“That’s him. Callan despises him. Always has. Why do you think he took his mum’s surname instead of his dad’s?”
His eyebrows rose at this news. “I see.” Dad seemed to contemplate that. “Doesn’t really surprise me, actually.”
“How do you know his dad?” I wanted to see if he’d tell me the truth.
“First … how friendly are you with this guy?”
“We’re neighbors. He moved into the flat above mine and we’ve become friends of a sort.”
“Of a sort?”
I shrugged because I didn’t know how to explain I was fake dating Callan to win over a client.
“Well … you remember I was married before I married your mum?”
I nodded.
“Gavin Urquhart was a childhood friend, and he slept with my first wife. When I met your mum, he tried to get it on with her, too, and I might have punched him.”
I grinned at the imagery. “You did not.”
Dad’s lips twitched. “He did me a favor betraying me with my first wife. He made a mistake flirting with your mum.”
My chest squeezed at that, and I blurted out with more vulnerability than usual, “I wish I could find someone who loves me the way you love Mum.”
Dad’s eyes widened ever so slightly. He pushed off his desk and crossed the room to pull me into his embrace. I wenthappily, wrapping my arms around him as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I won’t accept any man who comes into your life unless I think that’s exactly how he feels for you, Beth. It’s the kind of love you deserve.”
We hugged for a few seconds longer before I reluctantly pulled away. “So … Callan?”
Dad sighed heavily. “I don’t like that he’s connected to Gavin. Urquhart did more to mess with me that I won’t get into … he’s not a man to be trusted, Beth.”
“Don’t hold that against Callan, Dad. Seriously, he really despises Gavin. And he and his company partner, Baird, the Caley goalie … it sounds like they have a good plan to renovate the castle.”
After taking a few seconds to consider, Dad nodded. “Okay. It’s not fair to hold Gavin against him. If you vouch for him, then I’ll look into it.”
Relieved, I grinned. “Thanks, Dad.”
He rolled his eyes and pulled open his office door. “When have I ever been able to say no to you?”
“Uh, that time I tried to wear a miniskirt to school in first year.”
“Well—”
“When Rachel Lang asked me to go on holiday with her family when we were fourteen.”
“That was?—”
“When you practically threatened Uncle Cole when I asked him for a tattoo when I was eighteen.” Uncle Cole was one of the best tattoo artists in the country.
“It sounds like you’re holding onto a lot of resentment,” Dad teased as we walked back into the kitchen.
Laughing, I shook my head. “Just sharing evidence that you have in fact said no to me.”
“I want to see that evidence.” Mum snorted, having overheard.
Before I could reply, my phone buzzed in my handbag, and I crossed the kitchen to pull it out. There were a bunch of work-related texts and emails that had come in over the last few hours. A text from Callan, however, distracted me from becoming too overwhelmed.
I tapped on it.
