Stay With Me
Stay With Me
By AC Marchman
The Second Book in the Callahan Series.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, or events in this book are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, alive or deceased, events, or locales is completely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Self-published by the author. Any use of this book without the explicit permission of the author is strictly prohibited.
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Editing and Formatting by:
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Table Of Contents
Chapter 1
Allie
The wind blows through my long chestnut brown hair. The afternoon sun is beating down, making it entirely too hot, but what can you expect in Georgia? I slide my sunglasses down from my head to cover my eyes, hoping to mask the anxiety that is surely etched all over my face. Donovan is cruising down the interstate toward Savannah. We are heading to his family’s estate
,
and this is the first time I’m meeting them. I know that meeting your boyfriend’s family is nerve racking, but since Donovan’s family is insanely wealthy and holds such a high status in society, it sends me into full panic mode. His father is the owner of Callahan Winery and Vineyard, which rakes in millions of dollars a year. Sure, Donovan has told me about how caring his father was for him and his sister, Megan. He certainly had a lot to deal with; an alcoholic wife and a mother that beat his children. However, it doesn’t make me any less nervous about meeting one of Georgia’s wealthiest men. I sigh quietly, hoping that my first impression will be a good one.
“Are you okay?” Donovan cuts his dazzling blue eyes toward me, placing his hand on my knee and giving it a light squeeze. “You haven’t said much today.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just terrified, that’s all.” My voice quietly cracks.
“Babe, don’t worry. They’ll love you. Trust me.” He then returns his hand back to the 3 o’clock position on the wheel.
“I hope you’re right.” I return his smile. His calm demeanor always as a way of soothing me, especially when I’m wound up so tightly that I can’t focus on anything. Donovan and I have only been dating for a short time. It’s only been several weeks since we bumped into each other for the first time. We went from being strangers to lovers very quickly. Of course, I hesitated with the relationship, thinking everything was moving too fast, as did Donovan. But our hearts told us to just go with it; this feeling that we have for one another is like nothing either of us has ever felt before. The relationship is still new, and we are learning as we go, but so far, everything has been almost perfect. Well, except one thing: his ex girlfriend, Claire Dubois, who happens to be sitting in prison for the murder of her husband. That’s the one thing that keeps nagging me. Donovan never wants to talk about it, but I happen to think it’s an important part of his past. It’s a past where he was having casual sex with a number of women, and not a normal relationship until me. Everytime I bring her up, he changes the subject or distracts me, usually by luring me into the bedroom. Trust me, I’m not complaining about the sex; it’s mind blowing to say the least. I just feel like a hole needs to be filled and that dirt is Claire.
“How much longer till we get to Savannah?” I ask, picking up his iPod and scrolling through the list of songs. I find a great song, one I haven’t heard in ages, and hit play. Poison’s lyrics about being talked dirty to start flowing out of the speakers. I look over at Donovan and see him roll his eyes. “Hey, it’s on your iPod, not mine.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I must have been drunk that night.” He shakes his head, embarrassed that an 80’s hair band is on his playlist. “Anyway, we have another couple of hours.” He runs his hand through his dark brown hair, making it flop to the side. Something must be wrong; he only does that when he’s nervous or anxious.
I slip off my black flip flops and rest my freshly pedicured feet on the dashboard. “Might as well get comfortable then,” I smile and start humming to the music. I peek over my sunglasses to look at Donovan. His gaze runs up my legs and stops at the hem of my yellow sundress. I smirk and slightly pull up the hem of my dress, inching it up my legs.
“I know what you’re doing, and you need to cut it out. I can’t exactly fuck you while I’m driving,” he growls, the rumble of his voice gives me chills, even in the summer heat.
“What are you talking about? I’m not doing anything wrong, I’m just hot,” I say innocently, pressing one of my hands on my chest, acting offended.
“Oh, baby, you don’t even know how hot you’re gonna get when I get my hands on you,” he almost purrs, causing my goose bumps to rise. His voice is deep and Southern, a sexy Georgian drawl that rolls off his tongue. His words alone are enough to make me combust.
His hand returns to my leg, inching his way up my thigh. He notices that I tense and draws lazy circles with his thumb. If he keeps this up, I’m going to make him pull over at the next rest stop and having my way with him.
“Eyes on the road, please,” I scold, even though I asked for it; his touch has a crazy effect on me.
“Yes ma’am, if you say so.” He holds up his hand in defense and rests it on the gear shift. “But you’re the one that’s making it difficult to watch the road.”
“Fine, I’ll play nice, Doc” I smile and I pull the dress back down to a reasonable length. It’s fun to tease him because I know he’s going to give me what I deserve later. I’m pretty sure the Callahan mansion has enough rooms that we can sneak away for a bit.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts and pull out my phone to text Livey. I’ve known her almost the entire time I’ve been in Atlanta. She has been a source of strength for me, and I can always lean on her for support. She knows that Matt, my ex-boyfriend, coerced me into having sex, and one of his friends blasted it all over Facebook. What she doesn’t know is that Jackson, my son, is the product of that night. I will break it to her at some point; I just didn’t want her to think I was some sort of tramp that just gave up my kid. I had found a wonderful couple, the Andersons, who couldn’t have children. I wasn’t ready to be a mom, and I wanted my baby to have a good life. We came to an agreement that I would be able to see Jackson whenever I wanted, and they happily accepted. I never regret the decision to let the Andersons raise my son; I know he’s loved and he’s taken care of in a way I couldn’t provide. Donovan is the only one in Georgia that knows about Jackson. I broke down one day and told him. I only told him because I didn’t want to embarrass him with my past, and to my surprise, he accepted my decision without judgment.
Hey, almost halfway there. Miss you! Details later.
Yay! Be careful, sweetie. Have fun.
I smile at my phone and stick it back in my purse. I look up when I hear Donovan clear his throat. His lips are pressed in a hard line and his knuckles are white from the grip on the steering wheel. “What’s wrong?” I ask, concerned over not knowing the reason for the sudden tension.
“I know you’re going to be pissed, but I have something to tell you.” His voice just barely audible. I bite the inside of my cheek nervously. “You know how I told you that we needed to push back seeing my family by a couple of weeks?” I nod, giving him a “what the hell are you talking about” look. He told me it was because they went out of town unexpectedly because his father had business he needed to attend to. “Well, the reason is . . . my friend from high school, Gabriel Vanderbilt, is getting married this weekend at the vineyard, and I’m in the wedding party.”
My mouth drops open in shock. That’s why he lied to me? “Are you serious? You didn’t tell me this? Why?” I spit out, a bit harsher than I intend, but at this point, I don’t care. “You didn’t have to hide that detail from me. I didn’t bring anything to wear to a wedding!”
“Baby, I know, I’m sorry. I just figured you were already going to meet my family and that you would change your mind if I told you there was a wedding that we were going to. You were already stressed enough about meeting them,” he says quietly, obviously expecting my reaction from his little white lie. “I didn’t want to lie to you. I did it for my own selfish reasons, so that you would still come and be able to spend time with me.”