Page 20 of He Loves Me Knot

“Yeah, I noted it in the inspection. It looks as though someone went off the road with this one.”

Liddy ran her hand over a questionable stain on the fabric. Whatever Callum had paid for this jalopy, he’d paid too much. It surprised her he’d been cheap about the rental, given that Elle and Quinn were covering so many of the travel expenses. Callum seemed to have expensive taste, but then again, what did she know?

She frowned at the air coming through the vents. If she had regretted the choice of clothing in the morning, now it was torture. The air hadn’t appeared to work the entire time.

She twisted her long hair into a bun and clipped it at the back of her head, then fanned herself, sweating in the humid, sweetly scented warm air of the car. She put her hand near the air-conditioning vent. “I keep hoping this will work.”

God, their conversations were pathetic.

Callum frowned and flipped the air to full blast. Hot air poured out with force. “I guess not.”

Maybe I should go back to silence.He certainly didn’t seem to mind it. But given that he’d been helpful in the airport after Sergio had stolen the dressandthe fact that he’d invited her to ride with him, she felt awkward not attempting to be nicer.

“I thought Costa Rica was supposed to be milder. The website I checked said to bring jeans and sweatshirts.” She was glad that she’d worn a short-sleeved shirt underneath her hoodie. Otherwise, she would be frying by now.

“The valley is. The coast is hot.”

Lydia gave him a curious look.

The way Callum spoke about this country and the fact that he spoke Spanish were interesting.Almost like he’s spent a lot of time here.Yet she’d never heard him talk about Costa Rica during the time she’d known him. Not that he took vacations.

Or had any life outside of work that she knew of. She’d heard him speak of women he was dating two years ago on that day they’d first met, so she assumed he dated, but she’d never seen any woman come to the office or attend a business function with him—if he bothered to attend.

And given his short, clipped answers all the time, trying to get a conversation going with him was painful.

“Have you spent a lot of time here?”

“You might say that.”

Typical.

She could leave it at that. Since she’d started working for him, she’d learned to drop questions she had when he gave an evasive answer. But they still had forty-five minutes to go of this drive, and she was already uncomfortable enough. “You speak Spanish fluently.”

“Yes, I do.” His icy-blue gaze settled on the road, his expression blank.

Just give up already.

Glancing out the window, she focused her gaze on the lush green terrain. Costa Rica was an adventurous destination—filled with mountains to climb and treks, zip lines and white water, volcanoes, and fishing. And whereas, once in her life, she might have longed to take part in all those things, she’d learned after a lifetime of being told that her body couldn’t handle intense sports that it was better not to let herself dream of them.

Not that lying on a beach in a bathing suit appealed much either.

Sweat dripped down the backs of her knees, and she rolled the window down for relief. This trip was proving to be a disaster, and she closed her eyes, envisioning her cozy couch in her flat surrounded by bookcases. She was proud of that little place, even if it wasn’t fancy and the rent was outrageous. Miranda helped offset that cost. But when Liddy had first struck out from Tennessee to move to London, her parents had acted like she wouldn’t survive two days.

And I wasn’t entirely convinced I could either.

Despite her parents’ concerns, she’d built a life in London, though. And she had real friends.

For the first time.

The fresh start had been exactly what she’d needed.

Until now, Mom and Dad would have agreed.

Trusting Sergio was not the sort of slip-up she really needed.

She pulled out her phone and pulled up her text messages with Miranda. The picture she’d taken of Sergio taunted her, and she gritted her teeth.

Liddy:It turns out the hot guy was a thief. Stole my sister’s wedding dress.