Callum was incensed.
The man was nuts.
He thought he made it already clear yesterday, but it seemed that the guy was shallow as was preposterous. And now he had the nerve to call him incessantly at this very morning he might add, to demand that they should meet and talk more about the partnership.
Bloody likely hell they were going to be business partners. Yeah, he was after that piece of land – an acres of farm land on the south – as he ambitiously wanted to diversified his chains of hotel and a grand structure surrounded by lushes of nature with promising experiences of a county life for guests was what he grandly coveted but he wasn’t about to deal with some pompous ass who thought that he held the upper hand in their affiliation, if there was anything like that in the first place.
Snapping the phone back in its cradle, Callum had deeply breathes and pushed the bubbling irritation down his throat. Massaging the knotted muscles on his shoulder, he couldn’t afford having bad temper right now.
Not now when he so happened to have Andrea back in the confines of his room, and he vowed to himself to make her stay in his life for good even if she frustrates him more than anything in the world. He would gladly be exasperated with her than feel the hollowness inside him like what he battled the past months.
Picking up his phone, he dialed the number of the man he trusted the most. He needed to make some arrangements and he forgot to tell him something.
He was answered by a grunt and a barely ‘hello’ afterwards.
“Matthew, I need you to do something,” he started and rattled to him in a not so colorful way what he intended to do with a man named Mr. Anderson. He wasn’t keen on dealing with him any moment now or ever. There was just something about the said man that didn’t bode well with him. “…and please cancel all my appointments today or better yet have my schedule run over with my secretary and you can deal yourself with what you see fit.”
He heard deep rumblings, the shuffling of sheets, and a feminine whine from the other line and Callum smirked to himself as he obviously caught Matthew in an inopportune time.
Serves him right for that tender jaw he gave me yesterday. He still couldn’t believe that Matthew would knock him off. I guess I deserved it.
Yesterday, Callum was upset and frustrated about the deal gone wrong, and a freaking headache was knocking his skull like a nail has been hammered into it, then he despised himself for being so damn stupid and an ass, so over-all he was in a foul mood and someone not to be mess up with as he existed his sedan in the parking lot of his hotel when he got back. The moment that he knew it was a mistake going to a country club and meeting Lucas Anderson, he high tailed it out there. He didn’t know how many traffic lights violation he committed just to get back to his hotel and hoping that it wasn’t too late for him…that it wasn’t too late to redeem his misgivings.
Callum couldn’t believe it.
He could not believe himself that he could do that to Andrea. He more than wanted to kick himself – no, beat himself would not even suffice – for that very dim-witted thing he did.
She surprised him, he surmised. His brain wasn’t working soundly seeing her in the lobby of his hotel and he almost had a heart attack when he learned that it was her who accidentally slipped on that red carpet. Merda, he was going to have that bloody thing remove in the lobby. He couldn’t afford another accident like what happened to Andrea.
Callum’s world turned upside-down that moment their lives once again collided.
He was bolt from the blue the moment their eyes met; he was seared by the captivating brown eyes that gazed at him widely and he forgot to breathe. And that was his only sane explanation – lack of oxygen circulation in his head – as to why he left Andrea hurting on the floor and had let Matthew take care of her. Argh! Hell that was the dumbest, most idiotic thing he did his entire life. He wanted to punch something or someone to ease out a little the frustration clutching painfully at his chest but that someone was him. Merda! It was unforgivable on his part and he would not be surprised if Andrea wouldn’t absolve him.
Nevertheless, he was going to make up for it even if it took him a lifetime and grovel for forgiveness if he needed to.
That’s why he didn’t fight back when Matthew’s fist greeted him on the door by the hotel’s clinic upon his arrival. He deserved it and a whole lot of blows. And he crumpled to the floor as he struggled to regulate his breathing – not because of the hit he took but because of the look of pain on Andrea’s beautiful face even in her sleep. It knocked him excruciatingly more than the clout he just received and he slumped there on the floor besides Andrea’s bed, the back of his eyes burning with absolute regret. He fisted his hands on his sides as he tried to steady his rapid heart rate, if only he could punch himself. And he even pleaded to Matthew to hit him more.
He was truly a sonofabitch.
“Man, if you are not such my boss right now I would gladly slam the phone loudly,” Matthew’s deep voice laced with annoyance woke Callum out of his reverie from yesterday’s remarkable event. He heard a profound groan, “…che diavolo? Do you know what time is it? It’s freaking six in the morning!”
“I know, but Andrea woke up early –“Callum started but Matthew had cut him off.
“How is Andy now? Cal, if you mess this up again and hurt her then your jaw will not be the only one throbbing, I swear. Dico sul serio. Even if you are my friend and boss,” Matthew said carefully as the mention of Andrea’s name seemed to wake him up completely. And Callum could detect more than the threat on his voice and he knew that his friend would gladly deliver what he just said if it comes to that.
“I know I messed up man but I would never hurt Andrea deliberately, you know that as much. Lei è molto importante per me.” And Callum knew that as much as well. How could he hurt the one person to whom his world revolve?
“Yeah, but we both know that sometimes you are an idiot – no offense Cal – and at times you have this tendency of messing things up even if you don’t mean to.” Matthew drawled after a long-suffering sigh.
“None has taken Matt. But don’t forget what I told you to do first,” Callum reminded his friend. “I’ll text you the hotel address and the room number. You can get the key from the lobby. I already sent it downstairs.”
“Cal, remember this is all your doing and don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Callum could almost see his friend shaking his head in reprimand at him. “…she’ll surely be pissed, that I can assure you.” Matthew continued with a hint of delight for his dreaded future.
“Don’t worry you won’t be the lucky one facing her wrath,” Callum guaranteed him with just a hint of sarcasm.
What was Matthew thinking? That he wasn’t aware of the repercussion of what he was doing? Yeah, he knew how stubborn she is but Callum was confident that he could handle her and made Andrea see the reason of his hasty decision.
A movement from the peripheral of his vision distracted Callum then he saw Andrea emerged from the few steps on the hallway leading to the bedrooms. He didn’t hear clearly the mocking fitting reply of his buddy, just his ramblings as Callum solely focused on the bella that was hesitantly making its way to where he was.
“You know what Matt? I’ll call you later, okay. And I want an update on that blasted land owner. Tell him we are not interested anymore.” Callum ended the call and placed his phone at the counter without leaving his eyes away from Andrea.
She was freshly showered, still with damp hair and he could smell the faint scent of his soap lingering on her skin and he never once thought that his ordinary bar of soap could get any alluring. Damn right, but nothing could be more attractive than knowing that a special woman didn’t have any qualms in sharing some toiletries with a man. The white dress Andrea wore along with her hair freely flowing on her bare shoulders placed a different kind of glow on her face and Callum was sure he was looking at the new version of Andrea.
She wasn’t the same Andrea he by chance met at that Central Park, he was sure of that. No, she was entirely different and given what she had been through, he supposed it was bound to happen anyway. He himself deliberately changed after everything he had been through. He wasn’t the same man as before and he was sure of that.
But Callum had no reservations about her. The old Andrea or the new one, he didn’t care. He accepted her just the way she was now and he could only hope that she would accept him – flaws and misgivings.
He was staring at the exquisiteness of Andrea in the early morning and he couldn’t believe that she almost lost her in the quandary of his personal life, or should he say his family issues. He was beyond flabbergasted and didn’t know where to start.
He waited for her.
She took cautious steps towards him.
One step at a time and they halted there in the middle of the small part dining and part kitchen room of his penthouse.
“Hi.”
There was a pause and uncertainties.
“Hi.”
An awkward silence settled over them and for a moment there, they looked the part of two strangers barely knowing each other and meeting for the first time.
A palpable tension settled in the space as the realization that they were face-to-face again. Seeing each other in the same room after what they had been through, floated like a fragile sacred mist in the atmosphere. Both were contemplating if it was just a surreal dream or finally the dreaded reality that they couldn’t seem to escape.
They were hardly breathing the same air however neither felt the urgency to break the hush that enveloped them. They were unmoving. They were savoring the moment of their unexpected reunion. And it was still there.
There was still that lingering and electrifying connection that they couldn’t deny. The pull between them was much stronger than before and maybe…just maybe, that was the reason why they always find themselves with each other. And they hoped to God that they would be able to pull through this time.
.
.
.
Andrea glanced away to hide the creeping of colors rushing to her cheeks as Callum just stood there and stared unmoving and unblinking at her. She fumbled on the hem of her dress, contemplating to stand on the corner of the adjacent kitchen table or sit without being invited to one of the stools. She glanced again at Callum and this time she thought he looked just a bit adorable with that getting-lost look like he clearly didn’t know what to do or where to start. She could see the cogs of his brain twisting and she knew he was going to say something just the way he was gazing at her intently but he couldn’t quite utter a single word. His mouth gaping open then decidedly closed it as he shook his head.
Look at that, and Andrea never thought of seeing Callum speechless just this early. She took mercy and decided to put him out of his confusion.
“Um…do you perhaps have any food?” Andrea started. She held one hand over her stomach as it growled loudly making her wince and redden with embarrassment. But she was really hungry and couldn’t quite remember when she last ate. “I’m sorry but I’m really starving…”
She saw Callum came around from his reverie and shook his head again. “Sorry for that”, he began mumbling. “Um, yeah I just ordered room service if you don’t mind?” He saw her nodding before continuing, “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll get the food.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Andrea tentatively sat her still aching derrière in the nearest kitchen stool as she was for a moment bewildered why Callum went out of the kitchen where foodstuff was being made when he clearly offered to give her food. Then she remembered silly that he said room service.
She waited anxiously for Callum as he disappeared down another hallway to what she thought as the receiving room. She nervously drummed her fingers on the shiny marbled table as she glanced surreptitiously around his place. It looks nice, she thought absentmindedly but she noticed the lack of the usual necessities that were somehow present in a well-lived house and not just being a space to sleep and have a shower. She was tempted to check if his fridge has even some cold food in there and not just bottled water, canned beers, or see if the kitchen cabinet held some snacks and canned goods, but Andrea controlled herself. It was an effort on her part considering she had this somewhat OC tendency. She fidgeted on her seat instead. If only Callum would hurry up because she was really famished, then she saw him carrying a plate full of stacks of pancakes on one hand and a pitcher of orange juice on the other.
He placed the food on the table hastily as he backed out, “I’ll get the eggs and ham.” Then he was gone again.
Andrea was mystified. Surely, the room service came with a pushing cart that can be rolled over to the kitchen. What’s wrong with him? Then she eyed the piles of yummy pancakes in front of her with its aroma tempting her more and her stomach growled again. She glanced at the drawers near the sink hoping that they held the plates and the needed utensils. But Callum was back again before she can stand.
Piles of ham and eggs along with toasted breads where placed in front of her and the waft of coffee caught her attention as he placed a small thermos by the side of the table. He turned around and was gone before she could utter any word. She glanced blinking at his trail. A chuckle escaped her lips at the absurdness of what Callum was doing but she wouldn’t call him on that. If Callum preferred to walk back and forth in bringing their breakfast to the kitchen, then so be it.
Andrea shook her head and rose from her seat. She was hungry but she wasn’t keen on eating with just her bare hands so she rummaged the drawers and the cabinets and found what she was looking for. She produced a match of terracotta white plates then pairs of gleaming spoons and forks and bread knifes. The way the utensils glinted under the sensitive light of the hanging lamps on the ceiling, she knew right on the spot that they were not used frequently or not at all. Did he really live here? Then a thought occurred to her. Surely they were in the penthouse of his Reifsnyder Hotel but…how long did he really stayed here? Is this where he went to after he left me in Versailles?
Andrea already finished a heaping of maple syrup-covered pancakes and sunny side-up egg when she noticed that she was being observed. The thought made her uncomfortable but she was really famished to begin with. She fidgeted on her seat as she tried hard not to redden with embarrassment as she looked up from her plate and noticed the way Callum was looking at her.
“Um…is there something wrong?” Her voice quite shaky as the remnants of her appetite was lightly satisfied. The tinkle of the gleaming spoon and fork against the china plate echoed around the room as Andrea straightened her posture and hoped that there wasn’t any mess like pancake syrup or bits of eggs on her face. It would be totally mortifying.
“Huh? Um yes…I mean no. There’s nothing wrong,” Callum started and quite seemingly distracted. He gave her a sheepish smile before he straightened himself as well. “…sorry but I was just going to offer you something to drink as you are so keen on eating.”
That startled Andrea and it took controlled efforts not to frown at him. Then she got what he was saying or actually wasn’t saying.
Wow, what a delicate way to say that I was practically gobbling the food down like a starving pauper.
“…don’t want you to choke.” Callum continued while Andrea lost in her thoughts as she hadn’t heard the rest of what he was saying as she tried hard to reel in the steam up in her system as the clueless man did feed her. She bit her lip to prevent glaring at the oblivious Callum. The man really was unaware that what he was saying at the moment was discomfiting especially to a hungry woman eating like there’s no tomorrow.
“Okay,” Andrea breathed through her nose. She’s courting patience and calmness. She didn’t know where Callum was getting at with the conversation but now she remembered how infuriating he was even if he didn’t intend to.
“I’m sorry it came out wrong…”
Oh goodness gracious it came out alright! Who are you freaking kidding?
“I was just going to offer you a glass of orange juice but I don’t know if you prefer to have a cup of coffee instead,” Callum continued in utter confusion with his own dilemma.
What?
It was Andrea’s turn to get bewildered.
A sudden silence settled between them as she chewed on what he said. And Andrea realized a moment later that Callum was waiting for her. An expectant look crossing his face as his intense eyes darted between her face and the sprawling display of food on the table. She gave him a confused expression. To be honest, she was kind of lost for a moment in the conflicting emotions that Callum elicited on her that she wasn’t able to focus on what his last words were or maybe she was just too focused eating.
Callum righted up his posture once again as she seen him placed down his fork and spoon carefully on his plate. He gestured to the side of the table where drinks were placed and poured water on a tall glass he grabbed on the nearby kitchen counter. Andrea waited as she chewed carefully on the juicy slice of ham oozing with barbecue flavor. She blinked her eyes at him when he offered the glass of water to her.
“I don’t know what you want to go with your breakfast but a glass of water is a safe bet, I guess?”
She stared at him. Andrea took a moment to process what was happening and of course, she needed to swallow the food in her mouth before answering.
So that was it?
Andrea didn’t know how she should feel at the moment but a cloud of disappointment loomed over her. Like a light bulb that suddenly sparked to life, it dawned on her that despite what she and Callum already went through, they were practically strangers to each other. Imagine Callum not knowing what she preferred to go with her breakfast. Of course how would he know? Andrea’s mind berated her. The first time they shared breakfast, she was required to drink milk. When they were in Versailles, she was in a lot of mood swings due to the profound loss she just went through so she alternated between drinking hot cocoa to iced coffee to a glass of orange juice to strawberry-flavored milk. Thus she couldn’t entirely blame Callum it appeared. But still the truth disturbed and saddened her that the second she gulped down her food, her throat constricted like a heavy lump was dislodged along the way and a choked cough reverberated through her aching chest. She reached for the offered glass of water and drank its content hurriedly as drops of cold water escaped her lips and dribbled down her dress creating wet splotches.
Callum was on her side the instant, rubbing her back soothingly as she tried to stop her coughing reflex and attempted to regain her composure from the embarrassing situation. And Andrea hazily thought why Callum always had to witness her not so stunning moments in life. The unfairness of life, great!
A squeak of surprise escaped her lips when Andrea felt Callum pressing a white cloth on her face, patting lightly the wetness on her chin. Her eyes widened as she gazed at his concentrated face while he tried to pat her dry. And she held her breath when his hand followed the wet trails of water down her neck. Callum suddenly stalled, his hand hovering dangerously close to the neckline of her dress outlining a decent amount of cleavage. Andrea sucked in a deep breath. Callum’s darkened bluish-purplish eyes swept up to her own eyes and the flash of intense passion awoken Andrea from her stupor. With shaking hands, she grabbed the white cloth from him, her hand grazed over him and the current that passed between them made Andrea to jump on her feet and looked everywhere but him.
“Um…I can take it from here,” she told him with bated breaths as she clutched the cloth to her chest. “Excuse me; I’ll use the bathroom for a minute.”
So Andrea fled with her sanity barely holding it together as Callum’s intense gaze followed her.
She almost slammed the door to his bathroom. Her heart quickening as she struggled to catch her breathing. She instructed her legs to move her to the sink but they wouldn’t cooperate as they wobbled when she tried to take the first step, she just about curse at herself. Freaking kidding Callum! And so she sagged against the door and slid down, closing her eyes as she tried to have a fragment of her sanity back to her. Her hands shaking as she palmed her face, heat emanating from her cheeks. She knew…she knew then that she was an idiot.
She was an idiot for ever thinking that Callum wouldn’t affect her much the next time she meets him again.
How could she think that she could free herself completely from Callum?
How could she have packed her bags and left him in the first place?
Andrea was confused and the gamut of emotions was too much for her as a lone tear fell down. She wiped it hastily with the back of her left hand as she clutched her aching chest with her right hand. She slumped down on his bathroom floor as she accepted her defeat. Her eyes were misting over but she closed them tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose. She whimpered helplessly as the back of her eyes were burning but she wouldn’t let Callum know how much he affected her. She wasn’t ready. She was still digesting the fact that was staring right at her even from the start.
Never in her twenty-eight years did Andrea ever imagine having to meet a man who will have a strong hold on her…on her whole being. And it scared the shit out of her. She needed to think this through. She needed some fresh air to clear her unsettled brain.
Having resolved on what she would do, she got up from the floor carefully, gripping the door handle for support. She took a deep breath as she sauntered the short distance to the sink and watched her reflection in the mirror. Red-brimming eyes stared right at her with apprehension.
No, she wasn’t afraid of Callum, far from it, but she had fear of the feelings for him. The intensity of what she was feeling for him left her breathless and that was made her anxious. She just hoped she survive with whatever left of her sanity and heart after all these. Because Andrea knew that she lost the battle even before it started.
She had feelings for him before but not like this.
This one’s different…on another level and she wasn’t sure what it would do to her. She would have never thought that her feelings for him will intensify with their separation but it did.
And Andrea was helpless to do anything but to accept her fate. The real question was, will she gamble for it?
She splashed her face with cold tap water and patted dry with tissue. She sighed loudly and took in a couple of deep breaths while reassuring her. I can do this.
When she deemed herself to not be exhibiting any signs of the internal battle she just had, she finally emerged from the bathroom, making sure that her emotions were on check before she face Callum again. Andrea felt like she spent an eternity inside the bathroom but when she glanced at her wristwatch, she barely spent five minutes there.
What greeted her wasn’t something she envisioned. Thus, Andrea finally relented that when it came to Callum, everything was unpredictable.
“How dare you make such decision for me?”
Andrea was aghast but she was controlling herself because of the bellboy who delivered her belongings was just getting out. He left hurriedly, maybe feeling the tension in the room rising up.
Andrea breathed hard through her nose to dissipate her anger at the man standing in front of her; funny how she was contemplating on the opposite of what she was feeling to him now moments ago, such congenial feeling that ebbed right at this moment.
Callum was truly infuriating and Andrea wondered for a second how she even missed the maddening man.
“I knew it wasn’t my call but I wouldn’t let you go back to the hotel you rented out when you can comfortably stay here. And besides, you are not fine.” Callum argued at her with his firm jaw set with determination and finality.
Andrea closed her eyes for a second. “My hotel room was comfortably fine, thank you very much but I am capable of having a comfortable room,” she snapped back. “And I’m totally fine going back there on my own.” I needed to clear my mind and I can’t do that while sharing a hotel room with you. That was at the tip of her tongue but Andrea controlled herself.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t afford a comfortable hotel room.”
Goodness! Andrea rolled her eyes at him. Any minute now and she might do something she would regret later if he keeps up with his argument. She gazed her eyes upward to the pristine ceiling like asking for some reprieve as she heaved a sigh.
“Did you put Matthew on this? I swear you two…” His silence was enough of an answer.
Oh, Matthew will pay for this. She didn’t know how the hell the two of them pulled out her belongings from her previous hotel but knowing Callum, she wouldn’t put it past him to not get her hotel key card from her wallet and of course there’s his connections. If there’s one thing she was sure about Callum, it was Andrea knew that when his mind was set to do something, he will see it to fruition.
“Anyway, it’s done already. All your things and your luggage have been delivered by now. I already settled your account from the hotel and the bellhop just placed the last of your belongings in the room.” Callum said with finality like the point of their argument was a moot already and they should just forget that their little altercation just happened.
Like hell for Andrea. Maybe the deed was done then but she was still fuming about him – about his boorish behavior. It wasn’t the whole ordeal of transferring her personal belongings to the Reifsnyder Hotel that rubbed her wrong way but the way he handled it. Callum could just have asked her permission and perhaps she would demurely refuse at first – who wouldn’t anyway – but relented at the end. But that didn’t happen. No, he had to go his own way of making the decision for her when she so as much as capable of making one. Just what he did before, her mind commented vaguely.
So much for world peace but Callum could just suck up his caveman behavior as Andrea turned her back on him and made a beeline to his room to gather her hand bag. Callum hot on her heels as he confusedly followed her. They almost collided with each other on the door as they bumped each other and Callum held her steady with his arms on her waist. Andrea sucked in a shaky gasp at the warm and startling contact. But she remembered that she was angry at him so she pushed him out of her way but he wouldn’t budge.
“Where are you going?” Callum asked as he glanced at the bag on her shoulder. His brows furrowed in confusion as he glanced back at her like he couldn’t fathom what was happening.
“To find world peace,” Andrea retorted.
“What world peace?”
“Oh, it’s so tranquil in here especially with your uncouth manners. The calmness is suffocating me so excuse me if I might want to take a breather,” she responded with as much sarcasm, rolling her eyes at him.
“Don’t go tart on me Andrea.” Callum replied with serious eyes locked on hers, his jaw twitching, a clear indication he was trying to control his emotions.
“Don’t be overbearing Callum!”
“Gesu, Andrea I am only trying to make things easier for you,” he exhaled a long suffering breath. “Bella, you are really testing my patience right now.”
Andrea froze, hearing the endearment he once bestowed upon her so dearly. She almost succumbed to him, almost.
“Good because I am mad at you,” She shoved her hands at her rock-hard chest. “Callum let me go.”
“No, I am not letting you out of my sight again.”
Andrea stopped struggling from his unyielding embrace upon hearing the conviction and pain from those words. Her widened eyes drawn to his face, searching…probing. And she felt that potent pull once again – that pull he had on her, that pull that warmed her to him even though he was very infuriating. That pull that wanted to comfort him, to reassure him that she was not going AWOL on him this time but she just wanted some breathing space.
She sighed heavily to ease the burden on her chest. Andrea already stopped contemplating the reason why everytime she was with Callum, he elicited a storm of emotions on her. She already had an idea why.
She was falling for him.
But it didn’t help or lessen at all the reactions she felt for him especially now that she was being locked on his powerful embrace, her heart jumping out of her chest as she could almost hear the loud beating of her pulse.
Andrea blinked her eyes at him; there was an exhilaration and anxiousness blooming on her aching chest as her brown orbs transfixed on his overwrought visage. Callum’s own attention spellbound on her as she saw him darted his eyes down her face and Andrea felt her lips trembled at the way his scorching eyes zeroed in on them. She knew what was supposed to happen next.
Oh my goodness! Her whole being internally shouting at her but she couldn’t understand a single thing. She just heard one thing – please!
She felt herself begging – begging for him to claim her or release her from his touch – except she couldn’t comprehend well. However, Andrea sure that her judgment was clouded over by Callum’s intoxicating scent that assaulted her senses made her dizzy now that she felt him pressed his body closer on hers, molding her soft curves on the hard planes of his body and she shivered at the warm contact as her hands by their own accord gripped his shirt. Her mind seemed frozen as she couldn’t do anything but stared wide-eyed at him with her mouth gaping open especially when he ran his hand on her side which left burning trail of desires ran through the course of her vein.
She wanted him.
How did we go from arguing to almost kissing now? But Andrea’s mind short-circuited further when she felt Callum’s hot breath on her face. The last thing she saw was his determined blazing eyes as he dipped his head and Andrea fluttered her eyes close as she anticipated the meeting of their lips. She didn’t know she badly wanted to kiss him before this moment. And now she was offering herself to him without any resistance.
She heard his growl of appreciation prior to feeling his warm lips ghosting over her own. He was teasing her as he nibbled softly on the corner of her mouth, prolonging her agony.
“Callum…” she faintly heard herself cry.
She could hear the staccato beats of her heart, her lungs panting. And when Andrea couldn’t take the anticipation anymore, she snaked her hands on his neck, the pulse beating erratically on Callum’s neck distracted her for a second before she turned her face on him but sooner than she could claim his awaiting lips, the sound of the door pinging echoed through the room perpetrating the cloud of desire loomed over them.
Andrea pushed Callum on reflex. She caught him off guard that his arms actually disintegrated from her waist as he backed a step away from her. She heard him mutter a curse under his breath as he furiously ran his hand on his darkened hair. Andrea could only gulped the moisture on her mouth as reality sank in and by all things holy, she wondered where her audacity came from. She closed her eyes tightly hoping Callum will evaporate from her sight and she hugged herself feeling a bit cold for the lost of contact from the very maddening bloke. The bell sounded again and she opened her eyes to see if Callum went to get it but he was still there, standing greatly in front of her with clear annoyance shining in both eyes but the deep longing in them pierced through her heart. She watched him sigh deeply, blinking his deep bluish-purplish eyes before he gazed them back to hers with such intensity.
Another chime echoed through the room.
And Callum cursed, “Merda!”
She couldn’t blame his irritation to whoever that was at the door. She was also irritated if she was honest with herself now.
Andrea cleared her throat. “Aren’t you going to answer that?” The hoarseness on her voice surprised her. And she avoided his penetrating stare. She could feel the palpable awkwardness as the tension in the room ebbing. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him moved out of her way into the direction of the door but before he could leave the room fully he glanced her way.
“Andrea…”
Her name uttered deeply with such yearning and a hint of forewarning called Andrea’s attention to him and she couldn’t escape even if she wanted to the intent of his look on her. And his message was delivered to her clearly, an order to be exact.
We’re not yet done here. Do not ever dare leave.
And as Callum closed the door, Andrea found herself sitting at the edge of the bed and she gasped in surprise. Heck! She was so lost in their early predicament that she had forgotten they were in his bedroom. She didn’t dare think what would happen if the doorbell didn’t disturb them. She groaned loudly. She felt like hyperventilating and then her previous thoughts came to mind.
She was falling for him…and she wanted him.
She was in deep shit and as Andrea bolted to her feet, she remembered her previous decision to clear her mind off. On her wobbling feet, she grabbed her heels and her hand bag that fell off the floor earlier. To hell with Callum’s order but she was getting her sanity back.
She trudged out with purpose from his bedroom to the living room, she faltered on her step for a second seeing Callum’s tensed figure on the doorway clearly confronting the man on the door. They were blocking her only exit. She hesitated for a moment but she surmised that if she would just hurry and excuse herself, Callum couldn’t stop her and he obviously needed some privacy with the way they were arguing on the hallway. Andrea couldn’t process well what they were in dispute with but she heard words like acquisition and lands.
Breathing in an ounce of guts, she stepped closer to the door and cleared her throat. That got the attention of both men.
“I’m sorry to disturb you both,” she started and cast a pleading and apologetic smile at Callum.”…but I need to pass through – “
The remaining words caught up in her throat as Andrea spared a glance at the other man. Her eyes widened with recognition the same time the said man seemed to distinguish her.
“Andrea Macie Quinn?”
Andrea fought the grimace coming to the surface just hearing him called her name. It brought bitter taste to her mouth. She saw Callum’s puzzled look from her peripheral vision but she was so tangled with the emotions of the past to care this time. She straightened her back and glanced past the man who can’t be named.
“I’m sorry but do I know you?” Her voice as bored and as calm as could be but she was trembling inside.
“Seriously, you don’t know me? I’m –“
Andrea didn’t intend to listen to him say his name anymore than to hear his voice. “I’m sorry but I’m in a hurry.” She moved past him but a hand darted out to grasp his wrist.
She recoiled from the touch and sent a deathly glare towards the man who had the audacity to even made contact between them. She wriggled her hand quickly out from him and the said man was stunned by her action that he loosened his grip on her wrist. She flashed him one cold glare and she almost run to the elevator.
Andrea threw daggers at the number flashing above the elevator, willing it to come up faster. She couldn’t wait to get out of there and if they weren’t in the penthouse of the Reifsnyder Hotel on the 25th floor, she might actually consider the staircase. Trying to even out her staggering breathing, she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She was ready to throw the heels she held on her other hand to whoever was clutching her when she realized it was Callum.
In the quandary of her mind to seeing a part of the past she was burying hard, she had forgotten the presence of Callum and now he actually saw her confront one of her demons. She wasn’t proud of how she handled it but she’d rather evade it than made a fool of herself. She was ready to battle herself out.
“Andrea, are you okay?” The concern and worry evident on his expression as he carefully turned her to face him had surprised and had put her defenses at ease and the tension on her shoulders leaving. She was expecting him to ask her what the hell that was about back there.
She closed her eyes briefly and gazed at him fully. She saw the silent questions he didn’t voice out on his face that she wasn’t ready to provide answers anyway; his anxiousness at the way his perfect jaw was tensing, brows furrowing. However, the reassurance at the depth of how he was looking at her helped clear her mind and the battle she was holding out to be dissolve. Callum didn’t deserve her lashing out no matter how irritating he was.
The elevator door pinged open as it ascended to their floor. Andrea glanced at it for a moment before looking back at Callum’s pleading expression. She sighed deeply.
“Callum,” she exhaled. “I’m not okay,” she might as well go for honesty.”But I need some fresh air right now,” she continued in earnest holding her gaze before looking away and she took a step inside the elevator.
“La mia bella Andrea…”
Her back on him as she watched her reflection in the mirrored wall of the elevator, her hair in disarrays and she didn’t even have her make-up on as she clutched her heels on her other hand and her bag on the other; the coldness of the floor seeping into her bare feet as she stared at the troubled eyes looking back at her. She couldn’t find the beautiful Andrea Callum was looking at.
“…I’m just right here.”
Snapping her eyes away from her reflection, she faced Callum as she pressed the elevator button for ground floor. She wanted to erase the panic on his eyes so she did.
She stepped forward to him and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. And as she stepped back, she took his hand away from blocking the closing of the elevator door.
“Callum, I am not leaving you. I’ll be back.”
The elevator closed to the face of a stunned Callum and Andrea sagged against the wall thinking how her past was catching up with her present.
*
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P.S.
I just went through not one but two series of grieving these past months so that explains my absence. To everyone reading this, spend time with your family and loved ones and cherish those memories...you'll never know when you'll last see them.
Have a nice day to all!
-N.R.