Scars To Your Beautiful : A Modern Beauty and the Beast retelling ✔

42. Brave knights and blind spots

Callista blinked. Was that all he was going to say? The hell did that mean? "Your cup?"

Larkin's smirk looked so unnatural. It wasn't something she usually saw and it made him look different. Beautiful, if she could dare call him that to his face. "You're still holding my cup. I'm feeling tire—"

"Why don't you want to kiss me?" Callista blurted out. Her eyes widened at her outburst. Larkin wore a similar look of shock but it darkened almost immediately. She shook her head. What was wrong with her? This was completely inappropriate. He was her freaking boss. Her dad would kill him if he touched her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said a—"

"What makes you think I don't want to kiss or touch you? You have no idea what you do to me." His words made it feel like the temperature had become hotter. Blazing heat burned through her as she watched him. "If anything, why don't you do the honors yourself?" Larkin raked his fingers aggressively through his thick blond curls, before meeting her eyes. A vulnerable look had overwhelmed his frustration. "It's because you know that we're not a good fit. The truth is that anyone who gets close to me, always gets hurt."

Her eyebrows furrowed. Something in her knew that he wasn't talking about his parents this time. "You're talking about Becca, aren't you? What happened with her?"

"You should get going, Callista. It's already getting dark." A neutral tone kicked onto his voice. It matched the melancholic look on his eyes. His walls were back up and there was no use tearing it down.

Callista's eyes blazed a ring of scorching fire. Her tone clipped. "Don't bother reminding me. I'll leave before you say something else to make it worse." With that, she swung her handbag over her shoulder and left without giving him the chance to respond.

Larkin swallowed hard. He dragged his feet to refill his coffee mug. When Maxime surprisingly made a whole jar of coffee for him this morning, Larkin didn't think he'd need it this much. He was more concerned about Maxime's excitement to please him lately. It had started since the day he invited Maxime to watch a football game and he'd been unusually helpful even though Larkin had been postponing the get-together for a while, until they finally picked a date today. It didn't seem like what regular Maxime would do but Larkin was open to any form of assistance that he could get.

Callista filled his thoughts once again. He guessed she was done with him. Just like Becca. He reached the mug to his lips. Once again, the delicious taste soothed him. It was perfect for his aching soul. He was broken and he was afraid that he'd break her too. She was perfect. Larkin's small frown pressed on his lips. He just had to fuck it up once again.

Larkin breezed into the large living room. The Victorian styled furniture were intact and comfy despite looking so ancient. Though according to his mom, it cost a huge fortune and he couldn't conjure how much his parents would have bought it. But a brown tote bag on one of the settees caught his eye.

His mother's dress.

Larkin's jaw ticked. Callista must have forgotten it when she left. He didn't know if she was ever going to come back, but he knew one thing. He had to give the dress back to her now.

★★★

The moonlight illuminated the impending darkness, glittering under the night sky while Callie walked to the nearest train station. She grumbled under her breath. That idiot riled her up so easily. It didn't help how much she liked him either.

The pungent stench of the alley was almost suffocating. Her feet trudged over the ground as she tightened her grip on her handbag. She hadn't gone home this late and Callie wasn't sure if she was used to how frightening the whole place was. The creepy hooting of an owl from a distance didn't help her anxiety riddling her mind.