Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Morning, gorgeous." Callum's voice was husky as Liddy woke up, still tangled in his arms.

She murmured a response, then sunk her head back on the pillow, barely feeling like she could move. Somehow, though, Callum's hand roved up her thigh, skimming hungrily.

"I'm still asleep." She laughed as his fingers found her swollen clit. He was hard already, and she shifted her legs open as she curled her ass into his erection.

He pushed his way inside her effortlessly, like he hadn't fucked her six— or was it seven —times throughout the night. Thank God she'd still been taking the pill, even during this crazy trip. They'd ditched the condoms after the first time.

She groaned in pleasure. His hand held her breast as she pushed back against him, enjoying this. She'd never experienced spooning and fucking simultaneously, but it was easy and lazy, just what she needed for early morning sex.

After that incredibly embarrassing episode in his mom's office the night before, she wasn't sure what sort of mood Callum would come back in. She'd gotten her answer when he'd walked into the room later, climbed straight into bed, and buried his face between her legs.

That orgasm was a ten out of ten. But she hadn't told him that.

They hadn't talked much but, somehow, something seemed different in him. And then they'd kept coming back to each other throughout the night, clinging to each other.

He's spent more of the night inside me than out , she thought with an amused chuckle.

And with each touch, with each time they came together, she knew one thing clearly . . .

I like Callum.

Except she couldn't.

He didn't want that.

He wanted someone to fuck and leave.

And, shit, I still have that date with Sergio tonight.

And have to get Elle's dress.

She wasn't sure what she was going to do about either.

Right now, though, it didn't matter. Right now, her legs trembled as her body came closer to coming.

He thrust harder now, up into her as his fingers refused to relent on her clit. "That's so good, babe . . ." she murmured, pushing back to meet each thrust.

So good.

"Oh God, Callum."

"Say it."

She turned her face and pressed a breathless kiss to his mouth.

"You fuck me so good, Callum."

"Yeah? You want more?"

"Yes. . ." Her body was in a full-out spasm now, each thrust, each stroke bringing her closer to bliss. "Fuck me. Fuck me good, babe. I want to feel you come inside me."

He groaned, releasing his load, and the sensation made a spasm rip through her core, bringing her to the edge. "Say it, baby."

"I'm coming for you, Callum. It's so good . . ." She could hardly get the words out now, her moans louder than she intended. Her breath came in short pants of pleasure, heat burning her face, making spots dance in her eyes.

Then she relaxed, her core unclenching as she came down and settled back in his arms.

I could lie in his arms forever.

She swallowed nervously, the thought pulsing through her brain clearly enough.

Callum was right.

He'd told her he was going to ruin her.

And I could fall for him. Hell, it would be so easy to pretend this is the start of something more long-term.

His breath was soft on her neck, and she shivered, then disentangled herself from him. She needed to clean up.

Get up.

Much as she wanted to stay here, the more she considered doing that, the more afraid it made her.

She stood, then kissed his cheek. "I'm going to shower. Hopefully, there's some hot water this time. Then maybe I'll go out, see if I can find Elle and talk to her before Kat gets ahold of her."

"If you change your mind, I'll be here getting some of the sleep I didn't get last night."

"Whose fault is that?" she teased.

He slapped her ass as she scooted past.

This.

She wanted this.

Playfulness.

Morning sex.

All of him.

She pushed the thought away.

She showered and got dressed, and by then, Callum really had fallen asleep again. Then she slipped out the door quietly, the early morning light soft as it filtered through the canopy. The howler monkeys were at it again, but she smiled at them.

At least I got my phone back.

Then she wrinkled her nose, feeling guilty. When she'd vented to Miranda about Callum the day before, she hadn't been entirely generous. She wished she could take it back. And now that she'd slept with Callum, it would leave her in a precarious situation with her roommate. Miranda wouldn't be thrilled to hear that Liddy had not only chosen to believe Callum's version of what had happened but then she'd also slept with him.

But that was a problem for later.

Maybe the monkeys knew what they were doing by taking my phone.

She hadn't gone far when she spotted Kyle on a lounge chair by the pool. He waved when he saw her.

"You up already?" Kyle asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Elle."

"She's on the beach. Morning yoga. I'm waiting to escort Granny and Mom down, too."

Liddy cringed. If Elle was on the beach, then that was where she had to go.

But if she's doing yoga, that means Callum's mom will be there, too. She wasn't sure that she could look Callum's mom in the eye ever again.

"You're a good brother, you know that?" Liddy said, sitting beside Kyle. "Taking care of Granny, babysitting Kat . . . you basically do anything that's asked of you."

Kyle offered her a warm smile. "Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm one of the few single people here, which makes my schedule more flexible. And definitely the only single one in our family, unless you count you, which I don't because I saw a certain guy kissing you on that catamaran yesterday."

"You saw that?" Liddy's eyes widened.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "If you were going for discretion, you could have picked a spot that wasn't in plain view of anyone on that back deck." He winked at her. "So I guess things went from fake to real somewhere on the road?"

"Not exactly." Liddy clasped her hands. She should feel happy. And some part of her did feel like she was floating on the clouds. Probably the part of her that remembered a night of the best sex she'd ever had. "It's just a . . . vacation fling. We'll end it back home."

"Back home . . . in London?" Kyle gave her a confused look. "And what the hell do you mean, a vacation fling? You're Liddy. The good one. You don't do flings."

"Yeah, I know," she breathed out. "I do terrible relationships with stupid guys and get my heart broken." She rubbed her knees. "So I've decided to turn over a new leaf and just have fun."

Kyle stared at her, his eyes unamused. Then he shook his head, tearing his gaze away. "Goddammit. You're going to make me punch someone on this trip, aren't you?"

What?

She loved that Kyle was so fiercely protective of her but where was this coming from?

"What are you talking about?"

"I. . .I-I don't know how you can sit there and say that with a straight face, Lids. Answer me this: who wants this to be a vacation fling? Him or you?"

Oh.

She drew a shallow breath. "Him."

Anger flashed in Kyle's eyes. "Right. Because. . ." He stood, clearly struggling to sound calm. "Because he's a stupid guy drawing you into a terrible relationship. And he's going to break your heart, too."

Why do his words ring so true?

Because I'm scared. Scared I'm going to get hurt.

And yet . . .

This is what I want.

I want to be with Callum, even if it's just for this trip.

She'd tasted him. Slept in his arms. She couldn't go back now.

"Kyle." Liddy stood and took both of his hands. "I know it sounds crazy, but I'm going into this with both eyes open. I know what he's offering, and I know what I can handle. So just give the guy a break, will you? For my sake? He's been great and really sweet the last few days. He even paid for all those excursions yesterday." Kyle doesn't have to know about our arguments.

"Amazing how sex messes up people's ability to think straight," Kyle said in a flat tone. He glared at her. "And don't deny it."

"Deny what?" Granny's voice came from around the bend. She walked right beside Mom with a bounce to her step.

"Deny me the opportunity to watch her do yoga," Kyle shot back. "Looking beautiful this morning, Granny. You, too, Mom."

Mom rolled her eyes. "You don't have to compliment me, Kyle. I'm not a compliment whore like Fran."

Granny gave her a side-eyed glare. "No, you're just a regular old whore, am I right, Brenda?" Then she cackled and continued down the path with Kyle.

"You're really going to yoga, Liddy?" Mom looked surprised as Liddy fell into step beside her. She made a face. "Sorry. I'm not trying to discourage you. I know you can do much more now since your surgery. I just forget sometimes. My friend Linda—you remember her son, Jalen? Severe allergies. Even though he's been out of the house five years, Linda still checks labels everywhere she goes."

Liddy sighed, her eyes skimming the palm trees bent low over the water near the beach. The small group on the shore chatted as they rolled out yoga mats on the sand. "It's fine, Mom. Yeah, I'm going to yoga. I need to talk to Elle."

"About what?" Mom held onto Liddy's arm as she descended the last steps toward the beach. Hard to believe that just a few years earlier, Mom hadn't been able to move around without a walker after her accident.

"I just want to make sure she's okay. I know Quinn's mom really mixed things up by bringing on that wedding planner and trying to change the wedding to The Four Seasons."

"Elle seems happy with the changes, honey. I wouldn't bother her with that."

Liddy searched Mom's face. "Does she, though? You know how Elle is, Mom. She doesn't like making waves."

Mom squeezed Liddy's forearm. "Liddy, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but the only person I've seen causing waves lately is you. Look"—Mom gestured toward the group peacefully stretching on the beach—"everyone is fine. Relaxed. Happy. You're the only one who seems out of sorts." She winked at Liddy as they reached the sand, then released her arm and continued forward.

Liddy hung back, Mom's words making the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

Am I really the one causing drama?

On the one hand, Mom was right—several people were on the beach, relaxing into yoga poses. Elle was there, a smile on her face, her blond hair swept back into a messy bun. Quinn's mom was close by, wearing a hat and a loose white cover-up. Rebecca and Taryn and Hunter were among the yoga group, along with several of the Winnick cousins.

Quinn and his dad appeared to be fishing on the beach with his brothers and Liddy's dad. Even Leo was there with them.

A content, peaceful scene.

Liddy hugged her arms to her chest, feeling oddly like an outsider.

This was her family.

Her people.

The one group she should fit in with.

Yet most of the time she'd been here, she'd been on the outside. Because of Sergio and the dress and Callum.

Too many lies.

She'd never been so unable to speak freely with her sister.

And even Kyle, who knew the truth, wasn't exactly happy with her or Callum.

She stepped forward, and then her mom's voice rang through her head. "You're really going to yoga, Liddy?"

Tears stung her eyes.

Maybe she'd always been the outsider.

The one who'd held them back.

How many family vacations had never come to fruition because of her spine and her expensive medical care?

Not to mention the times that her parents had declined opportunities because "Liddy won't be able to do that."

Elle did seem fine with the changes Kat had made. She didn't seem mad at her mother-in-law. And Elle had also asked Liddy for her help with the wedding plans that were falling apart, but she'd been so busy trying to track down Sergio that she hadn't provided it. Of course Elle turned to someone else.

"I'm the problem," Liddy whispered. She didn't need Elle to say what a letdown she'd been. She'd been too busy with her own things. How can she not resent me?

Liddy turned to go.

She nearly ran straight into Isla.

"Whoa, lady." Isla jumped back, then laughed. "We have to find less interesting ways of meeting." She reached for Liddy's hand and smiled. She was gorgeous, just like Callum, and equally magnetic. "I feel like I completely embarrassed you last night, by the way. And I probably shouldn't even bring it up, but I wanted to apologize."

"No apology necessary." Isla's warmth was enough to get Liddy over the embarrassment anyway. Despite not knowing Isla, it was clear she was Callum's opposite. Or maybe more accurately, Isla was more like the side of Callum that he only showed in private.

"So my brother seems smitten with you," Isla said, linking arms with Liddy and tugging her back toward the beach. "Which is wonderful because he needs a good woman. He's spent the past five years only going out with the most inane women on the planet because they're the only ones who would put up with him."

Funny how Isla, who Callum rarely talked about, also seemed to be the person he'd allowed to know him best. "I don't think smitten is the right word."

"Well, it's clearly more than lust." A hint of a dimple showed in Isla's left cheek as she spoke. "Lust is something he's able to control. I get the feeling he's not quite in control when it comes to you." She stopped, gesturing toward the group doing yoga. "You going to join in?"

Liddy tried not to overthink Isla's bold words. "I'm not sure. I have a rod in my back. Scoliosis since childhood."

"There are plenty of yoga poses you can do despite that. Why not get my mum to help? She's good with that sort of thing."

Something else Isla had in common with Callum. Her determination not to let Liddy get out of anything easily.

Callum had said she'd like Isla, and he was right.

"Oh, just do it, Liddy." Rebecca, who was beside them, tossed a yoga mat over. "You'll be fine. It's yoga, for goodness' sake."

"Who's this?" Isla asked.

"Isla, this is Mason's girlfriend, Rebecca. And a good friend of mine. And this is Callum's sister," Liddy said, introducing them.

Isla unrolled a yoga mat for Liddy, then waved her mom over.

"Mum, can you adjust things for her as you go? You know, for her back?"

"Por supuesto," Callum's mom said with a smile.

"Oh—um, Se?ora—" Liddy had forgotten what Callum's mom had asked her to call her.

"Lety."

"That's right." Liddy's heartbeat ticked up in speed. "I just wanted to apologize about last night?—"

"No, no, is okay." Lety set her hands on Liddy's shoulders. "You love my son, yes? I understand."

Love? Liddy grimaced to herself. Or something else. She'd certainly wanted her son. Been having fun with her son. "Well, I still feel bad."

Lety winked. "We are all young once." Then she scrambled back to the front of the group, ready to start the class.

"I'm still completely embarrassed," Liddy told Isla.

Rebecca lifted her head. "And why's that?"

"My mum walked in on Liddy and Callum banging in the office last night?—"

"Isla!" Liddy hushed her with a look.

Rebecca gave Liddy an impressed glance. "This is a whole new side of Liddy I didn't know."

Liddy flung a handful of sand toward her. Rebecca dodged it, laughing. "You two better keep it down before it becomes a whole new side of me that everyone else finds out about."

"To be fair, it's the only side of you I've ever known." Isla unrolled her mat and then glanced up. Her expression changed, and Liddy followed her gaze.

Sophia had appeared on the beach, a yoga mat under her arm.

A look of dislike flashed in Isla's eyes, then she blinked it away. Isla's gaze darted to Liddy. "You going to be okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Other than the fact that Callum's ex is a gorgeous, tanned Latina who looks like she belongs here while I don't.

"You know, the whole ‘ex my brother was still hung up on five days ago' thing," Isla whispered and braided her hair swiftly. "I can understand why you'd feel uncomfortable around her."

Still hung up on?

The words dropped to the pit of Liddy's stomach.

Was Callum still hung up on her?

A familiar feeling of insecurity crept over Liddy as Sophia approached the group, then got ready to join them.

But, then again, what difference did it make?

It wasn't like Liddy and Callum were an actual couple.

The insecurity was natural. She couldn't compete with that. Sophia was lithe and bendy.

The thought of Callum's hands on Sophia's body made her shudder.

No reason to be jealous.

Except for the fact that I do give a shit.

. . . because I'm involved with him now.

Feeling stuck but more awkward than ever, Liddy followed in the yoga session, making halfhearted attempts at the poses as Lety came over to check on her from time to time.

I don't belong here.

Elle did.

Elle was graceful. And next to her was Taryn—a trained, professional dancer.

What was it that Callum had said? That she viewed herself as the ugly duckling?

She wanted so badly to believe Callum's words, but she hadn't gotten through the challenges that life had thrown her way by lying to herself either. She would never be like her sister or the other women around her. They had no idea what it was like to have a body that did what it wanted, rather than what she wanted.

The yoga session was anything but relaxing.

With each second that passed by, Liddy felt a familiar, defeated numbness enclosing over her.

What am I even doing here?

Everything was too confusing. Too complex.

Whatever she was feeling for Callum. Her fears for Elle's wedding day.

Kyle's warning had shaken her in a way she hadn't wanted to admit. Was she risking her heart foolishly?

Callum's words rang hollowly through her chest as she dropped into child's pose, trying to ignore the grit of sand beneath her forehead on the mat.

"Because I know who I am. I'm never doing another relationship. Ever. I will ruin you. And I won't like it. But it still won't stop me."

He'd nearly promised he would hurt her. So how would she stop that?

In his arms, with their bodies intertwined, it had been too easy to forget that he didn't want her. That he would call her beautiful and sexy, but then walk away when this was over.

And the thought of that made her heart ache, a low, pulsing, dull pain in her chest.

And then there was Elle's wedding. She had meant to support Elle, make sure she was happy. And she thought she had been. .. but . . .

"The only person I've seen causing waves lately is you."

Was Mom right? That I'm the one causing all the issues here?

As the session wrapped up, Liddy rolled her mat up slowly, then dumped it in the pile. If Elle was happy, then that was all that mattered. And right now, Elle looked happy. The total opposite of what Liddy felt. Was she just assuming Elle was miserable because of how she was feeling herself?

She started to walk away, but Elle saw her and came toward her. "Hey! I didn't know you came out here until the end. You should have come and hung out with me. I miss you."

"Everyone wants to be next to the bride," Liddy said with a shrug. She clasped her sister's hand. "Anyway, I got to hang out with Rebecca and Isla."

"Isla?" Elle searched the group on the beach for her. She stepped closer to Liddy and lowered her voice. "Did she bring my dress? I really need to try it on."

Umm.

How am I going to explain this?

"Well, actually, I think the airline rerouted it to the other airport . . . but it's coming," Liddy stammered. "Should be here today."

Elle's face fell. "Are you serious, Liddy? God, at this rate, I just should have had Logan bring it."

Ouch.

"I'm sorry, Elle," Liddy said, her throat tight.

Elle's eyes softened. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have snapped. It's just that I've been fielding some questions from Kat about when the dress will be here."

Liddy reached for Elle's hand, everything she wanted to say on the tip of her tongue.

"Elle, I know I messed up. I lost the dress. I haven't been here for you when you needed it, and I've been lying about Callum and me. And don't you think you'd be happier in the long run if you stayed in La Hacienda?"

But what would that accomplish?

It would just bring her sister more stress.

Maybe the best thing to do right now, no matter how much guilt she felt about it, was to let it go.

"Look who we dragged out of bed," Aiden said from behind them, and Liddy and Elle turned to see Aiden and Callum approaching. Logan was steps behind them, a soccer ball under his arm. "Any of the ladies fancy a game of football?"

Liddy met Callum's eyes, her heart giving a thump at the sight of him. She'd thought he was sexy before last night, but now her whole body seemed to be aware of his presence. A smile played at his lips as he exchanged a look with her.

I'm in serious danger of becoming addicted to that smile.

"You're in a good mood for someone who got dragged out of bed," Liddy teased.

Aiden wrapped his arm around Callum's neck, then ruffled his hair. "Cal wouldn't miss football, eh, mate?" He let him go, giving him a shove toward Liddy. Then he winked and jogged toward his other brothers farther down the beach.

"I am not playing soccer," Elle said with a shake of her head. "Knowing my luck, I'd get elbowed in the face and wind up with a black eye for my wedding."

"You're playing?" Liddy asked, searching Callum's face. Does he even play anymore? A career-ending injury didn't mean he couldn't play recreationally. But he'd spoken about the end of his football days with bitterness. "Are you?—"

"I'm fine." Callum set his hands against the small of her back, tugging her against him. "If you can do yoga, then I can play football." Dipping his mouth to hers, he caught her lips in a sultry kiss. He dragged his mouth to her earlobe. "I missed you."

She laughed, her face warming as she stepped back. This feels so real.

"Oh, you should have seen my Callum when he was a boy," Lety said, coming closer to them, pride beaming on her face. "All the kids would play on the beach. But he was the best." She touched his cheek, turning his face toward her. "Carmen and I would sit and watch you get all the goals. We were so proud."

Callum stiffened. "I honestly don't give a fuck if Carmen was proud. I didn't do it for her," he gritted out.

Yikes. That was harsh, even for Callum.

His mom dropped her hand. "I only meant?—"

"Mum, don't embarrass him," Isla called from a few feet over. "Liddy knows from experience Cal is the best at everything he does." She winked at them.

"Isla, por Díos," Lety muttered.

Even Liddy knew what that meant. Her thoughts had been identical. She glanced around to see who might have overheard. Oh God. Isla. Liddy was going to kill her. She's having way too much fun with this. But she had defused the tension between Callum and his mom.

What Liddy hadn't expected though, was how Sophia would be staring at them all. She hadn't acted jealous at all over the course of this trip, but the look on her face now was . . . sheer dislike.