Page 82 of The Wedding Engagement

She hesitated, her mouth going dry. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

He was studying her again. She could almost hear the click and whir of his brain.

“I’m sorry,” she told him, closing her eyes in discomfort.

He raised his eyebrows. “What for?”

Liv opened her eyes to meet his. “For off-loading on you. Sam’s your best mate, so hearing all this is upsetting.”

Hesitating for a moment, he placed his mug on the floor, followed by hers, then took her shoulders. “Liv, you don’t need to apologize to me. I want you to tell me stuff because I’m your friend. I told you that before. And it applies to everything, not just that scumbag we had to report to the police at the time.” He gave her a soft smile. “I feel like you always hold back from leaning on me. Or anyone else. I think you’re too consumed by protecting everyone’s feelings.”

Her pulse was tripping along—because every word rang true.

“The only thing that does upset me,” he said slowly, “is that everything you’ve just said was about your mum and Sam. Not you.” His gaze was warm but intense. “Dave’s behavior affected you too, Liv. Just as much as Sam. You deserve to tellyourside of the story. You deserve empathy in return for the shiploads of stuff you dish out to everyone else. You can tell me anything you want, and you don’t need to worry that I won’t be able to hear it. I’m your friend and I want to be there for you.”

She was starting to feel a little dizzy now. Overwhelmed. His words soothed her psyche, and she remembered Sam giving her a similar sentiment at Christmas, trying to encourage her to open up. And yet she still hadn’t been able to confide in him properly either.“Don’t be negative, Liv.”

She nodded, tears pricking at her eyes. “Thank you.”

Arran smiled, and she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, trying to convey her appreciation through her body rather than the words that were failing her.

The baby monitor on Arran’s desk crackled to life with the sound of Jayce waking from his afternoon nap.

Liv lifted her head from Arran’s chest. “Can I fetch him? I’ve not had a Jayce cuddle in ages and I’m getting withdrawal symptoms.”

He had a soft look on his face. “Course. I’ll come with you.”

They stood and left the studio for the stairs, Liv going ahead so that she could be the first into the nursery to surprise Jayce. Her heart was tripping with excitement by the time she neared the top of the stairs. Seeing him in a classful of kids at nursery school wasn’t the same as being one-on-one with him at home.

She cracked open the door, waiting for him to spot her. He was sitting up in his cot bed, facing away from her. She let the door open a little farther, the creak of it causing Jayce to turn his head. The wide smile that spread over his face as he spotted her swelled her heart so big it seemed to push all thoughts of Douchebag Dave out of her mind.

Jayce sat up straight in bed. “Miss Lib!”

She entered the room, grinning. “Hey, buddy!” Reaching out, she lifted him into her arms, cuddling him close and absorbing the adorable squishiness. Jayce leaned back to finger her glasses and she rubbed her nose against his.

There was another creak at the door, and she lifted her gaze to see Arran doing the devastating leaning-against-the-doorframe-with-folded-arms pose, giving her a hot, fuzzy feeling. He smiled at her with a kind of wistful longing that she didn’t know what to do with but really liked nonetheless.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

The nursery school kids lookeda little bored to Arran. It was career day in Miss Holland’s class and the ensemble were currently listening to Creepy Married Dad Guy go on about how important his work as an orthopedic surgeon was. Every so often the guy would glance over at Liv, clearly attempting to gauge whether she was impressed. The bloke was good-looking, and his patter no doubt usually got him a lot of attention. Despite the silver wedding ring on his left ring finger.

Dickhead.

Although so far, Liv didn’t look very impressed at all. A smile tugged at Arran’s mouth.

The knowledge that Liv had opened up to him at their last portrait sitting went some way toward encouraging him that they would be okay. She’d let him be there for her. Leaned on him a little. And it had felt good.

Clearly there was much more to her story. But he was in this for the long game and happy to wait to hear it.

Liv sidled up to him and went onto her tiptoes to whisper in hisear, as Creepy Married Dad Guy kept droning on. “You ready for your presentation?”

He nodded, breathing in her sweet scent with an acceleration in his heart rate. “Yeah, but mine’s a bit more interactive than this dude’s.”

“Thank goodness,” she whispered, giving a small shudder, which drew a chuckle from his lips.

He turned his head to speak right into her ear, keeping his voice low. His lips grazed her skin, sparking temptation within him. “If his work is so important, how come he’s always hanging around at the nursery school like a bad smell?”

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