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“Somebody should lob her at a wall. I hope you shut that crap down.” Callum’s voice was low and even, a sure sign he was about to blow.
For once, Ryan seemed to notice something other than food. “You did when you ripped out the cameras.”
There was silence. Callum stared at Ryan with a look that said he had better do something fast.
Ryan got the message. He stood, fishing his phone from his pocket. “I’ll get Lake onto it now. Make sure Betty didn’t save any footage or anything.”
The twitch in Callum’s jaw became more pronounced as Ryan left the room. He turned to Rachel. “Why are you all here? I only asked for one backup person. That’s what I’m paying for.”
“You aren’t paying for anything. Suggesting it is, frankly, insulting.” Rachel got to her feet. “You asked for help and you’re going to get it. Joe and Julia would have been here too, but we needed someone to look after the office.”
“I voted for Rachel,” Megan said, “but she overruled me. Something about wanting to keep an eye on the plane she was paying for. Honestly, you blow up one itsy-bitsy plane and you never hear the end of it.”
Rachel carried on talking as though Megan was invisible. “Once we’re finished here, we plan to drag your miserable, self-pitying behind back to London so you can fix the mess you left in your wake, when you ran away like a hysterical pre-schooler.”
“Subtle,” Megan coughed into her hand before attempting to look innocent.
For a second, Elle could have sworn she saw the walls undulate with the tension in the room. She waited for Callum to start shouting about how he didn’t need their help and how they should get lost. She could almost hear him saying, “Never darken my doorstep again.” But instead of shouting, there was silence. Heavy, uncomfortable silence.
And then a tiny voice piped up. “Clam?”
Every set of eyes in the room focused on the little girl who’d appeared at Callum’s feet. She wore a giraffe onesie and had a matching stuffed toy clutched to her chest. With the other hand, she rubbed at an eye. She was the most adorable thing Elle had ever seen and made her want to rush back to London and return with her own giraffe onesie so they would match.
“What?” Callum said gruffly. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
The girl shrugged and then held her arms up to Callum, obviously expecting him to lift her. The shock in the room was clear. Everyone waiting to see what he would do. For a second Callum looked completely bewildered, before his face turned carefully blank. He made no move for the child. And she was having none of it.
“Clam, up,” she demanded.
With an irritated growl, Callum bent and scooped the girl up. She burrowed against his chest and watched them all with big eyes. Callum was tense, his movements stiff. It was clear he wasn’t quite sure how to hold her. Eventually, he gave her back an awkward pat.
“I’m taking Sophie back to her mum. We’ll talk later. You can use any of the rooms up here.” Callum turned towards the door, but Sophie sat back and pointed at the table.
“Doughnuts!”
With a growl, Callum made a detour to the table. He lowered the child so she could grab a doughnut and then he strode for the door. Sophie grinned at them as she bit into the powdery treat.
“Did that just happen?” Megan stared after them.
“Wow,” Elle said.
“I think our boy is ready to come back,” Dimitri said. “I’m so proud. I almost have a tear in my eye.”
“Oh for the love of Prada,” Rachel said. “He picked up a child, he didn’t cure cancer.”
“Hey,” Ryan said as he came back into the room. “Who ate my doughnuts?”
CHAPTER 17
ISOBEL WAS FIXING BREAKFAST IN Callum’s bunker kitchen when he came striding in with Sophie in his arms. She was halfway through a giant doughnut.
“Doughnuts for breakfast? Really?”
“This isn’t breakfast. This is a pre-breakfast snack. Right?” Callum looked down at Sophie, who nodded.
Jack was sitting on the sofa in the living area, texting furiously. He didn’t look up from his phone. “I want a pre-breakfast snack. Or breakfast. Any food would be good.”
“You know how to use the kitchen,” Isobel told him. “If you’re in such a hurry, you can make your own food.”
