Page 73 of The Reno
The woman leaned down and gave the girl a kiss on the head. “Honey, go knock on the front door again, please.” The girl looked like she wanted to complain, but she nodded and walked away, looking at me with interest.
She lowered her voice. “Has he been drinking?”
I frowned. “No, of course not.”
The woman’s shoulders sagged. Then, her eyes turned to me, cold and assessing again. “When I’d told him not to bring women home anymore, he really took it literally.” She glanced at the annexe. “Put them in the annexe instead.” She shook her head like she was disappointed. “Well, this hasn’t happened in a while. But then, I suppose it was only time. At least you’re better dressedthan the last one. The bedazzled purple thong put me off my breakfast.”
“I’m sorry—” I recoiled, then coiled back up like a snake, ready to snap at retreating heels. “Who are you?”
“Who am I?” The woman huffed a laugh like I was supposed to know. “I’m the mother of his child. Let me guess, he didn’t mention that little detail, did he?”
“Mum! Dad’s here!” the girl exclaimed.
A record scratch echoed in my head.
Dad.
Liam was a dad.
TWENTY-ONE
“Yasmin.” Liam’s tone was a warning. He was walking hand in hand with the little girl, his hair still wet from the shower. He ran his other hand through his hair, pushing it back. His T-shirt was wonky and damp, like he hadn’t dried off properly. The shirt stuck to him like he was in some kind of cologne advert. His eyes were wide, flickering between me and Yasmin and back.
The cogs of my brain were moving now. Liam was a dad. He was a dad and hadn’t mentioned it.
“What the hell, Liam?” Yasmin hissed. “We go away for a couple of weeks, and I come back to this again? I swear to god—”
Liam’s eyes flickered to me with a pained expression, as if sensing my discomfort.
“Just slow down a minute. You’re jumping to conclusions,” Liam said, sounding resigned. Tired. “Abi-chops.” Liam pulled her into his side, kissing her head. “Did you have a nice time in Formby?”
Abigail babbled, “Gran and Grandad have a new puppy, Freddie, and he’s so cute. I taught him how to sit, and I’ve got videos of him running on the beach on Mum’s phone. Do you wannasee?”
Liam smiled. “I’ll have a look in a bit. Why don’t you go in? It’s cold, and I just need a word with Mum. The Switch is in the cupboard by the TV if you want to go on Zebra Crossing.”
Abigail rolled her eyes, making her look older than her years.
“It’s Animal Crossing, Dad.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He ruffled her hair. Abigail moseyed back into the house, leaving three very awkward adults alone.
Animal Crossing sounded really fun right now.
“Liam, you should have let me know you had someonestaying.” Yasmin widened her eyes at the last word.
“I was waiting for you to get back,” Liam said, tense. “And I don’t owe you an explanation. This is my house—”
“We promised we would communicate about girlfriends,” Yasmin threw back.
“I’m not his girlfriend,” I blurted out. “We’re not—we’re not together. He’s actually working for me. Or with me. I don’t know, the lines are a little blurry on that.” I heaved a breath. “We’re not together. This is strictly business.”
Yasmin and Liam looked at me, dumbfounded at my rambling. Luckily, Liam took over.
“Kat is Brian Williams’s niece,” Liam said slowly.
Yasmin’s eyes widened as she looked at me, and her face morphed into pity. She knew about Dad, my gut just knew it. Liam continued, “I’m working on her dad’s house. She had to move out. Plaster was shot.” Liam lowered his voice. “This isn’t going to work if you don’t trust me.”
That sentence was laced with history—tense subtext wrappedin barbed wire. And I didn’t feel like getting cut.
