Page 86 of The Wedding Engagement

They made the drive over to her mum’s mostly in silence, with Arran reaching over to squeeze her hand every so often, and she was so grateful that he hadn’t listened to her when she’d told him not to come.

They pulled up outside the house, and her reflex compulsion tohesitate and delay seeing her toxic father again was knocked out of the park by her need to ensure that her mum and brother were okay. Liv hurried out of the car, Arran by her side, and they went to ring the doorbell.

The few seconds it took for an answer felt like hours. It was Angus who opened it, and he immediately folded her into a hug. “It’s okay, love. Everyone’s fine.”

Immediately soothed by Angus’s ever-calming presence, she felt her shoulders relax a little. “Is he still here?”

Angus nodded. “Let him say his piece and then it’ll be over.”

Liv moved past him, not bothering to take off her jacket or shoes. Angus gave Arran a smile as he brought up the rear. “Hi, son. Thanks for bringing her over.”

Arran shot Angus a smile in return. “No problem.”

Liv instinctively reached out to take Arran’s hand as they walked down the hallway to the kitchen, where the voices were by no means raised but the tension was thick.

He was sitting at the table as if he owned the place, lounging with one arm over the back of the chair. Liv ignored him, going straight over to where Tara was standing at the kitchen counter with Sam and giving each of them a hug.

Angus was the only one who sat at the table with Dave, and it didn’t escape Liv’s notice that he had positioned himself between Dave and the rest of them. Another tiny bolt of warmth fired into the iceberg in her chest.

Dave eyed her with a haughty air. “No hug for your old man?”

Liv met his gaze. “Nope.”

Arran shifted closer, putting his arm around her.

Dave narrowed his eyes a little. “Who the fuck’s this?” he asked, nodding toward Arran.

“You should probably know the answer to that, seeing as he’sbeen your son’s best friend his entire life,” Liv shot back, sliding her arm around Arran’s waist.

Dave blinked, then shifted his gaze back onto Sam, as if forgetting that Liv even existed. “I asked you to bring your fiancée to meet me. It’s beyond rude that she hasn’t come.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “You don’t get to make demands.”

“You haven’t even told me her name,” Dave said.

“That’s because it’s none of your concern,” Sam shot back.

Dave smirked, lifting the mug of tea that someone must have made him. What a waste of perfectly good tea. “I suppose I’ll get to meet her at the wedding.”

Sam laughed bitterly. “There’s no way you’re coming.”

Dave smacked his mug down onto the table. “I’m your father. I have a right to be there.”

Sam sighed. “Why are you even bothered? You don’t give a shit about any of us.”

Dave clenched his jaw. “I’m the father of the groom and I am entitled to be present.”

“Entitled my arse,” Liv muttered.

Dave snapped his gaze back onto her. “That’s enough of your insolence, missy. You need to learn your place.”

Arran made a move forward, his face stony and his fists clenched at his sides. But she squeezed his waist, holding him back.

Tara stepped behind Angus, placing a hand on his shoulder, and he reached up to hold it. Her voice was firm. “I won’t have you speaking to my daughter like that, David. Especially not in my house.”

Dave eyed Tara, then Angus. He muttered something incomprehensible before lifting his mug again. Liv glanced at Sam and took in the hard set of his jaw.We need to get Dave out of here.

Dave put his mug down again. “Perhaps if you hadn’t poisoned my own children against me, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

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