“Yes,” Mira said as if she was eager for Colin to be gone. The other woman glanced over at Gemma and explained. “Of course I’m going to miss my husband, but that’s when we ladies get to do another shopping trip.”
Everyone laughed and Gemma couldn't keep from laughing right along with them.
Thirteen
“Hello,” Gemma mumbled into the telephone receiver.
“Wake up, sleepy.”
A smile touched Gemma’s lips as she slowly forced her eyes fully open. “Callum,” she whispered. “Who else?”
She smiled sleepily. He had left two days ago on a hunting trip with his father and brothers and would be gone for another four days. “I’ve been thinking about you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you, too, sweetheart. I miss you already,” he said.
“And I miss you, too,” she said, realizing at that moment just how much. He had taken her to a party at his friend’s home last weekend and she had felt special walking in with him. And he’d never left her side. It was nice meeting some of the guys he’d gone to college with. And the night before leaving to go hunting he’d taken her to the movies again. He filled a lot of her time when she wasn’t working, so yes, she did miss him already.
“That’s good to hear. You had a busy day yesterday, right?”
She pulled herself up in bed. “Yes, but Kathleen and I were able to make sure everything would be delivered as planned.”
“Don’t forget, you promised to take a break and let me fly you to India when I get back.”
“Yes, and I’m looking forward to it, although I hope there isn’t a lot of turbulence on that flight.”
“You never know, but you’ll be with me and I’ll take care of you.”
Her smile widened. “You always do.”
A few moments later they ended the call, and she fluffed her pillow and stretched out in the bed. It was hard to believe that she had been in Australia four weeks already. Four glorious weeks. She missed her family and friends back home, but Callum and his family were wonderful and treated her like she was one of them.
She planned to go shopping with his mother, sister and sisters-in-law again tomorrow, and then there would be a sleepover at Le’Claire’s home. She genuinely liked the Austell women and had had some rather amusing moments when they’d shared just how they handled their men. It had been hilarious when Le’Claire even gave pointers to Le’Shaunda, who claimed her husband could be stubborn at times.
But nothing, Gemma thought, could top all the times she’d spent with Callum. They could discuss anything. When she’d received the call that Niecee had been arrested, she had let him handle it so that her emotions wouldn’t stop her from making sure the woman was punished for what she had done. And then there were the flowers he continued to send her every week, and the “I’m thinking of you” notes that he would leave around the house for her to find. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking that Callum was definitely not like other men. The woman he married would be very lucky.
At that moment a sharp pain settled around her heart at the thought of any other woman with Callum, sharing anything close to what they had shared this past month. To know that another woman, his soul mate, would be living with him in the house she was decorating almost made her ill.
She eased to the edge of the bed, knowing why she felt that way. She had fallen in love with him. “Oh, no!”
She dropped back on the bed and covered her face with her hands. How did she let that happen? Although Callum wouldn’t intentionally break her heart, he would break it just the same. How could she have fallen in love with him? She knew the answer without much thought. Callum was an easy man to love. But it wasn’t meant for her to be the one to love him. He had told her about his soul mate.
She got out of bed and headed for the bathroom, knowing what she had to do. There was no way she would not finish the job she came here to do, but she needed to return home for at least a week or two to get her head screwed back on straight. Kathleen could handle things until she returned. And when she got back, she’d be capable of handling a relationship with Callum the way it should be handled. She would still love him, but at least she would have thought things through and come to the realization she couldn’t ever be the number one woman in his life. She’d have to be satisfied with that.