All for Love: What a Westmoreland Wants

“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 assume 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 brokenhearted.

“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 godsend. 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.”

Chapter 5

“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, 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 passenger seat beside him.

He glanced over at her for a second and saw how closely she was paying attention to everything they passed, 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.

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