Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“He won’t care,” Callum grumbles. “The fucker is unhinged.”
I suppress a shudder as I don’t want Callum to know how rattled I was by Joshua’s visit. But when his face went blank, I realized something sinister lurks inside him that even I haven’t seen yet.
My eyes rake over Callum and it actually hurts my heart to see how distressed he is. I know what’s going on in his head, and I’m sure he’s sinking under a wave of guilt for having broken up with me all those years ago. I know him well enough to know that he’s taking this very personally.
I need to do damage control. “He’ll back off,” I say, mustering a convincingly strong voice. Callum’s eyes narrow on me and I nod to punctuate my statement. “He’s not going to do anything to create bad press for the Willard stores. He knows Preston will go bananas if he does and he won’t cross his father. Joshua came here to see if he could talk me into returning, but I made it clear I’m not. He’s not going to fight it because he knows he can’t make me do anything. I bet he’s on his way back to Nevada.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Julia says, not because she knows Joshua but because I sound pretty damn convincing.
I don’t know if Callum is buying it, but his features relax a little. He nods and lets out a sigh. “Okay… you’re probably right. But I think tomorrow you should stay home—”
“No way,” I snap. “I’m not going to become a prisoner here.”
“I’m just trying to keep you safe, Juni.”
“Um,” Julia says with a cough. “I’m going to hang up now. I don’t need to be a part of this conversation. I hope you don’t need to call me about this again, but you know where to find me.”
We say our goodbyes and then I turn to face Callum with my arms crossed. “You have no say in what I do. Tomorrow, you and I will go about our business as usual. You’ll go to work, I’ll visit my dad, and that’s that.”
Callum opens his mouth and I can tell by his expression he wants to argue. I hold up a finger. “Ah-ah. Not another word about it.”
His mouth snaps shut.
I step into him, flattening my hands against his chest. Going to my tiptoes, I press a light kiss on his mouth. “It’ll be fine. I promise. Please stop worrying.”
“I’ll never stop worrying about you,” he replies, one hand sliding to the back of my neck. He deepens the kiss, but not to a level that would melt my panties. Just enough to show his possession and care. When he pulls away, he says, “Want to go out to dinner as we planned?”
I shake my head, offering an apologetic smile. “Honestly… I’m exhausted. Can we just order in?”
“Of course,” he assures me, pressing another quick kiss to my mouth. He turns and pushes me toward his bedroom. “Why don’t you go take a nice long bath and I’ll order us some food. Mediterranean work?”
“Yes,” I groan in relief. “That sounds amazing.”
I don’t even bother to tell him what to get me. He’ll remember. I head off to his bedroom—or has it become our bedroom—looking forward to a nice hot bath to melt away the stress I’m hiding from Callum.
CHAPTER 25
Juniper
Callum’s hand stroking my lower back is so pleasant, I’m in danger of falling back asleep. I mean, how could I not after the two massive orgasms he just doled out after his alarm went off?
“I guess I better hop in the shower,” he murmurs, nuzzling into my neck. “Although, give me about fifteen minutes and we could go for round two.”
Laughing, I glide my fingers along the back of his neck and remind him, “You have a nine a.m. appointment with Brienne you can’t miss.”
“Fuck… sometimes I hate my job,” he grouses but without any real vim. The man adores his career and he should. He’s fantastic at it and it brings him real joy.
“No, you don’t,” I say, disengaging myself from his embrace and pushing his chest. “Go shower. I’ll start coffee and get breakfast going. I’ll make you an omelet.”
“You spoil me,” he growls, pulling me back into him hard for a quick kiss. “I plan on doing the same to you every day for the rest of your life.”
My body goes still while my insides melt. “This feels like a dream.”
“The best dream,” he concurs, nuzzling me again.
“Okay… go shower,” I say, pushing against him. I quickly roll away and off the bed. I can feel the heat of his gaze on my naked backside as I walk out of the room. I don’t dare turn around for fear I’ll be compelled to climb back into bed and he truly does need to get going.