Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Liddy woke to the sound of a knock on her door. The howler monkeys were vocal this morning, reminding her she couldn't check the time on her phone. She blinked at the room's brightness, rubbing her eyes. She rolled over on the bed and checked the floor. The comforter Callum had taken to sleep on was neatly folded on the chair, his pillow on top of it.

He appeared to have left already.

She winced.

That can't have been comfortable. The floor was tiled.

She'd tried to encourage him to get a cot, but that would mean going to his mother or ex, which would raise too many questions.

The knock sounded again, and she swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat. "I'm coming," she grunted. She didn't know where her flip-flops were, so she walked barefoot toward the door.

She opened it to find her granny and Kyle standing there. "Up and at 'em," Granny said with a wide smile. Her five-foot-nothing, spry body was swathed in pink Lycra, and her tight white curls were perfectly in place as she strode inside.

"What on earth?" Liddy said. She hadn't seen her brother since Christmas and Granny for over a year, and this was the hello?

"Where's the hot rod?" Granny said, looking around the room.

Kyle face-palmed and came in grudgingly, wincing at Liddy. "I tried to stop her. Told her to give you some privacy."

"Hot rod?"

"You know. Your personal joystick. The one you've been hiding from the whole family." Granny waved a finger in Liddy's face. "I had a whole plan to come stay in this room with you until you showed up all shacked up. Leo's snoring is keeping me up all night."

"You mean Callum?" Liddy gathered her hair into a ponytail, sitting on the bed wearily. Jet lag is a thing. She was sure her body thought she should still be asleep.

"No, Leo. You know, you met him at Parkview last time. He's the widower from 7B. Where'd you come up with a dipshit name like Callum?"

"She knows who Leo is, Granny," Kyle said in a voice that sounded extra deep due to it being so early. "She means her boyfriend, who is apparently named Callum."

It's too early for this.

"Oh, then, that's the one. That one's got a nice ass. I saw you two running away from here last night before I could even get over to say hello from my chair at the pool. You Winnick girls sure pick them good-looking, but Quinn's got no ass. Don't tell Elle I said so, though."

They were all used to Granny Winnick's antics, but even this seemed outrageous for her. Liddy shook her head. "Granny, if you ever call any man my personal joystick again, I'm buying you a bark collar."

"Oh, don't pretend you don't have fun riding?—"

"I'm leaving," Kyle said, holding up his hands.

"You and me both," Liddy muttered. "Why are you guys here so early?"

"Surfing lessons. On the beach. I signed us up last night," Granny said with a smile. She looked around the room again. "But I was hoping your man could join us. I'd like to meet the fellow."

"What?" Liddy rubbed her eyes again. Surfing lessons? I am not doing that. "I think Callum went to get some work done." Her brain was slogging through Granny's comments like a sheep walking through a bog. Maybe it was the melatonin she'd taken the night before. It helped with jet lag, but she'd never liked the way it made her feel the next morning.

"Work? What the hell is he doing working at this hour?" Granny looked like she was about to pass judgment over Callum—and not a positive one.

Did she even have time to do anything today? If she and Callum were going to track down Sergio, they would need to leave soon, wouldn't they?

"What hour is it, exactly? A monkey stole my cell phone."

"It's five twenty," Kyle groaned. He tilted his head against the door frame, closing his eyes. His hair, which was blond and tousled, looked like the epitome of bedhead. But being Kyle, he looked like he belonged on a surfboard at this hour, too.

Liddy's eyes burned. "Five twenty . . . that's like, what eleven twenty for me?"

"Exactly. You should be wide awake. Come on, get your swimsuit on." Granny started turning lights on in the room.

"Is that what you're wearing? A swimsuit?" The bright pink outfit appeared to be a one-piece.

Granny looked insulted. "It's a wetsuit."

"You look like a Good & Plenty." Liddy's gaze flicked to her brother, still wondering how her brother had gotten pulled into this. Of course, Kyle was probably the easiest going of the three Winnick siblings. "Are you seriously doing this?"

Kyle shrugged. "I guess."

"He sure is. And you are, too. I don't want to hear any of that ‘oh, but my back, Granny.' I got the same damn issue as you. And I got a bikini to wear later at the beach, so no moping around in a muumuu either."

Liddy threw her a glare. "Thanks, Granny." But then Granny had never—not once—treated Liddy like she was frail. If anything, she had always ragged on Mom and Dad for going too easy on Liddy and letting her wear oversized T-shirts when she'd been in middle and high school.

"You tell those little shits that your back brace is none of their damn business, and you wear whatever the hell you want," Granny had always told her. She'd meant well. But Granny wasn't the one who had to deal with the cruelty of the other kids and the crushing insecurity Liddy had always felt about her body. And while Liddy might have inherited Granny's scoliosis, she hadn't inherited Granny's tendency to be a battle-ax.

Granny and Kyle were still waiting for a response, and Liddy finally sighed. Callum had said Sergio would be somewhere tonight, which hopefully meant they didn't need to leave yet. "I'll get my suit and meet you outside. But I'm not getting on a surfboard."

"The hell you aren't," Granny grunted as she pulled Kyle back out the door.

"It's too freaking early for this," Liddy mumbled to herself as she scanned the room for her suitcase.

Speaking of which, where was Callum? He couldn't have left so early to get work done, could he? But, then again, thank goodness he'd packed away his makeshift bed. That would have made for some awkward questions.

Liddy changed as quickly as she could, opting for a navy-blue one-piece that she'd bought because it fully covered the scar on her back. Granny might give her grief about it later, but she couldn't very well say much when she wore that wetsuit.

Ugh, I don't have time for things like this. She needed to find out what her options were for replacing her phone, to begin with. She still needed to talk to Miranda—she'd texted her the day before to ask her not to tell anyone what she'd shared about Callum's fake relationship idea on the car ride. But Miranda hadn't answered, and then Liddy's phone had been stolen.

Maybe I can borrow Rebecca's phone and call Miranda. Rebecca should be here by now.

And she needed to cancel her credit cards, which would again mean borrowing someone's phone. Maybe Callum would help.

Then she needed to check in with Elle and help her find a new caterer and settle any other wedding details that still needed tending to.

She'd just finished changing when she heard the door to the bungalow open again. "I'm coming already," she called through a crack in the bathroom door.

"Would it be terrible of me to say, ‘that's what she said' right this second?" Callum answered.

Liddy pushed the door open more widely and mock glared at him. "It would be ironic, given that your last name is Scott and you're my boss."

"Oh, too true." Callum grinned, dripping with sweat. He'd clearly gone for another run, and his shirt was clinging to him in all the right places, showing off the indents of well-formed muscle under the fabric.

Oh, man.

He did have abs. Well-defined ones that rippled under his shirt as he moved.

Liddy moistened her lips, tearing her gaze away. She'd be mortified to be caught staring.

"Have a good night, sleeping beauty? You were out for like eleven hours."

"Let me guess. You woke up at five—London time?"

"Four, actually. But that's about all my shoulder could take of the comfortable bedding." Callum crossed his arms. "I hear you're going surfing."

"My granny signed us up for lessons, apparently. But I'm just planning to go watch."

"And you're going, too, sonny." Granny's voice came loudly from outside.

"Granny, you're going to wake anyone remotely close to us," Liddy said with a hiss.

Callum scanned Lydia's face. "You ever been surfing before?"

She shook her head. "And I have no intention of starting today. The ocean and I are barely friends. I don't really have any desire to tempt it to drown me." Truthfully, the idea of surfing would be amazing, but it's also terrifying.

"Samara's a good beach for beginners without experience. There aren't big waves here. You probably won't get any further than learning to catch waves and bellyboard in if you try. Tell the instructor . . ." He trailed off, hesitantly.

"About my back?" she filled in for him, raising a brow. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm not an idiot. I tell the people it makes a difference with. But I'm not going to surf." Then she stepped closer, slinging her beach bag over her shoulder. If Kyle and Granny were still in earshot, she needed to be careful with her wording. "And I'm sorry if I was harsh last night. I think I let everything get to me all at once."

Granny strode into the bungalow and then looked at Callum expectantly. "You going like that?"

"Gran, I doubt Callum needs surfing lessons. He practically grew up on this beach."

Granny lifted her chin at him. "You surfed here before?"

"Mostly at Playa Carrillo, a little south of here. Went to Nosara, Buena Vista, or Marbella more often. The waves are bigger there."

Granny's eyes sparkled. "Perfect. Then you're an expert. You can teach your girlfriend and leave the other instructor to us. Get your suit on. And don't tell me you need to work. You're ‘on holiday' or whatever you Brits call it. Need to learn how to relax and get whatever rod out of your ass that causes your lips to stiffen."

What? Granny isn't seriously suggesting that Callum gives me surfing lessons, is she? What would that even involve?

Liddy shook her head. "No, it's fine, Granny. If Callum wants to work?—"

"No, I'm game," Callum said, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "But, just so you know, I'm not entirely from the UK."

Would strangling her grandmother be a feasible option? Liddy couldn't think of anything more horrifying than having Callum give her surfing lessons. She moved outside, joining Kyle. "Gran is getting more unhinged by the year."

"I heard that," Granny said, then exited the bungalow. "Or maybe, when you're my age, you'll realize that you wasted far too much precious time and you're running out of it and need to live it up before you're worm food."

Kyle yawned and stretched. "Can we schedule the life lessons for after eight for the rest of this trip?"

"If you're sleeping that good, I may need to come in and share your room," Granny said with a wink.

Kyle put his arm around her shoulder. "Gran, you're not sleeping with me. You brought your ‘man meat'—or whatever you call him—so you're stuck with him."

Dear God. Liddy wasn't sure she wanted Callum overhearing Granny's off-color remarks. Had she been on a roll like this around Elle's future in-laws? No wonder Elle was stressed. She could only imagine what the Camdens—who were an earl and countess—would think after hearing Granny.

"You're like a one-woman version of The Golden Girls, Gran," Liddy muttered. "And that's not necessarily the compliment you think it is."

Callum joined them a few minutes later, wearing a long-sleeved swim shirt and trunks. He looked more alert than either she or Kyle did, which probably had to do with the fact that he'd been running as opposed to being dragged out of bed.

Liddy fell into step beside him, putting a little distance between them and Granny as they made their way to the beach. "I wanted to ask you. . . if the thing with Sergio is tonight, when do you think we should leave?"

"Probably around noon. It'll take a little under four hours to get there. If we leave soon, we can be there in the afternoon and scope things out. Wait for him to arrive."

"We should probably think up some excuse for leaving for the day. Maybe sightseeing or something? We won't be back until late probably, right?"

"Yeah, I can come up with something. I wouldn't plan on being back here before ten."

The sky over the water was a light shade of pink as they walked onto the beach to where a surfing instructor was already with Granny and Kyle. The instructor introduced himself as Victor, with heavily accented English.

"You going to tell him you already know how to surf?" Liddy whispered to Callum.

Callum gave her a lazy smile. "Not yet. You going to tell him you're not planning on taking the lesson?"

She grimaced and looked toward her eighty-year-old grandmother. If Granny was willing to try it, Liddy's reluctance would just look like cowardice.

"I mean, if we're not actually standing on the boards, I might try," she managed, ignoring how sick it made her feel.

Victor had apparently already picked boards for them. He gave Liddy a smile as he brought one over to her. " Linda , let me show you." He knelt in front of her, then fastened the ankle strap on her, his touch light. He held her gaze. "So the board does not float away."

"What does linda mean?" Liddy whispered to Callum as Victor moved on to grab Kyle a board.

"Beautiful." Callum rolled his eyes. "He's flirting with you. Notice how he didn't help me or your grandmother put our ankle straps on?"

"Maybe he knows I can't bend over like that." Liddy held a smile back. Why did it make her satisfied to have Callum notice things like another man flirting with her? She'd felt similarly about Sergio's flirtations—and, oddly, that had seemed to bother Callum, too.

But once, in what felt like ages ago, Callum had flirted with her. And she'd had fun flirting with him that day they'd first met, too. He'd made her feel . . . desirable . She'd never had anyone pay her a lot of attention growing up. At least not in a positive way.

College had been a breath of fresh air compared to high school for her social life. She'd gotten her spinal fusion right before freshman year, which meant that almost no one knew about her scoliosis. She'd had her first dates, kisses, boyfriends.

But the experience hadn't been entirely positive, either.

After years of insecurity and feeling horrible about her body, every compliment, or if a guy hit on her, had her reeling. She'd gotten her heart broken by more than one jerk that she never should have dated.

And she'd learned the hard way that other women could be just as vicious to each other even when they couldn't find easy prey—a fact that had just about made her want to never try to seek friends again. Maybe that was why Granny had learned to be brash and tough. People didn't mess with you if they didn't see you as soft and vulnerable.

After what seemed like entirely too short of a lesson on what to do in the water, they headed out into the waves. The water was surprisingly warm, despite how early it was, and Callum was right—the waves were mild, at best.

"All right. First, we practice get on the board. No too far, not too low," Victor said, demonstrating by climbing toward the nose of his surfboard, then moving toward the bottom.

Liddy glanced over her shoulder at Callum, who was clearly doing his best not to appear bored. "How do you know if you've gone too far up on the board?"

"Here, I help," Victor said, wading through the waist-deep water toward her. He held out a hand and helped her slide onto the board. "Right here." His hand settled on the small of her back. " Excelente. You're a natural."

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Callum muttered, paddling past.

Liddy smirked. It could be the fact that he was supposed to be her boyfriend, but either way, she was enjoying the attention.

Then in true cock fight fashion, Callum waited for one of the larger foamy waves, before popping up on his board and riding it in toward the shore.

It could be his muscular physique. Or maybe the water dripping from him. But my God, he looks hot doing that.

Granny's eyes twinkled from a few feet away, where she was struggling to get onto the board. "See, I told you. Nice buns on that one."

Victor, clearly aware that Callum wasn't an inexperienced beginner now, tilted his head. "Oh, you surf?"

"Un poquito." Callum responded with a shrug.

"Perfecto. Come, you can help with la se?ora." Victor waved Callum over toward Granny.

"Oh, lucky me." Granny grinned.

Kyle waded closer to Liddy. "I'm considering going and taking a nap on the beach. Watching my eighty-year-old grandmother act like a horndog is fun and all, but I'm definitely the fifth wheel around here."

The feel of the cold board against her stomach and torso was surprisingly freeing as Liddy paddled near Kyle. "I'm oddly enjoying this more than I thought I would," she confessed, watching as Victor and Callum struck up a conversation in Spanish—who knew about what. Callum didn't entirely seem friendly, but Victor was smiling.

Kyle climbed onto his own board. She wouldn't be surprised if Kyle turned out to be naturally gifted at this—he'd played sports and been athletic his whole life. That's how it had always been in their family. Elle was the artist, Liddy, the overachieving bookworm, Kyle, the athlete. "So this Callum guy.. .isn't he Quinn's friend that you hated?" Kyle asked in a low voice.

Liddy gritted her teeth. She couldn't lie to Kyle. They'd been close all their lives. Told each other everything. Even though Liddy considered Elle her best friend, in some ways it had taken longer for them to reach that point. Elle had been popular and busy and older. Kyle was always there for her, and they'd played together from infancy, since he was only a year younger. Somehow, he seemed more mature at twenty-three than other guys she knew that were his age.

The water was so calm that they were both practically just lying on their boards, parallel to the shore. Callum was helping Granny, while Victor, who seemed intent on supervising, continued to watch over them. Liddy set her forearms on the board and leaned her chin against her arms. "Can I tell you a secret if you swear not to tell anyone?"

Kyle raised a brow. "If you tell me you're pregnant too . . ."

Liddy laughed, wondering just how many people Elle had told her "secret" to. "No, nothing like that. It's just that I was in charge of picking up Elle's wedding dress from Logan in Littleton, who's been staying at the estate. And then I brought it here to Costa Rica—except it was stolen at the airport."

Kyle's eyes widened. "What?"

Liddy gritted her teeth in a tight, chagrined smile. "It gets worse." She summarized the situation with Callum quickly, finishing as Victor waded back toward them to resume the lesson.

"What happens if you don't get the dress back?" Kyle asked as Victor helped guide them farther out into the water.

"Okay, from here, watch for the wave. When it's about five meters away, you start and paddle toward shore. Ride the wave on your belly," Victor told them, then demonstrated.

She watched Victor, barely paying attention to what he'd instructed.

"I have no idea what happens. But especially after I found out about the baby, I just didn't feel like I could tell Elle."

"No, I get it. She's on edge. Burst into tears when she saw me last night, but Quinn says she's been doing that a lot lately. Hormones or something."

Yeah, exactly. Elle was all over the place emotionally.

"Well, I'm glad I told you," Liddy said, sighing as Victor swam back. "I might need your help covering for me today when I go try to find this guy."

"Whatever you need. I'll help any way I can." Kyle nodded toward Callum. "But I don't like that he's manipulating you. Be careful with that guy, Liddy. I don't trust him."

"You ready to try?" Victor said, paddling over toward Liddy. He stood beside her board. "I'll help. Look back toward the ocean with me. When you need to paddle, I'll tell you go and give you push. Then paddle."

Kyle winked at her as Victor positioned her board perpendicular to the shore. She took a nervous glance back over her shoulder, comforted to have Victor standing there holding her board.

Then a wave started toward them.

Shit, I should have been paying more attention to what Victor said. "Go, go, go!" Victor said, pushing her forward.

Whatever Callum had said about this being a beginner beach, now that she was on top of a board and paddling toward shore with a wave coming toward her, goose bumps rose up her arms. She kept paddling, hoping the board would just glide on top of the water and the wave would carry her to shore the way it had with Callum and Victor, but it seemed to crest behind her.

Liddy gave a horrified glance backward, then ducked her head, jumping off the board as the wave crashed down on top of her.

Water filled her nose and lungs as she tumbled with the wave, sand and shells filling her suit. She blinked, trying to find a sense of direction, vaguely aware of the board yanking at her ankle.

Then she slammed into the shore, the sand digging into her cheek painfully. She came up, coughing, only to feel the wave suck back, dragging more sand and water through her bathing suit and the board pulling her into the sea before another wave crashed over her.

A pair of muscular arms lifted her from the sand, just as deftly releasing the ankle strap. Liddy blinked back the stinging sea water to see Callum holding her against his chest, his arms around her back and under her knees. His dark brows furrowed with concern. "You okay?"

She coughed, still feeling like she was choking, the grit of sand in her teeth. "I'm fine," she managed. Water ran from her nose and she swiped it away. Oh, I hope Callum didn't see that.

"If it makes you feel better," Callum said, carrying her onto the sand. "The first time I wiped out, the waves sucked back my board shorts. Left me bare-arsed on the beach. So you're still doing better than I was."

She choked out a laugh. "Are you serious?"

"I never lie." Callum's eyes sparkled with amusement as he set her down. "You know, except about having a girlfriend. And knowing how to surf. And maybe one or two other things."

"So basically you lie all the time."

He handed her a towel, and she wiped her face with it.

"I'm not lying about the surfing thing, though. I was twelve years old and just hitting puberty, too. And the girl I had a crush on was watching. That moment might have haunted my nightmares for a good decade or more."

The girl he had a crush on . . . most likely Sophia. Why hadn't he just named her?

Victor came rushing from the water toward them, carrying her board. "Are you okay, senorita?"

Liddy nodded and squinted toward him with a thumbs-up. "Yeah, I think I'm just going to take a break for a bit."

"Okay. See you soon, bella ." Victor winked and hurried back to Kyle and Granny.

Callum sat on the beach beside her. "That fellow is laying it on thick, isn't he?"

"Maybe if my boyfriend would step up instead of flirting with my grandmother, he'd lay off," Liddy said with a chuckle.

Callum brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckle. The move was surprisingly gentle and her eyes darted toward his.

Where did that come from?

He pulled his hand back. "You're bleeding a bit, Liddy."

"Yeah, I face-planted into the sand." She sighed, staring into the serene sky. "This is why I don't do this sort of thing. I'm lucky I didn't get really hurt tumbling in the water."

Callum wrapped his arms around his bent knees, clasping his hands. "We all get hurt. Sometimes by just sitting on the sidelines."

She pressed her lips together. Was he implying that she'd missed out on things by never trying? What does he know?

She was tempted to tell him off, but a shadow crossed over them. They looked up to see Logan, Quinn's youngest brother, stop beside them.

"Logan." Callum stood and dusted his hands off before offering it to him. "How are you? You get in last night?"

Logan nodded. "Flight was delayed for four hours. We arrived just past midnight. Good to see you, Liddy."

Liddy touched her tingling cheek and smiled up at Logan. She hoped she didn't look as disheveled as she felt, but so be it. "Hi, Logan. Good to see you again so soon."

She didn't normally see the youngest Camden brother, who had just finished his university studies the year before. Like Quinn, he'd chosen not to go into the family business. Unlike Quinn, he often stayed in Littleton, the family estate Quinn had inherited as the eldest, which was why Liddy had needed to get the wedding dress from Logan a few days earlier.

Logan nodded pleasantly at her board. "I wouldn't have taken you for a surfer, Liddy."

"I'm not." She stretched out her legs. "But hopefully that means you didn't witness my crash-landing into the shore."

"I missed that one," Logan said, then shifted. "Erm, Liddy, by any chance, could I trouble you to have a peek at Elle's wedding dress? You still have it, right? My mother asked me if I could bring it to her room for a few minutes. She said she peeked in Elle's room but didn't see it there."

Shit. Of all the people to ask to see the dress.

"Oh." Liddy's heart thudded in her chest. "Oh, uh, do you know why she needs it?"

"I didn't ask," Logan said sheepishly. "But I'll bring it back to you directly."

Ugh. She couldn't just say no, right? But why on earth did Quinn's mom need the dress?

She could tell him she'd already handed it over to Elle, which would make sense, but she didn't want to force Elle into having to fabricate something. "Um. Sure. Let me just finish up here, and then . . . I'll find you?"

"Perfect. I'm in bungalow eight."

Callum frowned as Logan left them. "That's inconvenient. What are we going to do?"

That he'd used the word we made her pause. What he meant didn't need to be spelled out.

We're in this together.

She swiped strands of her hair out of her eyes and held his gaze, a warm feeling spreading across her chest. "I'm not sure. Leave sooner rather than later and find Sergio, to begin with? Maybe Kyle will help me come up with some activities that Quinn and his brothers can stay distracted with."

"We can leave right away. We'll get there early, but it'll be fine. And my mum might have some good suggestions to keep the men occupied. I can talk to her."

That he's willing to talk to his mom to help is . . . huge.

She looked at him and a slow smile spread on her face. "We're not becoming friends, right? Because I'm not sure if I could live with myself if that happened."

"Not on your life. We're partners in crime, that's all."

Liddy dragged her fingers through the tangles in her hair again, the sting of salt water still deep in her throat.

The image of Callum lifting her from the water rocked her senses.

She couldn't really be feeling friendly toward him, could she?

That was quick.

Too quick.

"Be careful with that guy. I don't trust him." Kyle's words rang in her ears.

She had a bad habit of not making the best choices in the men she trusted. Just look at what had happened with Sergio.

She wouldn't make that mistake with Callum.