A giant of a man fills the door frame, and a gleaming smile stretches across his face. “I bet you’re Callie.” He steps forward to offer his hand to me.
“Yes, sir. I am.” I stand to greet him, craning my neck to look up at him. Wes’ biological mother may be tall, but I think this is who he got the real height from. Their stature is exactly the same, the width of their shoulders, the lean and lanky build. And those trademark Baxter eyes look even more aquamarine against his olive skin. Maybe my Greek god reference about Wes isn’t too far off base because his dad seems to have more than a little Mediterranean in his blood.
He squeezes my hand before releasing it. “I’m Robert. Nice to meet you, finally. Makenna talks about you all the time, so I feel like you’re already a part of the family.” He motions to my chair. “Why don’t we get started? Wes will be here in just a moment.”
Eve chuckles. “If we waited on him every time we sat down to eat, I think we’d all starve to death.”
“Yeah, yeah . . . I’m here.” Wes strolls into the room, looking like it’s the last place he wants to be. Like the jerk he is, he walks around to the opposite side of the table and starts to drag one of the extra chairs up to sit between his dad and Shane, completely ignoring the empty space beside me.
“Wesley Baxter.” Eve’s eyes are about to pop right out of her head. “We saved a seat for you right over here.” She points a long finger at the chair next to me.
Shane and Makenna look at each other, fighting a smirk, while both Eve and Robert glare at Wes. Meanwhile, I just want to melt into a puddle underneath the table. He can’t even sit near me to eat. Nice.
“Sorry, Mom. I’m just used to sitting here. I wasn’t thinking.” He moves the chair back and drops into the seat next to me without even a glance in my direction.
Everyone is engaged in conversation as the dishes of food are passed around. Everyone, that is, except Wes and me. The room is far from quiet, but the silence from him is painful. It really pisses me off, and I refuse to let him think he’s getting to me. Okay, he is getting to me, but he doesn’t get the satisfaction of knowing it.
The platters have all been passed around, and I’m about to take a sip of my orange juice when I catch Shane staring at my plate. “What?” I ask before taking a drink.
“Just one tiny little sausage?” His eyes narrow as a devious grin spreads across his lips. “I thought for sure you’d go for four.”
I immediately begin choking, setting my glass down so hard that juice sloshes onto the tablecloth. I jerk my napkin from the table, sending my silverware skittering into the floor, and I hold it to my mouth as I fight for the coughing to stop. Orange juice and lungs don’t mix.
“Oh, honey, are you okay?” Eve jumps up from her seat and pats me on the back.
I can barely see her through the tears welling in my eyes, but I nod my head, finally able to take a full breath. “Yes,” I croak.
Shane and Makenna are suddenly really interested in their food. They’re both snickering quietly while staring at their plates and shoveling food into their big freaking mouths. After Eve grabs more silverware from the china cabinet, she and Robert go back to discussing the flowers they want to plant, like nothing had ever happened. And Wes stares at me. I can feel it.
I flick a quick glance at him, and I can tell by the look on his face, he knows exactly why Shane said what he did. Because I have a big freaking mouth. This shouldn’t be anything new to him, though. He already knows this about me, so he has no reason to be pissed. Besides, wasn’t it him that said he wasn’t ashamed?
But fine, if he wants to be irritated at me, I should at least get the satisfaction of earning it. “On second thought, Shane, could you pass me that platter of sausage?” Everyone pauses to watch, suddenly interested in what I’m saying. Using the little serving tongs, I move several of the little sausage links aside to grab one of the bigger pieces of Italian sausage and put it on my plate before handing it back to him. “You don’t need four if you get a big enough one to begin with.”
This time, it’s Wes’ turn to choke.
AFTER EATING, EVERYONE retreats to the den to watch a movie. I’m surprised to find out that Eve is a classic movie buff, just like me. Now, I understand how Wes knew who Audrey Hepburn was. As soon as the music begins, I know the movie. Top Hat has my favorite dance scene of all time—well, next to Singin’ in the Rain— and Fred Astaire is one of my absolute favorite leading men. The way he and Ginger Rogers sweep across the floor in perfect, graceful synchronization while he sings Cheek to Cheek . . . it makes me swoon every time.