Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

Elle and Quinn swayed on the dance floor. The thousands of twinkle lights strung from wood beams installed around the dance floor gave the space a golden glow.

To Liddy, it looked like a fairy tale.

Everything had been perfect. Her sister's dress—a simple, stunning, and also sexy cream satin midi dress Hunter had picked—was perfect for the setting. And the groomsmen were barefoot, which Quinn had insisted on, to his father's horror.

Not that the Camdens had protested anything. Kat had worked her magic, and flowers cascaded from the center of the long main table, making the reception look incredibly elegant.

And, most importantly, Elle looked happy. Radiant.

Surrounded by her closest family and friends, in the arms of the love of her life.

Just like she wanted.

Liddy hugged her arms to her chest, standing off to the side of the dance floor. The day had been a complete blur from the moment she'd woken up. She'd been sad that Callum was gone already, but there hadn't been time to dwell on that as she'd rushed over to get ready with Elle, Taryn, and Hunter, who was serving as a man of honor along with the two women.

Between the nail salon, hairstylists, and makeup artists, and getting ready for photos as soon as the rain broke—she had done nothing but wedding day prep.

She'd barely even seen Callum, except during the pictures and ceremony, and then she'd practically melted at the sight of him looking so sexy in his linen suit. Quinn didn't pull it off nearly as well as Callum did—but he wasn't half Latino either.

But she'd had no chance to talk to Callum and he seemed to have vanished after dinner.

And the more time that passed without him, the more it hurt to be away from him.

Is he avoiding me again?

Last night, it felt like they were finally getting somewhere.

But maybe it was just because he was drunk and not thinking straight.

He'd come back to the bungalow, though. That had to count for something.

And we had sex again.

But he was gone this morning without a word.

She grabbed a flower from a nearby arrangement and plucked at the petals.

He loves me . . .

He loves me not.

Her lips twisted wryly.

The schoolgirl game seemed about as accurate a predictor of whether Callum cared about her as his behavior did.

"Why aren't you out there on the dance floor, young lady?" Granny sidled up to Liddy, hands on her hips.

Liddy smiled. "I'm going out there soon. Just taking it all in."

"You pulled it off, kid. It's spectacular. The best wedding I've ever been to." Granny leaned over and planted a kiss on Liddy's cheek. "And believe me when I tell you I've been to a lot of weddings."

"Thanks, Granny. I appreciate your help with everything." Liddy held onto her arm. "Where's Leo?"

"Ah, he's out there dancing without me." Granny shrugged, patting her hand. "I saw you standing here looking all sad, and I thought I'd see if you were okay. Where's your man?"

"I don't know." Liddy's heart tugged in her chest. "And, honestly, Granny, he's not really my man. I'm not sure things will last too long after this vacation."

Granny's eyes twinkled. "Don't worry, kiddo, Kyle told me the whole truth. I know the little fibs you've been telling." Then she smiled more broadly. "But I also heard from Hunter that you might have been getting a little nooky in the kitchen the other day."

Liddy pinched the bridge of her nose. "Apparently, I can't trust anyone around here."

"Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me." Granny stepped closer to her. "Can I interest you in some unwelcome advice, though?"

I'm not sure if I want to hear it or not. Some things Granny said couldn't be unheard.

"I guess so."

"Good. Because I've been watching you the last week and you know what I think is troubling you the most?"

Liddy tried not to roll her eyes. "What's that?"

"I think you spent a long time seeing yourself one way. And while you had that brace on your back, everyone else could see it. So you tried hard to prove them all wrong. But now, that brace is gone. No one can see a damn thing different about you. And you're still stuck trying to prove to them—and yourself—that you're good enough."

Her words were like a gut punch.

"Make no mistake. You're good enough. But believing it starts with you."

Liddy swallowed hard, her eyes misting with tears.

Oh my God. She's right.

For her whole life, Liddy had been fighting against a disability that had suddenly become invisible to everyone but herself. And she was still the kid in the back brace, trying to prove she could do and be more, while never fully accepting it herself. While forgetting herself in the process.

Granny reached over and tugged the flower from Liddy's hand. "If a man's playing games, and if you have to pluck that flower to decide whether or not he cares . . . And don't tell me that's not what you were doing—I'm hard of hearing and live in a senior community, so I know how to read lips." Granny winked. "But if he ever makes you doubt he cares about you, he's not worth it. Because you're a damn amazing woman, Lydia. Don't let anyone treat you less than one."

She cradled Liddy's cheek with a soft caress, then started flapping her arms as she walked back onto the dance floor.

Liddy almost laughed, shaking her head as Granny found Leo and started dancing.

What on earth did she even mean?

The flower in her hands was sweetly scented, and she glided the soft petals along her lips. The petals she'd plucked and left on the floor haunted her.

He loves me.

He loves me not.

She lowered the flower, her heart getting tighter.

He wants me.

He wants me not.

Sleep with me today.

Forget me tomorrow.

Those were the rules, though, weren't they?

Callum had been clear. This wasn't going anywhere.

Tears stung her eyes.

Because I've done exactly what he hadn't wanted—I've fallen for him.

She didn't know if it was possible to fall in love with someone after a week, but she knew she'd never felt this way about anyone before.

But she'd known Callum for two years now, not just one week. Maybe not the way she knew him now. She'd spent a long time allowing her prejudice to cloud her perceptions about him. Looking back, she could admire the boss he'd been. That he'd always pushed her into jobs that challenged her.

She smiled to herself, remembering the first time they'd met. Every time she'd seen that guidebook in her apartment, she'd wondered what life in London would have been like if that version of him had continued in her life.

Now she knew better—he hadn't been ready for a relationship or to trust again. Definitely not then, and not now, either.

He might never be.

A set of firm hands encircled her waist just then, tugging her back. She knew the scent of Callum before she saw him, the familiar feel of his body against hers. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against his chest as his lips brushed the sensitive spot at her jawline, right below her earlobe.

"Has anyone told you how ravishing you look?"

She smiled sadly, tears still wetting her lashes.

God, I really am falling in love with him.

"I was beginning to think you were avoiding me," she tried to joke, but her voice cracked.

Callum turned her to face him, searching her gaze. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She managed a brave smile. "Just?—"

Callum held his fingertips to her lips. "You really did think I was avoiding you, didn't you?"

She nodded, swallowing back tears.

"You are an angel for tolerating my behavior the past few days." His face grew more serious. "But we should talk."

Her heart fell.

Then he is going to end things again.

She'd tried to avoid thinking about that, but now that it was happening, she wasn't sure if she could do what she'd done last night at the bar again. How many times could she throw herself at him and let him reject her?

This wasn't the best place for a discussion like this, and the music on the dance floor was loud. She took his hand, then led him away, straight onto the beach.

They didn't have to go far to find quiet and privacy. She turned to him, trying to get the words out before she lost the nerve. "I know you said you don't want a relationship, and I get it. I'm not trying to push you into one. But I just can't keep doing this. You were right. I'm starting to have feelings for you, and if we keep doing what we've been doing the past few nights, I'm going to get hurt. Really hurt. Because I care about you."

She remembered Granny's words. "And I deserve better than being just another fling to you. I don't need to try to prove anything. Not to you or to myself. I don't need to be tough and flippant about caring about you because that's what you want. Especially if it's not what I want."

He released her hand and stepped back, his face sobering. "I know. And you're right, too. The fake relationship needs to end. We have to go back to our lives, and I don't date my employees."

Her stomach clenched.

Then that's it.

He doesn't want me for anything other than sex.

She swallowed, hard.

Oh God, I'm going to cry.

Holding her breath, she nodded, then moved to walk past him back to the party.

"Of course, I'm no longer your boss. So there's that."

He caught her hand, and she stopped, her heart slamming into her ribs.

She turned toward him slowly. "What?"

"I'm not mad, Liddy. I want you to know that up front. But Miranda Kaster went to HR about our fake relationship. She claimed I had blackmailed you into a sexual relationship."

Liddy gasped.

Miranda . . . did what?

She'd barely had time to even think about Miranda. "Oh, no, no . . . why would she do that? That's not what I told her." A sick feeling rushed through her. "Callum, I never said that to her. I was mad at you for kissing me and then telling me it meant nothing to you, so I vented about that, but I didn't say anything about having sex."

"I think this was her revenge because I turned her down. To me, not you. If anything, she probably wanted to get back at me for the both of you."

Guilt and hurt clawed through her.

Then fury.

"How dare she go to HR about this for me? I trusted her with this."

"I know."

How was he so surprisingly chill about this?

She wiped angry tears from her eyes. "Did you get fired?"

"I resigned." Callum shrugged as though it was nothing. "I didn't want you to have to deal with an HR circus when we returned. And since, as of twenty minutes ago, I'm the new owner of La Hacienda Tropical , I might be heading on an alternative career path anyway."

She blinked at him, mouth parting in shock.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a long story. Suffice it to say, Sophia was pressuring my mum to sell. I decided to try to reconcile with my mum and buy Sophia out, but then I found out that the American man Sergio told you about? Sophia was going to sell her part of the property to him. He's an American investor and was going to sue my mum for the sale of the property through the courts. It would have forced my mum to sell. So I made a deal with Sophia that would be too good for her to refuse, so long as she accepted it immediately."

Liddy tried to process everything he'd said.

No wonder she'd barely seen him today.

He'd been busy.

"And all this happened today?"

"Unbelievably." Callum reached for her, tugging her closer to him. Taking her hand in his, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. "Liddy, I . . . can't lose you. I know what I said about ruining you, but the fact is, you ruined me. I can't return to London and pretend none of this ever happened. I'm falling in love with you. And it terrifies me. But the only thing that scares me more is facing a future without you in it."

She stared at him.

Is this a dream?

"You want to be with me?"

He smiled, and Liddy wasn't sure she'd seen this smile on Callum before. Except when he'd been eating his favorite ice cream... when I'd noticed pure delight on him. It was a good look.

"Yes. And for more than tonight. You challenge me and drive me mad, but you're also the woman who will hold my hand when I'm drunk and . . . I don't think I've ever met anyone as fiercely loyal as you." He dropped to his knees. "I'm begging you, Liddy. Be with me."

She laughed, then dropped in front of him, putting her arms around his neck. "You're ridiculous. Of course I will be. All you had to do was ask. But what about La Hacienda? Are you going to live here now?"

Callum held her face in his hands. "I'm the owner and the investor at this point. Isla is going to move here and run it with my mum. I'm going back home."

She searched his gaze. He wouldn't use that term lightly. "Where's home?"

"Home is wherever you are, Liddy Winnick."

She kissed him hard until they were both breathless.

Flash.

Liddy blinked, unsure, for a second, where the light had come from.

Then more flashes.

A photographer was taking their picture.

Then she heard a voice saying, "Did they just get engaged?"

The flashes had drawn attention from the wedding, and people were turning to see what was going on, craning their necks toward them.

Liddy and Callum exchanged a look, then started laughing.

"Show us the ring, Liddy!" one of her uncles yelled from the dance floor.

Wonderful.

She turned toward Callum . . . and kissed him like no one was watching.