More to Give (22 page)

He didn’t know what had upset her but didn’t believe it was a change of heart. Callie was honest to a fault. If she wanted something more from him, something that carried beyond the end of the renovation, she would tell him. Maybe she’d decided she wanted less. Perhaps she’d had enough of him and wasn’t sure how to say so.

If that was the case, he’d deal with it. An early ending was probably the best way to ensure no one would get hurt. Then again, considering the ache in his chest as Sam drove away, it might have been too late to prevent that.

CHAPTER 22

B
y the time Callie met Sam that evening at the Marina restaurant, she felt like a complete ass. She’d promised Henri that she was not in love with him, that their relationship was strictly sex with a definitive end date, and then gotten pissed off when Sam mentioned her impending departure.

What was wrong with her? Less than a week ago she’d been ripping Sam’s clothes off with the claim that all she wanted was sex. Something she wholeheartedly believed at the time. Then, out of the blue, all these long-buried emotions had started clogging up the works. This was no time for her heart to overrule her brain.

She’d offered up the apology Sam deserved as soon as they’d ordered their drinks. As expected, he’d tried to dismiss her words with the whole
that was in the past
thing. It had been the same damn day, for heaven’s sake. But getting snippy while trying to apologize for being snippy seemed counterproductive, so she’d said what she’d needed to say and let him do with it what he would.

She’d also taken him up on his offer to help her find another job. There was no reason not to use his connections if Sam was going to offer them. He’d agreed to make some calls and get back to her, which, she had to remind herself, was exactly what she’d wanted.

“Was it really necessary to make the punch green?” asked Sid as she stepped up next to Callie near the dessert table. The punch looked like a kale smoothie. Thankfully, it didn’t taste like one.

“Maybe red was too close to pink?” she asked, trying to give Will the benefit of the doubt. Speaking of Will, Callie watched her slide up next to Sid with a plate full of finger foods.

“Red would wire the mom, which would wire the baby, and she’s getting kicked enough,” Will said, before shoving a celery stick into her mouth. “If I’ve learned anything in the last eight months, it’s to do everything the pretty pregnant lady tells me to do.”

“That hormonal, huh?” Callie asked, never having had the pleasure of spending a great deal of time with a pregnant woman.

“You should have seen her while we were planning the wedding.” Sid plopped a chocolate cupcake on top of the empty wrapper on her plate. “When you thought you were talking to the sweet and pleasant Curly, she’d threaten to cut you and spit in your eye.”

Callie nearly snorted green punch out her nose. “You’re kidding. Beth is so sweet and . . . mild-mannered. I can’t imagine her threatening to cut anyone.”

“Wait until she waddles this way,” Will said. “Last I checked, she was still pissed about the flowers.”

“Flowers?” Callie asked, looking from Sid to Will in confusion. Who could possibly get mad over flowers?

“The centerpieces are yellow daisies,” Will said, as if this explained everything.

“Which were a bitch to get this time of year,” Sid added.

So Beth was upset that they had gone to so much trouble? “What’s so bad about that?”

“They’re girlie,” Will and Sid said together.

It took several seconds for Callie to catch on. “And the party was supposed to be gender neutral.”

“You’re quick for a blonde,” Sid said, then received an elbow jab from Will. “What?”

“That’s rude.”

“It was a compliment.”

“In your world, maybe.” Will leaned toward Callie. “Rough around the edges, but she means well.”

“Nothing I haven’t heard before,” Callie said, telling the truth. She’d been a natural blonde since birth, making her the butt of many jokes over the years. Smiling at Sid, she said, “I appreciate the observation.”

Will rolled her eyes. “Do not encourage her.”

“What are you rolling your eyes about?” Beth asked, doing as Will had said and waddling their way. “This is all too much, isn’t it? I hate being the center of attention, and now everyone thinks I’m an attention whore.”

Callie made the mistake of taking a drink as Beth approached and once again nearly spewed the green stuff.

“Don’t get your granny panties in a bunch,” Will said, throwing an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “They’re using the term
attention slut
. Nothing to worry about.”

“You do remember that my sense of humor disappeared when I started peeing every forty-two seconds, right?”

“Yes, but hope springs eternal that it’ll make a reappearance before the bugger pops out of you.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Beth said with a snarl. Turning to Callie, she flashed a welcoming smile as if she hadn’t just been hateful to one of her best friends. “Thank you so much for coming today. I’m so happy you could be here.”

Blinking, Callie looked to Will for assurance that the large, round woman before her wasn’t clinically insane. Will winked.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I hope you like the gift I brought. It arrived just in time for the party.”

“The gifts!” Beth yelled, startling Callie. “We need to open the gifts. People might want to leave, and I’m keeping them here.”

Sid stuffed more cupcake into her face, presumably to avoid saying something else Will would tell her was rude, while Will once again took her friend by the shoulders. “Now would be a great time to open the presents. We’ve put two chairs by the gift table so you can sit right there and open while Sid takes notes for the thank-you cards.”

With a mouth full of chocolate, Sid gaped, waving her fork furiously through the air.

“Head on over there and start with any pretty package you want. Sid will be right behind you.” Will took the paper plate and fork from Sid, who shot her a look that could kill, and pushed her two friends across the room. Once they were moving on their own, she returned to Callie. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”

“I’m sure she’ll be back to normal once the baby is born,” Callie said. “But I’d watch my back around Sid for a while.”

“I gave Sid a really good reason not long ago to kick my ass. If she didn’t do it then, I think I’m safe.” Will continued to watch her friends, saying, “I bet you and Sam are going to make beautiful babies.”

This time, the spew could not be stopped. Will handed Callie some napkins as she apologized to an older, dark-haired woman who’d been walking by.

“The punch packs a punch, doesn’t it, Gladys?” Will said, dabbing at the older woman’s sleeve.

“This is my good sweater,” Gladys said, before walking away in a huff.

Will returned her attention to Callie. “Sorry about that. Not a baby person?” she asked.

“No,” Callie said. “I mean, I like babies just fine, but I won’t be making any with Sam. You surprised me is all.”

“I can see that. I thought since you two are such an item . . .”

“An item?” Callie asked. She and Sam had made no attempt to keep their relationship a secret, but neither had they been blatant about it. The day before, at the festival and then at the Marina restaurant, had been the first time they’d even been out in public together outside of that lunch with her mother. Except for Will’s dinner party, and they had not been in any way affectionate there.

“Yeah. You know. Dating. Together. A couple.” Will tilted her head. “You
are
together, right?”

The crowd around them cheered, drawing their attention to the gift table before Callie could respond. Beth was holding up the cutest white bear Callie had ever seen with tears running down her cheeks.

“Looks like the hormones bounced to the other extreme again,” Will said, before returning to the topic of Sam and Callie. “Surely you realize that no one sneezes on this island without half the town saying ‘bless you.’ I saw hints of it the night of the dinner party, but the notice that you two are together came via Helga. I think.” Will tapped her chin. “Maybe it was Debbie at the real estate office.”

“How do any of these people know my business?” Callie wasn’t completely unaware of how gossip lines worked, but as a new arrival and only temporary resident, she had assumed no one would pay her any attention.

An obvious error on her part.

“There isn’t much to do here,” Will answered with a shrug. “I think that makes them all more observant. And I already told you Sam was a popular topic of speculation. You’ve made him look almost human, which has the locals quite impressed. They think you’re good for him.”

“I am good for him,” Callie said without thinking. “I mean, we work well together. But this isn’t like the rest of you. Sam and I are . . . Well . . .” Callie struggled to describe exactly what she and Sam were. “It’s complicated.”

“Love is always complicated,” Will said, leaving Callie speechless for the second time in the last ten minutes. “You’d be surprised what can be overcome if you give it a try.”

Checking on the gift-opening activities, Will shoved the sticky napkins she was still holding into Callie’s chest. “Hold that thought. I see a pink bow on the next present. Catastrophe looms.”

With that, Will walked away, leaving Callie sticky, confused, and pondering the complications of love. “You’re supposed to drink the punch, not bathe in it,” said Henri, who appeared out of nowhere.

“What? Where . . . ?”

“I was hanging out with Yvonne up front when I heard the ruckus back here. She figured the soiree was far enough along that no one would notice a party crasher.” Henri snagged a cookie from the table beside them, popping it into her mouth without a speck of guilt on her face.

“I don’t think Beth will mind, but she’s a bit . . . volatile right now. So keep a low profile.”

Swallowing her cookie, Henri asked, “So, what brought on the spit take?”

“The mention of babies.”

“At a baby shower? How unexpected.”

“It was the mention of Sam’s and my babies.”

Henri’s face sobered. “Oh.”

“Yes. Oh,” Callie said. “It appears the whole town thinks we’re
an item
.”

“You make it sound like you’re not.”

“We’re . . .” She struggled again for a descriptor that would fit their situation. “I don’t know what we are, but it’s not an item.”

“So long as you know what you’re doing, who cares what people think?” Henri perused the guests around them. “They’ll find something else to gossip about soon enough.”

She was right, of course. Callie shouldn’t care what these strangers believed, but she’d been the subject of public gossip once before and never again wanted to endure that kind of scrutiny.

“I hope they find it soon,” Callie said, slipping her arm through Henri’s. “But let’s talk about
your
love life. You seem to have snagged the prettiest woman on the island.”

Henri smiled. “She is hot, isn’t she?”

“Supermodel hot. And it’s not nice to gloat.”

Shoving Callie off balance, she said, “Sam isn’t what anyone would call ugly.”

“Very true.” As Callie said the words, she caught sight of Sam standing in the doorway to the room. He was watching her with a look of possession in his eyes. Her heart did a somersault against her ribs. “Very, very true.”

He’d been watching her for five minutes before Callie noticed him. Other than dousing Gladys Ledbetter with punch, she seemed perfectly comfortable mingling with the locals. Natural and outgoing and his complete opposite. Not that this was a bad thing. In fact, Sam had started to think more and more about how good a thing they had.

Which had started a war in his mind. Part of him said to push her away. Put them back on firmer ground that didn’t involve all-night sex sessions and him constantly thinking about her throughout the day. Then he’d picture her crawling on top of him with that determined look in her eye. Or drinking her tea by the windows, her skin kissed by the morning sun.

He was losing his grip on the situation, going well beyond a rational level of wanting her, and that was making it impossible to even think about giving her up.

“You look like a man in search of something,” Callie said, once she’d crossed the room and met him by the door. He’d had to force himself not to meet her halfway. Not to kiss her in front of half the village.

“Are you interested in being found?” he asked. “I don’t want to take you away from the party.”

“I don’t think they’ll miss me,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “But for the sake of discretion, I think we need to take this somewhere else.”

Sam chuckled. “I didn’t plan to rip your clothes off right here on the floor.”

“You don’t have to.” Callie nodded toward the hall, beckoning him to follow her. She didn’t stop until they reached his office. “We’re already the main topic of gossip these days,” she said, once he’d closed the door.

“These people are always gossiping about something.” Sam said.

“Well, that something is us having kids.”

Sam stopped with his hand in midair. He hadn’t even realized he’d been reaching for her.

“Excuse me?”

“Will called us an item,” she said, dropping into his chair behind the desk. “A couple.”

Sam settled into a chair on the opposite side of the desk, which felt strange since he’d only ever sat in the chair Callie currently occupied. “Where do kids come into this?”

“Will offhandedly mentioned that you and I are going to make beautiful babies.”

The statement didn’t scare Sam as much as it should have. An image of blonde little girls with ice-blue eyes danced at the edge of his mind. They would be beautiful, like their mother.