Ss held Calliope''s hand as they walked back into the house.


    When he and Eamon yed chess, Ss had Calliope sit right beside him. Every now and then, he''d peel a grape and pop it into her mouth, doting on her in a way that made it crystal clear to everyone just how much he adored her.


    Yvette watched them with a look that got darker by the minute.


    Gideon couldn''t help but watch Calliope too, regret gnawing at him. Even though he knew he didn''t stand a chance anymore, he couldn''t stop himself from wondering-was there any way she might want toe back to him?


    But the more he saw them together, the more he realized that was just wishful thinking.


    He couldn''t even bring himself to divorce Yvette now. All he could hope was that when Yvette''s baby was born, the Baker family would care about the kid. Maybe then, Ss would let him back into the Baker Group, for the sake of the child.


    Working for his friend was exhausting and thankless. He was getting tired of being pushed around.


    Things were so much better back at the Baker Group, when people actually respected him. Back then, he was still the Baker family''s golden boy-people looked up to him.


    Now? He was practically trampled into the dirt.


    Especially by the people he''d once offended-now they all took every chance to kick him while he was down.


    Gideon and Yvette both sat there, each stewing in their own thoughts, eyes flickering toward Calliope.


    Calliope, meanwhile, was all smiles. She chatted with Eamon every so often, then whispered quietly with Ss, the two of them sharing private jokes.


    After a while, Eamon looked up from the chessboard and grinned at Calliope.


    "Hey, Callie, isn''t it about time you and Ss had a baby?"


    "Huh?” Calliope blinked in surprise, ncing instinctively at Ss.


    Ss just told Eamon, "We''ll let things happen naturally."


    Eamon huffed, but didn''t push it.


    After finishing two rounds of chess, Eamon stretched and said, "Alright, I''m done for tonight. I''m beat!"


    "Then get some rest," Ss replied, not coddling him.


    It was gettingte anyway. Everyone started to leave the old house.


    On the drive home, Calliope nced at Ss. He didn''t bring up the whole having- kids thing, and she had no idea what to make of it.


    Did he want to have a baby with her?


    Or did he not?


    She thought about the spare room in the house she''d never been in, and about how Ss had never told her who he kept in his heart.


    Sometimes, it seemed like he really loved her.


    Other times... she wasn''t so sure.


    She wondered if she should ask him about it. But she always felt that if he wanted


    to talk, he would. And he never had.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Ss must have noticed how quiet she was. He turned to look at her.


    "Nothing," Calliope said with a little shake of her head.


    "Really?" Ss didn''t look convinced "If there''s something on your mind, just tell me, okay? Did Gideon say something to you?  s


    "No, it''s not him," Calliope said, forcing a smile.


    Ss studied her for a moment, then reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. His voice was gentle. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"  s


    "Don''t keep things bottled up, okay?"


    "Callie, I care about you. I want you to be happy, and I want us to have no secrets between us."


    Calliope looked at him, hesitated, then finally asked, "What did you think about what Grandpa said?"


    "What?" Ss looked puzzled for a second.<fn4054> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fn4054>


    Then it clicked.


    "You mean about... having a baby?".


    Ss her gaze, eyes intent. "Is that something you want, Callie? you want us to have a child?  s