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Lia would be returning to work and her charities in two days’ time and found herself at loose ends after Sam left.
She should have known Daisy would call her as soon as she was able, and sure enough, late Monday afternoon, her phone trilled. She sighed when she saw Daisy’s name on the screen but lifted the phone to her ear anyway. Better to get it over sooner rather than later.
“I can’t believe you’re sleeping with Sam Brand,” her sister started without preamble. “I told you he’s an ass with women, didn’t I? Because if I haven’t, allow me to tell you now . . . he’s an ass with women, Lia. Erased numbers, pictures, contact details, remember? Harassment charges, remember?”
“I’m not about to harass the man, Deedee,” she said with a little chuckle. But her youngest sister was not amused.
“Lia, he’s going to hurt you.”
“Oh, I know that, but it’s my own fault. I stupidly went and fell in love with him. It was against the rules, but I had to go and break them, didn’t I?” Lia heard the bitterness in her own voice and shut her eyes tightly.
“Oh, Lia,” Daisy whispered.
“Look, it’s okay, Deedee. Honestly. I knew the risks going in, and it’s not Sam’s fault I went and broke the number one rule of our fling. He did nothing to make me fall in love with him. I mean, have you heard him speak? It’s enough to turn the air blue . . . and I fell in love with him despite that. He told me he doesn’t do love and commitment, and I still went and fell in love with him. It’s like I’m a sucker for punishment or something. That said, I don’t regret a single moment and wouldn’t change a thing about the last few weeks with him.”
“What are you going to do now?” Daisy asked softly.
“I’m going to do what I must. I’m going to protect myself.”
When Sam switched his phone back on, it was filled with missed calls and messages. Most of them were from Colby, a few were from Tyler Chambers, three or four were from Lally, and two were from his mother.
He wasn’t in the mood to deal with work-related issues right now. He hadn’t felt a single pang of regret for hanging up on Colby the other night and wasn’t in a particular hurry to find out what the crisis was this time. Based on the people who had tried to reach him, it was definitely Lally related. He shook his head, not even bothering to check the texts, and called his mother instead.
“Hello, darling. I’ve missed you,” she greeted warmly, and he smiled.
“Hi, Mum, how’re you?” They’d exchanged only text messages since his arrival in Riversend, so it was great to hear her voice.
“Quite fine. I’ve made a new friend, Malcolm. Lovely man. He’s a ski instructor.” Sam’s lips tilted. Of course he is.
“What happened to Craig?”
“He’s been too demanding and possessive lately. It’s becoming tedious. I’m going to have to cut him loose.” She sighed. “But never mind that, tell me about you. Are you quite bored in your little rural African town?”
He laughed.
“It’s hardly rural, Mother. It’s a quaint little beachside town inhabited by friendly people.”
“And how have you been coping? Have you hired a nurse?”
“I’ve started rehab. My arm is still a bit weak, but it’s getting better, my dexterity is improving daily. Mason’s in-laws have been very helpful.”
“Do you miss your life and your work terribly?” she asked sympathetically, and Sam frowned as he considered the question. His instinctive response would have been yes, but that wouldn’t be true. At all.
He was worried about his business—he had worked hard to build it, and it was important to him that it continued to do well and grow. But he didn’t miss it at all. And he didn’t miss his huge, sterile, upmarket apartment in Chiswick, either. And he didn’t miss his friends, because he had none outside of work. Even Mason, one of his best friends, was a former colleague. Spencer Carlisle was the first friend he had made as an adult who was completely removed from his work life.
“I haven’t been bored,” he replied. “I’ve kept busy. Mason’s sister-in-law Lia has been allowing me to tag along with her during the day. You’ll be happy to know that I’ve been putting my dancing skills to work at the retirement home. I promised to teach some of the ladies the Viennese waltz this week. Lia’s been ill, so we’ve had to postpone the first lesson.” He went on to animatedly describe his progress with Trevor, his visits with the McGregors, his movie nights with Spencer. He described the magnificent scenery, how he wanted to try out the surf and do some paddleboarding here. Told her how Bertie and his mates were blatantly fleecing Sam on their poker nights, and when he finally ran out of steam, he comprehended that she hadn’t said a single word while he was talking.
