Gemma forced herself to breathe when it became clear that she and Callum would be sharing living space while she was here. Why did the thought of that bother her?
She had to admit for the first time she was noticing things about him she’d never noticed before. And she was experiencing things around him that she hadn’t experienced before. Like the way she was swept up in heated desire and the sensuous tickling in the pit of her stomach whenever he was within a few feet of her, like now…
“Gemma?”
She swallowed again as she met his gaze and the green eyes were holding hers with an intensity that she wasn’t used to. She gave her head a mental shake. His family had to be wondering why they were still outside. She had to get real. She was here to do a job and she would do it without having these crazy thoughts that Callum was after her body, just because she’d begun having crazy fantasies about him.
“No, I don’t have a problem with that.” She pulled away from him and smiled. “Come on, your parents are probably wondering why we’re still out here,” she said, moving ahead and making an attempt to walk up the steps again.
She succeeded and kept walking toward the door, fully aware that he was watching every step she took.
Callum glanced around his parents’ kitchen and drew in a deep breath. So far, things were going just as he’d hoped. From the masked smiles and nods he’d gotten from his family, he knew they agreed with his assessment of Gemma—that she was a precious gem. Even his three nephews, ages six, eight and ten, who were usually shy with strangers, had warmed up to her.
He knew that, for a brief moment, she had been confused as to why his family had taken so readily to her. What he’d told her hadn’t been a lie. They knew the reason she was here and decorating that house he had built was only part of it. In fact, a minor part.
“When are you getting a haircut?”
Callum turned and smiled at his father. “I could ask you the same thing.” Todd Austell’s hair was just as long as his son’s and Callum couldn’t remember him ever getting his hair cut. In fact, it appeared longer now than the last time he’d seen it.
“Don’t hold your breath for that to happen,” his father said with joking amusement in his green gaze. “I love my golden locks. The only thing I love more is your mother.”
Callum leaned against the kitchen counter. His mother, sister and sisters-in-law had Gemma in a corner and from their expressions he knew they were making his woman feel right at home. His brother and brothers-in-law were outside manning the grills, and his nephews were somewhere playing ball. His parents had decided to have a family cookout to welcome him and Gemma home.
“Gemma is a nice girl, Callum. Le’Claire and Shaun like her.”
He could tell. He glanced up at his father. “And you?”
A smile crossed Todd Austell’s lips. “I like her.”
As if she felt Callum’s gaze, she glanced over in his direction and smiled. His muscles tightened in desire for her.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“After you met Mom and knew she was the woman for you, how long did it take you to convince her of it?”
“Too long.”
Callum chuckled. “How long was too long?”
“A few months. Remember, I had an engagement to break off and then your mother assumed that flying was her life. I had to convince her that she was sorely mistaken about that, and that I was her life.”