by Nina Levine
“Right, now it’s time to talk about you and Tyler. When are you two going to get your shit together?”
“No… There’s nothing there,” she says, but it’s obvious she doesn’t quite believe it. The hesitation in her voice is a dead giveaway.
“Oh, there is definitely something there. You two have been flirting for months. I vote you sleep with him and see where it leads.”
“Tyler is a player, Callie. I’m not going there.”
My eyes widen as realisation hits me. “You like him too much to just sleep with him, don’t you?” Avery doesn’t give her heart easily, but when she does, she loves fiercely. She can do casual sex with guys that mean nothing to her, but not with someone she’s actually interested in. She did this once, and the outcome wasn’t pretty. It took her almost a year to get over that guy.
She takes a moment to respond. “I like him. Which means I can’t sleep with him because we all know what happens when Tyler sleeps with someone.”
Yes, we do. It never lasts very long, because he soon grows bored. He’s a good guy, but he has ADD when it comes to women.
I sigh. Motioning towards the bag of Doritos on the couch near her, I say, “Pass me the chips. I think we need all the chips tonight to deal with this development.”
She nods. “Yeah. That and alcohol.”
The next morning, I arrive at Luke’s house bright and early. Avery consumed alcohol last night, but I refrained because I knew I had to be here by seven-thirty. Luke told me to come later if I wanted, but what I want more than sleep is to get to know him and his son. Sean is up early ready for breakfast, so that means I am too.
Paris meets me at the door with a huge smile. “You’re keen,” she says. “I like your dedication.”
“I like yours, too. Thank you for Friday night.”
Her eyes light up, and she waves me away. “That was nothing. Anytime you guys want a night, just let me know.”
“Well, it might have been nothing to you, but it was everything to me.”
Her features soften. “You’re something else. I’m so happy Luke has found you.” She steps aside to let me in. “They’re at the dining table.”
I make the short journey to where she directed and come to a stop as I take in the sight before me. Luke and Sean are seated next to each other at the table with a plate of cut-up oranges between them. They each hold a fork and after Sean stabs at a piece of orange and places it in his mouth, he says, “Your turn.” The joy in his voice rings out loud and clear, and I sense this is a cherished ritual between them.
Luke smiles and says, “Which piece should I choose?”
Sean bounces excitedly in his seat as he points one out. “This one.”
Luke messes his hair and smiles. “Looks good to me, little man.”
At that moment, Sean looks up and catches sight of me. Grinning, he says, “Callie!” He then turns to his father and says, “Can Callie be part of our orange party today, Daddy?”
Luke finds my eyes and smiles. Oh, dear God, he’s bringing out the big guns today. That smile. “Do you like oranges?” he asks.
Hell, even if I didn’t, I would say yes. “I do.”
He jerks his head towards the kitchen. “Grab a fork and join our party.”
I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about eating oranges. When I take a seat on the other side of Sean and take my first piece of orange, I know for sure that I’ve never loved eating them this much.
We each take turns choosing a piece of orange. It soon becomes apparent which pieces are the most coveted and I leave them for Sean. He prefers the middle pieces rather than the ends. Luke also leaves them for him.
When we finish, I say, “Have you guys been partying with oranges for long?”
Luke’s lips twitch.
Sean nods. “Yes. Grandpa showed me first and then Daddy did it.”
“It’s something Dad started with him. Orange parties were their thing.”
I place my fork on the plate. “Well, I like it.”
“You should come every day. We have parties at breakfast,” Sean says as he looks at me expectantly.
“Callie can’t come every day, Sean. She has work to go to during the week,” Luke says.
Sean’s face falls. “Oh, okay. But maybe on the weekends?”
I nod. “I’ll come whenever I can.”
He smiles again. And then a mischievous glint hits his eyes. “Maybe when you come, we can have pancakes and ice cream, too.”
Luke shakes his head. “That was a special breakfast,” he says as I fight to hold back the laugh bubbling up. Sean is a master negotiator, but his father holds strong. I love watching them together.
Paris enters the kitchen and glances at us. “I’m heading out now, Luke. What time do you need me home for Sean?”
“Three if possible. I want to go through some paperwork before work tonight.”
She nods. “No problem. I’ll see you then.”
I watch her leave and figure Sean is spending the day with us. I have no problem with this. But as Paris leaves, I hear her welcome someone else into the house. I don’t recognise the voice of who she is speaking to.
A moment later, a short, dark-haired woman joins us, her eyes firmly fixed on me. Those eyes are hard and a little unnerving. “You must be Callie,” she says, her voice as hard as her eyes.
“Yes. Hi,” I say, trying to put some warmth into my voice.
Before Luke can introduce us, she says, “I’m Glenda—Luke’s sister-in-law. Jolene’s sister.” She adds the last two words with emphasis as if she’s trying to remind me that Luke is married.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” I say.
It’s not.
How the hell is Luke surrounded by women I take an instant disliking to?
Luke finally gets a word in. “Thanks for today, Glenda. Sean’s looking forward to it.”
“Oh, he’s not coming with us?” I ask. I’d much rather that than leaving him here with her. Something about this woman rubs me the wrong way, and I’m not sure I’d trust her with my son if I had one.
Luke shakes his head. “No, he’s hanging out with Auntie Glenda.” Leaning close, he murmurs, “I’m not ready to share you yet.”
I’m not ready to share him either, but I’ll always share him with his son.
Luke stands and clears the orange party plate away. “You hungry, Glenda? I’m about to make bacon and eggs.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t touch her eyes. “I’d love some breakfast.”
Oh, goodie.
Yay.
Not.
When she sits opposite me, I push my chair back so I can go help Luke.
“You don’t need to help,” he says as he fries the bacon.
I place my hand on his ass and smile up at him. “Can I pretend I’m helping? Just so I can stand near you?” I speak quietly enough so that Glenda and Sean can’t hear. Besides, Sean has already engaged his aunt in conversation. And as much as she appears to be straining to hear what I’m saying, there’s no way she’s escaping her nephew.
“Baby, any time you wanna put that hand on my ass, you go right ahead,” he says, his voice quiet, but deep.
“I think you’re going to become my drug of choice,” I say as my tummy does somersaults. Being this close to him is one thing, but when he uses that voice on me, I’m done for.
His arm slides around my waist, and he dips his mouth to mine for a kiss. When he pulls away, he says, “You’re already mine, Callie.”
He lets me go so he can direct his energy to cooking, and I just stand by helpless to think straight.
Please, God, never let this change.
I need Luke to always look at me that way.
And speak to me like that.
I’m not naïve to believe we’ll never have problems, but so long as my man feels enough for me to give me those things, we can get past anything.
“How did you two meet?” Glenda asks as she and I are packing the dishwas
her. Luke is getting Sean ready for his day out.
Breakfast was a chore. She spent the whole meal sucking up Luke’s ass and pandering to Sean. He was fussy during breakfast again, and she tried to argue on his behalf to Luke. I wanted to gag. Luke didn’t back down, and all she achieved was to inspire more tears from Sean.
“We met at his bar about a year ago. My best friend works full-time with him,” I answer her question begrudgingly. I don’t want to give her any information.
“Oh…” She doesn’t end that sentence, and it pisses me off. Her tone is bitchy as fuck.
“Oh, what?” I demand, my body tensing.
She stops what she’s doing and turns to face me completely. “Oh, so you’re a bit of fun for him that he found at his bar.”
The bitch.
Jesus, they’re flying at me thick and fast around here.
“I wouldn’t say that.” I restrain myself, mindful that this woman is related to Luke.
“What would you say? Luke’s hardly interested in anyone at the moment.”
“What does that mean?”
“Do you know his history, honey?”
I place my hand on my hip. “Yes, I know his history,” I snap, unable to control myself.
“Do you really think someone who’s been through what he’s been through is ready to find a long-term woman? If it were me, I’d only want some quick fun for a while.”
My chest tightens with anger. That and the urge to scratch her eyes out. “You know nothing about our relationship, Glenda, and I don’t appreciate your bitchy comments.”
Her eyes widen. And then they darken. She leans so close that when she speaks, her hot breath causes my nose to wrinkle. “I’m just looking out for the man my sister screwed over. He’s been through a lot in the last two years. Things you can’t even imagine. And he doesn’t need another woman to come into his life and fuck him over again. So, you take a long hard think about your intentions before this goes much further.”
My hand clenches at my side while I think about slapping her. “Take a step back and never say that to me again. I know what your sister did to him, and I am not like that woman at all. I don’t know if you’ve got some hidden agenda here besides looking out for Luke. If you do, I’d suggest you forget it, because he’s mine now.” My chest is pumping furiously as my anger reaches boiling point.
We glare at each other until Luke interrupts us. He’s oblivious to what has just transpired. “Sean’s ready, Glenda. Thank you for today.”
“Always, Luke. Whenever you need me, I’m happy to help.” She reaches her arms out for Sean, who happily moves into her embrace. “Sean and I are going to have so much fun at the museum today.”
“Yay!” Sean exclaims.
This woman standing in front of me now is a one-eighty turnaround to the woman who just spewed poison at me, and all I can do is stare in confusion.
After she and Sean say goodbye to Luke, she turns to face me. “Goodbye, Callie.”
I watch her leave and can’t help but think her goodbye insinuated that she thinks she’ll never see me again.
Luke moves behind me and his arms snake around my waist. “I’ve finally got you all to myself.”
“And what are you going to do with me?” I ask as I run my hands down his arms.
Turning me in his embrace, he says, “What I’m going to do and what I’d like to do are two very different things.”
“Are you going to share with me what they are?”
“I’d like to strip these clothes off you and spend the next six hours fucking you, but what I’m going to do is take you out on a date.”
Whoosh.
Lust hits me right in my core.
“You know I’d be good with either of those options,” I say.
His lips curl at the ends. “I thought you might be, but we both know I’m all about delayed gratification.”
I smack his chest lightly. “Pfft, we both know I’m not. You should take that into consideration every now and then.”
He chuckles. “I will, but not today. Today is all about me. And what I really want is to get to know you better.” He smacks my butt. “We need to get going.”
“Okay, just let me grab my bag.”
Five minutes later, we’re in his BMW heading to a destination unknown to me. When I asked him, he refused to tell me.
As he pulls the car out of his street, he says, “How did you go with that sugar tax article you were writing?”
I settle back in my seat, loving the view of him driving. Those strong arms of his, and his masculine hands all over the steering wheel. Call me strange, but there’s just something about being driven around by a man. “I decided I am definitely for a sugar tax, so long as the money goes toward educating the public more about the dangers of sugar. I also decided you are right that there’s a deeper wound in society that needs more attention and why not impose a tax to try to help fund that initiative. I don’t believe a tax would necessarily fix the problem, but it could be a weapon in the battle.”
He glances at me. “It sounds like a well-thought out article. When will it be published?”
I grin. “It’s in today’s newspaper.”
“Did you get a copy already?”
“Yeah, I have it delivered to my home now.”
“Remind me to stop and buy one today.”
“You can just read my copy, Luke.”
“No, I want a copy to keep.”
My breathing slows. He can’t possibly know what this means to me, and yet he’s managed to say the one thing that absolutely means the most to me today.
When I don’t say anything further, he places his hand on my leg. “Are you good?”
I swallow back my tears. “Yes,” I say. It comes out all squeaky, and he takes his eyes off the road for a moment to look at me.
“No, you’re not. What’s wrong?”
I can’t hold them back any longer. My tears flow down my face as I madly try to pull myself together. I can’t speak, though. Not through the tears and emotions choking me.
Luke doesn’t say anything. He gives me space to compose myself. But he keeps his hand firmly on my leg.
Finally, I sort myself out. “Do you know what my mother said when I told her I landed a job at the newspaper?”
Hand still on my leg. “I imagine she would have said how happy she was for you. Or maybe that she was proud her daughter was following in her footsteps.”
I shake my head. “No. When I told her that I got the job and that my goal was to move up into a journalist position, she told me she doubted I would make it because I had never taken the time to study writing. She said it took a certain type of person to handle the pressure of writing for a city paper and that she didn’t think I had what it took.”
His hand grips me harder, but he doesn’t say a word.
“My parents never kept any of my school work, never oohed and aahed over my results the same way they did over my sister’s. They didn’t ask me how my first day at the job went and they sure as hell won’t be keeping a copy of today’s newspaper to remember my first published article. The fact you want to buy a copy to keep means more to me than you will ever understand, Luke.”
His hand remains on my leg.
He doesn’t speak for a long moment. When he does, his voice is steady, but I can hear the emotion in it. “For all my mother’s faults, she gave me all of that. She might not have been home most nights, might not have taught me to read or write, might not have toilet-trained me or done anything most parents do, but she was always interested in my schooling, my jobs, and my general wellbeing. She has a framed copy of the house plan for the first house I ever worked on. She planned a party at Elixir for the first night I took over its running.” He pauses for a beat. “I’m sorry your parents have no clue what parenting is actually about, Callie.”
I place my hand over his on my leg. “You give me hope that I won’t turn out to be my parents.”
“We don’t have to
be,” he says with such strong belief it almost convinces me, but I watched my mother emulate her mother, so a tiny piece of doubt still lives in me.
We drive in silence after that. From what I can work out, Luke is heading towards the Sunshine Coast. I love the beach, even in winter, so I hope that’s where we’re going.
“Tell me about Glenda,” I say after a while.
“What do you want to know?”
“Are you two close?”
“She’s helped me with Sean a lot since Jolene went to prison. He adores her.”
“Does Jolene have any other family that you’re close to?”
“No, it was just her, Glenda and their mum.” His answers are short, and I wonder if he’d rather not talk about this. I want to know everything, but I don’t want to rush him if he’s not ready.
I reach out so I can run my fingers through his hair. “If you’d rather not talk about this, I totally understand.”
“I never want to talk about Jolene, Callie, but I know we need to.” He looks at me. “I know you need to understand my past, so ask me whatever you want.”
He’s given me free reign, so I decide to throw my thoughts out there. “I guess I’m just trying to grasp what kind of woman could do that to you and to her mother. What was her family like? Did you get on with them?”
“The one thing Jolene and I had in common was that our mothers were too busy chasing men when we were young. The difference was that my mother could afford nannies; Jolene’s couldn’t. All Jolene had was Glenda, who is two years older than her, but they were never close, so really Jolene had no one to look out for her. She also didn’t have a lot of friends—she rubbed most people the wrong way. As for her mother, I didn’t like her too much. She was always scheming ways to trap a new man. Penny Spiers was trashy and loud, and she treated her daughters like shit. Glenda is single, and I see similar traits in her to Penny, but she has a heart of gold when it comes to Sean and me, so I ignore all that.”