Calliope kissed Michael lightly and then felt a hum in her skin as she walked inside the mansion and glanced around for Sandra and Wyatt. She wouldn’t interrupt if they danced, but if they were just talking, it would be fine for a few minutes. Michael squeezed her hand and then they walked off in the direction of Peter Morgan and a few other men.
She adjusted her dress and headed toward the bar, where she’d last seen his sister. She bumped into Matthew Morgan, who was supposed to star in her brother's film, but he seemed distracted. She continued and then she felt a chill race up her spine. She turned and saw her blond, blue-eyed ex-fiancé standing close to her. She crossed her arms as he said, "Calliope."
"Chris." She nodded. Every cell in her body wanted to explode, but she held back her fury. She held up her head and glared at him, daring him to speak.
"It's good to see you." He lowered his gaze and his cheeks were slightly red.
No. It wasn't good to see him. She took a deep breath. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Clearly." She raised her eyebrow as she glanced around for a sign of Roxanne. The woman wasn't close. She rolled her shoulders and then turned to leave. "I should go."
He reached out and caught her wrist. "Are you here with Michael?"
"Yeah." She tugged her wrist out of his grasp as bile collected in her throat.
"Be careful there."
Her forehead wrinkled as she crossed her arms and glanced at a waiter that passed. "Why? You’re the one who can't be faithful."
"Your judgment isn't the best all the time. Right now it's revenge sex you're having."
Revenge? Was that why Michael had a hard time believing her feelings? A bitterness grew in her stomach as she felt her hands ball into fists. "Who is in my bed or not in my bed is no longer your concern."
"I wish it was." His voice softened. The bile dissipated until he finished his sentence. "You do know Eva is pregnant."
Michael's ex. She took the champagne off the waiter's tray now and swallowed it in one swig. "What?"
"So you didn't know."
This wasn't a question. Something ate at her insides, and it felt like a wolf wanted to growl from within her soul as she lifted her chin. "I know you cheated on me and Roxanne is pregnant."
Chris reached out and put both his hands on her forearms like he'd hug her. "I still love you and want you back."
She wiggled her shoulders to shake him off as she avoided his gaze. "If you loved me, that wouldn't have happened."
He reached up and cupped her chin. "It was a stupid mistake. I'd put you first for the rest of our lives if you forgave me and took me back."
"No." Her mind flashed to the night before the wedding and Chris's last kiss as he escorted her to her hotel room. She felt cold and bored. Then her mind returned to this afternoon as Michael made her body ache to feel all of him.
"I'd forget your fling with Michael and we could both start fresh."
If he had fathered a child, at least it had been before he’d ever kissed her. She threw her hands up to get out of Chris' arms. "No."
A familiar hand brushed the small of her back. She turned slightly and saw Michael while she stepped closer into his arms. He smelled like a home she never had as he said, "Calliope, is everything okay?"
All of this could be worked out. She turned to face him. His blue eyes mesmerized her. She swallowed and asked, "Michael, is Eva pregnant?"
With an intake of breathe he surveyed both of them. "How do you both know that?"
"So she is." Her shoulders slumped.
He glanced at Chris like he was a snake. "You both shouldn't know. She told me the only one who knew was the father."
"Chris just told me." She pointed and stepped to the side.
Michael stepped in front of her and placed his hand on her side to ensure she was far behind him as he asked Chris, "Did you father two children while cheating on Calliope?"
"It's not how it sounds." Chris backed up. "And we both know she's better in bed than Calliope."
Before she could even gasp, Michael's hand balled into a fist and he punched Chris.
Chris lost his footing and stumbled. Then he reached out and punched Michael as another man put his hands around Chris to stop him.
She jumped forward and grabbed Michael's shoulders. No one should fight because of her. Everyone stared at the pair of them. The silence was deafening. Finally, he glanced at her and she pulled Michael away. He followed while she said, "Michael, let's get out of here."
"Gladly." She reached for his arm and held him close as they made their way through the crowd and away from Chris.
Once they made it out the front door, there were only a few groups that were saying goodbye to each other. Calliope reached up and traced Michael's face to survey where Chris had touched him. In the dark she couldn't make out much of a bruise, though he'd feel it. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. My hand will be fine." He nodded and reached toward his face and drew her hand lower.
She whispered, "It was quite a punch."
"He hurt you." His face hardened.
Her body trembled so she squeezed his hand. "So you hit him for me and not Eva."
His chin rested on her forehead. "For you mostly but Eva deserves better than getting involved in that jerk's web of lies."
If he kissed her, would it hurt his face? She felt her nipples harden in her gold dress. "He made it seem like you were the father of Eva's baby."
"Eva and I were over six months ago. How... why did you go back to Chris the first time?"
She closed her eyes and prayed.
Then she heard a a voice behind her and she stepped away from Michael to give room. A second later Sandy said, "Sorry to interrupt. I wanted to know if my brother was okay?"
Michael met her gaze and then turned toward his sister. "I'm fine, Sandy."
His sister shook her head and checked the side of his face. "You've never picked a fight with anyone except to defend me in elementary school."
"That was a long time ago." Again he met her gaze until Wyatt Colburn came beside her.
Sandy stepped away from her brother and closer to her fiancé. "My brother was my hero then just as you're Calliope's now. Glad you're okay."
With his key, Michael let the car flash it's lights and held up his hand to point toward her, "Let's get going."
"Okay." Calliope waved, but Sandy reached out and hugged her.
Wyatt shook her hand. A few seconds later, she was with Michael and he placed his hand on her back to guide her toward his car. When he opened it and she slipped inside, she felt a jolt of energy she hadn’t felt since she was with him in Mexico. A second later, Michael took the driver’s side seat and started the car. The second he drove away, he asked, "So why did you go back to Chris?"
"I'll answer when we get home." Her entire body felt hot as she avoided his gaze. He must not have believed her that Chris was always the stand in for Michael. She had to figure out how to make him believe her and she needed time to figure out how.
Silence came between them as she watched the palm trees float past the window.
He held onto the steering wheel as he said, "I'll take you home."
"No. I want to go to your home tonight." She reached out and touched his arm. "Okay?"
He nodded and then drove toward Sunny Isles. As they crossed the bridge a few minutes later, she felt her heart began to pound.
He handed his car keys to a valet and led her inside. A doorman called the elevator for them and he placed his hand on her back. Her lips ached for a kiss, but instead goosebumps grew on her arm and entire body as they waited for the ride. Finally the elevators doors opened and he led her to the door of his place. The tingling sensation grew in her lips as he closed the door behind him, and they were alone. She hugged her waist as he placed his keys on a table and said, "Here we are. Do you want a drink?"
She placed her small wallet next to his keys and listened to the thump in her chest. "Okay, thanks."
He walked away and she watched his backside and strong shoulders as she told herself to relax. Everything was fine, and this time it wasn’t a lie.
A few seconds later, while in the kitchen, he held up the wine and a beer bottle. She pointed toward the wine and then she heard him clink glasses and pour.
‘Be brave’ she told herself and slipped her shoes off, leaving them near the door. With her head up, she walked on the cold marble floors toward the couch. He joined her though he stared at her feet for a moment and then handed her the white wine. As she wrapped her fingers around the stem of the glass, he asked, "Why did you take Chris back?"
She clutched the stem harder as she looked at his chest. "Can't leave the question alone?"
"No."
"Fair enough." She glanced higher and met his piercing blue eyes. Then she scooted one foot higher and placed it under her as she said, "My parents."
His eyebrows narrowed. "I don't understand."
She lifted her other leg onto the couch and hugged it as she squeezed her body together. "My parents loved each other and loved my brother and me."
He reached out and stroked her shoulders. She relaxed them as he said, "Calliope, your parents died your senior year of high school."
The pendant around her neck felt like it glowed from a memory as she nodded. "I know."
"So how do they relate to Chris?"
She lowered her leg. "He was with me when I found out. He's been all I had."
"Calliope, your parents would want you to have someone who treated you better."
Her brother had repeatedly said the same thing. Her head spun. "I don't know."
Then he reached out and touched her neck as he picked up her necklace. "The pendant you wear. My sister has one just like it from our mother."
Michael understood then. Chris had demanded she not wear it anymore last year. She nodded. "This was my mother's."
"Look, I don't know what it's like to have two parents who loved so freely, but I know you should be treated better than Chris treated you."
As he let her necklace go, she reached out for his hand as she said, "Michael, I'm sorry."
He blinked. "For what?"
"For believing for even a second that Eva's baby was yours."
His cheeks turned slightly red as he let out a small laugh. "It's fine. I'm used to no one believing in me."
This was it. Nothing stood between them now. He could be her happily-ever-after. "I believe in you. Now kiss me."
As his lips met hers, the troubles of the day melted away. His kiss, like the rest of him, was perfect.