The CEO(22)

Callum nodded. ‘Although, just to set the record straight, we never actually called it that.’

‘Sorry. Being flippant again. The Meadows is famous, which I’m sure you know will mean the sale is going to be huge news.’

Callum rubbed his jaw. ‘I know. And the last thing I want to do is be in the papers for that. But it’s what we have to do.’

Ava paused and looked at the man sitting opposite her. For someone so young, he’d had so much responsibility on his shoulders for so long. Her biggest financial commitment involved negotiating a car loan with her bank. Callum probably made billion-dollar decisions every day before she ate breakfast, with the jobs of thousands of people depending on him to make the right one. What did that do to a man? She studied his face. Although it was hard to tell at a distance, up this close, with the overhead light shining down on the table between them, she could see shadows under his eyes and fine lines at their corners. At each temple, there was a dusting of grey, and it was hard to tell if the slump in his shoulders was relaxation or the burden of so much responsibility.

‘That must have been a hard decision to make. All that history, all those memories.’

He met her eyes. ‘Not so hard, as it turns out. None of us wants to live there.’

‘Why not?’

‘Chris and Ellie aren’t interested. She spent half her childhood out bush, and he’s spent the past decade living in a tent in whichever war zone was making headlines at the time. Clean sheets and a cold beer are his idea of luxury now.’

Ava nodded. She understood the simple life. She’d lived the simple life. ‘What about Cooper? He doesn’t want to live there?’

‘He calls California home these days.’

Ava leaned forward. ‘And what about you? You don’t want it?’

‘You think I want that kind of life?’ His voice had become quiet and low, with a huskiness that sent her insides firing up again. He really was not at all what she’d expected. Ava was starting to realise she hadn’t really known Callum at all before now.

‘I guess not if you’re selling the place. Which is a real pity. The gardens are legendary in my world, you know.’

‘Are they?’

‘Hell, yeah,’ Ava said. ‘Those rolling lawns down to the waterline, which was obviously why your family called it The Meadows. Clever. The wonderful old magnolias and the towering Norfolk Island pines, all set amongst the art deco gardens. And so secluded. It’s hard to get a good look from the water. Believe me, I’ve tried.’

Callum frowned at her. ‘You spied on my father’s house?’

She sure hoped she wasn’t blushing. ‘Well. Let me clarify that. It was all in the name of research. When I was studying at university, someone knew someone with a boat, so we went out on the harbour one day and tried to get as close as we could. But … it was hugely disappointing. It’s impossible to see much of anything from the water.’

‘My grandparents designed it that way so the family could have some privacy. The old rich like to be anonymous you know. Wouldn’t want the riff-raff looking over the back fence and seeing what we get up to.’ Callum smiled at a memory. ‘Those rolling lawns you mentioned?’ They were our cricket pitches when we were kids. My brothers and I used to have a competition to see how many of those red leather balls we could hit directly into the Harbour. Six runs for that, obviously, and four runs if you could smack one right into the retaining wall. One time, just before Chris left home, I thundered one down the wicket and he hit the ball so damn hard his bat split in two. The two pieces of it flew into the air like skewers and Coop and I ducked for cover, hoping like hell they didn’t land on our heads.’

Ava covered her mouth and laughed. ‘Did they?’

‘No. Fortunately.’

Neither of them spoke for a moment, both of them simply smiling at each other. Ava wanted to take this all in. There was still a lot she didn’t know about this man. She’d spent five years trying not to know much about him because she knew what would happen.

The exact thing that was happening right now.

The more she found out, the deeper and more hopelessly she fell. Ava dropped her eyes to her plate and realised she hadn’t yet finished her second serving. There were still a few curled pieces of squid on her plate, but she’d suddenly lost her appetite.

Callum reached over the table and picked up one of the crispy, golden morsels and tossed it in his mouth. ‘So you never got a good look at The Meadows, huh.’

‘No. And as far as I know, it’s never been photographed or documented. I scoured the university library and Googled like mad but, no. Nothing. It seems you Malones like to keep a lot to yourself.’