Callum o, uh, you should know that our annual Halloween party is always a shit show,” I murmured to Maisie as I watched the digital numbers above the elevator doors tick closer to the top floor. “I apologize in advance for anything you might see or hear.” “S She glanced up at me, fingers wrapped gently around my arm and her green eyes wide but excited. A playful smile ghosted across her lips as she cocked her head. “Anything in particular you’re worried about me hearing or seeing?” I shrugged, but I was saved from having to answer when the doors slid open in front of us, d epositing us right in the middle of the mayhem. The regular lights were off, r eplaced by strobe lights that had been brought in for the occasion. Fog machines were working overtime and everywhere I looked was a slutty nurse, a slutty vampire, a sexy fireman, or some kind of shirtless beast. In short, it was already a circus by the time we walked in. None of the glam or boundaries that applied to other holidays at the office ever seemed to apply to this one. The Halloween party was legendary for being no-holds-barred, with an open bar that was guaranteed to destroy a few r eputations before sunrise. Usually, I would be right in the thick of things, shoulder to shoulder with the guys from the office, tossing back rows of shots lined up on the bar. Even just last year, I’d been part of the wreckage, accidentally hooking up with Sterling’s secretary in the stairwell and Jameson’s assistant in the elevator. There might also have been at least one tequila-fueled rendition of “Sweet Caroline.” This year, however, with Maisie on my arm, I wasn’t about to embarrass myself, nor did I have any interest in getting hammered with the guys or joining the chaos. I didn’t even feel like I was missing out, which was novel for me. Maybe I really am a new man. In my defense, she looked unfairly gorgeous in her gown, red and purple sequins catching the strobe lights and the shimmering fabric clinging to her curves. She should’ve been owning it, but instead, it kind of looked like she was bracing for a pop quiz in a language she didn’t speak. Every time I introduced her as my fiancée, her hand tightened on my arm, like she was holding on for dear life. Meanwhile, every time I said fiancée in relation to her, I felt about ten feet tall. Right up until people glanced at her left hand and noticed the very obvious absence of a ring. Nothing like announcing it to the world without the evidence. Genius move, Callum. We’d just made it past the bar when I heard a familiar voice shout, “Holy shit! Maisie?” I groaned. Harrison. I turned to see my youngest brother bounding over, dressed as a cowboy and so committed to the role that he was chewing on a piece of straw. Knowing him, he might’ve actually found it in the parking lot.
“Please don’t let him say anything stupid,” I muttered under my breath. Maisie chuckled and shot me a sweet smile. “Anything stupid, as in tell me what those things are that you didn’t want me to see or hear about?” Harrison threw his arms open wide and pulled her into a hug like he’d known her forever. “You’re here! I didn’t think he was going to bring you.” He probably squeezed her just a little too tight, but as the strange urge to haul him off her started overwhelming me, he st epped away and gave me a shit-eating grin. “I can’t believe you brought her to this party, man. What’d you do? Bribe her with free dental?” Maisie laughed. “Actually, he just asked. I didn’t know this party had such a r eputation until he started getting nervous in the elevator.” “Don’t you have someone else to annoy?” I interjected, sending him a pointed look he completely ignored. The asshole grinned at Maisie. “That’s probably because last year, he—” I cut him off with a death glare. “Finish that sentence and you’ll be waking up in the hospital tomorrow with that straw som eplace very uncomfortable.” Maisie raised an eyebrow at me, clearly entertained. Harrison just smirked, unfazed. “Relax. I was just going to say that you left early last year.” Yeah. Sure he was. “Anyway,” Harrison said, leaning toward Maisie conspiratorially. “Welcome to the family business. If you can survive this, you’re going to fit right in here. Just, uh, a quick pro tip. Don’t let Callum anywhere near the karaoke. He gets emotional when he sings.” Maisie ducked her head to hide a laugh, and it made my chest swell in a way no party—or antics—ever had. She wasn’t just surviving. She was actually smiling. Harrison winked at her before he reached out to clap me on the shoulder. “Good job, big brother. I honestly didn’t think you had it in you.” I wanted to deck him, but Maisie st epped into me and slipped her arm tighter around mine, and strangely, it grounded me. He sauntered away and she looked up at me with amusement sparkling in her eyes. “You didn’t leave early last year, did you?” I shook my head and grimaced. “I should have. Does that mean anything?” She laughed, but then the music shifted into something fast and shameless, and I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Dance with me.” Her eyes widened as if I’d asked her to jump out of a plane. “Here? Now?” “Unless you’d rather wait for a slow song,” I teased, holding out my hand. She hesitated just long enough to make me sweat before she finally slipped her fingers into mine. I led her to the makeshift dance floor, the lights flashing red, purple, and blue from above, and found a spot for us among the crush of my coworkers. Maisie k ept laughing at herself once we started dancing, tripping over my shoes and throwing her arms up like she could shake off the embarrassment if she tried
hard enough. I couldn’t stop grinning. Every time she stumbled, I pulled her closer. By the third song, she wasn’t even trying to dance by herself anymore. She was just hanging onto me, sequins pressed against my shirt, laughing so hard, her cheeks flushed pink. Eventually, though, duty called. Or rather, Sterling did. I spotted him across the room with Laney, who was visibly pregnant and dressed head to toe as a watermelon. Seeds had been painted on her cheeks, her green tights stretched to their limit. She grimaced when we reached them. “Nothing fits me anymore,” she announced loudly, more to Maisie than to me. “You know what I mean, right? Absolutely nothing fits, so I had to come as a fruit.” Maisie nodded, her beautiful face softening with empathy. She went over to Laney, leaning closer so they could talk without yelling. The two women bent their heads together like they’d been friends forever, and while it made zero sense to me, Sterling just fucking smirked. Obviously satisfied that they were preoccupied, he turned those sharp eyes to mine. “Why the hell haven’t you married her yet? What happened to going down to the courthouse a couple weeks ago?” I blinked, caught off guard, but I recovered quickly, giving it to him straight because that’s who Sterling was, a straight shooter. Besides, he would see right through me if I lied. “We were planning on doing that, but it turns out, it’s not so simple.” “It looks pretty simple from here.” He gestured toward Maisie, still chatting to Laney with her gown glittering like she was a fairytale princess that was going to disappear at midnight. I sighed, ignoring the ache that invaded my chest when I realized she kind of was going to disappear at midnight. At least, she was going to have to go home to Brody and her mom. We never could seem to carve out enough time for just the two of us. “I want Brody comfortable first,” I told my brother. “I’m not just going to spring it on the kid. He’s been through enough.” Surprisingly, that shut him up for half a second. “That’s fair. It’s actually pretty good thinking on your part. Who would’ve thunk it?” I groaned. “Thanks a lot.” He pumped his eyebrows at me but his gaze sharpened again. “Brody really does remind me of you as a kid, you know. You guys are a good match. I’m pretty sure you can just tell him already and get it done.” Something twisted in my gut again. Every time someone mentioned the similarities between Brody and me, I felt this weird, nagging tug of familiarity de ep inside. Sterling gave me an odd, contemplative look, but then his hand clasped my shoulder and he gave me a rare smile. “She’s the one, Callum. We can all see it. I’m proud of the way you’re handling things with the kid, but you need to think of her as well. You can’t make her wait forever, not knowing if you’re actually going to go through with it.” I sighed but nodded curtly. “Yeah, I know. It’s just a balancing act, but we’ll get it figured out.” Sterling smirked again. “Alright, then. I’m going to get the pregnant watermelon home before she bursts into tears about her costume. I quite like it but she’s not a fan and we’ve made our appearance. You
guys have fun.” He took Laney’s hand, but she flung her free arm around Maisie’s shoulders for a hug before she let him tug her away. I followed his cue, taking Maisie’s hand and leading her over to the bar instead of the doors. For another hour, we drank, danced, and had a good time, but then the party really tipped over into chaos. Someone in a vampire cape was crowd- surfing and one of the IT guys had passed out right in front of a fog machine, so I made the call. Tightening my grip on Maisie’s hand, I waited for her to look up at me before I bent over to speak into her ear. “Are you ready to get out of here?” Her relief was immediate, a soft exhale against my shoulder. She nodded. “Yes, please.” “Let’s go.” Instead of stopping to say goodbye to anyone or tell them we were leaving, I simply planted my palm in the small of her back and led her through the crowd back to the elevator. Harrison could r epresent the Westwoods for the rest of the night. I’d caught a brief glimpse of Jameson earlier, but he’d been gone before I could even reach him. When I led her out into the cool air outside, away from the noise and the madness, I suddenly understood why he’d left so fast. Why Sterling had, too. This felt like the best decision of the night, and there wasn’t even any tequila or karaoke in volved. I glanced at Maisie, nowhere near ready to take her home yet, though. “Do you want to go grab a drink at my apartment?” “I’d like that,” she said quietly, still smiling. “You know, I always imagined the Westwood parties to be a lot more civilized than that.” “They usually are,” I said, more than happy to finally have her to myself as we strolled the short distance to my place. “Halloween is the exc eption to the rule.” “Isn’t it always?” She chuckled, twining her fingers around my elbow again and leaning her head against my bic ep as we walked, all without hesitating at all. I liked that this kind of thing was becoming natural for her. It felt good. “Hey, Callum?” “Yeah?” “Are you really ready to get married?” I would’ve tripped over my own feet if she hadn’t been holding on to me the way she was. “You know, even just six months ago, I probably would’ve given you a different answer, but I am.” “You’re not sorry to be leaving the party and all the slutty nurses behind?” she asked, half like she was joking, half like she was genuinely curious. “Back in the day, you used to be the life of the party.” I let out a short laugh. “Yeah, I was and I loved it, but every child has to grow up at some point, right? If even Peter Pan did it, I guess I have to, too.” She glanced up at me but didn’t stop walking. “Is it what you want, though? Or is it only because of the pressure you’re under?” “It’s what I want, Mais,” I said honestly, leading her into my building when we reached it and pressing the button to call the elevator. “I’ve lived every phase of my life to the fullest, you know? When I started playing hockey, I went at it hard and I didn’t stop until I could say that I’d played D1, even
though I knew I wouldn’t go pro. When I partied, I partied hard, but I’ve been there. I’ve done that.” “So you’re ready for the next phase?” she concluded for me as we climbed out on my floor. “Y ep.” We paused at my door and I unlocked it, looking down into her eyes before I pushed it open. “I’m ready to give it everything I’ve got now.” Her cheeks flushed and she smiled but ducked her head to hide it again. I waved her in ahead of me. When the door clicked shut behind us, I found the lack of music, lights, shrieking, and laughter such a relief that I immediately sank down on the couch. “Thank God,” I groaned. “I’ll get you a drink in a minute. I just need to decompress for a second.” “I know what you mean.” She slipped off her heels and pressed her toes into the rug like she needed to feel the solid ground. For a moment, we were both quiet, me just sitting there appreciating the lack of any stimulation and her taking a look around. Her gaze lingered on the sparsely decorated walls and the bare spots on the floors. I hadn’t really bothered decorating the place, and she was clearly noticing. “This is very you,” she said finally, a smile tugging at her lips. “What does that mean?” I asked, shrugging out of my jacket and kicking off my shoes. “Clean, but empty?” She shot me an amused smile. “No, actually. Modern. Masculine. Maybe a little lonely.” “You should’ve seen it before I bought furniture,” I joked to deflect from how badly her words had stung. Maybe because they’d been so accurate. Maisie laughed, the sound soft and real in a way that went straight to my chest. She walked over to the couch and sank down beside me, close enough that I caught a whiff of her perfume and nearly moaned out loud. She leaned back, her head tipping against the cushion. “Are you okay?” I asked. Her eyes opened and she gave me a tired but genuine smile. “Yeah. I just can’t remember the last time I had this much fun.” I bumped my shoulder into hers. “Good. I wanted you to. Pr epare to be bored at Westwood parties until next Halloween, though, if that one was your speed.” She chuckled. “I’ll just have to find a way to survive, but seriously, thank you. That was a good night.” I shook my head. “Don’t do that. Don’t act like I’ve done you some huge favor. I like having you with me. I like being with you. With Brody.” She studied me like she was trying to figure out if I meant it. “You make it sound so simple.” “That’s because it is.” I gave her a smile that I could feel was soft. “Our situation is complicated. Life is complicated, but me wanting you? That part is easy, Mais. It always has been.” Her breath caught and the space between us suddenly felt charged. For a second, it looked like she might argue again, but instead she shifted closer, her fingers brushing mine.
“You always know what to say, don’t you?” she murmured, turning her head to look directly into my eyes. “Only with you.” I couldn’t hold back anymore, and without even thinking about it, I found myself leaning in, slow enough to give her time to pull away, but when she didn’t, I pressed my mouth to hers, soft but sure. She kissed me back with zero hesitation this time, one of her hands coming up to wrap around the nape of my neck as she leaned into me. My heart started pounding. My cock got all sorts of ideas about what we could do with her. This wasn’t our first kiss, far from it, but it was the first one during which I actually felt like she was mine, and that? That changed everything.