Page 123 of He Loves Me Knot

She glided toward him, slipping her arms around his waist. “Nothing. But he might also test you. Kyle’s not exactly a fan of our arrangement.”

“What part of our arrangement?”

“The one where we’re having a vacation fling against our better judgment.”

Callum grinned, resting his chin against the top of her head.It’s amazing how easy it is to slip into her embrace.She fit in his arms perfectly, and when he was near her, he wanted to be touching her. The sweet scent of her coconut shampoo wafted toward him. How long had it been since he’d appreciated the soft, feminine side of a woman? Or slept in a woman’s arms? His nights with most women usually ended shortly after sex.

Whatever he’d risked by letting her get close the night before, by bridging that gap between attraction and a physical relationship, he no longer cared. Incredibly stupid as it might be, he’d deal with the consequences later. His rigid sense of self-control was furiously trying to break into his thoughts, but every inch of him wanted her in his arms.

“I’ll be on my best behavior around your brother, I promise. Give him no reason to think any worse of me.”

“Hmm.” She stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss to his lips. “You may not be able to do much. If some sexy, relationship-averse womanizer was banging your sister, you might want to have a word with him, too.”

Ouch?Also, she was right.

“Womanizer?” Callum quirked a brow.

“Can you really deny that one?” She searched his gaze with laughter in her eyes.

“Fine. But also, Isla’s a grown woman. I trust her to make her own decisions about her relationships.”

“That’s very levelheaded of you.” She grinned and dropped her arms. “I also don’t believe you for asecond. My guess is that Isla is the one person on the planet you’d drop everything for. So even if you trust her judgment, it doesn’t mean you want her around someone you think will end up hurting her.”

He pursed his lips. Funny how well she seemed to know him.

Her words found an unexpected mark, too.

Hadn’t he warned her the night before that he’d hurt her?

God, what am I doing?

The muscles in his arms flexed, and he released her.

“I should get going. Before your brother thinks I’m cowering.”

She grabbed a striped canvas bag from beside the bed and slipped her sunglasses on top of her head. “I’ll walk out with you. I think I’m going to hang out by the pool for an hour, then come back here to pack before we all have to leave here.”

Callum gave her a sympathetic look. “Are you giving up your plan to change Elle’s mind?” As much fun as they’d had since the previous night, they hadn’t talked about any of the important things that were affecting them both since then either. They still needed to get the damn wedding dress today.

And then there’s the whole matter of Sergio, which he foolishly hoped wouldn’t even come up again. He wasn’t about to ask, that much was certain. Not after their last discussion about it.

“Yeah.” Liddy sighed, then grabbed a wide-brimmed hat. “I don’t want to make things more stressful for Elle. It was probably already too late when I made the excursion plans yesterday, but I didn’t want to accept it. Letting go of what I might want may not be easy, but it’s the best solution.”

Callum joined her by the door, taking her hand when she offered it as they walked outside. Once again, he felt the sharp twang of guilt at her words. How often did Lydia let go of what she wanted to keep things amiable?

He’d seen her do it at the office frequently enough.

And during this trip.

Walking hand in hand with anyone was an odd reality for him. He’d never spent a lot of time holding hands with Sophia. Their relationship had been built on summer friendships and, later, holidays and breaks from university. The lengthiest amount of time they’d spent together had been when she’d come to help him after his accident. In some ways, their failure as a couple had been predictable. He’d been young, and they were childhood sweethearts.

Up until recently, she’d occupied a place in his memory that brought with it dislike and resentment.

But today when he’d looked over on the beach and seen her, he’d truly felt nothing toward her. His father had once told him that the opposite of love was indifference—a telling thing coming from someone who’d been a master of indifference for most of his life.

And since his breakup with Sophia, he’d used that lesson as a guide for how he handled relationships with women.

The sound of a splash drew him from distant memories. Hunter and Granny were in the pool, while Leo prepared to cannonball.No wonder Granny likes him.Either that or Leo had realized he needed to do better to keep up with the spitfire.

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