Sipping coffee and sharing breakfast with Callum seemed so natural. She hadn"t ever shared breakfast with him before...at least not when it had been just the two of them. Occasionally, they would arrive at Ramsey"s place for breakfast at about the same time, but there had always been other family members around. She found him fun to talk to and felt good knowing he had noticed her outfit and even complimented her on how she looked. She had caught him staring at her a few times, which meant he couldn"t ignore her so easily after all.
They had finished breakfast and were heading back toward the elevators when suddenly someone called out.
"Callum, it"s you! I can"t believe you"re home!"
Both Callum and Gemma glanced around at the same time a woman threw herself at him and proceeded to wrap her arms around his waist while placing a generous smack on his lips.
"Meredith! It"s good to see you," Callum said, trying to pry himself from the woman"s grip. Once that was accomplished, he smiled pleasantly at the dark-haired female who was smiling up at him like an adoring fan. "What are you doing in town so early?"
The woman laughed. "I"m meeting some friends for breakfast." It was then that she turned and regarded Gemma. "Oh, h.e.l.lo."
The first thought that came into Gemma"s mind was that the woman was simply beautiful. The second was that if it was the woman"s intent to pretend she was just noticing Gemma"s presence, then she had failed miserably, since there was no way she could have missed her, when she"d nearly knocked her down getting to Callum.
"Meredith, I"d love you to meet a good friend of mine," he said, reaching out, catching Gemma"s hand and pulling her closer to his side. "Gemma Westmoreland. Gemma, this is Meredith Kenton. Meredith"s father and mine are old school chums."
Gemma presented her hand to the woman when it became obvious the woman was not going to extend hers. "Meredith."
Meredith hesitated a second before taking it. "So, you"re from the States, Gemma?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
She then turned adoring eyes on Callum again, and Gemma didn"t miss the way the woman"s gaze lit up when Callum smiled at her. "Now that you"re back home, Callum, what about us doing dinner at the Oasis, going sailing and having a picnic on the beach."
For crying out loud. Will you let the man at least catch his breath, Gemma wanted to scream, refusing to consider that she was feeling a bit jealous. Gemma wanted to scream, refusing to consider that she was feeling a bit jealous. And besides, for all you know, I might be his woman and if I were I wouldn"t let him do any of those things with you. Talk about blatant disrespect. And besides, for all you know, I might be his woman and if I were I wouldn"t let him do any of those things with you. Talk about blatant disrespect.
"I"m going to be tied up this visit," Callum said, easing Gemma closer to his side. Gemma figured he was trying to paint a picture for Meredith that really wasn"t true-that they were a twosome. Any other time she might have had a problem with a man insinuating such a thing, but in this case she didn"t mind. In fact, she welcomed the opportunity to pull the rug right out from under Miss Disrespect. Meredith was obviously one of those "pushy" women.
"And I"m only back home for a short while," he added.
"Please don"t tell me you"re going back over there."
"Yes, I am."
"When are you coming home for good?" Meredith pouted, her thin lips exuding disappointment.
Gemma looked up at Callum, a questioning look in her eyes. Was this the woman waiting for him that he told her didn"t exist? He met her gaze and as if he read the question lingering there, he pulled her even closer to his side. "I"m not sure. I kind of like it over there. As you know, Mom is an American, so I"m fortunate to have family on both continents."
"Yes, but your home is here."
He smiled as he glanced down at Gemma. He then looked back at Meredith. "Home is where the heart is."
The woman then turned a cold, frosty gaze on Gemma. "And he brought you back with him."
Before Gemma could respond, Callum spoke up. "Yes, I brought her back with me to meet my parents."
Gemma knew the significance of that statement, even if it was a lie. To say he had brought her home to meet his parents meant there was a special relationship between them. In truth, that wasn"t the case but for some reason he didn"t want Meredith to know that, and in a way she didn"t want Meredith to know it, either.
"Well, I see my friends have arrived now," she said in a cutting tone. "Gemma, I hope you enjoy your time here in Sydney and, Callum, I"ll talk to you later." The woman then beat a hasty retreat.
With his hand on her arm, Callum steered Gemma toward the elevator. Once they were alone inside the elevator, Gemma spoke. "Why did you want Meredith to a.s.sume we were an item?"
He smiled down at her. "Do you have a problem with that?"
Gemma shook her head. "No, but why?"
He stared at her for a few moments, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He seemed to think for a minute. "Just because."
She lifted a brow. "Just because?"
"Yes, just because."
She frowned up at him. "I"d like more of a reason than that, Callum. Is Meredith one of your former girlfriends?"
"Not officially. And before you a.s.sume the worst about me, I never gave her a reason to think anything between us was official or otherwise. I never led her on. She knew where she stood with me and I with her."
So it was one of those kinds of relationships, Gemma mused. The kind her brothers were notorious for. The kind that left the woman broken down and broken-hearted. Gemma mused. The kind her brothers were notorious for. The kind that left the woman broken down and broken-hearted.
"And before you start feeling all indignant on Meredith"s behalf, don"t waste your time. Her first choice of the Austells was my brother, Colin. They dated for a few years and one day he walked in and found her in bed with another man."
"Oh." Gemma hadn"t liked the woman from the first, and now she liked her even less.
The elevator stopped. They stepped off and Callum turned to her and placed his hand on her arm so she wouldn"t go any farther. She hadn"t expected the move and sensations escalated up her rib cage from his touch.
"I want to leave you with something to think about, Gemma," he said in that voice she loved hearing.
"What?"
"I know that watching your brothers and cousins operate with girls has colored your opinion of men in general. I think it"s sad that their exploits have left a negative impression on you and I regret that. I won"t speak for your brothers, because they can do that for themselves, but I can speak for myself. I"d never intentionally hurt any woman. It"s my belief that I have a soul mate out there somewhere."
She lifted a brow. "A soul mate?"
"Yes."
Gemma couldn"t help but wonder if such a thing really existed. She would be the first to admit that her cousin Dillon"s first wife hadn"t blended in well with the family, nor had she been willing to make any sacrifices for the man she loved. With his current wife, Pam, it was a different story. From the moment the family had met Pam, they"d known she was a G.o.dsend. The same thing held true for Chloe. Gemma, Megan and Bailey had bonded with their sister-in-law immediately, even before she and Ramsey had married. And just to see the two couples together, you would know they were meant for each other and loved each other deeply.
So Gemma knew true love worked for some people, but she wasn"t willing to suffer any heartbreak while on a quest to find Mr. Right or her soul mate. But as far as Callum was concerned, she was curious about one thing. "And you really believe you have a soul mate?"
"Yes."
She noted that he hadn"t hesitated in answering. "How will you know when you meet her?"
"I"ll know."
He sounded pretty confident about that, she thought. She shrugged. "Well, good luck in finding her," she said as they exited the building and headed toward the parking garage.
She noted that Callum appeared to have considered her comment, and then he tilted his head and smiled at her. "Thanks. I appreciate that."
Five
"Wow, this car is gorgeous, but I thought a private car was coming for us."
Callum looked over at Gemma and smiled as they walked toward the car parked in the hotel"s parking garage. "I decided to have my car brought to me instead."
"This is your car?" Gemma studied the beautiful, shiny black two-seater sports car.
He chuckled as he opened the door for her. "Yes, this baby is mine." And so are you, And so are you, he wanted to say as he watched her slide her legs into the car, getting a glimpse of her beautiful calves and ankles. "I"ve had it now for a few years." he wanted to say as he watched her slide her legs into the car, getting a glimpse of her beautiful calves and ankles. "I"ve had it now for a few years."
She glanced up at him. "Weren"t you ever tempted to ship it to Denver?"
"No," he said with a smile. "Can you imagine me driving something like this around Ramsey"s sheep farm?"
"No, I can"t," she said, grinning when he got in on the other side and snapped his seat belt into place. "Is it fast?"
"Oh, yes. And you"ll see that it has a smooth ride."
Callum knew she was sold on the car"s performance moments later when they hit the open highway and she settled back in her seat. He used to imagine things being just like this, with him driving this car around town with the woman he loved sitting in the pa.s.senger seat beside him.
He glanced over at her for a second and saw how closely she was paying attention to everything they pa.s.sed, as if she didn"t want to miss anything. He drew in a deep breath, inhaling her scent right along with it, and felt desire settle into his bones. Nothing new there; he"d wanted Gemma since the first time he"d seen her and knew she would be his.
"This place is simply beautiful, Callum."
He smiled, pleased that she thought so. "More so than Denver?"
She threw her head back and laughed. "Hey, there"s no place like home. I love Denver."
"I know." Just as he knew it would be hard getting her to leave Denver to move to Sydney with him. He would have returned home long ago, but he"d been determined not to until he had her with him.
"We"re on our way to your parents" home?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yes. They"re looking forward to meeting you."
Surprise swept across her face. "Really? Why?"
He wished he could tell her the truth, but decided to say something else equally true. "You"re Ramsey"s sister. Your brother made an impression on them during the six months he lived here. They consider him like another son."
"He adores them, as well. Your family is all he used to write us about while he was here. I was away at college and his letters used to be so full of adventure. I knew then that he"d made the right decision to turn over the running of the family"s real-estate firm to Dillon and pursue his dream of becoming a sheep rancher. Just as my father always wanted to do."
He heard the touch of pain in her voice and sensed that mentioning her father had brought back painful memories. "You were close to him, weren"t you?"
When they came to a snag in traffic, he watched her moisten her lips before replying to his question. "Yes. I was definitely a daddy"s girl, but then so were Megan and Bailey. He was super. I can still recall that day Dillon and Ramsey showed up to break the news to us. They had been away at college, and when I saw them come in together I knew something was wrong. But I never imagined the news they were there to deliver."
She paused a moment. "The pain wouldn"t have been so great had we not lost our parents and Uncle Adam and Aunt Clarisse at the same time. I"ll never forget how alone I felt, and how Dillon and Ramsey promised that, no matter what, they would keep us together. And they did. Because Dillon was the oldest, he became the head of the family and Ramsey, only seven months younger, became second in charge. Together they pulled off what some thought would be impossible."
Callum recalled hearing the story a number of times from Ramsey. He had hesitated about going to Australia because he hadn"t wanted to leave everything on Dillon"s shoulders, so he"d waited until Bailey had finished high school and started college before taking off for Australia.
"I"m sure your parents would be proud of all of you," he said.
She smiled. "Yes, I"m sure they would be, as well. Dillon and Ramsey did an awesome job and I know for sure we were a handful at times, some of us more than others."
He knew she was thinking about her cousin, Bane, and all the trouble he used to get into. Now Brisbane Westmoreland was in the Navy with dreams of becoming a SEAL.
Callum checked his watch. "We won"t be long now. Knowing Mom, she"ll have a feast for lunch."
A smile touched Gemma"s lips. "I"m looking forward to meeting your parents, especially your mother, the woman who captured your father"s heart."
He returned her smile, while thinking that his mother was looking forward to meeting her-the woman who"d captured his.
Surprise swept across Gemma"s face when Callum brought his car to the marker denoting the entrance to his family"s ranch. She leaned forward in her seat to glance around through the car"s windows. She was spellbound, definitely at a loss for words. The ranch, the property it sat on and the land surrounding it were breathtaking.
The first thing she noticed was that this ranch was a larger version of her brother"s, but the layout was identical. "I gather that Ramsey"s design of the Shady Tree Ranch was based on this one," she said.
Callum nodded. "Yes, he fell in love with this place and when he went back home he designed his ranch as a smaller replica of this one, down to every single detail, even to the placement of where the barns, shearing plants and lambing stations are located."
"No wonder you weren"t in a hurry to return back here. Being at the Shady Tree Ranch was almost home away from home for you. There were so many things to remind you of this place. But then, on the other hand, if it had been me, seeing a smaller replica of my home would have made me homesick."
He keyed in the code that would open the electronic gate while thinking that the reason he had remained in Denver after helping Ramsey set up his ranch, and the reason he"d never gotten homesick, were basically the same. Gemma. He hadn"t wanted to leave her behind and return to Australia, and he hadn"t, except for the occasional holiday visit. And he truly hadn"t missed home because, as he"d told Meredith, home is where the heart is and his heart had always been with Gemma, whether she knew it or not.
He put the car in gear and drove down the path leading to his parents" ranch house. The same place where he"d lived all his life before moving into his own place at twenty-three, right out of college. But it hadn"t been unusual to sleep over while working the ranch with his father and brothers. He had many childhood memories of walks along this same path, then bicycle rides, motorcycle rides and finally rides behind the wheel of a car. It felt good to be home-even better that he hadn"t come alone.
He fully expected not only his parents to be waiting inside the huge ranch house, but his brothers and their wives, and his sister and brother-in-law as well. Everyone was eager to meet the woman whose pull had kept him working in North America as Ramsey"s ranch manager for three years. And everyone was sworn to secrecy, since they knew how important it was for him to win Gemma"s heart on his turf.
She was about to start getting to know the real Callum Austell. The man she truly belonged to.
When Callum brought the car to a stop in front of the sprawling home, the front door opened and a smiling older couple walked out. Gemma knew immediately that they were his parents. They were a beautiful couple. A perfect couple. Soul mates. Another thing she noted was that Callum had the older man"s height and green eyes and had the woman"s full lips, high cheekbones and dimpled smile.
And then, to Gemma"s surprise, following on the older couple"s heels were three men and three women. It was easy to see who in the group were Callum"s brothers and his sister. It was uncanny just how much they favored their parents.
"Seems like you"re going to get to meet everyone today, whether you"re ready to do so or not," Callum said.
Gemma released a chuckle. "Hey, I have a big family, too. I remember how it was when I used to come home after being away at college. Everyone is glad to see you come home. Besides, you"re your parents" baby."