Chapter 13
CALLUM
He heard his sister’s laughter before he saw her.
‘Where the hell have you been?’ he bellowed from the orangery where he stood at the top of a ladder tying string to hold up one side of a specially ordered banner for his grandad’s surprise birthday party. ‘We could have done with your help hours ago.’
‘Where’s your manners?’ Erin said.
Callum looked over his shoulder at her, surprised to see Erin wasn’t alone but walking into the room arm in arm with Riley Sharp. Tasha followed and was looking directly at Callum.
Callum’s ladder wobbled, causing him to drop the string and quickly grab hold of the top of the ladder to steady himself.
‘Hey, steady on,’ his stepfather Barry said, grabbing the sides of the ladder. ‘Don’t want any accidents now, do we?’
‘I bumped into these two when I was out walking,’ Erin explained, looking very pleased with herself.
Callum swapped surprised glances with his mother who stood on the top of another ladder to fix the other side of the banner.
He doubted they had come across each other by accident, especially as Riley and Tasha always seemed to keep to themselves.
He had a sneaking suspicion his sister had planned for this very thing to happen.
‘I see.’ He smiled at the new arrivals. ‘Hi there.’
‘Hi. We didn’t mean to interrupt anything,’ Tasha said.
‘It’s fine. I’ll just finish tying this side, then will fetch you all a drink if you’d like one.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Tasha said at the same time Riley said he’d love one.
Barry held up another piece of string for Callum to thread through a lower hole in the banner. He focused on what he was doing, trying not to be too cross with Erin for going to the cottage grounds when he had explicitly told her to leave Riley and Tasha in peace.
‘Everything straight, Mum? Barry?’
Barry gave him a thumbs up and Callum realised the look on his mother’s face he had taken for surprise was in fact delight. Surely she wasn’t pleased to see Erin with the film star? Callum stepped down to the floor as Barry helped Callum’s mother off her ladder.
‘It’s time we had a break anyway,’ Callum said, deciding that even though he would rather continue finalising decorations in the orangery it was a bonus to have Tasha here and be able to spend a little time with her.
‘It’s looking splendid,’ Tasha said. ‘And if you do need any help, please just ask.’
‘I’m Michelle, Callum and Erin’s mum,’ he heard his mother saying, turning to see her take Barry’s arm and pulling him into the small group. ‘This is my husband Barry. He’s the children’s stepfather.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Their actual father is Keith’s son, James. He’s my—’
Erin moved to stand next to their mother. ‘I think they get the gist of who we are now, Mum.’
Callum saw Tasha gently bite her lower lip as her eyes twinkled in amusement.
‘Keith?’ Riley asked looking bewildered.
‘It’s Keith’s eightieth,’ Barry explained. ‘He’s the reason we’re all staying here and who we’re celebrating at the party. He’s a good sort and we’re all very fond of him.’ He turned to Michelle. ‘We all get along well, don’t we, love?’
‘Well enough,’ she said, barely hiding her sarcasm and reassuring Callum he had made the right decision inviting his mother and Barry to stay in his flat while they were on the island.
He hadn’t initially expected his mother to want to travel over for his grandfather’s party, but she had insisted she should be there, having known him for thirty years.
Callum suspected her being at the celebrations had a bit more to do with wanting to see how his father and fiancée Betsy really got along.
He had a feeling that although his mother had tired of her marriage, she had been with James for so long it must still be difficult for her to see him with someone else, especially someone with whom he seemed extremely happy.
‘You get us all some drinks, Callum,’ Michelle said. ‘I’ll show this charming young man through to the living room so we can make ourselves comfortable and get to know each other a bit before the party.’
What? Callum went to explain that Riley and Tasha weren’t guests but not wanting to embarrass anyone, thought better of it.
Tasha gave him a knowing smile. ‘Come on, I’ll help you get those drinks.’
As soon as they were in the kitchen out of earshot of the others, Callum looked at Tasha and shook his head. ‘I’m sorry. Mum has a habit of taking over things even when she’s not organising it.’
Tasha laughed. ‘It’s fine. I think like most people she was a bit taken aback to see Riley standing there.’
‘I suppose so. Riley didn’t seem to be bothered to have been dragged away, thankfully.’
Tasha raised her eyebrows. ‘He will have been delighted, I can assure you.’ She glanced at the doorway and lowered her voice. ‘He’s been in a foul mood for the past few days, so I’m only too happy to see him cheerful.’
‘What’s bothering him?’
Her face reddened slightly. ‘He felt he should be staying in the manor house and your family at the cottage.’ She frowned. ‘Maybe now he’s met you all, and especially Erin, he might not mind quite so much.’
Callum couldn’t help finding it funny that his sister’s actions had helped them all without her meaning to. ‘I imagine he can be tricky to deal with and that you have to do what’s best at the time where he’s concerned.’
She arched an eyebrow. ‘You could say that. And yes, sometimes I need to make snap decisions and work things out afterwards.’
‘Sounds fun,’ he said sarcastically.
She laughed. ‘It can be.’
‘I suppose we should make some drinks.’
They carried through a tray of cool soft drinks to the others and as soon as the pair of them reached the seating area and set the tray down, Erin took Callum to one side and lowered her voice.
‘Isn’t it exciting?’ she said. Callum frowned, unsure what she might be referring to. ‘You know, Riley Sharp agreeing to come to Grandad’s surprise party.’
He realised this was his sister’s way of telling him what she had just done. ‘You asked him then?’
‘I didn’t feel I had much choice really,’ she admitted. ‘Now that he and Tasha have met everyone and have seen us setting up.’
He thought about what she said. ‘I suppose not.’
Callum wasn’t all that bowled over by Riley Sharp, but he did like Tasha and agreed it made sense to ask them.
Anyway, he mused, having Tasha at the party would make it an even more special occasion as far as he was concerned.
He doubted his grandfather had ever heard of Riley but supposed some of his guests might have done and could appreciate having the celebrity at the party.
They joined the others. ‘I gather you’ve both been invited to Grandad’s party tomorrow night.’
Tasha seemed uncomfortable with the idea and Callum hoped she wasn’t going to turn down Erin’s invitation.
‘Don’t say you haven’t got anything to wear,’ Riley teased. ‘We both know you always come prepared for anything and always have a smart evening dress in your suitcase.’
She seemed to consider then accept the idea. ‘He’s right, I do. Yes, I’d love to come to the party. I’m intrigued to meet your grandfather.’
Happy to know Tasha would be joining them, Callum relaxed.
‘That’s great.’ He indicated the direction of the orangery. ‘You are welcome to stay and finish these drinks before Erin, Mum, Barry and I need to get on and finish the decorations. I’ve got to go to the airport and collect the rest of the family as they start arriving tonight.’
‘Yes,’ Erin grumbled. ‘And I’ve been tasked with fetching the others from the harbour when the boat comes in.’
‘Well, we don’t have anything much to do for the rest of the day, so we can help too, if you like?’ Riley said.
Callum saw Tasha frown at Riley’s offer. ‘That’s very kind of you but we’ll be fine. Don’t you have filming tomorrow?’
Tasha gave him a grateful smile. ‘He does and he also has lines to go over this evening.’
‘Don’t remind me.’ Riley arched an eyebrow and grinned at Erin.
‘How exciting,’ Erin said. ‘I’ve never watched anyone learn lines for filming before.’
Suspecting his sister was edging for an invitation back to their cottage, Callum quickly spoke. ‘And there’s no chance of you doing it today either. Not with everything I need you to help me with here.’
Riley took Erin’s hand and raised it to his lips, kissing the back of it. ‘We have a whole week to see each other, and you’re welcome to come and help me after the party.’
Callum didn’t think he’d seen such delight on his sister’s face before and hoped Erin wasn’t going to get too carried away with her adoration of the actor.
A feeling of dread surged through him. Erin might be an adult with a thriving hairdressing business, but she also let her heart rule her head and he knew from experience how devastated she could be when her relationships came to an end.
Callum groaned inwardly. By the look of adoration on her face as she stared at Riley Sharp, Callum was going to have to keep a discreet eye on his sister for the rest of the week.
It was the last thing he had planned on doing.
As much as Erin acted tough, he had helped her through enough break-ups to know that someone as charismatic and confident as Riley Sharp could hurt her deeply, and he had no intention of letting that happen if he could possibly help it.