Reaching for the note, I calmly opened it.
You’re one of a kind.
CK
CK. Ha. Bloody. Ha.
“Callum Kensington. Great.” I took in a sharp breath and tried not to think about the fact that he had bought Zara a house. “Hope you’re living the life, buddy,” I muttered, scathingly.
It took me an hour—yes, I was bloody counting the time—to grab my phone and type a reply.
Me: Got your flowers. They’re wonderful, thank you.
Almost immediately, my phone beeped back.
Callum: Can I see you tonight? Dinner, perhaps?
“Shit,” I hissed, placing my phone down, nervous. I was so tempted to say heck yes, but I knew I should move forward. Where the hell was Sienna or Luciana when you needed them most? Those two sucked for emotional support.
Deep breaths.
Okay, Callum wanted to take me to dinner. With dinners, the outcome usually could vary. Coffees and lunches were typically friendly, neutral. Dinners on the other hand were complicated, too intimate. I was treading on a fine line and I didn’t want to fall flat on my face. He was with her. Zara. I had to remind myself that. So a dinner with Callum was out of the question. Besides, there was that dinner invitation from Derek…
Speaking of moving on with my life, I best get a move on with that one. Picking up my phone again, I sent a message to Derek, letting him know that I would love to meet him for dinner. The second message was for Callum.
Me: I’m going to see Derek tonight. Maybe some other time, coffee or lunch would do. Say next week?
There! Sent. I sounded like a rational woman. Not an ounce of jealousy oozed out of those words. I was proud of myself. My phone shrilled again immediately. “My, aren’t you a busy one today!”
Callum: You’re going back to him then?
Getting personal much? Hell. What did he care if I did or didn’t? He had just bought a house for Zara, that’s a massive purchase. For him to dole out that hefty sum, it could only mean one thing and I hated him for it… a little.
Me: I’m not sure yet.
I was hoping he’d leave it at that, but nope! He wasn’t done.
Callum: Does he make you happy?
Derek was great, for some time. That was until he went berserk with his relentless pursuit to get my virginity out of the way.
Me: He did at one point.
Callum: Now, what about now?
I had no idea. All I knew was that I was in love to a man who didn’t want it because his heart belonged to her, his Zara. If this was his attempt to make sure that my dating life was great so he wouldn’t feel a tad guilty, then he was fine. He had nothing to worry about. I was fine without him.
Me: I’ll know soon enough.
I stared at my phone for a full minute, waiting for his reply, but when I didn’t get one, I convinced myself that he had only been feeling obligated towards me.
So, I tried to mask my hurt and delved into work.
An hour later, he finally responded.
Callum: I miss you, S.
“Oh God!” I freaked. “No need to have a panic attack, so calm down.” I coached myself to breathe evenly. This was Callum after all; it could mean so many things. I miss you might be different in his terms. “Yeah, he was used to having me around. So, don’t get yourself affected, Stella. Just f**king don’t or you’ll be f**ked,” I repeated to myself until I released the phone and didn’t bother replying to his message.
It was bad, but his words never left me. Even when I went on the date with Derek, Callum was in the back of my mind. I hated how affected I was with his words.
Yet I was determined to move on, broken heart be damned.
Chapter 30
Callum
Stella didn’t bother replying and all afternoon I was plagued by images of her.
It was the first time I had admitted to her that I missed her, and yet, the tenacious woman decided to ignore it. I wasn’t sure if I was in awe or furious at her. I suppose I was a combination of both. I had to give it to Stella, though, by her not responding to that consequential message, it made me want to seek her out.
“Callum?”
“Yes, Zara?” I asked, glancing at her a bit.
She had insisted on cooking me dinner, so she was already here when I got back from work, chopping and humming her way in the kitchen.
Dinner was great, but she chatted my ear off and I needed a reprieve. With a bottle in hand, I strode towards the garden outside, needing some fresh air.
However here she was again, following me. I had avoided heavy discussions about the future since I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, but I suppose Zara was adamant.
It started when my father died of a heart attack. Two hours later, Zara was on a mission to inject every single memory we had as a couple back into my life. My father was had just been declared dead, but she was already pestering me then about our future together.
“You look deep in thought.” She smiled, pressing her hands on my chest.
As I looked down on her, I remembered the same look she had back in the day, one where she vowed to love me. “Thinking is what I do. Money makes money, but money doesn’t just sprout without formulated ideas.”
It was a good excuse because, well, I used to think about business all the time, yet now, Stella had dominated my mind. After last night’s dream, I woke up, reaching out across the bed for her, but it was empty. Sleep evaded me afterwards, however Stella remained.
Knowing that she was out on a dinner date with her ex didn’t help my uneasiness. When my mind wandered to the subject of her letting another man touch her, I wanted to commit murder.
“We aren’t getting any younger.” Zara was onto her usual self. Couldn’t she give me a break? Hell, she was becoming such a nuisance. Zara pressed harder against me, lips slowly creeping towards mine. “We could be together now. No one is stopping us.”
No, no one was stopping us, that’s for sure. Although, Stella had been in my head and it seemed like her memory wasn’t going away. It was plaguing me and I wasn’t sure where to go from here.
Being around Zara again reminded me a lot of all the good things we had shared before, but try as she might, it didn’t feel the same. There was something off; I couldn’t pinpoint it really, but it was bothersome. A part of me wanted to capture what we’d had before, however the fireworks we once shared were now a mere sparkle of what we’d had in the past.
Zara used her hand to guide my face to look at her. “We can get married now. It was what you always wanted.”
That was before… Stella.
Now, things have changed.