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“I get you probably don’t understand because you can afford to waste thousands of dollars sending innocent flowers to their death, but some people have to work to keep a roof over their head.”
“Now you’re jumping to conclusions. Just because I have money in the bank doesn’t mean I always have. I’ve worked my ass off to get to where I am, Zoe. I wasn’t born into the life I have now. I even bussed tables at night while attending college during the day.”
His words hit me hard. Shame fills me as I realize I’ve been judging him from the beginning. I know I shouldn’t have. It just makes me uncomfortable that someone like Callan has been pursuing me so strongly. It just feels like there has to be a reason. I know I can’t be his normal type of woman.
“I’m sorry,” I confess softly. I don’t make excuses for it, and I don’t try to push it off because I’m actually sorry that I was being that judgmental when I hate when others do it to me.
“You can make it up to me,” Callan says, staring up at me thoughtfully.
“How?”
“I’ll let you know,” he says slowly, his smile stretching out. The mischievous glint in his eye tells me he will be letting me know soon.
Joe walks around the corner, wiping his hands on a towel before throwing it over his shoulder. He’s an older guy that tends to look grouchy all the time, but he’s a teddy bear of a man. Takes a while for him to show it. “Closing time,” he barks out.
“Oh, thank God!” I sigh happily.
Joe crosses his arms as he glares at Callan. “That means you need to go.”
“I’ll be leaving, but I want to make sure Zoe makes it to her car safely before I do,” Callan says. He’s not glaring like Joe, but there’s something in the way they are staring that makes me think that Callan doesn’t need to show aggression to be intimidating. He sets money on the counter, and I notice there’s way more there than the price for coffee and a slice of pie.
I start to help clean up the counter, but Joe stops me. “I’ve got it. I haven’t worked two shifts today. You need to go home. I’ll finish cleaning and then lock up.”
Those words are music to my ears, and I pull Joe into a tight hug. He goes stiff like he’s never been hugged before. I put both hands on his cheeks and stretch up on the tips of my toes and plant a big kiss on his lips so fast he’s not even sure what I did.
“I love you, Joe.”
I barely have time to squeak out my gasp of surprise before I hear this growl and I’m pulled away. I look at Callan like he’s grown a third ear or something.
“Grab your coat. Let’s get out of here,” he orders, his gaze pinpointed on Joe.
“I guess I’ll finish cleaning up,” Joe says, and I could swear he’s fighting laughter.
“You do that,Joe,” Callan says, and now Joe does laugh—loudly.
I turn to frown at Callan. “Be nice.”
“You were being nice enough for the both of us,” he says, his voice grouchy.
“What on earth is your problem?” I ask, putting my hands on my hips.
“I’ll tell you what my problem is. You kissed another man right in front of me,” Callan says, stepping closer, forcing me to look up to maintain eye contact.
“That was not kissing him romantically. That was a friend’s kiss because he had just saved my tired self some work. You’re being an idiot.”
“I’m not,” He grits out. “Your lips shouldn’t touch anyone’s but mine. You belong to me.”
“We don’t even know one another. We haven’t even gone out on a date, and if you keep this up, we never will.”
I hear a growl of frustration leave his lips just before he pulls me into his hard body. His arms pin me to his chest as his lips crush mine in a possessive kiss. I’m shocked for a moment, not sure how to react. That ends when his tongue licks across the seam of my lips and it feels so good that I open for him. I don’t think I could resist him if I tried—and I don’t want to do that.
I want more.
Our tongues clash and fight for dominance. Heat pools in my belly as my mind goes blank. I’m completely lost in our kiss. Callan is possessing my body, taking complete control and I’m loving every moment of it.
Chapter12
Callan
