Page 16 of He Loves Me Knot

Which meant Callum kept his contact with Mum to a minimum.

To make matters worse, Quinn let the damn travel agent book Callum’s trip with Lydia Winnick—a woman who drove him nuts in a completely different way.

It had bothered Callum, at first, that things had gone so awry with her two years ago. Because his anger at her appointment had never been about her. Aiden had made him a promise and then broken it—and Lydia had fallen into the crosshairs of their disagreement.

Callum’s pushback on Lydia had worked, and Aiden had also gotten the clue. Apologized even. Told him it wouldn’t happen again. More importantly, the rumors that Aiden would transfer Luca to Callum’s department had all vanished.

Not that he could complain about Lydia. Everything she did was excellent.

She could have made a brilliant manager for the department, too.

But she was content to fade into the banal camaraderie of her workmates, which was her biggest flaw.

The upside was that it kept her as his staff, rather than a colleague with whom he might work with more closely on a project—and that made things easier for him. From the moment they’d met, his attraction to her had been visceral, almost a reflex. Keeping her at arm’s length was helpful.

A beam of sunlight pierced through the window, and Callum pulled down the shade once again. The arsehole next to him kept opening it, and the sunrise had been chasing them the entire trip over.Prick.Callum would have let it go if it wasn’t for the sun right in his eyes. He wasn’t about to pull out his sunglasses and be even more uncomfortable on this infernal flight.

“I would say . . . the thermal hot springs at Arenal, hiking at Rio Celeste, and Tortuguero, if you can manage it. The night sky in Tortuguero esincreíble.The turtles come up from the sea and lay their eggs there. A beautiful experience. And Rio Celeste—” Sergio kissed his fingertips and pulled his hand away in a passionate gesture. He winked at Lydia. “The only blue I’ve ever seen that’s as beautiful might be your eyes.”

Callum nearly choked on his quiche.

Is she really buying this?

He’d hoped Lydia had a good head on her shoulders with men—not that he really cared. Or had a clue about her love life. They discussed business only. And since he’d been so badly burned by Luca, he’d made it the habit never to mistake work friends with real friends.

“Those sound like an amazing top three. I would love to go,” Lydia said.

“I would love to take you there. I’m a tour operator. Maybe we can spend more time together.”

Callum couldn’t help but choke back a laugh.

Both Sergio and Lydia looked at him expectantly.

He cleared his throat, then lifted his coffee cup, giving them a tight-lipped smile. “Quiche is a bit dry.”

Lydia stared at him. “Don’t mind him, Sergio. He wouldn’t know anything about beautiful vacation spots,” she said. “I’m not even sure he leaves his office. Or has seen the sun in the past two years.”

Clearly, the mimosa was having an effect. She wasn’t usually so bold. Then she gave an awkward shift as though she’d realized she might be crossing the line. “He’s my boss,” she added sheepishly.

“Ah, avampiro,” Sergio said with a chuckle.

Callum set his cutlery down and held Lydia’s gaze, then raised a brow. “Werewolf. But our community prefers the term ‘Lycan,’ thanks.” His tone was flat and Liddy shrank back, clearly unsure of his mood, which was fine. No reason to pretend, even on this trip, that they wanted to be around each other.

Sergio looked between them with uncertainty. “I didn’t know you were friends. Would you like to sit next to each other?”

Friends?

“No.” Their answer was in unison.

Sergio excused himself a few minutes later to go to the bathroom.Thank God for that. The tense silence that always seemed to hang between him and Lydia quickly replaced that relief.

As the silence mounted, he felt word vomit burning his throat. She was glaring at him. They were rarely in any social setting. Work he knew how to navigate, as she knew her place there, but this was far more difficult.

He uncovered a blueberry scone on his tray. “Having fun with Sergio?”

Lydia swiveled her gaze at him, her expression growing even more frosty. “Excuse me?”

Don’t provoke her.The corner of his mouth twitched back with a grimace. “You know he’s full of shite, right?”