Page 98 of He Loves Me Knot
“Costa Rica has a way of doing that, if you let it,” Callum said noncommittally. He knew the charm, of course. He understood why tourists fell in love with the “Pura Vida” lifestyle and the different beat of life. It beckoned to the tired masses who spent their days toiling in cubicles, to those who had never experienced a soda café on the beach or the sand between your toes.
Life as it should be.
Unless you’d been here too much, like Callum had, and then you knew the other side. The side where families still experienced disharmony, where crime still marred perfection, where you accepted that days of football weren’t a career. Where dreams ended and bills still needed to be paid.
“We should move here,” Quinn announced, unsurprisingly.
How many times have I heard people say that same thing?Callum pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. “You think so?”
“If I can run Sperare from Nashville, there’s no reason I can’t run it from here,” Quinn mused. The nonprofit organization he ran for disabled children had flourished in the past couple of years despite his move from London to be with Elle. “Though, I suppose Elle would miss her children at Heartbeats.”
“This does have the right pace of life for a couple of do-gooders.” Callum cracked a smile.
“Could you imagine? Sitting in a hammock every morning, drinking the best coffee in the world? Delicious, fresh food. A beach just footsteps away. It’s heaven on earth, I tell you. The sizable ex-pat community here proves how wonderful it is.”
Maybe it was an opportunity to bring up the whole wedding issue that Liddy was so concerned about.
“If that’s the case, why are you moving the wedding to The Four Seasons? Why not stay here in Samara, where Elle wants to be?”
He didn’t have to tiptoe delicately around the subject. Quinn was one of his oldest friends.
Quinn gave him a blank look. “What do you mean? Is that what Elle said?”
“No, but now that Kat has arrived, it seemed to Liddy that what Elle wanted was being . . . overlooked.”
Quinn frowned. “Elle seemed thrilled when my mum offered to fly Kat in here and take some of the stress of the wedding off her. Things weren’t coming along as smoothly here as we hoped.”
Oh.
Could Liddy have gotten it all wrong?
Quinn stood quickly. “Let me talk to Elle. I don’t want?—”
“No, no.” Callum put out a hand to stop him. “I don’t think that’s necessary. Liddy was just worried. You know—sisterly instinct and all. She wants to make certain everything is perfect for you both.”
Fuck it all.This was why it was better not to intrude on things like this. He was here to stand at the end of a row of groomsmen, drink, and nothing more.
Quinn continued to appear torn.
“Really, mate, there’s nothing to worry about. You know how women can be,” Callum babbled, trying to think of a way to change the topic. “I don’t pretend to be an expert in knowing how to keep one happy, let alone a bride trying to manage a wedding. I’m amazed you tried to do things at my mum’s place to begin with.”
“I remembered how much you always loved it when we were boys. I have to admit, I may have been insanely jealous at the thought of your holidays here. And it’s exactly as you described, you know. No wonder your mum wanted this.”
That’s something I don’t want to think about.
Fortunately, he was spared from having to answer Quinn as the song switched to one of Elle’s most well-known country hits. The group on the boat gave a wild cheer. Quinn left Callum’s side to wrap his arm around Elle’s waist, then pulled her in for a kiss.
The moment turned into an impromptu dance for the happy couple, with everyone watching around them, and Callum dropped to the back of the group. He was happy for Quinn. He truly was. Quinn and Elle were a perfect match, and their love was so obvious to everyone who knew them. They deserved this sunset-draped, romantic celebration.
Hell, knowing them, there were probably dolphins nearby, ready to spring out of the water and make it a fairy-tale moment.
Then from the corner of his eye, he saw Liddy wipe a tear from her cheek. She was smiling, watching her sister and Quinn, but her gaze lifted and met Callum’s.
A thunderclap sounded through his heart.
She broke eye contact, turned, and strode away from the group, going around the side deck away from them.
Callum hesitated.