Page 138 of The Match Faker

‘There you are!’ she said.

‘Did you need something, Doreen?’ Dad asked.

‘I came to tell you that Alice is here and I think the rice is burning.’

Alice appeared behind her. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she was wearing jeans and a jumper. Alice never missed a chance to dress up.

‘You okay, Alice?’ I asked. ‘Where’s Jack?’

‘He—he had to… work.’ She avoided my gaze. Something was wrong.

‘On a Saturday?’ Mum frowned.

‘Mum, maybe you should check on the rice, and, Dad, I think the music’s going to stop soon.’

Luckily they both got the hint. I needed to find out what was wrong. Once Mum, Dad and Aunty Doreen had left, I patted the chair beside me.

‘What’s going on?’

Alice dragged her feet over to the seat, then sat down.

‘It’s over with Jack. We’re getting divorced.’

51

Liam

We’d landed in London. I didn’t have long before I had to get back to the airport and fly to LA again, but hopefully I’d have enough time to tell Mia how I felt. I hoped I wasn’t too late.

Once Nate collected his luggage, we headed out through the arrivals gate. I lowered my cap and scanned the sea of people waiting to be reunited with their loved ones.

But just as I was about to walk to the exit, I stopped in my tracks.

‘Motherfucker!’

Nate’s head whipped round to face me.

‘What’s up?’

‘Look over there. To the left. Recognise them?’

Nate squinted, then his jaw dropped.

‘Hold up. Isn’t that the woman who won the competition Mia entered?’

‘Yeah.’

‘So, she’s kissing her husband. What’s wrong with that?’

‘Because that’s not her husband. That’s the senior dickhead judge of the awards. The married judge who didn’t have time to ask us any more questions at the interview because he had to get back home to his wife and kids.’

‘Oh shit.’

‘The same dickhead who upset Mia and made her feel like she wasn’t good enough’—I ground my jaw—‘when all the time, he was cosying up with one of the candidates, who coincidentally happened to win.’

Rage blazed within me. All I saw was red. I wanted them to pay for making the woman I loved cry. I clenched my fist, ready to storm over.

But then I remembered why I was here. To see Mia. To tell her I loved her. Every second counted. And I wasn’t gonna waste time on those cheaters.

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