‘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.
