Page 25 of Fix Them Up
‘Of course.’ I’d not been in the back yet, but I guessed it was the room behind the bar that Sandra dipped in and out of. I headed around the bar and through the doors and stopped in my tracks.
I almost did a double-take when I saw Liam dressed in chef whites. He was cramped in the small kitchen, his focus on the tiny cucumber sandwiches he was placing on tiered ceramic stands. He glanced up as I walked in, and his eyes flickered across me. Lingering in places, he lingered all over me – my legs, my breasts, up to my neck, and finally, my face. For a moment, I wondered if he was checking me out, but his resting bitch face slotted into place quickly, ridding me of the absurd thought.
‘Kat.’ Liam nodded.
‘Liam,’ I repeated in the same tone.
Liam returned to assembling sandwiches. ‘Sandra roped you in, did she?’
‘What are you doing?’ I blurted out.
‘I’m skydiving. What does it look like I’m doing? I’m making sandwiches. They get here in half an hour, and I’m behind.’
‘I presumed they’d just buy them in. From a caterer or something.’
‘No.’ Liam wrinkled his nose like someone else making sandwiches was out of the question.
‘You come in every month and prepare tiny sandwiches for elderly people. By hand. In this tiny kitchen.’
‘They are just sandwiches.’
‘Why?’
Liam’s dark eyes lifted from the sandwiches, and he gave me a look. I wasn’t sure what the look was trying to convey, but it sent a weird feeling up my spine.
‘I have a heart, Red.’ Liam sighed. ‘They might not remember today, but they’ll have had a good time. We play some music, and they sing along. They never forget the words, even now. And the care home appreciates it. There isn’t loads for people with dementia to do, to get out and about. Funding cuts.’
I opened my mouth and closed it again. Liam looked up again at the expression I couldn’t keep off my face.
‘If you’re going to stand there, gawping, you can help. Chop this.’ Liam held out a cucumber, and I could feel a blush creep up my skin. There was something about the way his hand was gripped – nope. Not going there. Abort, abort.
I cleared my throat. ‘Sandra said something about napkins.’
‘She can wait.’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Okay.’
I washed my hands and stood beside him. Our hips accidentally brushed, and I pulled back like lightning struck me.
‘No, not lengthways.’
Liam’s body came around me. I felt the heat of it first, then the warmth of his hand coming over mine.
‘Thin, round slices like this.’ He guided my hand, his hand dwarfing mine. Liam was gentle, and I stared as the knife cut through in smooth, measured slices. Liam’s breath was at my neck, and I suppressed a shiver.
‘There you go,’ Liam murmured, his voice low. He stood back, going back to his station, and we stood side by side again. I was annoyed with myself that I had liked his body near mine – stupid, stupid body.
‘Thanks,’ I said hoarsely.
Then, I realised I’d let a man show me how to cut a fucking cucumber like I wasn’t capable of doing it myself. I’d been hypnotised by his body and the warmth rolling off it.
‘About the house –’ I blurted out.
Liam cocked an eyebrow, waiting for me to finish my sentence.
‘Are you still going to help? I didn’t hear from you.’
‘Have you been waiting by the phone, Red?’
