Chapter 48: Left him ’dateless’

"Nothing, dear. Nothing at all." Georgina’s smile only widened, making it abundantly clear that it was, in fact, something.

"Charles has been trying to introduce girls to Callahan for quite some time now. Lovely girls, accomplished girls, girls who would have been perfectly happy to spend an evening with him.

And what did he do? Rejected every single suggestion without even bothering to meet them."

Callahan cleared his throat.

"If you don’t want me to speak, that’s a reason why I must," Georgina sighed and turned to Sienna again.

"For the longest time, we couldn’t understand it. What was the point of keeping himself so far away from women?

Charles thought he must already have someone in his heart, but I told him that if such a person existed, surely we’d have heard something by now."

Charles chuckled, "I said there had to be a reason. I just didn’t expect him to keep it a secret from us."

His eyes moved between Sienna and Callahan, and his smile grew wider, "It seems my guess was right after all."

Sienna felt the misunderstanding take shape before she could find a way to stop it.

She opened her mouth, then glanced at Callahan, who appeared entirely untroubled by the conversation.

Correcting them would mean explaining their relationship, and somehow that seemed far more awkward than letting them believe whatever they pleased.

Georgina, meanwhile, had already taken Sienna’s hand again, "Come, sit with me. I want to hear how you met this impossible man."

"Georgina," Callahan warned mildly.

"What? I’m making conversation."

"You’re conducting an interrogation."

"There’s a difference?"

Charles sighed with the weary fondness of a man who had clearly lost this argument many times before, "You’ll have to forgive my wife. She becomes very enthusiastic when she discovers something interesting."

"Then I hope you won’t be disappointed," Sienna said, settling beside Georgina. "I’m afraid Callahan isn’t particularly easy to interview. He gives very short answers."

Georgina burst out laughing, "Oh, I like her."

Even Callahan’s expression shifted faintly, the corner of his mouth threatening to lift before he looked away.

Sienna caught it and felt a small, unexpected warmth settle between them.

The conversation soon wandered from the gala to travel, business, and a lot of other things.

Georgina was lively without being overbearing, and she seemed passionate about a lot of things. While Charles continued to quietly adore his wife.

By the time they finally rose to leave, Sienna found she genuinely liked them.

Outside, Callahan led her through a private exit.

The noise of the gala faded behind them, leaving only the soft rustle of trees.

"Georgina and Charles are lovely," Sienna remarked as they walked, "They seem very much in love."

Callahan nodded once, "Charles abandoned his work and chased Georgina for five years before she finally agreed to marry him."

Sienna turned to look at him. "Five years?"

"He was persistent."

She laughed, picturing the composed Charles making a fool of himself in pursuit of his wife, "I wouldn’t have guessed. He seems so dignified."

"People are capable of surprising you."

There was something in the way Callahan said it that made her glance at him, but his expression offered nothing more.

She didn’t pry further as they walked to the car.

Leon was nowhere to be seen so Sienna understood that Callahan had driven himself that evening.

When they reached the passenger side, he opened the door for her and waited until she had settled comfortably before closing it.

Once they were on the road, she reached into her purse for her phone. The screen remained stubbornly black when she pressed the power button.

"Can I borrow your charger?" Sienna turned to the man.

He handed her a cable from the console, and she plugged it in. The screen lit up a moment later, revealing several unread messages from the caller ID: Personal Demon.

She did not tap on them instantly. Instead, she dropped a text to Jace.

Earlier, she had looked for him but the man was nowhere to be seen. Sienna wondered if he got bored out of his mind and left the event, leaving her to fend for herself.

After texting Jace, she finally stared at the notifications, realizing that she had left Callahan’s texts unopened earlier in the day before her phone died.

She opened the messages and skimmed through them before reaching the highlight text:

[Would Mrs. Hawke be able to accompany me to an event tonight?]

Sienna read them messages again and her eyes widened.

She had ignored his invitation, declined his offer to drive her, and arrived at the gala with Jace, leaving Callahan to attend without her.

Worse, she had spent the evening assuming he had come with Olive, when he had apparently intended to bring her all along.

Sienna was speechless.

She lowered her phone and stole a glance at the man behind the wheel.

Sienna angled the screen away from him and closed her eyes for a moment. She wished she could dig a hole and crawl inside it.

"What is it?" Callahan asked.

She opened her eyes, "Sorry."

The car eased toward the side of the road before coming to a stop.

Callahan turned to her, one eyebrow lifting slightly, "Hmm?"

Sienna looked at him guiltily, but didn’t forget the sarcasm, "Did you just stop the car to hear me saying sorry?"

"I stopped the car to hear you," Callahan tilted his head to the side and gazed at her meaningfully, "Attentively."

Sienna’s face flushed a little as she turned her phone towards him, "I know now. I am the reason you ended up date-less tonight."

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then a quiet chuckle escaped him, and the faint amusement in his eyes made Sienna wish she could disappear into the passenger seat.

"So," he said, leaning back slightly, "you’ve finally realized that you indeed ignored me."

"I didn’t know my phone was going to die."

"But it was working when I messaged you."

Sienna pressed her lips together, "I was busy."

"Busy enough not to open a single message?"

She shot him a look, "Are you going to make me regret apologizing?"

"I’m deciding."

His tone was so mild that she couldn’t tell whether he was genuinely offended or simply enjoying himself, which was somehow worse.