looking through the Natural History Museum—he really loved that place. He was exhausted. We both were. I didn’t think anything of it when he fell asleep in front of the television that afternoon.’
Callum shut his eyes. He could hear the doubt and guilt lacing her voice. It had gone from hesitant but strong to tremulous, husky. He knew the futility of guilt and would have given anything to be able to make her see that it didn’t serve any useful purpose.
‘And he was still sleeping when his father came home and Paul went to wake him because otherwise he never would have slept that night. He was practically unrouseable.’
She didn’t know where they’d come from but tears were running down her cheeks. She wiped at them and looked at the moisture on her fingers. She hadn’t cried over this in months.
Callum saw the moisture glisten on her fingertips. No wonder she’d been so antsy about Tom coming down with something while he was out. ‘Hailey, the onset of meningitis can be so swift. It can kill in hours.’
She nodded and looked at him. She should have been embarrassed to be showing such raw emotion in front of him but on a primal level she knew that he, of all people, would understand. ‘I know that. I do. But it was…so awful. He was on life support for forty-eight hours before he died. And Paul…’
‘He blamed you.’
Hailey looked at him sharply. ‘He was grieving.’
Callum blinked at her vehement defence. It took a few moments for him to get it. Ah. ‘You’re still in love with him.’ He was surprised how much the knowledge affected him.
‘No.’ Hailey looked away. She shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’
Callum nodded. It took time. He knew that.
They didn’t say anything for a few moments. He watched a few more tears escape and trek unhindered down her face and couldn’t bear it any longer. He stood. ‘Here.’ He held out his hand to her.
Hailey looked up. Way up. Dear God, the man was a giant! ‘What?’ she asked, her voice husky with emotion.
‘I’m going to give you a hug.’
Hailey looked at his outstretched hand as if it was a monster from the deep. She sank further back into the chair.
‘Hailey,’ Callum said patiently, trying not to be insulted by her obvious aversion to his touch. ‘You’re crying. I’m offering you an age-old form of comfort. I think a hug is probably OK under the circumstances.’
She looked at his hand again. Heaven only knew, she wanted to take it so badly she could barely see it in front of her. But she wasn’t entirely sure a hug could ever be just a hug in such emotionally charged circumstances.
‘Doctor’s orders.’ He grinned, reaching impatiently for her hand lying on the arm of the sofa. He pulled her up and towards him. He couldn’t explain it—it just seemed like the right gesture at the right time. It was probably something they both needed.
Except as he enfolded her in his arms he hadn’t been prepared for the total and utter cataclysmic impact of her body against his. Yes, he’d been aware of their unspoken attraction but hadn’t remotely suspected that a friendly hug could feel so dangerous. Sexy. Sinful. Leaving him wanting more. More than hugging.
Her scent infused his senses. Her diminutive frame worked its way beneath his defences. He could feel her breath and her heartbeat and the imprint of her breasts. He looked down on her dark head pressed to his chest, her hair soft against his shirt. His fingers automatically sought her waist and the curve of her hip felt ripe and lush.
Hailey felt Callum become still as he realised what she’d already known. Their attraction was too strong to withstand something even as simple, as asexual, as a friendly hug. He was everywhere. Filling her up. Her head and her heart and her senses. She clutched his shirt to steady herself as she pressed her face into his chest and inhaled a huge dose of his clean male aroma.
