“Wow.” The yard isn’t huge, but the privacy fence keeps it quiet and free of prying eyes. “When did you do this?”
“I had it done last week while I was working on the music room. I’m not a landscaper, so I hired it out.”
She nods, steps off the porch and walks into the yard. She’s barefoot, and doesn’t even think twice about stepping into the grass. “I love the pond back here.”
“I’m going to stock it with koi,” I reply, walking a few steps behind her, my hands in my pockets. Why am I so nervous about this? Why do I so desperately want her approval? It’s not like I’m doing this for her. It’s for me, and, at some point, it might turn a nice profit.
Regardless of the reasons, I do want her to like it.
“It’s really beautiful, Declan. The crew you hired did a great job.” To my utter surprise, she sits down, right on the bare grass. “Sit with me.”
“Whatever the lady wants,” I reply and sit next to her, leaning back on my hands. We’re both looking up at the sky. “Even with the light noise of the city, you can see the Big Dipper.”
“I bet the stars are amazing out at the inn,” she murmurs. I glance over at her and take in the angle of her jaw, the curve of her neck as she continues to look up. Her shoulders are hunched up from leaning back on her arms. “I’ve never experienced a family like yours, Declan.”
Her voice is suddenly soft, and not a little sad. I want to wrap her up in my arms, but I also don’t want her to stop talking. “Most families aren’t like mine,” I murmur, eyes trained on the skies above.
“I didn’t think they really existed,” she says and I feel her turn her blue eyes to me. “I don’t know what it’s like to have that many people love me. And I don’t say that to sound pathetic, it’s just an anomaly to me.”
“I get it.” I shrug and pull my knees up, rest my elbows on them. “Having a big family is both a blessing and a curse.”
“How so?”
“There’s always someone else to blame when Mama gets mad,” I say with a grin and tug on a piece of her soft blonde hair. “The bad thing is, you can’t get away with anything. People are always telling on you.”
“When you were kids?”
I smirk and shake my head. “All the time. They’re all a bunch of pests.”
“And you love them.”
“Every last one,” I agree and sigh. “I’m sorry that you didn’t have the comfort of a loving family, Callie.”
“My dad loved me,” she says, carefully choosing her words. “And Mom did too, but when she passed away, Dad just couldn’t deal with it.”
“So you became the parent,” I say softly, and she simply nods. “You have Adam.”
“I do, and he couldn’t be more of a brother to me if we shared blood. I’m loved, Declan, I’ve just never seen the Waltons up close and in person.”
I laugh at the comparison and decide she isn’t far off.
“I didn’t know you were a twin,” she says.
“We are three minutes apart,” I reply, thinking of Van. “She’s older.”
“And you’re close.”
“We are,” I reply, nodding. “We were even roommates in college, along with Kate.”
“Eli’s Kate?” she asks, surprised.
“She was our Kate first,” I say and play with a strand of her hair. “She’s one of my closest friends.”
She’s staring at the sky again. The pulse in her throat is steady and delicate, and I can’t help but trace my finger over it softly, just to feel her skin.
“You’re beautiful.”
She rolls her head over to look at me with soft blue eyes. “You’re not too shabby yourself.”
“I want to fuck you, right here, under the stars, but I don’t have any condoms on me.”
She frowns. “I have the birth control covered,” she replies, still looking me in the eye.
“Do we trust each other?” I ask. I’ve never, ever, had sex without a condom, and the thought of doing this with Callie… well, it would knock me off my feet if I were standing up.
She nods, a smile teasing her mouth.
“So, can I fuck you, here under the stars?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”