Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Outta the way!" Granny called, her ATV bouncing on the path.

Liddy jumped off the dirt path, dodging toward a tree as a four-by-four with Granny and Kyle went roaring past them. Granny was in control, to no one's surprise, and one of Liddy's cousins hooted at the sight.

Liddy grinned. Much as she hadn't expected to enjoy this, especially considering that a bumpy jungle path might further aggravate her pain level from the past few days, being around family members she hadn't seen in years made this place feel like home.

They didn't have to be in Nashville for that. Wherever her family was, she was home. Whether it was in London when they came to visit her or Quinn's fancy estate for Christmas.

Granny pulled to a stop and dismounted, taking her helmet off. "Who's next?" she called out.

The tour operators laughed and high-fived her.

"I think I want to grow up to be Granny," Hunter whispered beside Liddy.

"Don't let her hear you. She'll get a bigger ego than she already has," Elle said, relaxing back into Quinn's arms. Her eyes scanned the group that waited for their turn on the vehicles. "Liddy, you and Callum going?"

Liddy stiffened. "I'm not sure?—"

"The correct answer would be yes." Granny tossed the helmet toward her.

Liddy caught it, the sound of her hands smacking against the plastic cap echoing around her. She didn't dare look for Callum. "Really, Gran?—"

"Liddy, Liddy, Liddy . . ." Granny started chanting, orchestrating with pumped fists toward her cousins who soon joined in.

Liddy rolled her eyes as the Costa Rican tour operator extended his hand, inviting her toward the vehicle. "Granny . . ." she tried, shaking her head. But Granny and her cousins were too loud for her to be heard. She threw her palms up, then went toward the operator.

Her cousins cheered, then Granny turned toward Callum and started, "Hot rod, hot rod, hot rod . . ."

God, this is so embarrassing.

Callum handed his beer to Aiden, then winked at Granny. He seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood as he sauntered toward Liddy. Unexpectedly, he swept her off her feet and carried her onto the ATV, setting her down on the passenger seat behind the main operator seat.

He's so smooth. Fucking charmer.

That only seemed to goad Granny further.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss . . ."

Callum quirked a brow and turned toward Liddy. She gave him a hard look. "We don't have to."

He leaned toward her, setting both hands on either side of her face as he closed the distance between them. "We're a happy couple, remember?"

She almost glared at him, then raised her hands to his jaw. He lowered his lips to hers with firm but gentle pressure, and she closed her eyes.

I hate that I love the way he tastes.

Her body almost instinctively curled into his as he slipped his arm around her waist to a chorus of hooting and hollering. His breath was warm against her mouth, the barest hint of his tongue sliding against her lip like a promise.

He pulled back, then set his forehead against hers. "Good girl."

Asshole. "Don't good girl me," she gritted through her teeth, managing a smile despite the surge of anger coursing through her.

The tour operator was by their side, though, giving Callum instructions as she settled back into the seat. Her cheeks burned and the warm pool of desire that had ignited in her core at that kiss only made her more furious. It wasn't the first time she'd felt betrayed by her body, though, and it wouldn't be the last.

Callum might affect her, but he didn't have to know that.

The tour operator instructed Liddy to settle her arms around Callum's waist and then they were off, tearing through the bumpy trail and away from their group. Some of the other members of their party were ahead of them on the trail, but they were nowhere to be seen. The tour company only had four ATVs, which meant they'd all had to take staggered turns.

Mud shot up from the tires as Callum took a sharp turn, and Liddy buried her cheek into his back, shielding her face. "You okay?" Callum called back toward her.

No.

She didn't want to be enjoying the rush of the ride.

Or how she loved being this close to him.

This close, she could smell his shirt and body wash, which had some manly spice in it that made her want to take a deep breath.

Or that she could feel every ridge of muscle of his taut abs against the backs of her forearms.

But then she visualized him kissing Miranda, and she almost threw up.

I can't do this.

"Stop!" she called into his ear. Callum slowed, then pulled to the side of the path.

Disentangling herself from him, she hopped off the vehicle and moved away, trying to catch her breath.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" Callum followed her, his face written with concern.

"I'm fine. " She rubbed her temples, trying to clear her thoughts.

"You're clearly not fine. What hurts?"

"I'm fine," she repeated, turning away from him.

I will not cry in front of him.

Callum took her elbow. "Liddy, what happened?"

She shook her head, clenching her jaw.

Fuck it.

She turned toward him. "You. You happened, Callum. I know, I know. I brought this upon myself by agreeing to this ridiculous ruse in the first place, but I thought that I'd gotten to know you over the last few days. I shared things with you I've never told anyone, and not because I thought we were heading toward a relationship—don't worry, I know you're not interested, you made that clear enough—but because we maybe, at least, were being honest with each other. Maybe even becoming friends. And then I find out that this is just the way you are. You screw around with women's heads and then act like it's their fault for liking you."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Because I told you that you were free to go on a date with a man you're clearly interested in?"

"No, because you kissed Miranda just days ago. She told me all about it."

He removed his helmet slowly. "Miranda? Miranda Kaster?"

"Yes, that Miranda. Fuck, Callum, did you think she wouldn't tell me? That I wouldn't find out that this is just your . . . I don't know , sick pattern of behavior?"

Callum crossed his arms. And, dammit, why do his arms look so good when he flexes them like that? Fuck, no. Not going to think about that.

"You mean the woman who threw herself at me when I was stumbling home drunk?"

"That's not how she tells it."

"That's because she was enraged that I turned her down. And, yes, I kissed her," Callum snapped, his eyes burning with fury. "Or rather, I allowed the kiss to happen after she initiated it. Allowed her to shove her hand down my pants aggressively. Is that what you want to hear? But I stopped it right after that and told her that nothing would ever happen between us."

Liddy squeezed her eyes shut. No, she didn't want to hear that. Didn't want to think of Miranda's lips on his, her hands on him. "So you're telling me you had nothing to do with it?"

Callum raked his fingers through his hair. "Look, I have never pretended to be some sort of fucking prince like Quinn. Even my ex says I'm incapable of love. And yes, I have slept with plenty of women that I have no intention of ever seeing again. But I've never once been dishonest about it. Not once. And I sure as hell have never had to throw myself at someone like Miranda Kaster just to get a snog and then laugh at her for being gullible. That's not how things work for me."

She swallowed hard. His words fell like stones into the pit of her stomach. She'd known, of course—that first day she'd met him he'd mentioned several women—but it hadn't affected her before. His sex life was his business.

I don't want to know about it.

But now, it was eating her alive.

"Yeah, you're a real saint," she muttered, digging her nails into her palms.

Callum held her gaze. "I never said I was."

"Then why . . ." She took a few deep breaths, trying to gather her thoughts. Why are you so upset, Liddy? "Why did you pretend you gave a shit about me? Why kiss me and then tell me it meant nothing? It was a good kiss, Callum. I was there."

"I do give a shit about you." Callum stepped back. "And it was a good kiss. But did it ever occur to you that the whole reason I've made my intentions clear is that I don't want you to get hurt? I know we have to pretend for the sake of this dating ruse, but I shouldn't have kissed you at the hot springs. It blurred the lines of reality."

"Right. Because you like definite boundaries." Liddy hugged her arms to her chest. "Except when it comes to me. And Miranda. And?—"

"And no one else," Callum growled, his irritation palpable. "Miranda was a mistake. A stupid, drunken slip that shouldn't have happened after she came onto me and you?—"

"Another stupid mistake that shouldn't have happened, right?" She leveled her gaze at him.

"It's not the same thing," he said coolly.

"How is it not?" She hadn't noticed before how hot and humid the air was, but now with her increasing anger, she was finding it hard to breathe. A beautiful rain forest like this wasn't the right place for this sort of argument. She was supposed to be having fun with her family. Not squabbling over whether Callum was as much of a schmuck as he appeared.

"It's. Just. Not." Callum pulled the helmet back on his head.

"That's not good enough."

"It's going to have to be. You getting back on or should I send someone to come pick you up?"

She set her hands on her hips. "There are only two options, Callum. Either you are exactly what Miranda suggested and you don't care about anything or anyone but yourself?—"

"Or?"

She glared at him. "Or you're telling the truth. And if that's the case, then you're just pushing me away because that kiss made you feel something you didn't want to feel. And then the second Sergio came around and threatened your fragile ego, rather than man up and admit that you might actually want to cross the line with me—smash all your stupid boundaries—you just tucked tail and ran."

Callum's lips pursed, then he settled back onto the ATV. "Think whatever you want, Liddy. It makes no difference to me."

She balled her hands into fists.

She wanted to punch him.

But then, as she tried to calm her racing heart, she considered his words. His version...of sorts.

"I do give a shit about you. And it was a good kiss. But did it ever occur to you that the whole reason I've made my intentions clear is that I don't want you to get hurt? I know we have to pretend for the sake of this dating ruse, but I shouldn't have kissed you at the hot springs. It blurred the lines of reality."

At least he wasn't claiming he'd faked his attraction to her. She'd felt it.

But he was still quick to walk away.

So he didn't hurt her.

Or so he thought. She was having a hard time wrestling through her anger, hurt, and now indecision.

Had Miranda just spun her a tale to encourage Liddy's hatred of Callum? Because if Liddy was completely honest with herself, she did find it easier to believe Callum's version of the story than Miranda's.

But why? Miranda's my flatmate. We've become good friends over the last two years.

But Liddy had gotten to know Callum. And option two made more sense.

"Why would Miranda exaggerate—or even lie—about what happened between you? She's my friend. And she said you two almost had sex." God, the words almost hurt to get out.

"Maybe she's not the friend you think she is." Callum squinted at her, revving the engine with a twist of his wrists.

She set her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Callum gave her a withering stare. "Forget it. You want to believe her and think the worst of me, go right ahead. It's nothing."

She wedged herself in front of the ATV. "There's no nothing now, Cal. " She flung the nickname bitterly. "What the hell do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "I mean that while your friend , Miranda, was busy trying to seduce me, she insinuated we should go back to my place because her flatmate had a crush on me. Which—I'm not saying I believed her—makes her a terrible friend, wouldn't you say?"

A fresh wave of humiliation flushed through Liddy's body.

A crush?

Miranda wouldn't really have told Callum that, would she?

. . . except Miranda had said those same words to Liddy frequently enough.

Oh, I'm going to be sick.

Miranda had made her sound like a pining schoolgirl to Callum. And given that Liddy had kissed him since then . . . my God, what must he think? That I've just been secretly infatuated with him this whole time?

She covered her mouth and Callum's expression softened. "Like I said, I didn't believe her. I don't consider Miranda particularly honest."

I'm going to kill Miranda for telling him that.

She stiffened, slowly lowering her hands. "To be clear, I haven't spent the last two years secretly hoping?—"

"I know. You've been completely professional. And I never considered the possibility of our . . . friendship taking a turn like this."

Then that's it. We're friends. Nothing more.

He couldn't be clearer if he tried.

That didn't mean she had to forgive his casual dismissal of her, though.

She climbed back onto the vehicle, desperate to get back to the comfort of her family's presence. She wanted to hate him, but mostly she just hated that he'd gotten to her.

She glared at the back of his head and leaned forward. "You know the one thing that you keep forgetting to ask in all this?"

His shoulders were taut. "What's that?"

"Whether I'd ever want to have a relationship with you. And the answer is no, Callum. So maybe get off your high horse for once and for all, okay?"