Page 43 of Hold

“I didn’t know you were back to being a plumber,” Penny was saying.

“Just for the summer,” Liam said.

“So how did you meet Thea?”

“At college. I’m taking some classes.”

Did he take his eyes off her once during this exchange? Could he see her chest rising and falling in these stupid quick jerks?

“You had a baby?” he said to Penny.

“Yeah! Johnny. Wanna see?”

How does she know him?What was it like to be that easy around him?

Liam obediently went around to the open car door where the baby was sleeping in his car seat. “Cute,” he said.

Thea finally found her voice. “How do you know each other?” she burst out.

“We’re cousins,” Penny said, and for one heart-stopping moment, Thea thought that meant she and Liam were cousins too. Carl had been a fixture in their lives for so long, the wordfamilyincluded him and all his connections. Then she mentally slapped herself.

“Well, second cousins once removed or something,” Penny clarified. “There are a lot of us.” She grinned up at Liam. “Liam got all the redheaded Irish stepchild genes.”

He grinned back. “You never know,” he teased. “If anyone could remember your original hair color, it might be red too.”

She winked and fluffed her platinum curls. “You’ll never know.”

Kane came down the path from the backyard then, and Penny kissed Liam again, waved at Thea, and got in her car.

“Hi. Kane Fielding.”

“Liam McConnell.” They shook hands. Kane was taller than Liam, but Liam was broader.

“I really appreciate you coming out. I think Jake saved us from permanent damage, but we have no idea where the leak’s coming from.”

Thea stood there like a deer in headlights, waiting for the moment when they would walk past her. As he did, Liam said, “Hello, Thea.”

He shouldn’t have done that. Right there, for everyone to hear, was every kiss he’d given her that week. The timbre of his voice was a glowing neon sign—even Kane looked around at it, frowning at Thea.

She didn’t trust herself to follow him into the house, so she went around back and found her cover-up. The boys were playing soccer on the grass behind the pool. Cat and Megan were entertaining Kane and Ellen’s daughter while Ellen spooned something into the baby’s mouth.

Thea got herself a beer and sat on the other side of the pool, watching the boys. It was a pathetic attempt to keep Cat away, and it failed, because she just got into the pool with Libby and fired questions at Thea from there.

“So?” she began.

“Hey, isn’t it time to call Sam?” Thea said, looking up at the sky as if Sam would appear from there and rescue her.

“Oh, yeah, I’d love to see what Sam thinks of this. Doessheknow about him?”

“Cat, there’s nothing to know.”

“So why did you go bright red when Jake brought him up?”

“’Cause I knew what you guys would say. Seriously, can we call Sam?”

“Come on, T. Spill. What’s the big deal if it’s no big deal?”

“She’s got a point,” Megan added.

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