Page 13 of Playboy Husband

CALLUM

Brody had just disappeared around the SUV with his golf bag when I heard the inevitable. “Callum, darling! What a surprise. I didn’t know you were coming here today.”

Damn it. Did she absolutely have to be here today? I shut my eyes for a moment and prayed for a lightning strike. No such luck.

When I opened them, Mom was already swanning across the pavement, one manicured hand lifting in a royal wave. I groaned. How the hell did I not see this coming?

Maisie glanced at me with her eyebrows slightly raised. Perfect. Obviously, this is exactly the kind of composed, confident impression I wanted to make on her.

“Mother,” I greeted as Mom closed in, because if I didn’t get the formality out of the way fast, she’d start critiquing my posture—or worse, offering to show my date baby pictures of me. “This is Maisie. Masie, this is my mom, CC.”

Maisie gave my mom a polite smile. “Mrs. Westwood, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

Mom’s face split into a radiant smile and she clasped Maisie’s hand like she’d been waiting all of eternity to meet her. “Well, aren’t you lovely? Beautiful and so sweet, too. Callum, have you been keeping her a secret?”

I nearly choked. Technically, I had been keeping her a secret. Just not in the way Mom was assuming. “I, uh, I haven’t been. We’re friends, Mom. You haven’t met all my friends.”

Maisie took a tiny step closer and glanced up at me. “I should get going, but thank you for today. It was a blast.”

I noticed she’d avoided saying we or mentioning Brody’s name before she murmured a polite goodbye to my mother. “If you’ll excuse me, Mrs. Westwood, it truly was a pleasure to meet you, but I really do need to get on the road. It’s quite a drive home.”

She gave us both one last, tight smile, and then took off toward her car where Brody would be waiting. Mom’s eyes widened the second Maisie was out of earshot. “She’s stunning, darling. Really. What’s her last name again?”

“Morgan,” I said.

Her eyes lit like a kid’s on Christmas morning. “Morgan? As in the Morgans? J.P. Morgan?”

“Possibly.” I shrugged. “There’s at least two Morgans just at my gym, though. It’s a common last name, which makes it a toss-up, really.”

She gave me one of her classic maternal sighs, one that sounded like she couldn’t decide between disappointment, judgment, and fondness. “You never take these things seriously enough. She’s got the poise to be one of the Morgans, though.”

It could also be because she was a diver, but okay. “Poise. Got it. Such a tell-tale sign.”

She smiled. “Family dinner tonight. Six sharp. I won’t be accepting any excuses. If you don’t show your face, I’ll be forced to assume you’ve run off to Vegas to elope and you don’t want to know how mean I’ll get if another of my boys denies me the opportunity to plan his wedding.”

“Great. Now you’ve made it tempting,” I muttered, but she was already gliding away, rejoining her friends with the kind of effortless grace that would make a military parade look sloppy.

Shaking my head, I took off after Maisie and caught them just as Brody had finished shoving his clubs into the back seat. She was already behind the steering wheel of her surprisingly nice SUV, but she opened the window when she saw me coming.

“Hey,” I said, leaning down so Brody could see me after he’d hopped into the back seat. “You did good out there today. Next time, I’ll show you how to put some spin on your short game.”

Brody grinned like I’d just offered him a brand-new Ferrari. “Cool. Can we come back next weekend?”

I flicked a glance at Maisie, but when she just arched an eyebrow at me, I looked back at Brody. “We’ll see. I’ll call you guys, okay?”

She smiled up at me, small and hesitant, but softer than anything I’d ever seen from her. In that one smile, it was like I could see her appreciation for deferring the decision to her and for understanding that she wasn’t ready to make it right in that moment.

I wasn’t usually the most sensitive guy and she had every reason to have thought that I would just take control and run with whatever I felt like, but this was her kid. Not even I would push that boundary.

It hit me right in the chest though, that smile. For a guy who could go up against the best of them in hockey, golf, business, or whatever else without flinching, I suddenly felt like a teenager again, awkward and overheated for no reason.

“Are you coming to practice again this week?” Brody asked as he buckled up. “My new teammates are better than the old ones.”

“Brody,” Maisie said, her voice sharp as she twisted in her seat. “Your old teammates are still your friends.”

The kid shrugged, then shot me a smirk that said I was about to be pulled into a minefield between a mother and her son. “Friends are fine. Good teammates are better, right, Callum?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “I’m not getting involved in whatever this is. I’m glad you’re settling into the new team so well, though. Teammates can become like brothers if you let them.”

Brody nodded like I’d just doled out sage advice. “So, are you going to be there?”

I glanced at Maisie again, speaking more to her than I was to Brody. “Gage asked me to come around to the rink, so I might see you there.”

She inclined her chin in acknowledgment, that soft smile lingering on the corners of her lips as she lifted those green eyes to mine. “We’ll talk. Thanks again for today.”

“Bye, Callum!” Brody called when Maisie started the car and waved at me before she eased out of her parking spot.

I just stood there for a minute, watching her navigate the packed parking lot before finally disappearing around the bend. By the time I was in my own car and cruising down the highway, I knew I needed to get my head straight before dinner, so on a whim, I called Gage.

He answered on the second ring. “What’s up, bro? I thought you were embarrassing yourself on the green today?”

“Been there, done that,” I joked, but I sounded distracted, even to my own ears. “We only played nine holes, so we’re done.”

“Ah, I see. Your stamina isn’t what it used to be?”

I laughed. “My stamina is just fine. It’s good to know how supportive you would’ve been if it wasn’t, though.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t have been able to relate, but I would’ve offered to buy you a drink to commiserate.

Although I hear alcohol makes it worse.” I practically heard the shrug in his tone.

“What’s going on, then? You kind of sound like you’re about to either confess a crime or declare your undying love. ”

“Nah, it’s none of that, but I, uh, I think Maisie might be the one.”

My heart pounded against my ribs. The landscape outside the car blurred with the intensity of my focus at the road dead ahead.

There was a long beat of silence. Then he let out a low whistle.

“Maisie Morgan? You mean you finally landed her? I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised, though. God knows, it took you long enough.”

I frowned at the windshield. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb.” He chuckled. “You had a huge crush on her back at Cal Poly. She was literally the only girl on campus who wasn’t interested in you, so naturally, she’s who you wanted.”

I scoffed. “I don’t remember that.”

Except it wasn’t the truth anymore. After blocking her memory for years, I totally remembered her now.

Maisie in the library, hunched over a pile of books, never sparing me more than a polite nod while every other girl tried to grab a seat at my table.

I also remembered thinking she was too serious, too focused, and that it made her off limits.

Gage snorted. “Sure, of course, you don’t remember. I mean, why would Callum Westwood have liked the only girl in school who presented a challenge? It’s ridiculous. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

I ignored that. “Either way, things are different now. I feel like we could be good together. Brody’s a great kid too.”

My friend finally sobered at the mention of the kid’s name, the humor and teasing vanishing from his tone.

“Don’t you think that’ll be a problem with your family?

They’re not crazy about complications, are they?

I distinctly remember you saying that they like things to be a certain way, and only that way. ”

“Please. Have you met my family? We eat complications for breakfast.”

Yet, as the access gates of the family estate came into view, ornate metal and ivy breaking up the ten-foot walls around the property, I wondered if that was true. My grip tightened on the steering wheel and I groaned.

“Okay, maybe you’re right. Maybe Brody’s existence will be a complication, but I can handle it.” The gates swung open in front of me and I swallowed hard. “I just need to figure out the best way to break the news.”