Kathryn
“What’s this?”
Callan smiled tightly, trying to conceal his glee. “For you. Open it.”
She unwrapped the oblong box slowly, noting the gleam in his eye as he watched her closely. Outside his apartment the sun was slowing starting its descent, though it would be many hours yet before it dipped below the horizon. With the work ongoing in her mother’s house she’d elected to stay with Callan, thinking it would be easier on everyone that way.
At first it had been fine. She’d packed a bag, intending on staying no more than a week or so, until the work was finished. Things with Callan were fine, but she wasn’t ready to move in with him. Not yet at least.
But things had started to go sideways. Not downhill, no, not even close. Kathryn was aware that many women would probably have thought they were in heaven with the way Callan had treated her since her arrival. He’d lavished her with gifts, clothes, and, unless she missed her guess on what was in the box, now jewelry as well. Kathryn was flattered by the attention, but it wasn’t for her.
Materialistic affection only reminded her of Doug, and the longer she spent at his place, the more she began to associate the two of them together. She should have said no back when Callan first said he was getting new floors installed at her mother’s house. But the way her mother had reacted to Brian—who she had since gone to dinner with!—had stopped her. It was good to see her mom coming out of her shell a bit.
Now though, it was just becoming too much.
“Oh Callan,” she said, flipping the box open to reveal the necklace inside. “It’s beautiful.”
And it was. It was a silver oval twisted over on itself to form the infinity symbol. Diamonds encrusted the border, catching the light and sparkling with the colors of the rainbow.
“You like it?”
She smiled, trying not to let her personal unease shine through. “I do.”
“Here, let me put it on you.”
Resisting his eagerness was pointless, so she didn’t even try. Dipping her head forward, eyes closed, she realized that she would have to tell him sooner rather than later.
“There.” Callan hooked a finger under her jaw as he finished and lifted her head.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting his kiss.
“Don’t thank me. You deserve it.” He grinned some more. “Once I have my treasure it’ll be like this all the time.”
“Sounds lovely.” Treasure? What the hell? What is he talking about? So she decided to ask him. “You have treasure?”
He nodded, his eyes gleaming as they looked at something only he could see. “I do. Oh, you think this is something now? Wait until I can get it back. It will make this look like a guest house of the guest house. You’ll be treated like a queen,” he promised, rubbing one leg vigorously.
“Just call me Your Majesty,” she joked, having to work harder than ever to keep her thoughts from showing on her face.
Callan rose and stretched, not having thought twice about what he just said. “I think I’m going to shower.” His eyebrows waggled at her. “Did you want to join me, Your Majesty?”
“Not this time.” She blew him a kiss. “I’m going to call my mother and see how her date went last night, actually. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her.”
“Okay. Last chance…” His hips shook slightly as he walked away.
She laughed. He was funny, that much hadn’t changed. “I’ll live, I promise.”
He pouted. “Not well.”
“Go on!” She shooed him off, pulling out her phone, keeping the smile plastered on her face until he had made his way into the bedroom and the sound of water running reached her ears.
She got to her feet, still amazed at the progress she’d made in the past few days at his place. The chair now stood near the elevator, and while she did still use it when they went out, unless she was doing a lot during the day, she rarely had use for it around the apartment. Her strength was returning in leaps and bounds, and it felt good. She’d even cooked a meal for them the night before, making just about every ingredient from scratch.
Staring wistfully at the bedroom door, she made her way over to the chair.
“Goodbye, Callan,” she said, taking off the necklace and leaving it on the table where they kept their keys and things.
She wasn’t proud of herself for what she was doing, but it was the way things needed to be. His obsession with wealth had begun shining through strong and clear, and Kathryn wasn’t letting herself go down that path. Not again.
Doug had shown her exactly how it would end. No man could resist the lure of more wealth, and in time he would just view her as a drain on his money, wanting to get rid of her before she “sucked him dry,” as Doug had put it. She couldn’t stand to be around when that happened to Callan, but it was inevitable, she knew it was. The light in his eyes would die out, replaced with dull boredom any time she was around, his only thoughts on how he could make just another few percent on his latest deal.
Kathryn couldn’t go through that. Not again.
Without looking back, she got in the elevator and punched the code for the basement, fighting back tears the entire way, willing them not to fall until she got home. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d reconciled with her mother right away after screaming at her, though in typical fashion her mother had just waved it off, happy to have her daughter back.
Right then she needed her mother. The pain was just too much.