Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
“No, I never even went to my room. Mrs. Cooper will think I met with some sort of accident.”
Callie shook her head. “I’ll tell her you were here and decided to try the drive. I’ll say you forgot your gloves and sent me a message via the store site, saying you had arrived and would arrange for your gloves to be picked up. Leave me your key, and I’ll see she gets it.”
“Another thing I owe you for,” I murmured, handing her the key.
“You don’t owe me for anything, Shane. You paid for your gifts, we had a wonderful night together, and handing a key to Mrs. Cooper isn’t a favor. But I do have one to ask of you.”
“Name it.”
“Please text me when you arrive so I know you got there safe.” She handed me a business card with a cell phone number on the back.
“I can do that.”
We stared at each other under the lone light of the parking lot. The wind scattered snowflakes around Callie’s face, resting on her messy hair and flushed cheeks. Her lips were swollen, her eyes tired, but she was unbelievably beautiful. I felt a strange ache in my chest at the thought of leaving her. An unexpected thought occurred to me, and I spoke it before I could stop myself.
“Come with me.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Come to my sister’s with me. Have Christmas with my family. With me.” I indicated her store. “I don’t want you to be alone here. Not today.”
Not any day, the voice in my head added.
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“What on earth would you say—this is Callie? We fucked last night, and I brought her with me for some more holiday fun?”
I slammed the door of the SUV and gripped her arms.
“I didn’t fuck you last night. Don’t you dare call it that.” I shook her slightly. “It was more than that. You know it. I know it. I’m asking you to come with me and let me spend more time with you.” I lowered my voice. “As for my family, I’ll tell them I met a wonderful woman and asked her to spend the holidays with me. The simple truth.”
“To what end?” she asked, tears filling her eyes, her false bravado disappearing. She hated this as much as I did. “You want to get to know me more so you can fly back to Calgary and out of my life? It already hurts to say goodbye to you, Shane. If I have more time with you, I’m not sure I could.”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “All I know is I don’t want to say goodbye yet. My family would make you welcome, Callie. In fact, they’d love you.” I yanked her close. “A few days with me is all I’m asking. A chance to explore whatever it is I feel between us. We’ll figure out the after later. Please.”
“You’re crazy,” she whispered, touching my cheek.
I kissed the end of her nose. “About you, yes. I’ve never felt this draw to someone. Ever. Come with me.”
“I’m not packed. Or showered. I have no gifts—I can’t go to someone’s house without gifts!”
Hope soared in my chest. “You have a whole store behind you. Pick something for the kids if you want, but I have all the stuff I bought. You can grab a shower and throw a few things in a bag. I’ll wait. Whatever you forget, we can get or you can borrow from Elly. She has an entire store in her closet. Trust me. While you’re getting ready, I’ll call her.”
She hesitated.
“Don’t ask me to leave you by yourself today, Callie.” The thought of her lonely on Christmas hurt me. “If you say no, I’m staying here.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Then I guess you have no choice.”
She sighed, and I knew I had won.
“I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”
I kissed her hard. “You have thirty. Merry Christmas.”
She smiled up at me, her lovely eyes sparkling in the overhead light. “Merry Christmas.”
Then she hurried away.
But knowing she’d return made me look up at the wintery sky and smile.
I called Elly as I walked toward Callie’s store.
“Are you on your way?” she asked by way of a greeting.
“In thirty minutes. I hope you have room for one more.”
“You brought someone with you from Calgary? You never said—”
I interrupted her. “No. I met her yesterday.”
“Her?” Elly’s voice was shocked. I had never brought a girl home—not once in my life. Especially one I had just met. “Shane, what’s going on?”
I walked up the steps, watching Callie race through her store. From the pile on the counter, it wasn’t only the kids getting a gift. She was being overly generous, yet I knew that was her nature, so I wouldn’t stop her.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I’m bringing someone home. Her name is Callie. And Elly?” I said with a pause. “She’s important.”