now and wherever he was, I didn’t have to feel like I didn’t belong.
Chapter Nine
Callum
Every instinct I had begged me to apologize to Phil and Noelle and bring Ashton home. The argument with his mother had to have devastated him. Not only had she been rude to me, but she’d basically given her son an ultimatum, which he didn’t receive kindly at all. Now she’d kicked him out, and Ashton was on his own.
As Noelle made the introductions to the other four women and two men sitting in the living room, I watched Ashton’s reaction like a hawk. If he showed the slightest hint of discomfort, I’d whisk him away.
But he didn’t seem bothered by what had happened with his mother. When Noelle introduced Ashton, recognition filled the eyes of the others, but at least they were polite enough to refrain from commenting on who he was. Ashton must’ve been tense about that too. After the general introductions, the tension eased from his shoulders, and he sidled up to me, his head on my chest.
“Aren’t you two just the cutest,” one of the women said, and I smiled at her, stroking Ashton’s hair.
The other two guys had separated themselves from the rest of us, but I didn’t mind. They seemed a bit assholeish, and I had my quota of bullshit already for the day. I didn’t plan to take any more.
I’d only held back from arguing further with Ashton’s mother because she was the closest living relative he had. I didn’t want them to have a bad relationship. It was already so rocky any input from me would’ve just made it worse. They needed to find some common ground. All the hostility wasn’t doing Ashton any good.
Two of the women went out back to check on the kids who played in the bouncy castle. Noelle walked back and forth from the kitchen, with Phil helping her out.
“I can help you,” Ashton volunteered when she returned, bemoaning that Phil was just useless.
“You cook?” Noelle asked.
“Callum has been teaching me.” He got to his feet. “I can do the basic stuff.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
“If you’re abandoning me, I’m going upstairs to help Phil set up this palace for Kaylee.”
“I need to make friends.” He planted a quick kiss on my lips, then hurried after Noelle.
I grabbed Phil, and we carried the box upstairs to Kaylee’s bedroom. They didn’t have a separate playroom, but her room was spacious enough for us to set up the castle.
Putting everything together should’ve been easy. Except it wasn’t. After Phil and I emptied the pieces on the floor, we sat back, reading the instruction manual, trying to figure out where what should go. The little booklet didn’t help. It just made everything look more complicated.
“Goddammit, Callum, couldn’t you have talked Ashton out of this?” Phil muttered, inspecting what looked like a bathtub .
“I didn’t realize there would be so many pieces.” I picked up a piece from the floor and examined it closely in an attempt to decide what it was supposed to be. The roof?
“Ugh, you mean you were there when he bought this thing, and you didn’t stop him?” Phil threw something at me, and I caught it, shaking my head at him. He could’ve damaged an important part we had to fit together. Somewhere.
“Come on. Kaylee will love it.” I grabbed what I thought was the base to start from there. “Stop bitching, and let’s put this baby together.”
“This thing must’ve cost a fortune. You know he’s going to make us all look bad.”
I chuckled at his sulky tone. “It was expensive, but he decided that it was perfect. He has a kind heart.”
He stared at me but didn’t say anything.
“It’s just clothes, Phil.”
“I didn’t say a thing.”
“You didn’t, but I saw that look you gave me.”
“It’s none of my business. I trust you to be happy and make the best decisions for you.”
“Thank you. It means a lot to me you’re all willing to give Ash a chance. He has a lot going on right now.”
Together we worked, concentrating on pieces that should fit together to create a castle that was as tall as Kaylee. Every now and again, Noelle popped in and checked our progress and delighted over Ashton’s thoughtful gift and helpfulness in the kitchen.
“Callum, he’s perfect,” she gushed the next time she popped her head in. “He’s hot as hell, loaded, so clearly into you, good with the kids, and helpful too. You really should see him. Nobody else