Page 79 of He Loves Me Knot
Liddy winced. “I feel bad for all the lies your poor sister is going to have to keep track of on our behalf.”
Her comment produced a laugh in him, the first real one he’d had all morning.Isla lives for this crap.“I wouldn’t worry about that. You’re going to like her. She’s about as easygoing as it gets. But she does like having the inside scoop on everything.”
Now why did I say that?What difference does it make what Liddy thinks about Isla?
“She sounds great.” Liddy looked down at her hands, clasping them in a gesture that Callum was starting to realize was a non-verbal cue of when she felt insecure.
He cleared his throat. “Look . . . Liddy. I know the past few days have beendifferent.But I don’t regret anything that happened, and I don’t think either of us should. And maybe the good thing is that we finally settled what happened a couple of years ago when we met. Not have that continue to poison our professional relationship.”
“I guess that’s true,” Liddy said, a smile at her lips. It didn’t quite meet her eyes, though. “But just in case you’re worried, I fully intend to keep my end of the bargain with you. I know things are tough for you with your mom, and I’m sure having Sophia here is awkward, so I’m happy to do my share. I mean, by now most of my family probably thinks we went off to be alone and have our own adventure, so that should help.”
Callum had no doubt of that. “If only they knew the truth. You deserve the sister-of-the-year award after that disaster.”
Liddy rolled her eyes, settling into her seat more. “Except it was my dumb ass that created this mess.”
“Not really. More like Logan. Speaking of which—you don’t still have any of those hot peppers from the market, right? Because I could think of a use or two for them with Logan.”
“Oh God, I never want to smell one of those again. I think I may never eventryhot peppers again. We’ll think of something to punish Logan, though.”
Callum breathed out, releasing the knot of tension that had been building in his chest during the drive.Why does this feel so natural?Talking to Liddy had always been anything but. Three days of forced and continuous contact had made that vanish completely.
Not talking to her is the difficult thing now.
They pulled into the drive forLa Hacienda.Funny how it didn’t bother him to be here nearly as much as it had the first day he’d arrived.
He glanced over at her as he parked the car. “Are you going to find your family, or do you want to sneak by the room first?”
“Room, please. I need a hairbrush, at minimum.” She made a face. “I’m also a little worried my family might be furious with me when I show up. I mean, in some ways, we should probably try to act like a relaxed, sexed-up couple who just had a mini honeymoon, but I’m worried that might piss them off if they’re mad.”
Sexed up . . .
Callum tried not to react.
Instead, I have blue balls.
Sleeping on the floor tonight would be a relief in some ways.
He didn’t respond as they got out of the car, but she slipped her hand into his as they started toward the room. She winked at him. “Showtime?”
He laughed. “You’re dedicated to the ruse. I’ll give you that.”
“I owe you. I fully intend on repaying my debt to you now so that you can’t lord it over my head when we’re back at work.”
Funny how all that made him do was think about how much he’d love to bend her over his desk . . .
He released a slow stream of air from his lungs.Get it together.
They started through the lush walkway, passing the office as they went. Callum didn’t glance at it, but no sooner had they gone by the door than it opened, and his mother came out—as if she’d been watching through the window for him.
“You’re back!” she said with a friendly smile. She approached them with a few quick steps. “You’ll never believe what I found in the garden last night.” From her pocket, she produced Liddy’s mobile phone.
Liddy’s jaw dropped. “You found it?”
“I’ve been looking for it every day,” Mum said with a laugh. She held it out for her. “I hope it still works. The battery was dead, so I plugged it in for you.”
Liddy took the phone, then let go of Callum’s hand and hugged her. “Thank you so much for looking. I’m so grateful. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see this. Even if it doesn’t work anymore. Oh—my gosh, my credit cards. I was going to cancel them today, too.”
“I can’t believe you haven’t already,” Callum said.