Page 37 of He Loves Me Knot

She studied his profile. “What are the other two ways?”

“Sex and scotch. But we already eliminated one of those options.”

“When did I say I wouldn’t drink scotch?”

He guffawed, then caught her smirk. He’d forgotten how quick-witted she could be.

But the implication that sex wouldn’t be disagreeable. . . his gaze flickered over her pretty face.Watch it, Cal.He’d always found her attractive. Which was why he’d always kept his distance.

“So why are you going for a run? Things imploding at work without you?”

He set his hands back and leaned into his arms. “Well, since we’re sharing now . . .” He took a deep breath. “I ran into Sophia on the way back from the café where I was working. Dredged up the past.”

“I take it things didn’t end well between you?”

“Things ended when she came to stay with me in London after we got engaged. One day I went out to an appointment, and it was unexpectedly canceled. I came back and found her in bed with Luca Harris—who was my best friend at the time.”

Lydia’s jaw dropped. “Luca—as in from Camden Enterprises?”

“The same.”

Then Lydia’s eyes widened. “Oh my God.” She lay back on the bed and covered her mouth. “Oh my God, no wonder you hated him. And here we all just thought you were an asshole.”

He tried not to laugh sardonically as the pieces all fell together for her. Then he shrugged. “I am an arsehole. I wouldn’t dare to change your mind on that front.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He lay back beside her, then turned his face toward hers. They were close to each other, given the size of the bed, but oddly, it didn’t feel strange. Maybe because of the day they’d had. “You had nothing to do with it. But if it makes you feel better, when Aiden hired you, he’d told me he was also transferring Luca to my department. The Camdens don’t know about what happened with Sophia and Luca—and I didn’t want to tell them.”

Callum examined the ceiling. “But when Aiden had promoted me to head of the department, he’d also promised me full autonomy with whom I hired. I protested your hiring and stopped Luca’s as a result.” He drew a breath, then looked at her profile. “It was never personal, Liddy. What you overheard me say about you. But I’m sorry.”

She held his gaze, blue eyes blinking with tears. “It wasn’t personalto you, Callum. To me, it was about as personal as you can get.”

Right. Because she’s a professional colleague. Not a friend.

Apology not accepted, then.

He sat. “So how about that run? Then we can both come back, pop some melatonin, and go to bed like old people. You can run, can’t you? Even the Bionic Woman could do that. If anything, I’d say a little titanium might put you at an advantage over me.”

“Yes, I can run. I actually have to work out a lot. It keeps my back stable and keeps the pain away.” She cut her eyes at him, then laughed. “All right, fine, you win. But don’t get too comfortable there, Coach. You start hanging motivational posters around here, and I’ll quit the team. And don’t forget, you get to sleep on the floor tonight.”

He smiled as she padded off toward the bathroom so they could both change. This day had been nothing short of unusual.

But oddly, their fragile alliance seemed to work.

Better not get too comfortable, Callum.This was Lydia Winnick he was talking about, after all. They had to go back to a normal professional relationship after this. He couldn’t let her get too close.

ChapterNine

Liddy woketo 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.

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