Gentleman Sinner(43)

His smirk now is gone, falling away fast. The cold, expression-less man is back. ‘He wants to tell you that himself.’

I can’t help my recoil, and I try to rub away the sick feeling in my stomach. He wants to tell me himself? That doesn’t sound reassuring at all. ‘Why?’

Once again, Callum shrugs, not answering, choosing instead to march up to Jess and seize her case. My mind races, reminding me that there is so much I don’t know about Theo Kane. And I’m quite sure I won’t like it, just like Theo said himself.

‘Hey, I was doing just fine,’ Jess fumes indignantly as she wrestles with Callum’s hold of her case.

‘Put a lid on it, woman.’

I hang on the door, my eyes going back and forth between the pair of them, watching them fight over the luggage. Of course, Callum wins easily, leaving Jess scowling at him indignantly as he literally throws her case in the boot and slams it shut.

‘Hey,’ she cries. ‘Be careful, you big oaf.’

Callum tenses, his patience obviously wearing thin, his warm brown eyes flashing with frustration, his hand raking through his blond waves. He gives me an exasperated look, and I give him an apologetic one. ‘She’s tired.’ I make Jess’s excuse for her. ‘Grumpy.’

‘Should have left that scumbag to slap the insolence out of her,’ he gripes, turning towards Jess. ‘Get in.’

‘Don’t tell me what to do.’

I sigh, growing as exasperated as Theo’s friend. She’s being difficult just for the sake of it, not wanting to lose face. Callum strides over to her, taking her arm and leading her to the car, and she splutters and protests the whole way, kicking up a stink to the point people start looking. I slink into the car and shut the door, embarrassed, as she falls into the seat beside me.

‘Arsehole,’ she spits, throwing herself back in the seat, huffing and puffing all over the car.

‘You’re such a princess.’

She scoffs and arranges her bag on her lap. ‘He can be a gentleman when it suits him.’

‘You call holding a gun at someone’s head gentlemanly?’ Why isn’t she shocked? I had a mini meltdown when I first encountered Theo’s weapon.

Jess grins, nibbling her bottom lip. ‘I want him to hold a gun to my head.’ Her stare roots to the back of Callum, and I snigger on the inside, just catching Callum’s eye in the rearview mirror. He looks a little bewildered, probably cursing Theo to hell and back for setting him up for this.

*

The drive from the airport is uneventful, though I sense tension past my own state of contemplation. Us happens. I smile to myself as we pull up outside our apartment, and Callum carries our cases into the hallway.

‘Here.’ He hands me a black box, secured with a pretty red ribbon.

‘What’s this?’ I ask, staring down at the embossed card as I toy with one of the lengths of ribbon. After a few moments, Callum hasn’t answered, and I look up and see him getting in the car. Jess is quickly on my back, trying to get a peek of what’s in my hand.

‘Is it from him?’ she asks, her eyes dancing with excitement. I’m not excited, more . . . apprehensive.

I move through to the kitchen, Jess hot on my heels, and take a seat at the table, placing the box before me. And I stare at it.

‘Open it, then,’ Jess drops down into a chair, pushing the box towards me. ‘What are you waiting for?’

I start chewing my lip, sitting back. There’s a tag on the corner, facing down so I can’t see what’s written there. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. It’s just a gift. But what could it be? I reach forward tentatively, like the box could bite me, and flick over the tag. I have to tilt my head to read the text:



Welcome home x



‘Aww.’ Jess slaps a hand over her heart, coming over all dreamy. ‘For such a fuck-off big, scary thing, he’s quite romantic.’

I smile down at the box, curious and still very apprehensive. ‘What do you think it could be?’ I ask, still avoiding diving in and ripping it open.

‘Oh, wait,’ she says, and I look up to see her eyes closed, her fingers at her temples. And she’s humming.

I reach over and slap her shoulder. ‘All right, smart arse.’

‘Open it.’ Jess pokes the box over to me again, and I load my lungs with air and start pulling the pretty bow free until it pools around the box. Flicking my eyes up to Jess, I smile when she encourages me on with an impatient look. I pull off the lid and peek inside, finding a note atop a pile of satin. I take the note and unfold it, reading the lines Theo has written:



I’ve missed you terribly.

Understand it?

Me neither.

I hope you accept graciously.



Theo x



My damn heart melts in my chest as Jess plucks the note from my hand and gushes all over the table, oohing and ahhing, her hand back on her chest.

‘Oh my goodness.’ She sighs, watching as I reach inside the box, smiling like crazy. ‘That face.’ She points at my reddening cheeks. ‘Jesus, Izzy, you’re fucking glowing.’

‘We’ve just got off the plane from Vegas,’ I point out in a silly defence tactic that has my friend laughing her socks off. She has every right to. I’m well and truly buzzing with the knowledge that he’s missed me, my veins warming as they pump blood to my pounding heart. I take out the satin-wrapped parcel, lay it on the table, and begin to pull each corner out until the sheet of luxury fabric is laid flat on the table, revealing . . .