Page 47 of Playboy Husband

MAISIE

Castles in the Scottish countryside, private jets, fancy champagne, and chauffeured limousines. Before I’d met them, I didn’t think real people lived like this, but that was life as a Westwood. It was staggering, to say the least. Incredible and unbelievable.

Sterling’s house rose up ahead at the end of a narrow country lane, appearing like a mirage out of the afternoon mist, and my jaw threatened the drop. The fact that Brody was, by blood, one of them, was more terrifying than ever before.

CC sat on the long seat in the back of the limo, talking to Sadie and Laney like she hadn’t even noticed where we were. I had no idea what it took for a house to classify as a castle, but if this one didn’t, I honestly didn’t understand why.

Yet CC didn’t blink an eye.

Laney seemed as awestruck as I was, nodding along to whatever CC was saying, but she and I had ended up next to the windows. Both of our faces were practically glued to the glass. Even Sadie seemed a little shocked.

CC chuckled once she realized none of us were listening to her anymore. “It is pretty, isn’t it? Sterling bought it a few years ago in such a sad state of disrepair. It took him ages to restore it to its original glory.”

That was all she said about it before launching straight into a different topic entirely. This was Brody’s biological grandmother and she treated a European castle like nothing more than her son’s pet project.

Another flicker of fear zapped through me, but I pushed it down. This was happening, no matter how scared I was. As soon as I got Callum alone, I was telling him. All I could do now was pray that he didn’t try to take our son from me when he found out.

Eyes fixed on the window, I looked out at massive stone walls that climbed into the misty sky, turrets that looked like something out of a fairytale, and sweeping grounds that stretched as far as I could see.

The whole place was lit up against the gray afternoon like it had been waiting centuries for someone to come home.

It was probably incredibly haunted, but it was so gorgeous that I wouldn’t even mind if a ghost was wandering around in there.

The limo pulled to a stop and Laney and I climbed out, both of us speechless. We followed CC inside. Jameson, Sterling, Harrison, and Harlan were already there, having been in the limo in front of us, but of course, while the men swept their wives into their arms, no one moved to grab the bags.

Naturally, the castle was fully staffed.

I drifted in behind them like a groupie sneaking into the band’s tour bus, but that was exactly what I felt like. I didn’t belong here. I wasn’t royalty or anywhere near it, but the Westwoods were already treating me like family.

It was insane. All it.

On the inside, there were windows tall enough to make me dizzy, dark wood finish, and sweeping staircases. Velvet drapes and carved fireplaces. On instinct, I clasped my hands behind my back, feeling like a kid who might get scolded if I touched anything.

Glorious didn’t even begin to cover this place.

“I hope Sterling has a map for us,” Laney muttered as she came up beside me. “I’ll never find my way to the door again without one.”

I chuckled, the sound completely breathless. “I’m glad it’s not just me.”

“You’re right this way, Maisie,” CC called when we reached a landing on the staircase. She smiled at Laney. “Sterling will show you to the master.”

Laney muttered something under her breath that I couldn’t quite make out.

She turned to wait for her smirking husband to come upstairs.

He looked ridiculously smug as his piercing blue eyes swept across her face.

Then he tucked her under his arm, bent his head closer to hers, whispered something that made her blush beet red.

As I watched them go, I sighed, wondering if Callum and I would ever be that happy together. I didn’t dwell on it, though. There was nothing I could do now but brace for impact, so I followed CC to a guest suite with ceilings so high, I’d need a ladder to close the curtains.

The giant four-poster bed against one wall was big enough to fit a dozen of me and a hockey team, and the bathtub in my ensuite could double as a swimming pool. I sank down onto the mattress, trying to take it all in.

This was supposed to have been a courthouse marriage but here I was, preparing for what would inevitably be an unforgettable wedding.

It was taking place in a freaking castle, for heaven’s sake.

About an hour later, I was still trying not to obsess about whether the wedding was even going to happen when I heard loud, familiar voices echoing through the stone wall.

My heart leapt. They’re here! Finally, Brody is here!

That had been the longest we’d ever been apart—by all three days they’d been gone—and regardless of everything else that had been going on, I’d missed him something awful. Him and Callum.

Hurrying out of my room, I followed the voices and finally found myself back in the cavernous main foyer. My heart skipped when I saw Callum, broad-shouldered with his hair a tiny bit messy from travel, standing with Brody at his side.

My little boy looked around with big eyes, clutching the strap of his backpack and talking to Callum, Michael, and Mason about how much this place looked like Hogwarts. My parents were behind them, smiling but looking a little overwhelmed themselves.

I went straight for Brody, crouching to hug him tight, tears jumping to my eyes. “Hey, baby boy. How are you? How was the flight? Did you like the plane?”

“I loved it,” he said, breathless with excitement. “Do you think knights used to live here? Or wizards. It was definitely wizards, right? Has anyone asked if there’s a dungeon? I bet there is one.”

“No dungeon,” CC’s voice rang out as she swept down the staircase as gracefully as a swan, immediately introducing herself and hugging my mom like she’d known her all her life.

“Follow me please, everybody. Your things will be taken to your rooms shortly. I’m sure you’re all starving after the flight. ”

I rose out of my crouch and lifted my gaze to Callum’s. He opened his arms for me, but there was something strange in his eyes. A darkness. Maybe even suspicion. My stomach suddenly felt queasy, but I walked right into him, wrapping my arms around his neck and melting into him.

My eyes closed and I breathed him in, just savoring being with him again. He held me just as tight, his face buried in my hair and his lips eventually moving against it. “Hey. You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” My voice was muffled by his chest, but I didn’t care. I just clung to him until Mason finally smacked my arm.

“It’s good to see you too, sis. Jeez, I know it’s been a couple days since you last saw him, but you haven’t seen me for months.”

As fast as that, we were separated by my brother hauling me into his arms for a bear hug instead. Within minutes, CC had us all seated around a massive table in what appeared to be a dining hall. Loud voices bubbled over each other as our families met and started talking.

Callum was right next to me, but we were trapped in multiple different conversations and there was absolutely no way we could speak in private right now. I could feel his eyes on me, though. And I reached for his hand under the table, finding comfort when his palm pressed against mine.

Please, let us get through this. We need to get through it. I know it’s probably wrong, but I love him. I love him even if I haven’t been entirely honest with him.

Dinner was ridiculous, course after course of food the names of which I couldn’t even pronounce, but I barely tasted a thing. Not with Callum sitting beside me, his thigh brushing mine, his voice polite and smooth while he held court at the table like he’d been born to do it.

Eventually, Harrison and Michael fell into a conversation about an up-and-coming hockey player they both thought the big leagues should be paying more attention to.

Jameson and Mason found common ground discussing stocks, and Callum finally leaned over to me.

I felt his breath ghosting across my ear, and once again, my eyes almost slid shut.

Until I realized what he was saying.

“We need to talk,” he murmured, his voice low enough that no one else would be able to hear it. “In private. As soon as possible.”

My fork froze halfway to my mouth and my heart lurched like it was trying to climb right out of my chest. I managed a small nod, panic curling through me. Does he know? No, he can’t, right? How would he have found out?

Still, I couldn’t eat another bite after that, simply waiting impatiently for dinner to be over. Unfortunately, after dinner, our families moved from the dining room to Sterling’s cigar room. The space was absurdly masculine, the scent of leather, oak, and sweet tobacco smoke clinging to the air.

We’d hardly walked in when CC waved my mom and me over. “Come on, ladies. There’s a sitting room we can go to that doesn’t smell like the inside of the male ego.”

My mom laughed and wrapped her arm gently around mine as we followed her, Laney, and Sadie to a living area with delicate tea cups waiting on trays. Splitting off from the men meant I’d lost Callum again, but those words he’d murmured were still haunting me.

Sadie settled in next to me on the couch, her eyes knowing as they scanned my face. “Are you okay?”

Her voice was soft, but I knew why. I knew what she was asking, and the truth was that I was far from okay, but I forced a smile anyway. “I’m fine. I’m just tired. It’s been a really long day.”

“Maisie—” she started, but I couldn’t do this. Not right now.

“I think I’ll go rest,” I cut in, my palms damp and my throat tight. I couldn’t breathe in this room, not with the weight of what was waiting pressing on me. “Good night, everyone. Thank you for a lovely dinner. I’m beat, but I’ll see you all in the morning.”

CC and Laney said good night, but worry shimmered in my mom’s eyes as she gave me a slight nod. She knew what was coming, too. I’d promised her I’d talk to him the first chance I got, after all, and she gave me an encouraging smile.

I nodded in return and quickly stepped out into the hall. My footsteps echoed against the stone floor. My pulse was hammering in my ears as I started up the grand staircase to my room.

Halfway up, I saw him. Callum must’ve excused himself from the men around the same time I’d left the women. But as soon as he looked at me over his shoulder, obviously having heard my footsteps on the floor, I saw that his jaw was set, his expression grim.

His eyes found mine instantly and they were still dark, but his gaze was steady. My breath caught in my lungs. In that moment, I knew immediately that this was it. No matter what happened next, there would be no more running.

Callum and I were about to have the conversation I’d been dreading. It was long overdue, but I still wasn’t ready. As I held his gaze, I wondered if he was, and then I realized that neither of us probably ever could be.