Page 54 of Fix Them Up
A hand came over mine; this time, it was large and calloused. Liam’s eyes met mine with a silent message.
Do you want to head back?
I gave a little shake of my head.I’m fine.
Are you sure?
‘When you’re ready, I can drop you back to the house if you want, Kat.’ Brian’s gaze flitted between me and Liam. ‘I haven’t seen it in years. It would be nice to see it again.’
I froze, unsure what to say. Brian didn’t know I was staying at Liam’s place.
‘She’s staying at mine, Brian,’ Liam said. ‘In the annexe,’ he clarified quickly.
Brian’s gaze shifted between Liam and me. ‘Oh, I didn’t realise.’
‘The house needed gutting completely, so Liam offered me the annexe to stay,’ I explained.
Brian frowned. ‘You could have stayed with us, Kat. You should have asked. We’re here to help if you need it.’
Liam gave me a look as if to say,See,I told you so, which made me want to stick my tongue out at him. Despite Brian’s offer, I still felt weird about staying with them. I didn’t want to look at Brian’s familiar body language and expressions daily and be reminded of my dad. Of all that complicated pain and grief.
But then again, I was imposing on Liam. And he didn’t owe me anything. So, I should probably take Brian up on the offer, even if it made me feel icky.
‘Well, if you’re sure –’ I began.
‘She has her own space at mine,’ Liam interrupted. ‘Right, Red?’
‘Well, yeah,’ I said uselessly.
Brian looked at Liam, his head cocked for a moment, then turned to me. ‘Well, the offer is always there. You know Sandra is still distraught from Lydia moving out.’
Liam huffed. ‘That was six years ago.’
Brian shrugged. ‘It might as well be yesterday to Sandra. Speaking of, I better go and grovel. I’ll see you two later.’
Brian clapped a hand on Liam’s shoulders as he stood up.
Once he was gone, I piped up, ‘You didn’t have to do that. I can take Brian and Sandra up on their offer if I’m imposing.’
‘You didn’t see your face.’ Liam shook his head. ‘No one should be uncomfortable where they live, even for a few weeks. Nothing is worse than having to tiptoe around someone else’s place. I get it. The annexe means you have your own space.’
‘To leave my socks on the bathroom floor.’
‘As long as it’s only socks.’ Liam’s eyes flickered with humour.
‘Erm, excuse me. I’m very tidy.’
‘Sure, sure. I’ll believe it when I see it.’
It struck me then how generous and open Liam was being with someone who was basically a stranger to him.
‘Why are you so generous?’
‘I’m repenting, remember? Plus, you’re entertaining.’ He shrugged, but then he held my gaze. His eyes flickered around my face, cheeks, eyes. My stomach swooped. I hated that my body reacted funny when he looked at me like that. I was sure this stupid crush was one-sided, so it was pointless getting all hot and bothered over a single look.
‘I like having you around,’ Liam said, his voice low, and warmth spread through my chest.
‘You like having me around,’ I repeated, a bit high from his admission. My face broke into a grin. ‘You like me. Oh my god.’ I gasped and raised my voice. ‘Liam Hunter likes me!’
