Page 28 of Playboy Husband

As I walked, I peeled my soaked T-shirt off and dropped it on the floor with a wet plop, but I didn’t give a shit.

I could feel her gaze on my bare back and satisfaction rolled through me.

When I got back to her, I handed over a clean shirt and a pair of sweats.

“These should work until your clothes are dry. There’s a bathroom’s down the hall, or the guest room if you’d rather. ”

She hesitated before she took the clothes from me, her fingers brushing mine. “Thanks, Callum.”

I ducked back into my own room to change, peeling off soaked denim and throwing on joggers and a hoodie. When I came back out, Maisie was still in the bathroom, but she’d left her wet clothes in a pile in front of the door.

Desperately trying not to think of her naked in my apartment, I busied myself loading the dryer, and as the machine hummed to life, she reappeared.

My shirt hung loose on her frame, the sweats cinched at the waist. She looked impossibly good in my clothes, like she belonged here with me, wearing nothing else.

I swallowed hard. “Do those fit alright?”

She nodded and moved into my living room, perching on the arm of the couch while toweling her hair. “I owe you one.”

“You already bought me half a funnel cake,” I said, sinking onto the cushions beside her. “We’re even.”

Her laugh was soft, but it faded quickly as she looked around. This was the first time she was in any of my personal spaces and I knew what she was seeing as she took it all in—glass, steel, leather, and absolutely nothing personal.

It almost made me feel ashamed, but she set the towel aside and slid onto the couch with me, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them as she turned to face me. “Actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”

The shift in her tone tightened something in my chest and I turned too, facing her fully. “Okay. Shoot.”

Her gaze dropped to her hands, her fingers knotting in the fabric of my sweats. “It’s about Brody.”

Just hearing his name made the sudden tension between my ribs ease again. Somehow, the kid had wormed his way under my skin. “What about him?”

She hesitated, like she was circling around what she actually wanted to say. “You’ve been really good with him. Better than I thought anyone would be, honestly. He looks up to you.”

The words hit me square in the chest. I leaned forward, getting closer and looking her right in the eyes.

“I care about him, Mais. I mean it. He’s a great kid and he deserves the best. If you’re asking if I’d be there for him, if I’d try to be the kind of man he needs, then yeah.

I think I have what it takes to be a dad to him. If that’s what you both want.”

Her head snapped up, her eyes glossy like she hadn’t expected me to say it out loud.

I went on, the words spilling out of me faster now.

“I know I partied too hard in college. I know I made it seem like I thought hockey was the only thing that mattered. Hell, I was a total dickhead back then. I admit it.”

I huffed a humorless laugh. “I’m not that guy anymore, though. I haven’t been for a long time, and when I’m with Brody, I want to be even better. For him, but also for you.”

Maisie pressed her lips together, like she was holding something back. I knew she was worried about letting me into their lives, hesitant to fully commit even to an arranged marriage because she didn’t trust that guy I used to be.

“You’ve changed,” she whispered, eyes locked on mine. “It is for real, right?”

I nodded, my throat tight. “Yeah, and I don’t want to go back.”

The dryer hummed softly in the background, rain still tapping against the windows. The air between us felt like it might tip into something more, but then Maisie shifted on the couch, pulling her knees tighter against her chest.

“Callum…” Her voice wavered. “There’s something you need to know, and I don’t know how to tell you.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

She looked like she might break as her mouth opened and closed. She fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, and she wouldn’t quite meet my eyes.

I leaned a little closer. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Her gaze lifted then, and strangely, she looked scared, like she was about to hand me something big and wasn’t sure she trusted how I would react to it. Maybe it was selfish, but I couldn’t sit here for one more second waiting for her to change her mind.

I’d been holding back with her for weeks, telling myself not to cross the line.

Even at the hotel, I didn’t let myself go too far because someone could’ve knocked on the door at any moment.

I wasn’t used to being this exposed, but it was just us now and the way she was looking at me said she might believe that I’d changed but she wasn’t sure.

I needed her to know that she could trust me.

That she could let me in. I hated that she wasn’t sure about me, but I got it.

Back at Cal Poly, I’d been such a shithead, but I was desperate to prove to her that I was all in on her and Brody.

I wasn’t going to insert myself into their lives and just suddenly disappear.

Slowly lifting my hands, I took her face between my palms and surged toward her. People said actions spoke louder than words, and I’d tried words. They hadn’t worked, so maybe it was time to stop holding back and try actions instead.

With no hesitation whatsoever, I kissed her, hoping to show her that I was in this thing with her. I wanted her just as much as I had back then—if not more. She froze for half a beat, but then, she kissed me back. My hand slid up to the side of her neck, her hair damp against my palm.

None of this was careful or polished. It was rough around the edges, but it was real, and now that I’d started, I knew I wasn’t letting her go. Not until she believed with every ounce of her being that even the dickhead I used to be now belonged to her.