Page 143 of He Loves Me Knot

They left the others and headed toward the lone pool table in the bar. Unsurprisingly, the cues seemed slightly warped—a likely effect of humidity. He picked the two straightest ones while Kyle racked the balls.

Handing Kyle the cue, Callum sized up Liddy’s younger brother. He knew they were close in age. If Liddy hadn’t dyed her hair, all the Winnick siblings would look alike. “Sorry about the surfing lesson earlier today, mate.” Callum rubbed some chalk on the tip of the cue. “We can try again later in the week if you’d like.”

Kyle studied him. “It depends.”

Callum drew his lips to a firm line.Great.He knew where this was heading. “On?”

“How much you care about my sister.”

Callum leaned his torso toward the table and lined up the cue ball. The ricochet of the break sounded off the sides of the table and he watched as the balls rolled to a stop. “Stripes.” He lifted his gaze and met Kyle’s eyes. “Well, I ended things this afternoon, so that probably doesn’t bode well for our surfing lesson.”

To his surprise, Kyle’s reaction was unreadable. “Huh. Why exactly?” He moved to the other side of the table.

“Why what?”

“Why didyouend things?”

Better to answer truthfully.“Because she deserves better than me.”

Kyle laughed sardonically, then bent to line up his shot. “Obviously. But is that what she wants? Or are you just trying to prove how undeserving you are to make yourself feel better? She’s had a lifetime of people making decisions for her based on what they think is best for her, you know.”

Callum jerked his chin up. “What?”

Kyle shrugged. “Look, Callum, I don’t know you. But of course I’m going to assume you don’t deserve my sister. She’s one of my best friends. And she’s a good person. But clearly, she sees something in you.” He struck the cue ball, sinking one of the solids into the pocket. “Unless you think she’s just not capable of making her own decisions.”

Callum’s mouth nearly dropped open.

Bollocks.

Say what you want about the Winnick siblings, but they’re a force.

Kyle quirked a brow at Callum, then leaned down and sank another ball into the pocket. “By the way, it looks like Liddy has caught someone else’s attention.” He hit the cue ball, perfectly executing a trick shot that sank two more balls. “I can finish this game in three more shots, by the way.”

Callum’s head swiveled toward the bar. A dark-haired man had sidled up beside her. Reflexively, Callum’s fingers curled tight around the cue.

The sound of another ball sinking into the pocket made him wrest his attention back to Kyle, who still watched him with interest. Then he did a combination shot that sank two more balls.

Callum shook his head and set the cue on the wall rack.

He strode across the bar toward Liddy, ignoring any other thought that tried to push itself into his head. Maybe the alcohol made him reckless, but he didn’t care. Liddy wasn’t engaging with the man’s attempts to get her attention, though she politely smiled, then shifted her body away, closer to Taryn. But Taryn was talking to Elle and not paying attention to Liddy.

Then the man set his hand on the small of her back.

Mine, arsehole.

Callum reached Liddy and stepped between her and the man. Setting a hand on her hip, he caught the faint look of surprise in her wide eyes as he leaned toward her, then dropped a kiss to her lips.

She stiffened against him for a beat, before her warm lips parted against his slightly as she returned the kiss.

Having spent the night in her arms, he knew that she was clearly holding back, but why shouldn’t she?

Callum nearly groaned, though. It’d only been—what—eight hours since he’d kissed her. But he’d missed the taste of her mouth. The smell of her body. The feel of her curves under his hands.

God, I want this woman.

I need this woman.

She ended the kiss, then smiled, dragging her lips away toward his ear. “What are you doing?”

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