Page 141 of The Match Faker

I squeezed her hand and raced into the house. I’d left my bag in the living room when I went to hug Dad. I’d barely taken two steps out of the kitchen into the hallway when Aunty Doreen cornered me.

‘Mia.’ She gave me a pitying look, like I was a child whose friends hadn’t turned up at their birthday party. ‘I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation earlier. So sad. When I first heard you were finally dating again, I was happy for you, but I didn’t know it was all a lie! You should call yourself a match faker, not a matchmaker!’ She laughed and my eyes narrowed. ‘Poor thing.’ She rubbed my shoulder. ‘I knew you weren’t happy being single, but you must’ve been really desperate to lie. If you like, I can ask my son if he has any friends. You might be too old for them now, but—’

‘Let me stop you right there.’ I stepped forward and put my hands on my hips. ‘Thanks, but I don’t need your help. Being single isn’t a disease. Single people don’t need your pity. Finding love is hard. Even when it’s what you do for a career. Yes, I’m a professional matchmaker and, yes, I’m single. So what? Life doesn’t always turn out like we hoped.’

‘That’s true, but—’

‘And another thing!’ I was on a roll and wasn’t going to stop until I’d said my piece. ‘Not everyone wants to be coupled up and you need to understand that’s okay! Yes, I was desperate to pretend to have a boyfriend to win a competition and, yes, I also want to find real love. And I did. Even though things with Liam didn’t work out, I’m still glad it happened.’

‘Well, that’s—’

‘Still haven’t finished! Whatever did or didn’t happen is none of your business. So in future, don’t ask about my relationship status or comment on my ovaries. I don’t ask you about your marriage or how often you and Uncle Clayton have sex, so butt out of my love life!’

Aunty Doreen’s jaw plummeted.

Good. Hopefully now she’d think twice about asking inappropriate questions.

I marched off, holding my head high. But as I glanced at the door I froze.

It wasn’t just Aunty Doreen’s jaw that was on the floor. Mine hit the ground too when I saw who was stood there.

It was Trudy, but she wasn’t alone.

When his delicious woody scent hit me, I realised I wasn’t dreaming.

Liam was here.

53

Liam

As I caught sight of Mia, my heart jolted.

Damn.

I knew I’d missed her, but seeing her just metres away made my whole body light up.

She looked beautiful. Mia was dressed in a long-sleeved silver dress that stopped just above her knees. The neckline only showed a hint of cleavage, but somehow it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.

Then again, Mia could wear a potato sack and still look amazing.

I swallowed hard. I’d barely slept during the flight because I was thinking about what to say to her. I didn’t do this emotional stuff. I hadn’t had any practice, so I wasn’t good at it.

Sometimes my movies had some ‘moments’ where my character would ask his love interest for forgiveness, but I’d always have a script to follow. But right now, this was all me.

‘Hey…’ I said, meeting her eyes. God, I’d forgotten how much I loved her eyes.

‘H-hi,’ she stuttered.

And then we just stood there, staring at each other. I didn’t know how much time had passed. I was just glad I’d made it here.

When she didn’t answer her door or phone, I’d decided to call Trudy. She’d told me it was Mia’s parents’ anniversary. Trudy was on her way over and said if I wanted, she’d wait so we could go together.

So here I was. Finally reunited with Mia. Without a clue what I was going to actually say to her.

‘Maybe you two should, um, go somewhere a little more… private?’ Trudy broke the silence.

I’d been so caught up in looking at Mia and in my own thoughts that I’d forgotten I was in the middle of her parents’ hallway.

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