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“Callum,” she says softly. “You told me to leave.”
“I didn’t mean it,” I say. “You know I didn’t mean it.”
She whispers, “You sounded like you did…”
How else can I show her how much I regret what I said? I think of something that would be a sacrifice for me but make her happy. “Come back and bring your da here…to stay. I owe him an apology as well.”
“I know,” she says.
Remembering Freya’s words, I search my mind and my heart, trying to find the truth Fiona wants from me. Finally, I stumble upon it, and the words fall from my mouth.
“Fiona, what I did was so, so wrong. I should ‘ave tried to win your heart by helping him. Not shovel him into debt to buy your hand.”
There’s a long moment of silence as she absorbs my words.
Finally, her soft, sweet voice returns. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
She goes quiet again. I can almost hear the faint sound of her breath. Waiting. What does she want from me? To know if her father will be comfortable?
I offer, “I can have Freya redecorate a room for him?”
She’s still there but quiet, waiting.
“Or you could?” I say. “You probably know what he likes better than we do.”
“I’m sure he’d appreciate any room you offer him.” She’s got a funny tone in her voice as she says, “Callum. Is there anything else you wanted to say to me? Anything in particular that you called for?”
I try to think. What is she waiting for me to say? I’ll say it. Anything to get her back. I think of what she might want. I’d give her anything on this earth if it made her come home to me.
“What do ye want me to say? Lass, you could demand I fetch you a flippin’ unicorn right now; by God, I’d run out the door in my sweats, searching the world for one. I’d die before I stopped tryin’ to hunt one down.”
“Callum.” She almost sounds as if she’s holding in a laugh. “You did say you owed my father an apology…as well.”
“Och, by God!” My palm hits my forehead. “Did I not apologize to ye yet!”
Laughing, she says, “No, not that I remember…”
We share a laugh; then, finally, I say the things she wants to hear. “I’m sorry, Fiona, from the bottom of my heart. I’m so sorry. I was wrong.
“I am a monster,” I continue. “But I’m you’re monster. Aren’t I?”
A tight band constricts around my chest, making breathing impossible. I await her response.
Finally, a bright smile breaks through the phone in her laugh. “Aye. Ye are.”
“And you’re the only one who knows how to tame this monster,” I say.
“Aye, seems about right.” She laughs again.
The sound makes a nice, welling feeling fill my chest.
“Fiona. Do ye forgive me?”
“Course I do,” she says. Her laughter dies down. “But that doesn’t mean I’m coming back.”
Chapter Twenty
Fiona
