‘I’m sure he will be,’ Tasha said eventually.
Tasha left and Callum was relieved when Beth was called for shortly afterwards.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Erin stood behind him and laughed at him in the mirror. ‘Do you often get that sort of reaction from women?’
He sighed. ‘No, thankfully.’ He puffed out his cheeks. ‘For the first time ever, I’m beginning to feel a bit sorry for Riley. I imagine he gets that sort of thing a lot.’
At the mention of the actor’s name, Erin’s amusement vanished.
‘Is everything all right between you and him? I thought he came to speak to you earlier but assumed you didn’t mind.’
She shrugged and began tidying his hair. ‘He’s fine.’ She frowned. ‘I think he’s trying to impress me, but I’m just not used to his way of life. Not impressed by it either.’ Her lips drew back in a smile and she leant slightly forward, keeping her voice low. ‘I do like him though. Is that mad, do you think?’
Not wishing to hurt his sister, but wanting to answer her question honestly, Callum thought about his answer before replying. ‘Tasha hasn’t said much about him but she did say that although he could be a bit infuriating, he was also a decent chap. Neither of us know him very well, so it’s difficult to say how he does behave in relationships, but I think it’s clear that he does like you and, whether I like him or not, he did seem very upset about the whole Dale and Brooke thing.’
‘He did. I also think he likes me.’ She carried on brushing and styling his hair. ‘I just don’t know how serious he is about me.’
‘I see.’ He wasn’t sure that he did fully. ‘Are you concerned that it might be a short-term fling he’s after?’
She nodded. ‘I’m not really into that sort of thing, but how will I know where it will lead if I do start seeing him if I don’t even give him a chance?’
She had a point. He pushed his hair back from his face. ‘I look odd with it down like that.’
Erin laughed. ‘You did a bit.’ She put her comb onto the worktop. ‘So, what do you think I should do?’
He tried to work out whether she actually wanted an answer from him, or if she was simply hoping Callum would come up with the answer she was hoping for. He had no intention of getting caught up in that trap again, having learnt his lesson years before when he had stupidly admitted what he really thought about Erin’s first serious boyfriend. She hadn’t spoken to him for weeks after that debacle.
‘I think you’re sensible enough to decide what to do for the best without my help.’
She pushed his shoulder. ‘That’s no help at all.’
‘Listen to your instincts, Erin. That’s what I do.’
She laughed. ‘And how has that worked for you so far?’
He narrowed his eyes at her in the mirror. ‘Just finish what you’re doing and let me get out of here, will you?’
Satisfied with his hair, a make-up artist then dabbed a bit of powder onto his face. ‘To take away the shine,’ she said when he grimaced. ‘There,’ she said, patting him on both shoulders. ‘That’s all you need.’
‘That’s a relief.’ He got up out of the chair before she could change her mind and decide to start fussing over his face or hair again.
He walked over to the door and reached out to open it, when someone pulled it open from the outside. Callum stepped back to give the person room to enter and saw Riley.
‘You’re still here,’ Riley said bluntly. ‘I can come back.’
‘It’s fine,’ Erin said, coming over to stand next to Callum. ‘My brother was just leaving.’
Callum left them together, smiling to himself when he heard Riley ask Erin if she wanted to join him for lunch.
33
TASHA
Tasha ended her call to Dale assuring him Riley was behaving for the most part when she spotted Callum descending the stairs from the trailer. She wondered whether he had noticed her annoyance seeing him holding hands with Beth. She hadn’t thought Callum was the sort of man to mess a woman around, but what did she know? If she was truly honest with herself, Tasha knew her insight into men’s characters and behaviours were very limited. Serves her right, she supposed, for putting so much emphasis on her career rather than her personal life.
It was so long since she’d had a significant other that she barely remembered what it felt like to have to consider another person in your daily plans. Or, she realised, to spend evenings and holidays with someone else. She smiled to herself as it dawned on her that it was probably close to six years since she had taken any time for a holiday.
‘How’s it going?’
