created a trust fund for him.’ Blake spoke softly. ‘When he’s twenty-five—old enough to decide what to do with his own money—he’ll get something from me. It may not mean much to him—’
‘But you needed to do it.’ She leaned back and watched him nod, before putting her head on his chest again. ‘You’re a good man, Blake Owen.’
CALLIE LOOKED AT HERSELF in the mirror and tried to be critical. She was wearing a blue floral dress with a white jersey and matching heels, and her hair was tied into a loose bun. She had to lead a meeting about the gala event that day, and she wanted to look her best. She placed a hand on her nervous stomach and forced herself to admit that she wanted to look her best for Blake, too.
He hadn’t stayed for very long after they’d spoken last night. Callie knew that telling her about his past had made him feel uncomfortable, so she hadn’t pushed him. Instead she’d brushed a kiss on his cheek and waved him away, all the while worrying about what it meant for them. She could no longer deny that there was something between them, but even the thought of it terrified her. Especially as they hadn’t defined it yet, and she didn’t even know how long Blake would be staying in Cape Town.
Or if he would be staying at all.
She shook her head and told herself that there was no point in worrying about it now, when everything was still so new and fresh. She would just have to wait and see how it played out. She sighed, and wished that was enough for her.
She grabbed her handbag when she heard a car hoot outside and locked up quickly, not wanting Connor to wait. Her car would probably be ready after the weekend, her mechanic had told her, and he had also cautioned her that it didn’t have much life left in it. This she knew—though part of her wanted to keep it, even if she left it in the garage, just because it reminded her of the days when she had been part of a family.
‘Hey, Cals. How are you?’ Connor asked as she climbed into the car and kissed him on the cheek.
‘Fine—no thanks to you. What were you thinking, throwing me to the wolves yesterday?’ Callie wasn’t sure why she’d said that, but somehow she felt it was what he would expect her to say if she hadn’t shared anything personal with their boss.
‘Sorry about that.’
He grimaced and she thought her gut instinct had been right.
‘Urgent matter at home.’
She looked at him in alarm. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘Not really.’ Connor focused hard on the road ahead of him and didn’t even look her way.
‘Connor,’ she said, in the stern voice she only used with him, ‘what’s going on?’
After a few more moments of silence he said tersely, ‘Elizabeth is pregnant.’
Her jaw dropped before she consciously realised. ‘Oh, Connor...’
‘She only found out a few days ago. Told me yesterday.’ He shrugged, though the movement was heavy with tension. ‘I guess I’m going to be a dad.’
Callie wished she had the right words for him, but she didn’t. Connor had been dating Elizabeth for less than six months. And, while she was a perfectly lovely girl, she knew Connor didn’t want to start a family this way. Family was a responsibility that deserved attention, and she and Connor had lived by that because that was the way they had been raised.
Her heart cracked for him, but she knew that all she could do was offer her support. ‘How do you feel about this?’
‘I’m not sure. I think I’m still a little numb from the shock. It wasn’t planned.’
She laughed a little. ‘Yeah, I got that part.’
He gave her a wry smile, and then sobered. ‘But...I want it, Cals. I want to keep the baby. And so does she. You know how much family means to me. And after Mom and Dad died I thought I’d lost that. Do you know what I mean?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Now I get to have my own...and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.’
‘Of course it isn’t!’ She felt excitement bubble inside her at the prospect of seeing her brother as a father. And ignored the voice in her head that threatened to temper it. ‘I think you’re going to be an amazing father. I mean, an amazing brother, not so much—but definitely an amazing father!’
He laughed, and she could tell some of the tension had gone from him. Feeling an urge to make even more of it go away, she placed a hand over his and said, ‘I think Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re going to give your child what they gave us—a good, solid, wonderful family.’
He smiled at her, and they drove the rest of the way to the hotel in silence.
She’d meant every word she had said to him. She could picture Connor running around with a little boy or girl in the backyard, could see herself spending holidays with him and his family. So why did she feel so strange? Perhaps it was because she wished her parents could have been there to see their grandchildren? Yes, she knew there was some truth in that. But something niggled inside her, and she knew that wasn’t quite all of it.
No, she thought suddenly, it was because now she wondered where she would fit into Connor’s new life.
Something inside her broke, though she couldn’t explain why. But before she could examine it they’d arrived at the hotel.
‘Thank you.’
‘Of course. Cals?’ Connor looked over at her. ‘Are you okay?’
She forced her doubts and her fears away, and smiled over at him. ‘Yeah.’ She got out of the car and hugged him when he joined her. ‘It’s going to be okay, Connor. I promise.’
She repeated the words to herself as she walked to her office, and then tried to force the situation out of her mind altogether so that she could focus on preparing for the meeting in less than an hour.
But her mind kept wandering, until finally she sighed and went to get herself a cup of coffee. Before she got to the kitchen she saw a flurry of activity around it, like bees weaving in and out of a beehive, and did a neat three-sixty turn and instead headed for the conference room.
Her heart beat a little faster as she knocked at the door, and it accelerated one hundredfold when she heard the muffled, ‘Come in.’
‘Hey,’ she said as she walked in.
‘Hi.’ Blake smiled at her, and stood up at the end of the table. ‘What are you doing here? I thought you were going to prepare for the meeting in your own office.’
‘I was, but then I couldn’t really focus and I needed coffee. And, since nowadays coffee in the kitchen comes with the dozens of questions my colleagues seem to have every time they see me, I thought I might persuade you to share.’
‘No
