Page 26 of He Loves Me Knot
Callum’s face darkened. “I didn’t have to say anything about what I overheard with Sergio. Trying to find this fellow—which might not even be possible—means giving up my time to go scrambling halfway across the country to fixyourmistake.”
Ouch.
Lydia scowled at him. “Yeah, well, I reject your offer. You’re a real piece of work thinking you could twist and use this horrible situation to your advantage.”
Grabbing a pair of sunglasses from the console, Callum slipped them on, his expression hardening. “All right. Forget I asked.” He turned the radio back on, his jaw clenching.
As if.Once Quinn and Elle heard about this, he’d have to tell them what he knew about Sergio anyway. And then, maybe, once and for all, everyone would see Callum for the asshole he was.
She tugged her phone out of her pocket again, her stomach clenched, then fired out another text message to Miranda:
Liddy: I think our boss just sank to an all-time low.
ChapterSix
Lydia didn’t speakto Callum for the rest of the drive, which was fine with him.
I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.
Except that wasn’t entirely true. He’d wanted a way to tell Quinn about that arsehole from the plane without making Lydia look like a complete flake. Whether he liked Quinn’s new sister-in-law, he didn’t want the animosity between them to impede his friendship with Quinn. He’d warned Lydia about Sergio, after all, and maybe that was why he hadn’t been able to stop himself from eavesdropping on the man while they’d been at immigration.
And then, after their respective phone calls, Callum had been thinking that maybe Lydia might just be as desperate as he was.
He’d picked up that phone call from his mother, against his better judgment, and one of the first things out of Mum’s lips had been,“We have to talk about Sophia.”
Mum hadn’t even had the courtesy to wait until he’d arrived on the property to start with her relentless pushing. His anger had flared, and he hadn’t been rational.
You’re a damn idiot.
As he pulled into a space atLa Hacienda Tropical, he blinked at the nicely paved car park—and the new sign for the hotel. The last time he’d been here it had been a hand-painted sheet of plywood. Sophia had painted it, though, so he hadn’t told her he didn’t like it.
The dense canopy of trees above the car park threw shadows onto the windscreen, cloaking him with a darkness similar to what he felt deeply inside him. The beaches on the Guanacaste Coast were often hilly and wild, with rainforests jutting right out onto the mixed sand beaches. His favorite beach in Costa Rica, Ostional, was a black sand beach north from here, a sight that made the land feel otherworldly.
La Haciendawas in Samara, a small beach town that still retained local charm. Even the foreign nationals who lived here were all ex-pats who’d fallen in love with the Costa Rican lifestyle. The hotel itself was on a quiet, more private area of the beach, closer to Puerto Carillo, about a twenty-minute walk from the main street of Samara.
Everything that his mother had loved, and why she’d wanted to live here.
He opened the trunk and helped Lydia get her bags out, then she hurried away without another word, leaving him staring at his own suitcase.
This is going to be a long trip.
Rubbing his burning eyes, he set his suitcase on the pavement, then put his laptop case on top of it. A line of ants made their way just past the wheel of his suitcase toward the edge of the pavement, and birds chirped and cried overhead. Funny how these minor details of everyday life here had receded far back into his memory.
He had no desire to catch up with Lydia or go to the office, but he had little choice, unless he wanted to sleep outside. Given that Costa Rica had more venomous snakes per square meter than almost any other country, he’d pass on that option.
As he dragged the suitcase toward the office, the hibiscus bushes brushed against his trousers. The bushes needed trimming, but he could also understand why they hadn’t been—they were exotic and beautiful, just as his mother liked.
He reached the office and saw a hand-painted sign on the path that led down the steep stairs to the beach.Morning Yoga: This Way.
Some things never change.
Steeling himself for the encounter with his mother, his hand tightened around the handle of the suitcase. He wished he’d had the guts to tell Quinn about why he hadn’t wanted the wedding held here, but it had been a bit too personal. Too deep. If Quinn had known, he likely wouldn’t have pushed through with the idea. But once Quinn had booked the place, Callum hadn’t wanted to change his mind.
Callum pushed the door open. He’d expected to see Lydia inside, but she wasn’t here. Maybe Elle had told her to meet her somewhere else.
A footstep sounded, then a shadow passed through the back doorway. “Un momento,” a female voice called, and Callum stiffened.
Bollocks.