Page 140 of The Reno
I made a choking sound.
Liam murmured, “But even if they hadn’t helped, I wouldhave done it. It just might have taken me longer.”
I stood there, Liam’s arms wrapped around me, in the same room we’d crossed paths in all those months ago. I’d got him so wrong. I’d presumed he was an arsehole, grumpy, uncharitable. But he was the opposite.
“I—I’m lost for words.”
“First for everything, Red.” I could hear the grin in his words. “Come on, there is more.”
I let Liam tour me around the house. It was surreal seeing a house I’d designed on a social media app in real life. Liam had replicated my perfect kitchen and somehow improved it. Originally, I’d planned for a small kitchen and island, but Liam had shifted the design to make room for more units. It made it more practical, with a perfect triangle between the oven, sink and bin. He’d installed the brass handles and a huge Belfast sink I’d dreamt of.
He’d created the dining nook I’d added to my board one day without a second thought. I’d loved it, but I’d figured it was a pipe dream. Now, it was in front of me. I wanted to sob. It was so beautiful. Liam told me that Sandra had spent hours painting it in Farrow and Ball’s Railings, the dark blue complementing the soft, almost pink kitchen cabinets.
“She wanted it to be perfect,” Liam said.
The bathroom we designed months ago was installed upstairs. The first design, not the pared-back one. A vintage dresser held the sink, making the rustic tiles and the soft blue wood panelling on the walls pop.
“What—what did you do with all the otherfittings?”
“I donated them,” Liam said with a grimace. “A bloody field day at the club. People bartering over a bloody bathroom tap.”
A laugh burst out of me, and Liam’s lips twitched. He ran his hand over the bathroom dresser.
“As promised.”
“As pinkie promised.”
My eyes met Liam’s, and I tried to show him what this meant to me, how much I appreciated it. He raised a thumb to my cheek.
“I wanted to see this, what you created.”
My eyes burned with tears. “Thank you. Thank you so much. It’s beautiful.”
“There is one more thing.”
“Liam. I can’t take anymore.” I shoved my head into his chest. “I might combust.”
Liam’s chest shook with laughter. “One more, that’s it. You aren’t getting anything else for the year.”
I pulled back, pouting. “Not even a Christmas present?”
“Maybe your present will be me.” Liam kissed my lips, his tongue stroking mine.
My hands began to roam until he pulled them off him, and I groaned. He grinned.
“Come on, I can’t wait.”
“Neither can I,” I muttered as Liam led me downstairs.
In the kitchen, Liam opened the French doors onto the garden. The most extravagant Wendy house I’d ever seen sat at the end of a new stone path. Liam had painted it a soft pale green, and it had a little porch with two rocking chairs. The windowsand doors were real and solid, not just made of timber and plastic.
Tears formed now and ran down my cheeks silently.
“I took a look at your dad’s plans. I couldn’t do everything in them—he had a lot of ideas. But if we wanted, we could extend into the loft next year with Jack’s help.”
Liam opened the doors and turned on the lights, and I suppressed a sob.
A huge rustic wooden desk sat in the middle of the room on a large rug. On the wall hung a huge pinboard, and pinned to it were samples I’d ordered for the house months ago. Samples that now made up the cushions and wallpaper of the house behind me.
