Page 120 of He Loves Me Knot

Either way, neither of them seemed to catch Sophia’s hostile glare.

Then Sophia noticed Liddy’s stare and her expression cleared instantly, a pleasant smile returning to her lips. She sidled over toward Liddy. “Are you going to play fútbol with the men? You should.”

“Liddy rarely plays contact sports,” Elle said, and Liddy raised a brow. She’d almost forgotten her sister was quietly observing everything going on around her. Elle’s voice held a protective tone, and not in how Mom usually tried to discourage her from doing “dangerous” things.

Had Elle seen Sophia’s look of dislike, too? Liddy tried to catch Elle’s gaze, unsuccessfully.

“You really don’t have to, Lid,” Callum said in a low tone, taking her hand.

“I’ll play,” Isla announced cheerfully. She tied her hair up and bounded over toward the group, leaving a trail of prints in the sand. If Liddy had any doubt that she’d been purposely trying to lighten the air between her mom and her brother earlier, she no longer did. Isla was clearly used to playing the peacemaker.

This time, Isla’s antics didn’t seem to affect the strained group, who paid her little attention.

“You should let your girlfriend play, Callum.” Sophia raised her chin, squaring off with Callum. “Unless you think she can’t keep up with you.”

Is that a dare?

Why was Sophia purposely trying to rile up Liddy—or Callum? She must have heard him mention her mother and grown defensive.

“Maybe she’s standing right here and can speak her own goddamn mind without your interference,” Callum said in a cold, stern tone.

Callum’s mom looked tense as she glanced between Sophia and Callum.

Liddy shifted her weight, feeling only slight comfort from Elle’s presence. Her gaze flitted to Isla, whose words earlier came back to her.

“. . . theex my brother was still hung up on five days ago.”

Was this why Callum had wanted to pretend to be dating? Not because he worried about his mom’s interference but because he wanted to make Sophia jealous? There certainly seemed to betensionbetween them, that was for sure.

“Icanplay, but I don’t want to,” Liddy said in a quiet voice. Her gut roiled as she turned to go, and Callum’s hand tightened against hers.

“Stay,” he said, stepping closer to her. His eyes searched hers, a piercing intensity to his gaze. “Please. I enjoy seeing you here.”

He didn’t lower his voice or say it in a way that only she could hear, but it somehow still made her feel as though he couldn’t care less who was around and listening to them.

God, I wish I could fully believe he means that. That it’s not all just a show for his mom or Sophia or whoever.

But that would also mean believing that he could feel more for her than he did. And he’d been clear that would never happen.

Liddy held his gaze, then nodded. Isla unwrapped an orange sarong from her waist. “Here, you can sit on this. These are my favorite things to carry onto the beach. They’re practically sand proof.”

Liddy thanked her for it, then spread it out onto the sand a little way off from where Quinn and his brothers had gathered and were discussing the boundaries of the “soccer field.” She sat, then Elle popped down next to her. “What was that about?” Elle hissed, resting her weight back on her hands.

“What?” The mixture of emotions in her heart was becoming almost too much to process.

“I-I don’t know. But something’s off. Between Callum and his mom and you and him and Sophia. Even Isla was hopping around acting nervous.”

Liddy focused her attention on the beach, where Mason was setting up a few fallen coconuts on either side of the playing field to mark off the goals. Callum had joined the men, along with Isla, Taryn, Rebecca, and a couple of their female cousins. As Callum laughed at something Mason said, Liddy envied his composure.

But that’s Callum.

Emotionally disconnected and unavailable.

Cool under pressure.

Meanwhile, I’m sitting here feeling like I’m fraying at the seams.

Not because she couldn’t handle a sexual relationship with Callum where he promised nothing but the thrill of right now.Right?I can do that.

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