Page 90 of He Loves Me Knot
But why, when she’d been calling him a coward, had Liddy’s face flashed through his mind?
ChapterTwenty-Two
“Scoot it,buddy. You get to spend enough time with my sister,” Liddy said as she got to the bus seat that Elle and Quinn occupied.
Elle threw her a warm smile, one that didn’t speak of any anger or resentment.
God, she’s such a good person.Elle hadn’t even said a thing to her about her mother-in-law’s takeover of the wedding or Liddy’s disappearance for a few days—and if Liddy knew Elle, both were probably bothering her.
But she wasn’t the type of person to hold onto that and get resentful.
She’d just . . . let go of what she had wanted.
“I thought the bus would be bigger,” Elle mused, then glanced back at the other bus parked behind them. “But I have to admit it’s nice that all the older crowd is taking the other bus.” Taryn and Hunter divided the group, gently nudging the parents and their ilk into the second bus.
“We got to keep all the young’uns together,” Granny chirped from the seat beside the driver. She checked the mirror. “Leo’s back there with them, though, right?”
Liddy held back a laugh as Quinn moved to another row, and she sat beside her sister. She’d let Kyle and Granny in on Callum’s and her sabotage plans—partially because she knew they’d be mad if she didn’t and partially because even with Taryn and Hunter’s help, they needed a small miracle to pull this off and keep Kat from finding out.
That was what Kyle now oversaw, in fact. He’d been assigned to monitor Kat and make sure she didn’t get anywhere close to the tour bus loading area—and that Quinn’s mom didn’t talk to her.
“Granny, why’d you bring a man along if you weren’t planning on spending time with him?” Liddy asked with a shake of her head.
Granny puffed out her cheeks. “It’s more fun that way. Plus, I need someone to dance with at the wedding. And he’s not a half-bad dancer when he’s got a few drinks in him.”
Quinn gave her an affectionate smile. “I’d have danced with you, Granny.”
“No, no, no. You need to save it for the bride. And for baby-making later. I’m putting the request in right here, right now for great-grandbabies sooner rather than later. If Brenda’s bad luck continues, my great-grandbabies could have a good twenty years to get to know me.”
“What on earth do you mean?” Elle asked, looking shocked.
“Oh, you know. No woman wants her mother-in-law living till one hundred. Brenda’s pretty good at not having things go her way, so I think my chances of living that long look swell.” Granny grinned mischievously.
“To Granny,” Callum said, catching the tail end of her comments as he climbed aboard the bus, a cooler of beer in his hands. “Long may she reign.”
Liddy looked away from him.
“He’s a smart one,” Elle whispered in Liddy’s ear, giving her a playful pinch on the forearm. “He knows how to butter up the matriarch.”
“Yeah, he’s great,” Liddy mumbled back, her throat clenching at the words.Irredeemable bastard.
If only he’d get on the other bus with Leo.
She didn’t have to wonder if Callum would sit next to her. He avoided her gaze and instead sat with Quinn and his brothers.
Elle looked from Liddy to Callum, then frowned. “Trouble in paradise?” She raised a brow.
So much for being a happy couple.
Elle wasn’t the only one who had noticed either. Rebecca, who had been sitting with Mason, gave her a curious look, then slid into the empty seat beside Liddy. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Liddy put on a brighter smile. Shehadfelt better until Callum had gotten on the bus. She’d done her best to avoid Callum, asking Taryn and Hunter to finalize the plans for the excursions with him, and had gone back to the welcome brunch. Spending time with her family had done wonders for her aching heart.
Because that was the only way to describe how she felt.
Callum’s indifference to her now, after the past few days they’d spent together, was much more painful than his initial brush-off had been two years ago. She’d shared things with him she’d never told anyone.
And if she hadn’t had that conversation with Miranda, maybe she would have been able to swallow her pride and understand that he needed her friendship, even if he hadn’t given that impression at the hot springs.