Page 21

She pulls her eyes from mine, rolling them before they pin Callum to where he stands.

Still, she doesn’t say anything. We all hover in silence, both of them sizing each other up.

Examining them closer, Callum’s look is confident, like he’s won something.

Smug, even. Despite my initial assessment, Lena’s gaze isn’t as stiff as I would expect her to give someone who cheated on her and riled her up enough to cause a reaction that required a visit from the fire department.

There’s something soft in her eyes, like whatever stern, sassy gaze she’s going for has been overshadowed by a filter of tears.

It makes me angry for her and a little disappointed that he still gets such an emotional rise out of her after what he did.

I wish she looked as strong as I know she’s trying to be.

She takes a deep breath, tucking her phone away. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy this week I forgot to add it to my schedule.”

“Don’t you agree, though?” His voice is sharp as he commandeers the conversation as though Lena never opened her mouth.

“It does seem a bit odd with the timing. With you in his lap when I walked in the door. But good for you. I’m happy to see you pulling yourself out of that sad, desperate place I last saw you in. ”

He pushes his hands into his pockets, his eyes boring into Lena, who seems to have lost any fight she’d been trying to muster.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s enjoying this.

He likes to see her squirm. I can’t help but wonder if this is what she had to deal with throughout all of her time with him.

All those moments she thought they were happy together, he was talking to her like this and undressing other women behind her back.

Lena can be difficult, but she doesn’t deserve this.

And if there’s anything I’ve gathered from the last few minutes, Callum definitely never deserved her either.

Immediately, something ignites in me, and it takes every shred of restraint I have not to punch him.

My jaw stiffens. I clench it once, then glance down at Lena, who’s still frozen, her head bobbing around my chest. She’s got a distant look in her eyes, one reminiscent of the day we were mobbed in that deli parking lot.

Her meticulously curated composure is cracking, and I won’t let it.

I smooth my hand over the top of her soft hair. “Are you ready to go? We’re gonna be late.”

Her brows knit and unravel again. “Oh, yes. Yeah. Let me get my stuff.”

I step forward, attempting to block Lena from his scrutinizing gaze. “I’ll show Callum out.”

Callum holds up a hand. “No need. I’ve been here plenty.” He cranes his neck around, finding Lena again as he dangles the silver keyring in her direction. “I’ll leave your keys atop the box. If you have mine, I’ll take them now.”

She deflates, and I can’t help but feel embarrassed for wanting her while she so clearly is still stuck on him. If this is the kind of guy she goes for, I don’t know how to compete. I can’t stack up against a musician with an accent who is half my size.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll just grab them while I’m upstairs.” She disappears, leaving Callum and me alone.

I roll my shoulders back, letting my spine stiffen, my gaze harden. If he keeps talking to Lena in that condescending way, I'm gonna morph from a tight end into a defensive tackle real quick.

“Where are you two off to?” Callum’s accent grates against the last of my nerves.

I don’t blink. I don’t look away. “It’s a surprise.” He lets out a patronizing laugh, and my jaw tenses again. “It’s a bit ridiculous to think I’d tell you where we’re going when I haven’t even told her yet, don’t you agree?”

He rolls his eyes, shaking his stupid blonde man bun.

I take a step closer, letting myself tower over him.

The tiny man stands his ground. “I’ve heard about your escapades.”

“And I’ve heard about yours. Do your fans know you’re a cheater?”

“Do yours?”

My hands tighten into fists at my sides. I know he’s referring to Ada and the bottle waitress. How original. Maybe I’ve been with a lot of women, but I’ve never cheated. I open my mouth to spit the fire at him that’s building inside, but he cuts me off.

“She’s not all she’s cracked up to be. You’ll get bored with her soon. You’ll see.”

Movement in the upstairs hall pulls our attention. I bend down to his level, checking over my shoulder and lowering my voice as Lena appears at the top of the staircase. “Your music sucks, by the way. If it weren’t for Lena, your shows would still be empty.”

He scowls as she lands at the bottom of the stairs, dropping the keys into his hand and turning to face me. “Ready, babe?”

I lean in. She’s added some lipstick that makes her soft mouth look even fuller, and a delicious, sweet-scented cloud swarms around her. I plant a kiss on the top of her hair. “Ready.”

Her brow folds, and I worry I’ve overstepped, but then her face brightens into a contagious smile. For a split second, Callum isn’t there. It’s just the two of us, but then he says something snarky that barely registers because all I can focus on is the turbulent blue of Lena’s eyes.

“Gustav will be by to get it,” Lena says, finally breaking eye contact with me.

We follow Callum to the door, stopping behind him to pull on our shoes.

He gives us a once-over before exiting without a goodbye.

The door clicks shut, leaving Lena and me completely alone once again.

But this time it’s different. I feel like we’ve been through a battle over the past fifteen minutes, despite never moving more than a few feet.

Somehow—together—we made it out unscathed.

She watches out the glass panels of the door as he shuffles through her meticulous landscaping and jumps into the back of a dark SUV.

When it loops through the circular drive and disappears out of her gate, she begins to pull her shoes off.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I say, hoping to lighten the heaviness that was the presence of Callum. “You gotta wear shoes where we’re going. No shoes, no service, as they say.”

She shakes her head. “It’s okay. We don’t have to?—”

“Do you have to work or something?”

“No, I have a free day today.”

“Me too. So I’m taking my girlfriend out.”

I can tell she’s fighting back a smile. “And where are you taking her?”

“It’s a surprise, babe.”

She rolls her eyes, a rosy blush covering her cheeks. “I panicked! I didn’t know what to say.”

I laugh at how cute she is when she’s flustered, tossing an arm over her shoulders. “It’s okay, really. Better than Deckie-Pie, I guess.” I take a deep breath. “That guy’s an idiot, by the way.”

To my surprise, she doesn’t shake free of my arm, and she doesn’t defend him. She quietly agrees and lets me guide her out the door.