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She’s right though. I don’t know what it is about Callie that is making me feel so comfortable. I haven’t laughed this much in years, and man, it feels good. But that thought sends me inwardly spiraling as I glance over at her, everything about her just looking ... perfect.
This is supposed to be fake.
Our natural chemistry almost has me fooled. No one is going to believe that I’ve only known this woman for a day.
“Well, Callie, we’re about ten minutes out from the wedding venue. Which means, in ten minutes, we’re going to have to convince my family that you’re my fiancée.” I glance over at her, noticing her red hair is blowing in the breeze of the air conditioner. She eyes me, nodding for me to continue. “Considering how jolted you were when I grabbed your hand at the hotel, we should probably make some ground rules or something. I want to make sure you’re comfortable...” my voice trails off, suddenly feeling a little nervous about what she’s going to say.
I’ve never initiated a conversation like this about boundaries before. Most of the women I’m typically around are throwing themselves at me, hoping to get lucky with me just because I’m famous. But this ... this feels different. Callie didn’t even know who I was when we met. She’s unassuming, and something about her makes me want to be on my best behavior.
“Okay, good idea.”
“I’m thinking we should at least hold hands. Perhaps I can throw in a peck on the cheek every once in a while. Is that alright with you?” I glance over at her.
“Yeah, that works for me. So, no kisses on the mouth then?”
“I mean, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a kiss on the mouth would be necessary,” I say, rubbing my jaw. “But ... would it be okay for me to kiss you, should the situation arise?”
Her cheeks turn a deep shade of pink, as she hesitates to answer. “Yes, you can kiss me.” She grins and turns to me, wiggling her eyebrows. “Just make sure you don’t fall in love with me, Wade Lewis.” Now she’s staring at me, daring me with her eyes after using my own words against me. A small, devilish grin fills her beautiful face.
I can feel myself blushing, and I never blush. It’s taking all my willpower not to pull this car over and lay a kiss on her beautiful, pink-stained lips.
Pull it together, Wade.
I pull into the parking lot of the wedding venue. We’re just in time for the rehearsal. Callie slips out of the truck and I watch her curiously as she opens the door to the backseat, where Bear is sleeping peacefully. Surprisingly the dog traveled very well.
“What’re you doin’?” I ask as she starts digging through a bag in the backseat.
“I have to get his work harness, so he’ll be on his best behavior,” Callie answers, her eyes still focused on whatever she’s doing.
“Work harness?” I echo her, though my answer comes the moment she pulls out a service dog harness. Eyebrow raised, I watch her slip the harness on Bear and I swear, the dog’s whole demeanor changes right then. He’s calm and collected as he jumps out of the truck, staying right beside her.
“I trained him for therapy for my sister’s work,” she explains as she shuts the door and I join her on her side. “We tried to train him for seizure detection, but it didn’t work, so he’s technically trained for PTSD and emotional anxiety attacks. He can sense the emotion and responds accordingly.”
“Well, that’s really impressive. And here I was thinking I made up a story at the hotel last night,” I admit, slightly amazed by the big, goofy hound.
“Yep. I wasn’t joking when I said you should have checked my medical records, Wade.” Callie wiggles her eyebrows.
“Har har.” I roll my eyes. “So, you did all the training?”
“Yeah.” She nods, falling in step beside me as we walk towards the door to the massive wedding venue, where the wedding rehearsal is taking place. “He took to it really quick though. I’m not sure how much I really did.”
“I’m still impressed,” I say, giving her a smile. “I can’t wait to brag about you. You’re an amazing writer and dog trainer. You’re a real catch, spicy Callie.”
“Spicy Callie?” She bursts into laughter. “Oh, please do not call me that.”
“Why not?” I ask with a shrug. “Don’t we need some sort of pet names for each other? Isn’t that what madly in love people do?”
“Have you ever even been madly in love with someone?” she asks me, knocking the smile right off my face at the reminder that I’m a failure who can’t hold down a steady relationship.
I hesitate, already knowing that she has been in love. “No,” I answer her honestly, ignoring the sympathetic look on her face. “But it’s cool, because I don’t wanna be.”
“Right.” She chuckles, clearly seeing through my lie. I’ve never been in love, but it’s not because I don’t want to be—it’s just never worked out for me. “You’re probably going to have to pretend like you want love in front of your family.”
“Yeah, I know,” I grumble. As we step inside, I take a few deep breaths, trying my best to calm my nerves. I haven’t seen any of the family in over a year, and missing Carson’s wedding made the rest of the family mad. Part of me is thinking that they might still be mad at me about it.
Hopefully this makes up for it.
“Are you okay?” Callie asks.
