Page 52 of Playboy Husband

CALLUM

Maisie turned at the sound of the door opening, her eyes shining with tears. When I saw her, I forgot how to breathe.

She’s stunning.

It wasn’t only because of the gown, though it fit her like something out of a dream, and it also wasn’t because of her makeup, a little heavier than usual but still natural enough that she looked like her.

It was simply because this was Maisie, the woman who had rewired my brain with her smiles and made me want to remake my life. A woman I had barely seen much of for the last few days, and not at all for at least two of them.

Her lips parted and her eyelashes fluttered like she wasn’t sure I was really here. Her voice was shaky and quiet when she spoke. “You’re not supposed to see me in my dress before the ceremony.”

“The rules are different in Scotland,” I said, closing the door behind me before my mother realized I was in here.

On instinct, my hand found the lock, the quiet click of it snicking into place echoing through the room.

“The bride isn’t supposed to see the groom in his kilt before the ceremony. And I’m wearing pants, so we’re good.”

She blinked at me for another moment, but then she averted her gaze. Her fingers trembled as she reached up toward her hair and started tugging at a diamond-studded pin.

“You’re calling it off,” she said, her voice shaking even more now. “I understand. I’m sorry it had to happen this way, Callum.”

The first pin slid free and another followed, her movements jerky. She dropped them on the windowsill beside her. “For what it’s worth—”

“Maisie. I haven—”

She shook her head, another pin sliding between her fingers. “It’s fine. I knew it was too good to be true. I shouldn’t have kept it from you.”

In three long strides, I’d crossed the room and I caught her hands, holding them tight before she could undo another piece of her hair. “Maisie, stop.”

Her eyes finally met mine, glassy with tears and filled with absolute pain and devastation. Something sharp cracked open in my chest as I stared into them. “I’m not calling it off. I came here to apologize, not to tell you that I’m not going through with it.”

She went completely still, only moving to tilt her head so she could look directly into my eyes. Behind her, on the other side of the window, the storm was picking up, sheets of heavy rain driving hard against the glass.

The noise meant it was unlikely anyone would hear me in here with her. I desperately needed this time with her, regardless of how pissed my mom would be if she found out I’d seen Maisie’s dress. She wouldn’t buy my theory on Scottish wedding traditions.

“You haven’t called it off?” Maisie asked, her voice way too small for my liking. “Does that mean the wedding is still happening?”

“Unless you called it off,” I said evenly, not letting go of her hands. “Since you’re standing in front of me instead of being on your way to the airport, and you’re definitely wearing a wedding gown, I’m going to assume you haven’t done that?”

“No.”

“Okay,” I said. “Neither have I. I’m glad we got that out of the way.”

She inclined her chin, not really giving me a nod but at least letting me know that she was listening. “What are we going to do, Callum?”

“I’m hoping we can work that out. Before we go down there and vow to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“Are you sure you still want that?”

I nodded without hesitation. “You are pretty much the only thing I’m sure of right now, Mais.

I don’t know how to do this. To be in a relationship and to work through stuff.

I don’t know how I’m supposed to make it right when I don’t know what you need from me right now, but I’m here, and all I know is that I have to try. Keep trying.”

Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn’t say a word or push me away. She just kept staring up at me, so I took it as a sign that she was willing to hear me out.

“You were right, you know. It sucks to know that was what you thought of me back at Cal Poly, but it sucks even more that, now that I’ve had a chance to think about it, I’ve realized that you were completely right.

” My throat was tight. My gazes locked on her beautiful deep green eyes.

“Back then, I was exactly who you thought I was. An idiot. A selfish, cocky dick who wouldn’t have known what to do if you’d told me. ”

Her lips trembled, but I forced myself to keep going, the confession scraping my insides raw.

“That’s what kills me, Mais. The fact that you weren’t wrong about me.

It’s been a bitter pill to swallow, but the fact is that if you’d come to me when I was twenty-one and told me that you were pregnant, I would’ve been a dick.

You were right to leave campus without telling me. ”

My throat burned with the emotion rising from deep within. “I think you know this already, but I’m not that guy anymore and I really hate that you’ve had to do it all on your own only because of who I was back then.”

Her fingers trembled in mine, and for a moment, I thought she might pull away. I thought she might run or lock herself behind those mile-high walls again. Silence fell between us, every second feeling like it was stretching into eternity, but I couldn’t let it end like this.

I’d promised myself that I would try. That I would fight. While I’d hoped to get some kind of reaction from her by now, Jameson’s warning had prepared me. He’d told me that I might not get it right the first time and so I kept going.

“I am so, so sorry that I was that guy. I’m sorry that you couldn’t trust me and that you knew you couldn’t rely on me either.

I wish there was a way I could go back in time and make it right, but all I can do is promise that in the future, I will spend every fucking day working to be a better man tomorrow than I was today. ”

It felt like I was slicing into my own soul with a scalpel and bleeding my innermost thoughts all over her. It was uncomfortable. Unnatural. But if this was what it took, I would keep going until she told me to stop.

“The other night, I know I could’ve taken it better, Mais.

I wasn’t thinking about what a shithead I used to be.

All I could think about was how I’d missed out on the first seven years of my child’s life.

On all of it, not only his birth and getting to hold him as a newborn, but everything that came after that.

I was devastated, and angry, and frankly, scared as hell. ”

I dragged in a deep breath, still looking right into her eyes. “I was so scared that I was going to lose you, but I was also scared that I deserved to. If you had walked out of this house after that conversation, you would’ve been right to. I would’ve deserved you turning your back on me.”

She stared up at me, expression impossible to read.

“I want this,” I said, my voice hoarse as that emotion turned my throat into an inferno. “I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted anything before. I don’t even think it’s a matter of want anymore. It’s need. I need you, and I need Brody, and I need all three of us to be together.”

Her eyes darted back up to mine, but they were wide and searching, like she still wasn’t sure if she believed me. I didn’t blame her for needing more than just I want this. Fuck, even just thinking that, I realized how selfish it sounded.

“I love you, Maisie. I don’t want to marry you just because it’s convenient, or because of Brody, or because it’s the right thing to do. I want to marry you because I’m so goddamn in love with you that I can’t even think straight when you’re in the room.”

Her lips parted, her breath catching, but still she didn’t speak. Her silence tore at me, but I pressed on because if I stopped now, I would lose her forever.

“I should’ve said this weeks ago. Hell, I should’ve told you years ago.” I squeezed her hands tighter, feeling my brow furrow as desperation rose from deep within. “I should’ve been the man you needed back then. I can’t change that I wasn’t, but I can promise that I’ll be here for you from now on.”

My knees nearly buckled as I sank down right there in front of her, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. Her gown pooled around her feet, but I was careful to avoid the fabric as I dropped down onto one knee and reached for her hand, holding it like it was the only thing tethering me to this earth.

Her eyes shone with tears threatening to spill over and my throat went tight. “Maisie Morgan, will you still marry me today?”

For a beat, the only thing I could hear was my own pulse, slamming wild and frantic in my ears, but then she let out the softest, shakiest laugh, and those tears finally slipped free.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Callum. Of course, I will.”

Relief coursed through me so intense that it was dizzying. I nearly lost my balance as I surged up. Cupping her face in my hands, I lowered my mouth to hers, and when I kissed her, it wasn’t gentle or cautious.

It was urgent and consuming, and it left no doubt in either of us that we were exactly where we were meant to be. With the person we had always been meant to end up with.

Miraculously, she kissed me back with just as much passion. Just as much need, winding her arms around my neck and hanging on like she would never let go either.