Page 33 of Loving Callie
“Given bartending is apparently your particular skill set, Jake, I am quite certain you would not mind helping us tonight, now would you? We’re short one bar staff for the evening, and I see that several of our guests need their drinks refreshing. Perhaps while Callista attends to her family duties and speaks with her father’s supporters, you could step in. Surely pouring wine does not differ that much from pouring beer?”
The arrogant look on Laura’s face sent shivers down Callie’s spine. But again, before Callie could object to her mother’s latest insult, Jake stepped forward. “I don’t know, Laura, pouring wine is quite a subtle art. It depends on so many factors; the vintage, glassware, humidity, to name just a few. It has been several years since I took the sommelier courses, but I’m confident I can handle it.”
With his hands in his pockets, Jake affected a casual stance, but the tension radiated off him in waves. Reaching for him, Callie desperately tried to put an end to the madness. “Jake, no, you don’t have to do that.”
Jake took her hand and pressed a kiss to it, a determined look blazing in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Gorgeous. You go and talk with your father.” He then strode over to the bar area, fixed his gaze on Callie’s mother with an arrogant stare, and began to pour wine into the lineup of glasses.
Callie let herself be pulled away by her mother, sparing a glance back at Jake to see the tense determination on his face. She was shocked at how rapidly the evening had turned into a disaster. Even she could not have predicted the intense cruelty of her mother’s actions and judgement of Jake. Callie felt powerless to do anything to stop her mother and berated herself for how easily she had fallen back into her role as the meek, submissive daughter desperate not to upset her family any further. Why did she let herself stay captive to their manipulative plans, when it was so clear that her parents cared not one bit about her personal happiness? Was this truly what a family should be? Was this really what Callie wanted for herself?
She knew the answer to all of those questions was a resounding ‘no,’ especially when she thought back to Thanksgiving dinner at Jake’s parents’ home. That was what made a family. Love, laughter and affection, not cold criticism and manipulation.
After the way her mother had spoken to him, Callie doubted even a man as patient and loving as Jake would want to stick around. As she dutifully spoke with her parent’s guests, many of whom she knew were only speaking to her in order to earn her father’s favor, she lost sight of Jake and could only hope he wouldn’t abandon her in this madness.
When she finally managed to escape the suffocating small talk, she found Jake standing in a corner, drink in hand and a dark look on his face. He was devastatingly handsome in his suit, with that strong, alpha posture, and the lines of tense muscle visible under his light blue shirt. The only thing marring his sexy appearance was the frown on his face.
Callie walked up to him, her apology ready. “I am so sorry about that. My mother was out of line.”
Pushing off the wall he was leaning against, Jake fixed her with a frustrated yet possessive stare.
“Don’t you dare apologize for her. Her behavior is not your responsibility. I agreed to her ridiculous idea for me to act as a bartender because I didn’t want her to win. There was no way I was going to let her know if her catty insults got to me or not. I can fight my own fights Callie, don’t worry. I think I get it now, babe. Why your feelings about your family are so mixed up. You want your parents to love you and respect you, to be like a normal family. I hate to tell you but I don’t think that’s possible when they only see you as a pawn in their political agenda.”
Shaking his head in disbelief and with anger lacing his tone, Jake continued, “Goddamnit, you are not a commodity to be traded in some absurd power play. First it was the insanity your mom pulled with that lunch date, and tonight I overheard your father negotiating with some old man, about MARRYING you to his son, in exchange for political and financial support for his campaign. Fucking hell, an arranged marriage? Is that what you really want?”
Callie winced at the hurt, frustration, and rage towards her parents that she could hear building in his voice. She reached out to him hesitantly, wanting to touch him, but his rigid posture made her drop her arm to her side before she made contact.
“Of course that isn’t what I want, you are. It’s just, they are my parents and I can’t just walk away from them, no matter how they behave. They’re the only family I have.”
She wished desperately he would hold her or say something that would show her that she wouldn’t lose him because of the way he had been treated tonight. But with every second that passed, Callie sensed Jake was pulling farther and farther away from her.
With a sigh, Jake shook his head. “No babe, they aren’t all you have. You have me, you have Reagan, and so many other people who care about you. I love you. That hasn’t changed, and never will. But I don’t understand how you can possibly continue living like this. You are worthy of so much more love and happiness than your parents are giving you.” He grabbed her hands, desperately. “Callie, let’s just leave. Let’s go. You don’t need your parents; you don’t need this bullshit. Come on, Gorgeous, just leave with me. Please.”
Callie felt torn. Part of her wanted to run away with him, to turn her back on the pain and heartbreak that was all she had ever received from her parents, but another part of her was frozen in place, not daring to do one more thing to disappoint them. In the end, her sense of family obligation won out.
“I can’t leave yet. You must understand how important tonight is for my father. If I leave now, it will look bad for him. I need to stay for the dinner.” Callie looked pleadingly at Jake, “and I hope you’ll stay with me. Please, Jake.”
Jake rubbed his hands over his face in surrender.
“Of course I’m not going to leave you here alone. We’ll stay for dinner. But seriously, can’t you see that you deserve so much more than this?”
The rest of the evening was a blur. They may have been seated side by side for dinner, yet the distance between them felt like miles not inches. Not once did he touch her except for accidental brushes of his arm against hers. Callie could feel her heart cracking with every passing minute, as Jake appeared to retreat farther and farther inward, clearly consumed by his thoughts. She forced herself to make small talk with everyone around her, including Joseph, in her efforts to present a calm and pleasant outward appearance.
As soon as the first guests started to leave at the end of the evening, Jake gave Callie a pointed look. She knew he was at his limit, and it was time to go. She swiftly said goodbye to her parents, ignoring the comment her mother made about her responsibility to their guests. It wasn’t Callie’s party, it was theirs. She was more concerned with getting Jake out of the toxic environment, even as she was filled with fear about his reaction to the way the evening had gone.
* * *
The trip back to Portland was just as quiet as the drive to the party had been. Jake did not even try to fill the silence this time, he was too consumed with trying to understand where their relationship stood. Festering inside his heart was the sinking realization that he couldn’t force Callie to realize that she no longer had to accept the dysfunctional version of family life that she was used to. Jake would happily give her the warmth and love of a real family. All she needed to do was to open her heart and believe she deserved it, regardless of her parents.
When he pulled up at Callie’s house, Jake acted on autopilot, and climbed out to escort Callie to her front door. On the steps outside her apartment, he finally touched her, taking both of Callie’s hands in his own. He knew what he had to say wouldn’t be easy for either of them. Hell, his heart was already breaking just from the possibility that this could mean the end of the best thing to ever happen to him. But,nothing worth having is easy– Pop had always said that. Taking a deep breath, Jake spoke from his heart and hoped that Callie could understand what he was trying to say.
“Callie, I meant it when I said I would love you no matter what happened tonight. However, I love you too much to stand by your side and watch you destroy yourself in your attempts to make your parents happy. I don’t know how to get you to see that you are an incredibly strong, smart, beautiful woman who has made the very best choices she could in her life. Those people I met tonight, your parents, they don’t deserve you. As far as I’m concerned, all they did was biologically create you. You managed to become a phenomenal woman despite everything they have put you through.”
Pausing in his speech, Jake pulled her into his arms, needing to feel Callie one more time. She nestled into his embrace and his heart cracked from aching so hard. It felt so right, and so devastatingly painful at the same time. He knew it would be the hardest thing he ever did, to walk away from her. And, he knew that he had to.
“Here’s the thing though. The confusion inside you is too big a stumbling block for us to move forward right now. I see so clearly how you cannot let go of wanting those horribly selfish people to be a real family for you, and it breaks my heart. Because babe, they never will.”
Jake brushed away the tear that was slowly making its way down Callie’s cheek as she stood, motionless, listening to his impassioned speech.
“Only you can decide what you want to do. I can’t decide that for you. If your happiness is here with me, then let’s work through it together. If your happiness truly lies in living the ‘Stepford Wives’ life your mom has planned for you, then I wish you well. Just know that you will take my heart with you if you choose that. Because you have my heart. All of it.”
