Page 14 of Playboy Husband

MAISIE

Georgia tucked her legs under her as she sank into the chair beside mine on the porch, a glass of sweet tea in her hand. Brody’s laughter rang out as he sped around the cul-de-sac with the neighbor kids, all of them running wild with bikes and scooters.

With the sun slowly starting to dip on the horizon and the scent of barbecue hanging in the air from the neighbor’s yard, I felt like I could finally let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

My chest still felt tight though, like Callum’s presence had rewired the very air I was breathing and my body was struggling to reverse the after-effects.

Georgia nudged me with her elbow. “Okay, spill. You’ve got that look on your face like you’ve just stolen an entire chocolate cake from your grandma’s house.”

I groaned, tilting my head back against the porch railing. I watched Brody play in the quiet street with his friends. “It’s not like that.”

“Sure, of course, it’s not. Your grandma lives in Michigan and we don’t have any cake, so why exactly do you look guilty and giddy at the same time?”

“Because I feel both of those things,” I admitted. “Callum, Brody, and I spent the day together. Being around him is exhilarating and awful at the same time. Does that make sense?”

“No.”

I sighed. “Every time Callum smiled at Brody, it was like I could feel something spark to life in me and I know I have no business entertaining it, but it’s like I can see the relationship they would’ve had from the beginning if I’d told him, you know?

That’s where the guilt is coming from, but the excitement is purely selfish.

He makes me feel like I’m doing something wildly irresponsible even if I know I’m not. ”

She arched an eyebrow at me. “You agreed to marry him. For someone who’s never driven over the speed limit, this is probably the most wildly irresponsible thing you’ve ever done.”

“That’s not true,” I protested. “Wildly irresponsible was driving across town at night that one time to pick up a karaoke machine we bought off that guy on Facebook Marketplace. Do you remember that?”

She smirked. “Babe, we had half the dive team with us and one of the dudes knew the guy who was selling it, so yes, I remember. But the fact remains that the most wildly irresponsible thing you’ve ever done before this was sleeping with Callum Westwood in the first place.”

I shot her a scowl, but I could feel the grin trying to break free at the corners of my lips. “That’s just not true. Give me a minute. I’m sure I can think of more examples.”

“Nah, when that guy is involved, you make bad decisions. You always have”

I rolled my eyes. “I had a one-night stand with him in college. It’s not like I’m the only college girl who’s ever had a one-night stand and didn’t even get the guy’s number. Hell, I remember your fondness for the water polo team.”

She laughed. “Fair enough, but you weren’t the type who had one-night stands until he came along and now you’re talking about marrying the dude.”

“Marrying him isn’t a bad decision,” I said, and I really believed it.

“You should’ve seen him with Brody today, George.

They’re like two halves of the same whole.

Brody has never clicked with anyone that quickly.

This would’ve been the right thing for him even if Callum hadn’t been his biological father, but he is, and he wants to be involved. ”

“So you’re seriously thinking about going through with it?” she asked. “An arranged marriage? A marriage of convenience put together like some kind of deal he’s closing? That’s really what you want?”

“Yes.” I sat up a little straighter, my voice firm and my mind made up. “I told Callum that if he and Brody got along, I would do it, and they did more than just get along today. At this point, I’d be an absolute fool on so many levels not to do this.”

Her teasing faded and she glanced toward the cul-de-sac where Brody was tearing around, racing one of the kids who lived down the block. “Do you really think Callum’s the right one for him?”

“Honestly? I don’t think there’s anyone better and I mean that.

I believe it down to the deepest recesses of my being.

” My chest swelled with undeniable relief and awe.

“Brody needs someone to look up to. Someone cut from the same cloth, and Callum is exactly that. After today, there’s no question in my mind that this is what’s best for him, and that’s all that matters. ”

She gave me a long look, then shook her head with a wry smile on her lips. “Only you could turn a shotgun marriage into a responsible parenting decision.”

I laughed. “Well, somebody has to. It might as well be me, right? I, Maisie Morgan, am marrying Callum Westwood because that’s what my son needs me to do. How’s that for commitment to making the right choices for your child?”

She was suddenly staring at me like I’d just announced I was moving to Mars with nothing but a bicycle and a pack of gum. “I say this with love, but when you put it like that, it makes you sound even more insane. You do remember Callum doesn’t know the truth, right?”

I braced my elbows on my knees, watching Brody race down the street with his arms out like an airplane after winning the race. “Of course, I remember.”

“Then how can you be so calm about this? He doesn’t know he’s the father of the kid you’re about to marry him to help raise. It’s crazy. When are you going to tell him? For your ten-year wedding anniversary?”

“No, I just… it’s too late to tell him now,” I said flatly. “Back in college, it wouldn’t have mattered. He wouldn’t have stepped up. He barely stepped up to class back then, and even if I had told him, he probably wouldn’t have believed me. He’d just have thought I was trying to trap him.”

Georgia gave me a hard stare. “And now? It’s not too late, you know.”

“No, it is, and besides, it doesn’t matter,” I said, my voice steady even if my stomach twisted into knots. “He and Brody get along. That’s all I need. I can manage everything else as long as Callum is good to him.”

She blew out a breath. “You’re stubborn as a mule.”

“I prefer the term decisive,” I countered, lifting my chin.

“Look, I’m still not saying that I’m never going to tell him, but there’s a lot going on right now and Brody needs this.

I need this. I’ve been drowning for years and I finally feel like someone has tossed me a lifeline.

I know it’s selfish, but I just need a minute to catch my breath. Then I’ll reassess.”

Georgia paused for a beat before she straightened, visibly shifting into lawyer mode. “All right. If you’re dead set on this, we need to protect both you and Brody, as well as everything you’ve worked for. I’ll get some paperwork drawn up before you sign anything official.”

I frowned. “Paperwork? Callum said he’d handle all the contracts and stuff.”

“Sure, but we’re not talking about splitting an appetizer here, Mais. You own your house. Mortgaged or not, it’s yours. You’ve got the SUV out there that still has that new car smell. We need to protect your assets.”

“I doubt Callum is going to give a damn about a small house in the suburbs and a car.”

“Maybe, but his family?” She let out a humorless laugh. “They’re richer than God and about ten times meaner than a demon when it comes to protecting their own. If he ever finds out Brody is his and things don’t work out…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t have to. The word custody hung heavy between us, unspoken, but still casting a dark, ugly shadow on an otherwise perfect evening.

I swallowed hard, forcing a shrug. “It won’t come to that.”

“Maisie.” Her voice softened, all the lawyer edge gone now as she leaned over and squeezed my hand.

“Please just let me make sure you and Brody are covered. No one thinks it’s going to come to that at the beginning of a relationship, but it’s not the beginning that’s the problem, is it? It’s the end.”

For a moment, I wanted to argue and pretend like everything would be simple, easy, and neat, but I wasn’t stupid.

Callum’s name opened doors that would always be slammed in my face.

If he ever wanted to fight me for Brody, no amount of truth or heartache would matter against the money and power his family wielded.

I nodded, my chest tight all over again. “Okay. Draw it up. I really just want this to work, but you’re right. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Georgia flashed me a small smile. “You’re a fool for trusting him enough to marry him, you know.”

“Maybe.” I let my gaze drift back to Brody. “At least I’ll be a fool with a hot husband real soon. That has to count for something.”

She laughed, but by the time she left, my head was buzzing like I’d stuck it in a beehive.

She was right about everything. I wasn’t blind to the risk.

I’d just agreed to tie myself to a man who had no idea the boy he’d bonded with today was his own flesh and blood, but beneath the stress, outside of the knot in my stomach and the weight of the what-ifs, there was a strange sense of relief.

For years, it had been only me and Brody.

I’d been treading water, just barely staying afloat while pretending I was fine, but Brody was growing up fast and his needs weren’t slowing down.

He was smart, restless, and starting to need guidance that went beyond me nagging him about homework and cleaning up Legos.

Having someone like Callum in his life? That wasn’t just for Brody’s sake. It was going to be a godsend for me, too. I’d never say it out loud, but the idea of not doing it all alone anymore felt like the first deep breath I’d had in years.

As Georgia’s taillights disappeared down the street, I went to the kitchen and busied myself with throwing together pasta for dinner so I wouldn’t second-guess the decision I’d made.

Brody came bounding in a short while later, his face still flushed from playing and hair sticking up in seventeen different directions.

He slurped down half his spaghetti seemingly without even taking a breath, but he suddenly stopped eating to look up at me. “Can I play with Callum again sometime? I know he said he’d see about this weekend and about practice, but if not then, can we call to ask about another time?”

I froze, the question ricocheting through me like a stone skipping across the still surface of a lake, but then I smiled, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “Yeah, buddy. I think you can. I’ll call him, okay? I promise.”

In the end, it turned out to have been Brody who had given me the final shove I’d needed.

After the dishes were cleared, the kitchen was clean, and he was tucked into bed, I sat on the edge of the couch, staring at my phone.

My thumb hovered for a moment before I typed out a message, keeping it simple and to the point:

Me: I’d like to move forward with the marriage. Send me the prenup and contracts when you can.

I hit send before I could overthink it, dropped the phone on the coffee table, and leaned back against the cushions. Was I stressed? Absolutely, but for the first time in a long time, I felt like I wasn’t just surviving. I was actually taking a step forward.