How was he still so attractive to her?
“Shrug out of your clothes in here, son, and we’ll have Lexi close her eyes so you can run up to the girls’ shower in your skivvies.”
“Son?” Lexi had no clue what had happened in the past couple of hours, but it must be some story.
“Everything okay?” her mom questioned from the bed in the living room.
“Yeah, sweetheart,” her dad called, beaming at Callum. “Lexi’s man saved my cow and my life today. Delivered a new baby calf too.”
Lexi’s jaw was hanging open. “What happened?”
Callum shook his head. “I had to tug a calf out, and afterward, the cow kicked at us. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Wasn’t a big deal?” Her dad guffawed. “I’d have a hole in my backside if you hadn’t dodged in front of me and wrapped me in your arms like I’m a wussy girl.” He winked at Lexi. “I can see why you like cuddling with him.”
“Dad!” Lexi’s face flooded with heat. The few times she’d been close to Callum, she had liked it—too much—but her dad needed to stop acting like this relationship was real. Her parents were going to cry harder than she did when the fake engagement’s clock ran out.
“Come on, son. You need a shower and some food.” Her dad gestured Callum back into the laundry room. “Sorry we ain’t got a hot tub or something to relax in. You’re gonna have a whale of a bruise.”
Callum obeyed her dad and shrugged out of his borrowed coat, following her dad’s instructions to drop it in the washing machine. Lexi couldn’t help but watch through the arched opening as he grasped his shirt and pulled it over his head. Her mouth went dry and she froze, staring at his perfectly formed abdomen and chest. It was even more inspiring than when she’d seen him in the gym. Maybe because he was so close.
He turned to drop the shirt into the washing machine, and she gasped. The left side of his lower back was red and swollen.
“Cal!” she cried out, putting a hand over her mouth.
He turned to look at her.
“You’re supposed to close your eyes,” her dad admonished.
Lexi ignored him and hurried to Callum’s side. She touched next to the red mark. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
Callum turned toward her and gently tilted her chin up so she focused on his face and not his beautiful yet abused body. “Joseph has hit me a lot harder than that.”
Lexi let out a surprised laugh. “I guess you’re probably right there.” She concentrated on his dark gaze. “You’re sure you’re not broken?”
“I’m sure.” Then he lowered his voice and whispered, “But when we get to Cancun, you might have to come with me for some spa treatments.”
Lexi smiled. “I can do that.”
“Maybe you could rub a little oil into it tonight too?” His voice got deep and husky and his eyes got even deeper, and Lexi was lost in their depth.
“Come on, come on, you two can smooch later.” Her dad pushed around Callum and glared at her.
Lexi held up her hands and backed away. Callum gave her a knowing smirk. She had no clue what had happened with him and her dad, but she needed to talk to him about easing up on the smoldering looks. Her heart was in huge danger right now.
“Drop your drawers, boy, and let’s get cleaned up. Something smells good.”
Lexi’s face flared and she hurried out of the laundry room, through the kitchen, and to her mom’s side, facing away. When she heard something hit the floor, she could only imagine it was Callum’s pants. Yikes, yikes, yikes. Having a fiancé was much too taxing on her nerves.
Her mom smiled up at her, but then footsteps came up behind them and her mom tilted to the side to look around Lexi. She whistled long and low.
Lexi heard Callum chuckle, and then footsteps went past them up to the foyer and up the stairs.
“Did you really just check out your future son-in-law?” her dad asked.
“Yes I did, but I’m checking you out now,” her mom said.
Lexi’s face was so red she felt like it was on fire.
Her dad’s laughter and footsteps moved away as well.
Lexi looked down at her mom. “Glad to see you’re feeling better.”
“I’ve got chronic kidney failure. I’m not dead.” Her mom winked.
Lexi laughed, but it was shaky.
“That is one fine-looking man you’ve got. You should’ve seen him in those boxers, carrying the suitcases, his muscles all a-bulging. I thought I was in the middle of the best chick flick movie of my life.”
“Mom, stop!” Lexi shook her head and hurried back to the kitchen, focusing back on the dishes. Now she couldn’t stop picturing Callum with his shirt off. Thank heavens she hadn’t turned around and stared as he walked by in his underwear. She would’ve never recovered.
Chapter Twelve
Callum’s back got stiffer as the night progressed. Lexi’s mom had told Lexi to get him an ice pack and make sure he kept it on while they talked. It had helped, but time was going to have to heal it. He was afraid this hit was actually worse than the times Joseph made a solid connection, but he was pretty sure nothing was broken.
Lexi’s chicken noodle soup was delicious, and he complimented her on it enough times that Judd told him to stop acting like a whipped puppy. He liked Judd. The man was the polar opposite of Callum’s own father. Callum’s dad was a good man who loved his wife and had supported his sons in their events and hopes and dreams, but he wouldn’t have dreamed of joking with Callum and he’d never given him the looks of approval Judd was giving him.
Callum had hurried to deal with some work calls after he’d showered earlier, but he still had to excuse himself after dinner to return some phone calls and emails. He regretted leaving his computer on the plane, as he could’ve typed and accessed some needed information much quicker. It was after eight when he was able to settle in next to Lexi on the couch and talk with her parents uninterrupted. None of them said anything about him leaving to return calls, but Lexi was a little more withdrawn.
Her parents wanted to know all about his family. He bragged about his brothers and told them a little bit about his businesses. Her parents shared cute stories about Lexi that embarrassed her. Apparently she’d been quite the volleyball player, and the high school coaches still called it “Lexi-aggression” that they wanted the girls to try to emulate.
It was almost midnight, but Callum was reluctant to go to bed and end this … bonding session would be the best term he could think of. He’d done team-building exercises at corporate retreats but never felt the instant connection to anyone that he did to Lexi and her family. He’d need to somehow distance himself emotionally from Lexi over the next couple of weeks, or he wouldn’t be able to let her go when they went back to their employer/employee relationship. She’d been pretty adamant that that was the plan, which bugged him. He was the boss. Could he assign her to date him? He smiled, knowing that would never work with Lexi.
“We’d better haul on up to bed and let this pretty lady rest,” Judd said, looking at his wife with such tenderness that Callum was almost embarrassed to be watching.
“I hate to say good night,” Andrea said, but her eyes were already closing.
Judd and Lexi kissed her good night, and she held out her hand to Callum. He squeezed it.
“Thanks for bringing my girl to see me, even though you’re stealing her for Christmas.”
Callum winced. “I’m sorry. If it wasn’t Creed’s wedding …”
“I know.” She waved her free hand at him. “At least you’re coming back Christmas night. How early do you need to leave in the morning?”
“After breakfast,” he said.
“Okay. I’ll see you then.” She closed her eyes and was asleep almost immediately.
The three of them turned as one and padded for the front entry and the stairs. Judd gestured for them to go in front of him. Callum followed Lexi up the stairs. He was tired and stiff and couldn’t remember the last time he�
��d felt this good, this much a part of something. Which was silly. He led a Fortune 500 company. He funded multiple charities. He was always a part of something amazing. But not something intimate like this—making Lexi’s mom happy by promising to bring Lexi back Christmas night, delivering a calf, and staring at Lexi’s beautiful face as she squirmed with embarrassment.
At the upstairs landing, Judd inclined his chin to them and pointed to the right. “My bed’s thataway. Lexi will get you settled.” His eyes narrowed. “I told you I liked you, boy, but if I catch you in my girl’s bed, I’ll neuter you without thinking twice.”
“Dad!” Lexi protested.
Callum almost laughed, but he sensed Judd was serious. “I respect your daughter, sir, and I’ve been taught the sanctity of marriage. I would never dream of sneaking into her bed.”
“Good man.” Judd whirled and strode off into the master suite.
Callum smiled down at Lexi. She took a long breath, then pivoted and walked to the left. They passed the bathroom he’d used earlier and approached the two doors at the end of the hall.
Lexi pointed to the one on the left. “That’s Hannah’s room. Let me come in and switch out the sheets.”
She pushed through the door, and Callum followed. They silently stripped and made up the double bed. Callum bent to pick up the pile of used sheets and winced.
“Oh, Cal, that really had to hurt.”
Judd had shared the story in detail at dinner, and Callum didn’t need any extra attention drawn to his wound. “It’ll be fine.”
She held out her hands. “Give me those and I’ll get some Deep Blue ointment for your back and some ibuprofen.”
Callum wanted to tell her not to worry, but the thought of anything helping to ease the pain so he could sleep, and the thought of Lexi rubbing ointment into his back, stayed his tongue. “Thanks,” he murmured.
She nodded, took the sheets, and rushed from the room and down the stairs. Callum grabbed his suitcase from the bathroom and also put Lexi’s suitcases, which he’d left in the hall earlier, next to her closed bedroom door. He wanted to see what her room was like. Hannah’s had a lot of rodeo queen trophies and posters of Boston Bruins’ hockey players. An interesting mix. It was done in a pale green. No pink like he’d assume a girl’s room would have.
Footsteps came up the stairs and into the room. He turned to face Lexi. She handed him ibuprofen and a water bottle. He swallowed the pills quick and said, “Thanks.”
Lexi nodded and held up a tube of blue ointment. “This will help even more.” She walked right up to him, and Callum let himself savor her coconut scent. “Can you … lift your shirt?” she asked.
Callum peeled his shirt off and was rewarded for the painful movement with a cute little gasp from Lexi. He glanced down at her and smiled as her eyes roved over his chest and abdomen.
“Did Joseph give you those scars?” she whispered. Her finger lifted and traced the scar on the right side of his abdomen.
Callum pulled in a breath, her touch warming him clear through. He could go out in the Montana wind without a shirt on if she was touching him. “No. My brothers.”
“Your brothers?” Her gaze met his, and it was incredulous and just cute. How would a girl with only one sister understand how wild little boys could be? Especially little boys who had lots of property to roam with their own beach and a dad who was never home.
“With four brothers, you get into a lot of … adventures.”
“You’ll have to tell me the stories behind the scars sometime.”
“Gladly.” He found he meant it. He liked talking to Lexi, and he’d like to share his stories with her. He couldn’t remember the last date he’d liked talking with this much. But tonight it was late and it had been a long day, and they had to get back on the plane in the morning. Maybe while they flew, after he got caught up on work, they could swap stories.
Lexi popped open the ointment and squirted some into her palm. It had a strong peppermint scent. She placed her palm on his back and started rubbing the oil in. It hurt, yet it felt invigorating. Was that the spicy ointment or the mere touch of Lexi’s fingers? He wanted her to touch him some more so he could distinguish what it was. Well, okay, he wanted her to touch him for other reasons as well.
He glanced over his shoulder at her. She looked up, and their gazes held. The moment went slow and hot between them. It was all Callum could do to not spin around and pull her against his chest.
Lexi swallowed hard and pulled her hands away from him. “That should help.”
“Thanks.”
Still neither of them moved. As the seconds ticked on, Callum bravely turned so he was facing her. “Lexi.” It came out as a husky whisper.
She blinked up at him. “Yes?”
But he didn’t want to tell her anything. He wanted to kiss her. He’d promised her he wouldn’t, unless it was for their act or she asked. Could he find a way to make her ask? He lifted his hands and reached for both of hers.
Lexi held her hands up. “I’d better go wash this off. If you get it on your hands, then you might get it in your eyes, and that would be really, really awful.” She backed away. “Night.”
“Night.” Callum watched her go. She backed until she reached the door, and then, with one last look, she spun and fled into the hall.
Callum walked to the open doorway. He leaned against it and waited as she rushed into the bathroom. He heard the water going as she washed her hands. When she came back out, the hallway light lit her up like an angel. He loved her long blonde hair.
She saw him standing there, and her breath caught. Callum wondered if this might be his moment, but instead of melting in his gaze or something, she stormed toward him and gestured angrily in his face. “This is a fake engagement. You paid me. Remember?”
Callum straightened away from the doorframe. “Yeah.”
“So you have to stop with the ‘no-shirt-on smoldering look,’ ‘leaning against the doorframe like an Abercrombie and Fitch model’ crap. I appreciate what you’ve done for my family with the money, bringing me here, and offering to bring me back Christmas night. My parents obviously like you, and I appreciate you playing the part tonight so my mom doesn’t have more stress added to her recovery realizing I’ve been bought and am little better than a paid escort.” She drew in a breath.
Callum felt some of the fire she was flinging his way stir inside him. “You are not a paid escort. Don’t ever say that again.”
“Then what am I?” She planted her hands on her hips and looked so stinking cute he could hardly stand it.
“You’re a beautiful and intriguing woman.”
Lexi blinked up at him, and he thought she would soften, maybe give him a chance to date her for real, maybe ask him for that kiss he was dying for. She shook her head and looked past him into her sister’s room. “Let’s just play the part. Okay?”
Callum didn’t want to agree, but she had a lot of that pride that plagued her father. He’d have to earn the right to date her, and he was afraid it wouldn’t be as easy as delivering a calf and getting kicked by a cow. It definitely wasn’t going to be as easy as acquiring a new company, approving a billion-dollar resort, or managing hundreds of employees. His brothers were good examples of loving an amazing woman, but he wasn’t around them enough to know how it was done. Could he lower his own pride in Cancun to ask Creed or Emmett for advice? No. They couldn’t keep any secrets from Kiera or Cambree, and if one of those two found out he and Lexi were fake, he’d never live it down and he’d be getting set up with swimsuit models and cousins.
“Okay,” he heard himself agree.
“Thank you.” She focused in on him and he could feel that she was grateful, but also that it rubbed her wrong that she was being paid to be his fiancée. Maybe over the next two weeks he could help her forget about the money and change her perception of him. Maybe somehow he could be as irresistible to her as she was to him.
She gave him a forced smile and strode to her ro
om. As the door shut firmly behind her, Callum walked back to the double bed and lay carefully on his side. It was definitely not his memory foam mattress that had been specifically programmed for his body; this was much too soft and worn out. His back hurt and now tingled like crazy from that ointment. Worse than that, he wanted to break his promise and Judd’s rule and go into Lexi’s room and kiss her until she agreed they had much more between them than some fake engagement.
He sighed and carefully rolled onto his back. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning felt rushed, and even though Callum was patient and gave her all the time she needed, Lexi absolutely hated saying goodbye to her parents. The drive to Billings was quiet. She had been pretty abrupt with Callum last night. If only she could explain that she needed to protect her pride, her future, and her heart. If they got caught up in this fake role, she’d be a mess when it ended, and how could it not end? Someone as successful, handsome, kind, and brilliant as Callum was not going to stick with a dairy farmer’s daughter from Montana, and honestly, even if they didn’t have the fakeness and money between them, she didn’t want a workaholic who would never be able to find a balance between work and family.
These depressing thoughts kept her mind occupied, and before she knew it, they were loading into his luxurious plane and the attendant was smiling at them and getting them drinks and asking if Lexi wanted a magazine or blanket. She said yes to the blanket. She was chilled clear through, but she doubted it had as much to do with the weather as it did with leaving her parents behind and missing Christmas with her family.
The plane taxied out onto the runway. Her neck and stomach predictably clenched, and she clung to the armrest. She could feel Callum’s eyes on her, and she turned to focus on him. Sheesh, he looked good in a white button-down shirt and gray slacks. The man really didn’t know how to do casual, but the shirt had a few buttons undone and his tanned and muscular chest peeked out. Her face flushed as she remembered how glorious that chest truly was.
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