Page 42 of The Match Faker

After slipping through the door, I headed upstairs. Trudy had left, so I went to the bathroom. The bright glare of the overhead lights made everything look worse. I grabbed a stack of paper towels, ran them under the tap and started scrubbing.

Water alone wasn’t going to be enough to get this warpaint off and the strong hand soap would probably irritate my skin, and I was already worried about the cheap make-up they’d used.

To rescue my hair, I’d need to wash it, which would take hours.

Just as I contemplated slumping on the floor, my phone rang.

‘I’m sorry!’ I said to Liam. ‘I’m going as quick as I can, but…’

‘I wasn’t rushing you. I’m at the back door with supplies. Come down.’

He hung up.

Supplies?

My stomach churned. Although I’d scraped off the lipstick, the eye make-up, blusher and foundation weren’t budging, so I didn’t want to give him another opportunity to see me looking like crap. But I had no choice.

Reluctantly I went to the door. Liam was clutching a large bag.

‘I wasn’t sure what to get, so I brought a selection.’

‘A selection of what?’

‘If you let me in, I’ll show you.’

When we got to my office, he tipped the bag’s contents on the sofa.

My jaw dropped. There were face wipes, cleansers, cotton wool pads, coconut oil, a facecloth and a load of other stuff.

‘The shop assistant said these were the best brands. Oh, and the face wipes are biodegradable, so they won’t pollute the sea.’

I went to open my mouth, then closed it again. Liam had bought a load of products to help me remove my make-up because he knew I hated it.

That was so… kind.

‘Th-thank you.’

‘No big deal. I got the feeling that wasn’t the look you’d asked for…’

Still lost for words, I opened the creamy cleansing lotion and smeared it over my face before wiping it away with several tissues.

‘It’s coming off well.’ Liam’s gaze met mine and my stomach flipped.

‘Y-yeah,’ I stuttered. ‘One layer down. A hundred more to go!’

Liam didn’t laugh. I shifted in the sofa. I knew how to deal with jokey Liam or annoying Liam, but nice Liam? That threw me off guard.

‘The cleansers will remove the make-up, but you’ll need something else for the lashes. Unless you wanted to keep them?’

‘No way!’ Loads of women wore fake lashes and they looked nice and natural. These didn’t. ‘I can’t wait to get these spider legs off.’

‘Where are your toilets?’ He grabbed the bowl, coconut oil and spoon.

‘Down the hallway on the left.’

A few minutes later he returned with a bowl of water.

‘Close your eyes,’ he commanded.

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