Page 2 of Stolen Holidays (The Miller Brothers #5)

two

Eli

Callie grips my wrist and stops us as we reach the entrance of the care home where her mother lives.

The California sun shines down on her light-colored hair and casts a halo around her head, making her look ethereal.

Not that she didn’t already. My heart skipped a beat when she walked out of our closet, looking like an angel in a gauzy, pale-pink floral dress and gold sandals that lace up her defined calves.

My birthday girl, the love of my fucking life, looks absolutely stunning today.

I don’t know what I ever did to deserve Callie, but I will do anything and everything to prove I am worthy of her and her love. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to make her happy. Which isn’t hard these days. She’s happier and lighter now than she has ever been.

But as I look at Callie standing in front of me, I can sense the underlying worry in her deep brown eyes. I wish there were something I could do to take her worries away. I’d do anything to be the one to carry her pain, her sadness, her burdens—all of it—just so she didn’t have to.

I place my hand on her cheek and run my thumb over her soft skin. “What’s wrong, Princess?”

The waves crash on the shore in the distance as I brush her hair behind her ear and wait for her to answer.

She planned a celebratory lunch with her mom, Diana, here in Malibu, for this afternoon.

Callie wanted to spend time with Diana before we leave tomorrow to spend the holidays in Oregon with my family.

“I don’t know. I…” Her words trail off as she sucks in a deep breath and releases it in a huff.

We stare at each other—Callie lost in her thoughts, and me watching the flurry of emotions dance across her face. She doesn’t realize how readable her thoughts are to me. They always have been.

Even though Diana has been doing incredibly well these past few months, with Silla locked behind bars, she’s not ready to leave the safety of the group home just yet.

I know Callie wishes her mom could leave this place behind her already and move forward.

I also know it still hurts her every time she visits and leaves Diana behind.

“You hate that your mom is still here. You don’t want to leave her behind, and you wish she would come home and spend the holidays with us.”

A breathless chuckle leaves Callie as she sways on her feet and leans into me.

I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her up while I plant a soft kiss on her delicious lips. “Baby steps, Cal. Your mom will get there. She’s already doing so much better. Just give her time. It’s been a lot for her to process. Before you know it, she’ll be out of here and at home.”

“How do you do that?” She props her chin on my chest and looks up at me from under her long eyelashes.

“Do what?”

Callie exhales softly as she sinks into me. “Always know what I’m thinking and say just the right thing to make me feel better.”

“Because I know you.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Because you know me, hmm?” A slow smile curls at the corner of her mouth.

“Yup.” Callie is the other half of my soul. I know her better than I know the back of my hand.

Callie wraps her arms around my neck, lifts onto her toes, and brings our faces closer. Her breath fans across my lips as she asks, “Is it really that simple?”

“It’s really that simple, Callie. I love you so damn much. It’s my job to know exactly what you need and when you need it. I can’t protect you from everything, but I sure as fuck can try. Or at least comfort you when I can’t.”

“I love you, Elijiah Miller.” She bites her bottom lip, drawing my attention, and presses her body into mine.

My eyes dart back to hers, and I can see the change in her thoughts immediately. The deep brown pools in her eyes burn with heat and so much fucking love.

“Do you know what I’m thinking now?”

All the blood in my body rushes south, and my cock jerks behind my zipper. Callie feels the way she’s affecting me and grins.

Naughty fucking minx.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking. I’d be more than happy to carry you back to the car, throw you in the back seat, and fuck you right here in the parking lot.” I pump my hips and press my hardening cock into her stomach.

Callie buries her face in my chest and laughs. “You’re such a dirty liar.”

I am. I might be a dirty, kinky fucker, but there is no way I would chance letting anyone but me see or hear her while she comes screaming my name. “Then I guess we better get to having lunch with your mom.”

“Lunch it is.” Callie steps back, but I stop her and tilt her chin up.

I cover her mouth with mine in a dirty wet kiss, full of promises for what’s coming as soon as we get home: she’s going to come.

All fucking night long.

Callie shoves her chair back with a screech and leaps to her feet. Without a word, which is so unlike her, she rushes away from the table in the middle of our lunch with her mother.

Fuck, is she okay?

I’m about to chase after her when Diana blurts, “Thank you.”

My head snaps back in her direction, stopping me from going after Callie. “For?” I ask, confused about why she’s thanking me.

She shrugs and nervously pulls the sleeves of her sweater over her hands. “For what you’ve done for our girl. For getting rid of S—”

“I did nothing. It was all Callie. She’s the one who saved you both,” I cut Diana off. Callie and I have a rule: she shall not be named out loud, like Beetlejuice, for fear she might materialize from thin air.

While it still bristles me that Callie put herself at risk, I couldn’t be prouder of her for what she did to save herself and her mom from her half-sister.

She is the strongest woman I know. And I will never admit this out loud, but Callie did the right thing.

She did what she needed to do to get the evidence that sent Silla to jail for the rest of her life.

Diana smiles proudly. “She did. But you? You gave Callie something to fight for. Something I couldn’t give her.”

In the few times I’ve come with Callie, Diana hasn’t spoken to me directly. I know I told Callie that her mom would get better with time, but I love seeing it firsthand.

“Callie gave me something to fight for too. I plan on fighting for her until my last breath.” Emotion clogs my throat.

Guilt still lingers in the back of my mind when I think about how I should have fought for Callie earlier.

Could I have saved her sooner if I hadn’t pushed her away?

Would I have been able to stop Silla before the attacks?

I don’t know, but the questions are there in the back of my mind. I just hope they don’t stay forever.

Callie and I have discussed what happened at length, and she doesn’t want to think about the past, only the present. We’re together, happy and in love, and that’s all that matters.

“I believe you.” Diana smiles at me, and it gives me hope.

This is the first time I’ve seen her smile at someone or something besides Callie.

It gives me hope in what I’m about to ask of her.

“Good, because I want to marry your daughter. I love her with every cell in my body. Callie is my everything. I promise I will take care of her, love her, and protect her. I will do anything to make her happy. But before I propose, I was hoping you would give me your blessing.”

Her eyes turn glassy, and my breath catches in my throat. “Andrew would have liked you, Eli. Of course you have my blessing. I trust you will take care of our girl.”

The breath I was holding whooshes out of me.

“You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that. Family is important to me, and you are my family now. If you need anything, just let me know.” I look around, simultaneously wondering where my girl is and hoping I have another minute alone with her mother.

“I have one more request.” I give Diana a detailed description of my plan for my proposal.

“Do you think you’re up to being there?”

Diana hesitates and tugs at her sweater as the chilly ocean breeze whips around us. “Honestly, I don’t know, but I want to be.”

“You don’t have to decide now, but I need an answer soon.

I can hire someone to accompany you or, and I hope you like this option, you could fly with my parents.

I have arranged for them to take a private plane.

If you join them, you will be safe and with the people I trust most in my life.

If there is anything you need, let me know.

I’ll take care of everything. The only way my plan works is if you’re there. You know that, right?”

Diana looks at her hands as they twist into knots. I give her a moment to collect her thoughts, but she surprises me with a quick nod. “Okay.”

“Okay, you’ll think about it? Or okay, you’ll be there?” I can’t help the shock in my voice.

“Both.” Diana chuckles. “You really aren’t giving me much of a choice.”

“Fu— Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so pushy. Callie would want you there. I want you there.”

Callie has fought hard to get her mom back over the years. I know for sure she would want her mom there for this special occasion.

Diana stops fidgeting and places her hands in her lap. “I appreciate you saying that. I don’t know why she’d want me there. For years, I’ve done nothing but let my daughter down.”

I place my hand on top of hers. Her deep brown eyes are as expressive as Callie’s and betray her thoughts. “No, you haven’t. You’re her mom. Of course she wants you there.”

“You’re being too kind. We both know I’ve let her down. Sometimes, I think I don’t deserve her forgiveness and love. I failed her. I haven’t been strong enough to do my job as her mother. To protect her. I can only imagine what you think of me.”

“I think you are strong. What you went through, I can’t even imagine.

You and Callie were dealt a shitty hand.

None of us knows how we are going to handle grief and loss.

Callie doesn’t hold what happened to her against you, and neither do I.

I love Callie so damn much, and to be honest, I don’t know what I’d do without her. ”

Diana’s eyes shine with unshed tears. My heart pinches with affection for my future mother-in-law. She’s going to be just fine, and a great grandmother. Hopefully, sooner than later.

“Thank you. You’re a wonderful man, Eli Miller. You remind me a lot of my husband.”

My chest swells with pride, and the joke slips out before I can stop it. “I hope that doesn’t mean your daughter has daddy issues.”

I slam my mouth shut. Shit, I can’t believe I made such an inappropriate crack to my future mother-in-law, whom I barely know.

“Don’t we all?” Diana jokes back, breaking the tension. She throws her head back and laughs, and I join her. Her laugh is as infectious as Callie’s.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Callie appears out of nowhere, with pink cheeks and a glow about her.

“Nothing. Just talking.” I snake my arm around Callie’s waist.

She leans down to kiss my cheek. “Must have been a good story.”

Callie waits for me to elaborate, but I have no idea what to say without giving away my surprise.

Diana helps me out. “I was telling Eli about your dad. Should I continue?”

“I’d love that,” Callie croaks, her voice full of emotion. She takes the seat beside me and rests her head on my shoulder as she reaches across the table and grasps Diana’s hands.

Diana pats Callie’s hand and starts telling us the story of how she met Andrew at an open mic night, and how he acted like a right fool until she agreed to go out with him.