Simmer Down - Sarah Smith Page 0,40
Finn and I would mostly ask ridiculous questions, like if our favorite superheroes could beat a lion or a bear in a fight.”
I let out a boom of a laugh, then notice the sky outside turning deep blue. It’s almost nighttime already.
Callum’s expression turns sheepish. “I’m sorry things got so personal.”
I fix my gaze on him. “I’m not.”
Getting personal helped us connect. Something new has been forged between us. I felt it through every moment of prolonged eye contact with Callum in this conversation, every time he leaned in close enough that I could feel his delicious body heat on mine. I felt it when I touched his arm. We’re not enemies anymore, not by a long shot. At this point, after all the light flirting and sharing of emotional memories, we’re well into liking-each-other territory. Friends doesn’t seem like the right word though. It feels a lot like we’re bordering on something else entirely.
As I hold his gaze once more, I wonder if he feels this shift between us too.
But I don’t have to wonder. We’re still playing. I can ask.
I breathe. “One more question.”
Chapter 8
I exhale. “So um . . . this thing . . .”
Callum looks at me with renewed intensity.
“Do you feel . . .”
I attempt a steadying breath, then promptly lose my nerve. “So when are you going to come visit Lemon?”
His lips part, but he says nothing for the first few seconds. He swallows. “I didn’t know I was welcome to see her.”
“You’re the reason I have her. Of course you’re welcome.”
His smile is small but warm. “How is she doing, by the way?”
“Good. She mostly sleeps, eats, and wakes up for me to pet her, then she goes back to sleep.”
“Sounds like a typical cat.” He taps his fingers against his knee. “I’d love to see her when we’re back in Maui, if that’s okay?”
“I’d like that too.” My voice is too raspy for my own good, but I can’t help it. That stare, the soft way he speaks. I’d say yes to anything he’d ask right now.
Swallowing, I force myself back on track. “So why are you headed to London?”
“Our cousin Henry is getting married.”
“Finn didn’t feel like coming?”
“He doesn’t get on with Henry. I don’t, either, to be honest. He’s very much a blokey type whose life revolves around beer, football, and football chants.”
“That’s the most British sentence I’ve ever heard.”
His laugh fills our end of the cabin. It makes my heart beat faster.
“I don’t know how he ever managed to convince his fiancée to marry him. But family is family. Besides, it’s been an age since I’ve been home last. I owe everyone a visit.”
“But Finn gets out of it?”
“That’s just his personality and everyone understands. I can’t really blame Finn. Henry’s a bit of a bellend.”
I honk out a laugh so loud, it spooks the flight attendant pushing a food cart by us. “Wow. That’s some salty language coming from a distinguished former finance professional.”
He rolls his eyes. “Finance is hardly a distinguished profession.”
“But it pays pretty damn well, from what I’ve noticed.”
“You’ve got some balls bringing up money.” He chuckles.
“You dropped everything to move to Maui, a place that’s notoriously expensive. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you made bank before your food truck days.”
He rubs his neck, clearly uncomfortable with all this money talk. So I switch gears.
“But in all seriousness, you’re pretty amazing, Callum. Finn also filled me in on how your parents were upset when you quit to help him, but you didn’t care. That’s really sweet. Like, unbelievably sweet.”
Once again, his eyes fall to his lap. He’s dashing when he’s bashful. “Well, if it comes to choosing between pleasing my career-obsessed parents or working with my brother, I choose my brother. Always.”
My heart thuds. “Do you miss anything about your old job?”
“The paychecks were nice, but that’s not enough to make me give up an opportunity to work with Finn. It feels a bit like old times, when we were teenagers working for our gran. I think she’d be proud.”
“I know she would.” I look away and out the window when I realize the weird conviction in my voice. What an awkward thing for me to say, someone who has never met his grandmother.
I count to five and turn back to Callum, ready for a change of subject. “You probably don’t miss having to wear a suit all the time. Finance guys wear suits, right?”
“I definitely don’t miss that,” he says.
The