“Sometimes she’s nice.” I had no idea why I was defending Natalie. Girl could take care of herself.
“Yeah, well, sometimes it snows in hell. Ask Natalie. She sucked Satan’s balls this morning.”
I had to giggle at that, and so did Adelaide.
She leaned forward, propping her elbows on my desk. “Listen, I know you’re probably all private because Callum’s famous and all that. I am not offended if you want to tell me to fuck off.”
“I don’t want to tell you to fuck off.” I shrugged. “I think I’d be private even if he weren’t famous. He’s my first boyfriend, so I don’t know, but I think I like keepingusto myself.”
Adelaide’s eyes bugged. “First boyfriend?” I nodded. “Wow, go big or go home, huh?”
I giggled again. “I guess. By the way, what did Natalie mean by nepotism getting you your job?”
Her shoulders rolled forward, and the humor drained from her face. “My last name is Goodman. As in Good Music. Saul Goodman. That jackass is my dad and most certainly why I have a job I’m not qualified for.”
“Whoa.” Adelaide’s dad was technically my boss, although there were probably a hundred minions between me and him. “Not a fan of your dad?”
Her lip curled. “Not so much. I hate accepting things from him. But a girl’s gotta eat. I’d be stupid not to accept this job just because I don’t like my dad.”
I nodded. “If my dad owned a record label instead of working the night shift at
Al’s Liquor Emporium, I think I’d feel the same way. No judgments.”
She shot finger guns at me. “You’re the best. I’m glad you have a gorgeous, mysterious rock star boyfriend, honey. You deserve it, as long as he keeps treating you like the queen you are.”
I smiled at her, thinking I couldn’t wait to go home and inform my kid his mother had another name to add to her friend list.
Callum was never outgoing or effusive, but while sitting beside him on my shitty bench in the ice-cold afternoon air, he felt removed. A lot farther away than his shoulder brushing mine and his hand claiming my thigh made it seem.
I put my sandwich down and sucked up the nerve to address it. “Did I do something wrong?”
His head turned sharply in my direction. “What the fuck?”
“It’s just…you seem kind of miserable and I...well, I hate it. If I’m the cause, I’d like to know so I can help you not feel that way anymore.”
He took my face in his hands so fast, I almost missed the movement, and jerked me into his chest. “You will never make me miserable. You are everything good and easy. I’m stuck in my head and fuckin’ things up, so I’m sorry. I’m not good company today. I would’ve canceled, but I can’t seem to go a day without seein’ you anymore. I know it’s selfish since I’m infecting our time together, but I can’t stay away.”
“I don’t want you to stay away. I want you to let me make it better.” My gloved fingers wrapped around his wrists. “Callum, did something happen? Is it about what happened at the bar?”
“No, it’s not.” His lips covered mine, tipping my head back to slide his tongue inside and deepen the kiss. He didn’t have to use words to reassure me I wasn’t the source of his black cloud. I felt it in every centimeter of our connection. He kissed me like I was the sunshine that broke his stormy existence. And I loved being that for him. I wanted him to lean on me and let me protect him that way—to give him back some of the care he gave me.
I would have climbed on top of him and soaked up his entire being if he hadn’t pulled away, stroking my face and murmuring that we were in public where anyone could see.
“Don’t want to share this with anyone, Little Bird.”
There he went, taking care of me even when he turned me into a wanton floozy about to mount him in a public park in Manhattan.
“I like your kisses a little too much,” I said.
His lips twitched, and I felt some of the turmoil parting. “No such thing. I want you addicted so you’ll keep comin’ back.”
“Mission accomplished.”
I scratched his beard, once again utterly devastated by his beauty. Callum Rose only became more gorgeous the closer we grew. He made me jitter with nerves, then he soothed me with his steady, unrelenting presence. When he said he wasn’t letting me go, I was beginning to believe that was true. And so, even though I still thought he was far too beautiful for a girl like me, I was also beginning to believe he didn’t think so. He didn’t think so at all.
“Got a call from my sister last night.” He grimaced but didn’t pull away from me. “She was lookin’ for money, even though she tried to disguise it by sayin’ she missed me.”
I kept stroking his face, even while my heart broke a little. He’d told me about his brother and sister blackmailing him and had shrugged it off like it didn’t matter. But now, I knew him better, and I saw the cracks beneath his surface. What he felt was far more complicated.