Engagement Rate (The Callaghan Green Series Book 1) Page 10

  Claire: Who's the plus one? Because if it's not Vanessa I'll message her and ask her to come anyway.

  It was going to be a gorgeous sunny day. Did I really want to spoil it by subjecting Vanessa to the mess that was my family, although she had met most of them already? "You sure about this?" I said to her, giving her one more out.

  She had been reading over my shoulder. "What's the lowest thing you've done that she's referring to?"

  "I have no idea. Probably something I did in one of her nightmares." Claire could irritate the fuck out of me sometimes so I'd frequently tormented her.

  "I'm happy to go; it'll be fun. They don't need to know we've spent the night together. Yet. Let's just be vague." She was touching me still, close to my side, her hand on my thigh. There was no chance of being vague.

  Jackson: It's Vanessa. She's just texted me back to say she can make it. I mentioned it to her yesterday.

  Claire: Is this after you'd toured a museum? You know, you refused to step inside them with your step-mum. A pretty girl asks you and you've probably become a curator.

  Me: Well it was an exhibit on underwear...

  Maxwell: With her gran. Not trying to get in someone's good books...

  Seph: Or her pants.

  Seph: You can't like her that much. Or has she friend zoned you? Too complicated – business/pleasure etc etc.

  Jackson: What do you mean?

  I was genuinely confused. Why would he think Vanessa would friend zone me? For a moment I was genuinely concerned that he was worried about the work connection or something.

  Seph: If it was someone you were really interested in, you wouldn't bring them to meet our lot – all together – after just a couple of days of knowing them. It'll scar her for life, Jacks.

  Claire: Fuck off brother.

  Payton: Fuck off Seph, you turd brain.

  Seph: That hurt. Throwing shit! Some freaking sister you are!

  Ava: Go Payts! What did you throw?

  Payton: A shoe. I think he'll have a bruise.

  Claire: Well done, kid. See y'all at 1.30. Try not to be late and if you are, have a decent excuse which does not include having to go to the hospital because your sister threw a shoe at you. Do you understand that, Joseph?

  Claire: Joseph?

  "You definitely need a few glasses of wine, or maybe a winery full, before we meet them," I said, half mumbling and putting my phone away. "They deserve a reality TV show all to themselves when they're together."

  "You sound like you're not part of it."

  "I tend to be the responsible one. Well, me, Max and sometimes Claire." I pushed a lock of hair out of her face then ran my fingers through it.

  She gave me the smile that lit up her face. "You need to have fun and not be the responsible one all the time." Her lips pressed against mine, a reassuring kiss, nothing loaded. "Tell me about Amelie and Killian. I know about Amelie's café, but she seems to know your family well. How's that?"

  I kissed her back and she straddled me again. There was no way we were leaving my house without me being inside her again. "Amelie grew up with us. She was my mum's best friend's daughter."

  "This might be a stupid question, but why's she not gone into law or... Well, I suppose she has gone into business very successfully." Vanessa looked embarrassed, as if she felt she had been too judgemental. It was easy to see why, with Amelie's eclectic dress sense and way of speaking.

  "She rebelled. She overheard her mother talking to one of her friends and discussing how Amelie would eventually settle down with the friend's son, it would be good for the family, merging wealth and all that. Amelie walked out, refused to start at a university that Autumn and had very little to do with her parents," I explained, my hands back under her top. I was starting to think I had some form of sickness; I couldn't leave her alone.

  "Poor Amelie. She turned it around though. What about Killian?" I felt her tip her chest, offering me access. Maybe it wasn't just me who had the sickness.

  "He went to university with Maxwell, studied business, I think. He was Max's best friend. Claire hates him, which is unfortunate." I winced. I needed to send Killian a message before he met up with us.

  "Because he's organizing security while Claire works on a case that might have a bit of extra pressure."

  "The model divorcing her husband. I caught a conversation the other day."

  "You can't say anything about it." I realized my tone was too firm as soon as the words left my mouth. "Shit, I'm sorry, Van. I didn't mean to say it that way. I know you won't. Claire had some trouble a couple of years ago with a high-profile case and I'm..."

  "Overly protective and you've only known me a few days. I signed a confidentiality agreement before I started which I have no problem with. Remember I'm a professional. But," she prodded me in the chest, "I know you're protecting your little sister and your family's business." She put her hands underneath her top and over mine, moving them up to her amazing tits. Her nipples were hard and I needed my mouth on them. "Do we have time?"

  "We can be late. I'll think of a good excuse."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Chapter Ten

  Vanessa

  Warm days brought the tourists out like moles from the London Underground and onto the pavements and paths in the city instead. The walk from Jackson's took a good ten minutes longer than usual, having to weave around people with cameras and kids, and groups standing in the middle of the pathway with a selfie stick. I could feel Jackson becoming agitated as we were running late. He'd ended up buried inside me on the roof terrace, my jeans around my ankles, me straddling his lap with just his flies undone. My bra and top were pushed up over my breasts so he could tease them with his tongue and he'd had to cover my mouth so we didn't draw attention from the neighbors – and I might've bitten his hand when I came.

  I'd never had something like this before and it wasn't even about the timescale: it was the intensity. He played my body like a virtuoso, knowing exactly what to press to get a certain note, no tuning required. I'd never needed anyone so physically or felt as safe.

  I paused at the side of the pathway and pulled him to me, standing on my tiptoes to plant a kiss on him. "Stop being grumpy with people," I said. "It's a gorgeous day and if we're a few minutes late we have a genuine reason."

  "I wanted to stop for a drink on the way."

  "You also wanted your cock in me, 'one last time,' before we had lunch. There wasn't time for both of those and for me to not smell of sex while we sit with your family," I said, imitating his voice.

  "I'd have been more than happy for you to have smelt of sex," he said, pulling me along as we started to walk – fast.

  I sighed. "And you would've liked the sex hair too. But we're trying to convince everyone that we've not spent the morning copulating like rabbits and that you had to text me to ask if I wanted to join you."

  "Yeah well. I wish I'd said we couldn't go. Then we could've gone out on our own for food and got back to my house," he said, sounding even more grumpy.

  "Jackson," I said. "We can't just spend the weekend sleeping together."

  "Give me one good reason why not?"

  The restaurant came into sight and we saw Claire approaching from the opposite direction, so I was saved having to think of a reason – I was struggling to be honest. The only ones I could think of – we could get bored, it was anti-social, I'd be too sore – weren't necessarily true. I remembered we were holding hands too late to not be noticed by Claire. Jackson didn't seem perturbed by it.

  Claire's reaction was to stare, look at us both, then move swiftly on.

  "So many bloody people around today. I swear I've murdered at least half a dozen tourists by glaring at them. I must've achieved serial killer status by now," she said. She looked her usual stunning self: slim, a perfectly styled dark bob, delicate features and large Bambi eyes. She wore cropped culottes and a gypsy top, showing off tanned shoulders. If she wasn't Jackson's sister, I'd be wanting to hate her.
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br />   "That's what slowed us down," Jackson said, leading us into the restaurant and holding open the door. I saw Seph and Payton immediately, seated near bi-fold doors. Maxwell and, I guessed, Killian was standing at the bar with Amelie. "I see we're waiting for Ava."

  "Well she was born two weeks late," Claire said. "She's never caught up."

  I laughed. "How was last night?" I asked Claire, Jackson finally letting go of my hand to go over to Max. "Get up to anything interesting?"

  "Stayed in and worked, as sad as it sounds. I needed to do a bit of a refresher. You?" We headed to the bar, Claire ordering a cocktail. I went for wine and wondered what to say. I was friends with Claire and had been for some time, but her brother was involved. I didn't want to lie, so opting for withholding information seemed like the best option, for now.

  "I grabbed something to eat with Jackson after my gran headed home, then had an early night." I hoped I didn't look too tired as although I had gone to bed relatively early, we hadn't slept.

  "Together or alone? And how did Jackson end up crashing your museum trip?" Claire glared at Killian as he approached with Max and Jackson.

  "How did I what?" Jackson said, standing just behind me. I felt his arm brushing my back and could tell that the not touching was going to last five minutes, ten at a push.

  "End up at a museum on a Saturday with Vanessa and her gran," Claire picked up her cocktail and started to drink through the straw. I suspected she'd have a hangover tomorrow instead of today.

  Jackson shrugged. "It was an exhibit on underwear. Why wouldn't I be interested in seeing that?"

  Killian looked at Jackson with steely blue eyes. He had fair, closely cropped hair and cheekbones belonging to a model, a model drenched in masculinity and raw, dangerous sex appeal. I must've been staring as Jackson put his hand on my shoulder. Less than five minutes. "I would've thought you'd have seen enough underwear to manage your own exhibition," Killian said, a slight hint of Irish brogue filtering through. His eyes turned to me. "Maxwell mentioned you were joining us. I'm Killian, by the way, not that any of these ignorant bastards would've thought to introduce us." He held out his hand for mine then brought it to his lips.

  "Fuck off, O'Hara," Jackson said, his voice rough, his arm going automatically around my waist. I wasn't surprised, he'd spent most of the last eighteen hours marking me as his.

  Killian laughed, Max, joining in. "That's twenty you owe, Maxwell," Killian said. "And it's nice to meet you, Vanessa. Max and I had a small wager about how long it'd take to find out if you had moved passed the co-workers stage." Max handed him a note.

  "Shits," Jackson said, picking up his beer from the bar. He looked at me apologetically, Killian and Max's attention transferring to Claire who seemed to have started some form of verbal battle with Killian that looked like it could draw blood pretty quickly. "I'm sorry, Van. I should've played it cooler. But he's a manwhore and he would've made a play for you unless I... Fuck. I don't share well."

  I nodded, not sure of what to say. There was no way any of the people here would report back to Richard, especially if we mentioned that he couldn't know. That was all dependent on last night and this morning not being a one-off. Jackson was making it seem as if he didn't want it to be, and I was more than happy for a repeat and maybe more. But I wasn't sure how ready I was to be involved with someone else seriously. I'd been in a relationship for six years and hadn't even got to the point where I was considering dating. "I get it, I do. I just need to make sure Richard doesn't find out. If he even suspected I was kind of seeing someone or," I blustered, realizing I'd just given us a label, "or even interested in someone else, he'd make things with the business and apartment even more awkward and difficult."

  Jackson's eyes flashed. I really hoped he never had to meet Richard. It was probably a good idea Seph was going to run the case given how Richard always knew what buttons to press to get a reaction. "No one here will say anything. Even at the office. My dad instilled loyalty in us from day one, which is why all but Callum and Ava work for the company, I suppose. I'll ask them to say nothing." He led me out onto the terrace. "It's been only a couple of days but it feels as if I've known you longer. Forgive me if I say something you're not comfortable with and let me know."

  A large, practical, section of me wanted to turn and hide in the River Thames, but the girly part, the one who had remembered what her sex drive was for and had a pair of eyes that appreciated the male form managed to hold on to the other section. I went onto my tiptoes and kissed him on his lips. "I promise."

  "Do I still have to keep my hands off you?"

  "As long as you remember we're in public, no," I said and his hands automatically went to my hips and he bent down for another kiss. We kept moving the boundaries we'd both seemingly set. How far could we move them before one of us stopped?

  "Well, well, well, if my brother, Jackson hasn't moved into public displays of affection. I never thought I'd see the day." I looked over and saw a girl who had to be Ava. She looked enough like Payton and Claire, but her hair was blonde and curled to the middle of her back.

  Jackson's face softened. "Have you given Claire a reasonable excuse as to why you're late?"

  She grinned. "Nah, I just bought her another sex on the beach. Big sis is going to be smashed by the end of the afternoon. Is she about to start on a big case?"

  "Got it in one. Ava, this is Vanessa. Van, this is my littlest sister, Ava. She irritates me least of all," Jackson said, his hand on the small of my back.

  "Only because I don't work for you," Ava said, then enveloped me in a hug. "I've heard about you from Claire. You have a marketing company. I might need your services at some point. Can I get your contact details from Jackson?"

  "Yes, I'd love to see what I can do to help. You'll have to see if I manage to do a good job of Callaghan Greene first," I said, aware that I hadn't done any work at all this weekend which meant tomorrow would need an early start and a late finish. I had two events planned this week and a new website going live. I wondered if I could escape early from the lunch and head to the office, although I wasn't sure if that was my addiction to work wondering or my fear of being the center of attention.

  "Anyone who is brave enough to plan Dad's retirement must have enough of a screw loose to be successful," Ava said, sipping the glass of prosecco she had been nursing. "I can see Claire waving us in; it must be time to order food."

  Sunday lunch was noisy and raucous; unlike anything I'd ever been to with Richard or even my own family. No one tired of teasing each other, no one argued over food, it was just shared, and the prosecco – which was bottomless as well as the lunch – kept flowing. No one stayed in the same chair, shifting round when they wanted to speak to someone else and no offense was taken.

  We spilled outside after we had eaten, only Ava's friend heading off to see her parents for the remainder of the day. Everyone else was content to continue drinking and talking and I figured it probably wasn't that often that, despite most of them working together, the six siblings were together outside of work.

  "So," Payton sat down next to me, handing me a glass of prosecco. "You and my brother."

  I had been anticipating some form of conversation about me and Jackson. "It's only been a few days. We only met on Thursday."

  "He's smitten," Payton said, smiling. "He's either been next to you or watching you. Especially when Killian speaks to you."

  Richard had never been possessive. In fact, he had once suggested I make a move on a client to make him more inclined to choose us to market his new restaurant. I'd suggested that Richard make the move instead as I was already aware that the owner had a boyfriend. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about Jackson's possessiveness over me: the girly part was again squealing; the sensible part, less so. However, although there had been a few looks and touches, there was nothing to make anyone other than the people who knew him notice. "It's nice he's like this with his dates."

  She raised her eyebrows. "He isn't,"
Payton said. "He's usually fairly independent of them. There have only been two women he saw long term and they were more like close acquaintances in some ways and convenient. I haven't seen him so tactile before. You won't hurt him, will you?"

  I choked back my laughter. The thought that I could hurt someone like Jackson Callaghan was farfetched, to say the least. "I don't know if we'll get to the position where either of us can hurt the other. We're both busy people and I've got a lot of baggage at the moment."

  Payton smiled, almost knowingly. "Jackson has mentioned your ex and asked us to make sure he doesn't find out. We don't gossip about each other so your secret's safe with us. You're wrong though; the fact that you're both busy means you understand where the other's coming from. You might find that having to make that effort to see each other makes things work."

  I sipped my drink, promising myself it would be the last one as I did need that early start tomorrow. "You might be right. I guess we'll see."

  Jackson strolled over, hands in pockets. "Are you monopolizing Vanessa, Payts? I hope you're telling her only good things."

  She shook her head. "No, telling her about that time when Geoffrey O'Brian caught you in his daughter's room so you headed out of her window, only to twist your ankle and then get chased by the dog."

  "That was Callum," Jackson said. "Pippa O'Brian was never my type."

  "Oh, you're right. I do beg your pardon. I'll have to think of some mishaps that were definitely yours." She winked at me and headed over to Seph who was sitting with Amelie and Maxwell.

  Jackson smiled. "You want to head back to mine? I'm happy to make us coffee and we can just relax and chill out. Or, I understand if you have things to do – I have monopolized your weekend."

  I twisted the stem of the glass in my hand and tried to think. "I have to be at work early in the morning. If I come to yours, will I end up staying?"