Page 11 of The Bitter Words

“It wasn’t planned, asshole.” Sebastian squares his shoulders. “I was with Marco today and came along. Gia and I were getting to know each other while Marco and Livianna took care of their business. Not that I need to explain myself to you, but since I’d like to avoid another fight, I figure I’ll take the high road.”

Callum huffs out a fake chuckle as if anything Sebastian said could be taking the high road.

Gia squirms and addresses Callum. “I’ve never spoken with Sebastian. We don’t share screen time, so…”

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter.” Callum’s muscles relax and he turns to me. “Do you have everything you need?”

My eyebrows shoot up at his blatant disregard for the story that came out this morning. “For what?”

“We need to pick up your suitcase and get back to Burbank so I can return to the tour.” He gestures to my purse. “I’ll pay the tab if you’re ready to go.”

I fume inside. “There’s no way I’m going to leave LA after what you did.”

“That’s our cue, Sebastian.” Marco scoots his chair back and stands. “Thanks for picking up the check, Cash. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

Callum shifts his gaze from me to Marco. “Yeah, I’ll be in touch once I’m back in town for a while.”

“I know. I can count on it like clockwork.” Marco slaps Sebastian’s back as he gets to his feet. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

“Sounds good to me.” He smiles at Gia. “It was nice to actually talk to you. Hopefully, we’ll get to see more of each other in the future.”

“Agreed. You two have a safe drive back to LA.” Gia’s cheeks turn red. She waits for them to disappear from the patio and turns to me. “I’m going to take a wild guess. You don’t need a ride home, do you?”

I really want to teach Callum a lesson, but he flew here and found me. Maybe I should hear him out. Plus, it’s been three months since I’ve been around him.

I can’t lie. My heart is jackhammering being near him.

His crisp, clean cologne wafts around me, mixing with the ocean breeze. It’s enough to have me wanting to curl into his lap and let him tell me why he did what he did.

I gaze at Gia, pretending to consider her question. “I’ll go with you. Callum needs some time to?—”

“Like hell you’re going with her. I came all this way. The least you can do is hear the truth. If you don’t wanna spend the next few days with me after that, you can stay in LA.” Callum removes his shades.

His blue eyes shine deep into my soul. There’s so much sincerity beaming my way.

“I didn’t do anything, Lily.”

I swallow my reservations and nod. “Thanks for comingwith me today, Gia. I appreciate having girl time, but I want to hear what Callum has to say.”

“I understand.” She gathers her belongings and stands. “Thanks for lunch, Cash. I hope you two work it out.”

“Thanks, Gia.” Callum gets to his feet and does something he never does. He hugs her like she just gave him the greatest gift he’s ever received.

“Livianna needs a friend like you. You’re one of the good ones. Watch her back for me while I’m away, okay?”

She gives him an awkward squeeze. “Always.”

They break apart and we say goodbye. She leaves as Callum waves the server over and hands her a credit card to cover our bill.

Once she disappears to pay our check, he sits and peers over at me. “I haven’t seen you in three months and that’s all you wanna do? Stay planted in your chair, judging the shit out of me.”

“Well, considering what I woke up to, I’m more than justified.” I cross my arms over my chest despite wanting to jump into his lap and kiss him all over.

“Lily, I love you. I wouldn’t cheat on you and you should know that. That’s why I’m here. It seems I need to prove it to you.” He scoots closer to me. “Why didn’t you call me and let me explain?”

“You were doing blow off a chick’s stomach. I saw the pictures with your arm around her as you got onto the bus. I know what you and my brother do while you tour.”

“Do you know that for sure?”