The Partnership (Callaghan Green Series Book 10)

by Annie Dyer

  Liv was clearly spending way too much time with Rose.

  My phone rang, the loud tone waking me from the murderous thoughts I was having towards Olivia.

  My mother’s name flashed up on the screen. I managed to fumble round for the button to answer, feeling beads of sweat trickle down my back, which were more from my stress rather than the temperature.

  “Mum!” I answered wondering whether I should’ve just let it go to voicemail. “We’re about halfway there.”

  “Lovely. Are you driving carefully? The police will pick you up for speeding if they’re out and about.”

  This was what she’d phoned me for?

  “Mummy was driving very fast.” Rose’s voice trilled through the air like fingernails on a chalkboard.

  “Mummy was sticking to the speed limit. We’re fine, Mum. All good.”

  “Okay, okay. You put the directions into your Satnav correctly, didn’t you? You know where you’re going?” This was my mother trying to get information out of me in a roundabout way and not entirely sure how to ask what she wanted without me hanging up.

  To be fair, I’d left in a hurry, and hadn’t given her too much of an explanation, aside from I needed to get to Seph to tell him something.

  “I know where I’m going. We’re okay. Rose is excited about being a princess in a castle.” Fear ripped through me. What if I wasn’t going to be a welcome guest? What if the Callaghans decided that I’d hurt Seph enough and they didn’t want me around? I wasn’t sure how my mother would be in Marie Callaghan’s position. Or how I would be.

  “And are you excited about being a princess in a castle?”

  “My Mummy would be a pretty princess. Seph told me that she could rescue him, she would be that pretty and clever.” Rose sounded awfully excited.

  “What was that, Rosie?” Only my mother called Rose ‘Rosie’.

  “Seph said Mummy was his princess. When we read a book about a princess who saved a prince, Seph said that was Mummy. Only Mummy was prettier.” My daughter giggled.

  “When did Seph say that, Sweetie?” I kept both hands on the wheel.

  “When he helped me with homework and you stayed in the kitchen and you were both being weird. He made me promise not to tell you so do you think he’ll be mad?” Her tone changed to worried.

  “No, because Seph knows that you can tell me anything, even if someone makes you promise not to. It’s the mother and daughter rule. Isn’t that right, Mum?” I was getting this in when I could. Nothing like brainwashing your child for the right reasons.

  “Too right, Miss Rose. Unless it’s about presents. Then you can always keep a secret. Now, close your ears. I need to speak to my daughter.” My mum’s tone was fierce.

  “What’s up?”

  “A word of wisdom.”

  Oh, hello. This was what every child wanted to hear.

  “Don’t be scared. Taking a jump off something high doesn’t mean you’re going to hit the ground hard. Sometimes you do a graceful swan dive into the arms of a partner capable of catching you, if you know what I’m saying.”

  I checked my speedo as a way of distracting myself from what I wanted to say to her, which was a lot of teenaged angst combined with adult uncertainty and a desperation I hadn’t felt before, even after Rose’s father had given his parting speech.

  “I do.” It was the easiest answer.

  “Good. Be brave. Olivia and Rose speak highly of him. If they thought he was a rotten appendage, they’d have said.”

  “Mummy, what’s a rotten appendage?”

  I bit my lips together. “Mother, would you like to explain to your granddaughter what a rotten appendage is?”

  “Of course.”

  At least this was one way to make the journey pass quickly. Almost.

  The castle was a castle, an actual castle, built mimicking the sorts of buildings that could be seen in the Loire Valley. It’d been hired in full by Ava and Eli, for both a wedding and a holiday, offering privacy and downtime for a family that I knew first-hand never stopped.

  There was a gated driveway that I gave my name to get through, half surprised I was still on the list.

  I drove down it, fields and trees seeming to sparkle in the late afternoon sun, the sea twinkling in the distance. Where my mother had moved to was beautiful, but this was the dream. Even without looking, I knew Rose’s eyes were popping out of her head.

  I pulled up in a small car park, recognising Marie and Grant’s car. They’d chosen to drive here, stopping off at various places on the way, including a vineyard that I knew they were looking to invest in.

  I took in the architecture, or kind of, trying to take my mind off finding Seph and seeing a look of disappointment that I was here on his face.

  “It’s like a story!” Rose started to run round the side of the building from where the sounds of familiar voices were coming.

  I followed her, walking fast, leaving the luggage in the car boot until I’d made sure that this was okay, until I’d spoken to Seph and showed him in person my response to his pictures.

  I turned around the building into the gardens, where a large pool was surrounded by lush grass.

  Then I stopped. My feet refused to go any further.

  Seph was there, wearing just swim shorts, a glass of what was probably Tom Collins in his hand. And next to him was a beautiful woman with a body only usually seen on models.

  “Seph!” Rose sprinted towards him.

  He stood up and grabbed her, picking her up and spinning her round. When he stilled, his eyes landed on me and his face lit up, but I was still standing there, looking from him to the woman, my mouth open and tears about to fall.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Seph

  At first, I didn't know if I was seeing things. I hadn't heard anything from Georgia since I'd sent those three pictures, other than an emoticon heart to show that she'd receive them. I didn't know if it scared her; I hoped not at the time. Now, I kind of had my answer.

  She stood there, her oversized handbag on the ground next to her, having dropped out of her hand, mouth slightly parted. She was wearing shorts and a strappy vest top, her red hair twisted up on top of her head in a messy knot, and she looked sun kissed and healthy.

  The only thing the matter with the picture was the expression on her face. Her eyes were glassy and she looked more than slightly shocked, as if she was about to turn tail and run.

  “I told Mummy that you thought she was a princess.” Rose’s fingers went straight to my chin where there was a little bit more stubble than usual. She was completely oblivious to what her mother was feeling. I wasn't, but I wasn't sure why either.

  “Did you now?” I wanted to give her more attention, but my feet were walking straight towards Georgia, as if she was pulling me there, because I needed to right that look on her face.

  I didn't for one minute think she travelled ninety minutes on a baking hot day to finish things with me. Common sense told me it was the opposite, but if that was the case why did she look like she was about to cry?

  “You’re here.” I put Rose down as soon as I was within four feet of Georgia. She wrapped herself around my leg momentarily, until Victoria called her over to go and see baby Lucy.

  “I got your photos. I wanted to see you in person, and I guess I wanted to be here.” Georgia’s eyes flicked from me to Lainey, who’d just got in here this morning with her new boyfriend. “I didn't know that you had someone else with you.”

  Shit. In the six months that we’d been seeing each other, Georgia hadn't met Lainey. My cousin had been starting up her own business in Severton, a riding school and horse training centre that also specialized in equine therapy. I'd only seen her once in all that time, when I headed down there for a weekend.

  It was obvious now that Georgia had walked here, seen me talking to Lainey, and assumed that somehow, I was with someone else.

  “You haven't met Lainey, have you?” I pointed to my cousin. “She's the cousin
with the horses.” I kept my voice a little bit lower so Rose didn't hear the word horses, knowing that would be the only topic of conversation we would have for the next hour.

  “Cousin?”

  I stepped closer to her, put my hands first on her shoulders and knew I was gazing at her in a way that would have my sisters swooning and my brothers ready to brand me with their “pussy-whipped” stamp. The exact same one that all of them wore.

  “Yes, Lainey’s my cousin. I think even if it had been three years since I last saw you, I wouldn't have even considered trying to replace you yet. In fact, you're pretty much irreplaceable.” My hands dropped lower down to her arms and then onto her waist. I felt her start to relax, her breathing seemed calmer.

  I was aware that everyone was pretty much around us, including her daughter, and it was the only thing that stopped me from possessing her mouth with mine and claim it back, because I wasn't quite sure whether she was ready for such public displays of affection. So instead, I put my forehead next to hers and gave her a moment to decide what to do.

  Georgia’s hands looped around my waist, her soft fingers pressing into my slightly damp skin.

  “I want to kiss you,” I murmured the words so no one else could possibly overhear. “But everyone’s watching.”

  “I don't mind.”

  It was all I needed. It felt like too long since I'd last tasted her mouth like this, without having to hold back, think about keeping things slow. A cheer went up, led by Shay, of course, and I heard Vanessa telling everyone just to get on with their day and leave us to it.

  “I'm sorry,” she said. We had finally broken the kiss before it could become anything too inappropriate. Her pupils were dilated and there was a flush to her skin that wasn't caused by the sun. “I should have explained better what I meant.”

  “Maybe. And we'll talk about it later, but should we get your stuff inside now. You have brought stuff, haven't you? You are staying?” For a moment I was worried that she had just made the trip down here for a single conversation.

  Georgia laughed, that quiet gentle laugh I knew she'd reserved just for me. “If it's still okay, we’ll stay. That's if it's alright with Ava and there's room.”

  “There's space in my bedroom. There's always space in my bedroom.”

  Her laugh was louder this time, then she took a slight step back from me. “In which case, is there a small room nearby for Rose?”

  I nodded. “We've done a kids room for Eli’s nieces and there's a spare bed in there, if you think she'll be okay. If not, we can put a camp bed up in my room.”

  “Let's see how she gets on with making friends.”

  I nodded, still holding onto her hands and not wanting to let go. “You haven't come here to break my heart, have you?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I think that's the last thing I would ever want to do.”

  I pulled her in close again, not caring if anyone was still watching, which they probably were. The kiss, this time, was softer, with less need and more of a promise. I kept it short, completely aware that any more and I'd need to take it private quickly.

  “Let's go get your stuff.” I put my hand on her back and we walked round to where she'd parked, Rose still completely occupied with the other children that she’d discovered.

  Ten minutes later and we'd moved all of her luggage into my room. She pulled Rose in from outside and got her into her swimming costume. Once she was changed there was no chance of stopping her from running back out again and heading into the pool where two of Eli’s nieces were.

  My room was on the ground floor of the Chateau, and the patio doors opened up at the end of the building looking onto the corner of the pool. It was more private than the other rooms on the ground floor, but from where it was we could still hear the noises from outside, which now included Rose’s laughter.

  “Shall we talk now or talk later?” Georgia sat on the end of the bed, still wearing the clothes she’d travelled in.

  “When do you want to talk? I'm just glad you're here and you're planning to stay.”

  Her eyes filled up with tears, only this time they didn't manage not to fall.

  I sat down next to her, and put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me. “There isn't anything to cry about.”

  “I think it's just relief.” She giggled. “I'm so surprised I didn't get pulled over for speeding. Rose even commented to my mother about how fast I was driving.”

  “The police would’ve let you off. They'd have totally got why you were having to drive fast to get to me.”

  She laughed again, a little more loudly this time, and lightly smacked my chest. “Don't ever change, Seph.”

  “Not if you don't want me to, and only if that doesn't include pants.”

  There was another laugh, and then I felt relief that we seemed to have passed the tears, because I really wouldn’t have had a clue what to do with her tears.

  “Do you want to get everything off your chest now?”

  Georgia nodded. “I was worried we were going too fast, heading for something serious, and that when you realised what taking on me and another man’s daughter actually meant, you'd get cold feet. And that would have left me and Rose broken-hearted. I didn't think I could take that risk.”

  “So what changed?” Because something had, and I didn't just think it was anything to do with three pictures I had sent yesterday.

  “I don't think anything did. Apart from Olivia saying that I wasn't giving you credit for knowing your own mind. You're not stupid, and you're not cruel. I had to trust you to not hurt us.” She rested her head on me, but she didn't look up.

  Part of me felt angry that she hadn't trusted me not to hurt her. Even when I'd been the manwhore that my family had accused me of, I'd always been straight with the girls I dated. I didn't lead people on; I didn't make false promises, or give false hope, because I would have hated that myself and that was kind of what I got from Cassie.

  So I definitely wouldn't do that with someone I’d felt strongly about from the word go. And I definitely wouldn't do that with a little girl who even I could see was precious and delicate, even if she was fierce. All this made me want to do was to get hold of the man who had donated his sperm to make Rose and plaster him into a wall with my fist. Because it was him and not me who had planted doubt in Georgia’s mind.

  “I can't promise I'm never going to cock up. I can't say that there won't be times when you don't want to throttle me, or I do something wrong. But I can promise you that I'll never do anything deliberately to hurt you or Rose. In fact, Georgie, it'll be the opposite.” I manoeuvred us so she was sitting on my lap, her head buried into my bare chest, my dick thankfully getting the idea that this was not a good time to be hard.

  She felt soft in my arms, soft and like forever. She had nothing to be worried about; this idea of me suddenly getting cold feet about being part of a family and taking on more responsibilities – because that was what it entailed – didn't scare me at all. In fact, I couldn't think of anything better.

  “But what if one day you change your mind?” Now she looked up.

  “And what if one day you change yours? No one's got a crystal ball, Georgie. Victoria could finally get fed up of Max tomorrow, or Killian could see sense and realise that Claire is a psychopath. No relationship’s got any guarantee, but there's also no guarantee that it will end either.”

  I felt her laugh rather than heard it. “None of your family realise you're this wise, do they?”

  “It's better if they don't. Then they keep their expectations low, and I manage to pleasantly surprise them. Just promise me one thing.” I lay back on the bed, taking her with me, just holding her like I had wanted to do for the past few weeks.

  “What's that?”

  “Unless it's to do with what we're having for dinner, or booking a holiday, what colour you want me to paint something, don't make my decisions for me, Georgia. You don't need to try and protect me, and I know they're only
words, but I promise I'll do whatever I can to protect you and Rose.” I wanted to add after that “and any other children that we had” but maybe I was getting too far ahead of myself.

  Her lips pressed to my chest. I felt a little nip and then a slight pull as she sucked the skin, probably leaving a mark. “I get it,” she said. “I'm going to make mistakes too. I'm going to be moody, I'm going to get stressed when I feel like I can't juggle everything with you and work and Rose and Olivia's upcoming meltdown. But I want to try at this. With you.”

  “Good.” I inhaled deeply, trying to stop the nerves that suddenly rattled through me. “I love you, Georgia Marston. I wanted to tell you weeks ago, but I wasn't sure how.”

  Her arms tightened around me, and this time the nip she gave my skin was a little bit harder. “I love you back, Joseph Callaghan.”

  She shifted up to me on the bed, her lips found in mine and this time we could kiss without the eyes of my family on us. It was easy to forget with the sun blaring through the open patio doors and the faint sounds of laughter coming through from the pool, that there were people close by, and we did forget.

  I felt myself begin to be lost in her as my lips trailed from hers, down to her collar bone, and down to the top of the loose shirt she wore. I started to undo the buttons, fiddly things, and I understood why in previous times I would have just ripped them off. But before I could do that, there was a knock at the patio door and a cough; not the sort of cough that someone would make when they were ill, the sort of cough that someone would do as a form of entry noise. I recognised its tone; I'd heard it plenty of times in both real life and my nightmares.

  We parted slightly, and I shouted for Maxwell to come in.

  “Sorry to interrupt.” He stood at the doors wearing exactly the same pair of swimming shorts that I was. Nobody had bought them for us but somehow, we’d managed to pick out the same ones. “Rose was asking where you were and we just about managed to stop her from coming to find you, and Marie wants to know if Georgia would like to join in gin o'clock.” He purposely kept his eyes away from us which made it even more awkward. “You know, I think this is the first time I've actually ever caught you in bed with a girl, Seph.”