Page 17 of Fix Them Up
I rolled my eyes. ‘Go get a drink. It’s my round.’ I handed her my card.
‘Thanks, cuz. I’ll get the next one.’ Lydia bounced off to the bar, chatting animatedly with her mum.
I nipped to the loo and on my return saw a familiar dark-haired man beside my cousin.
Liam.
A shorter man with dirty-blonde hair and dimples stood next to him. The blonde man and Lydia stood with pints and amused expressions while Liam stared straight ahead. He hadn’t spotted me yet, thank god. The football match had finished, chairs and tables being lifted and moved as Sandra conducted the room like an orchestra. I was frozen, unsure if I wanted to go and stand near Liam. Was I going to have to grovel? Did I want to grovel? Fuck. I should have spoken to Lydia about this earlier to get her onside.
‘Kat.’ Lydia waved. Broad shoulders tensed as I slowly walked towards them.
‘Hi,’ I said to no one in particular.
Liam’s eyes finally met mine and began an unreadable scan of my face. Those eyes flickered down, taking in my body too. The perusal was lingering, and judgemental and my stupid face went red. Which was really inconvenient when I remembered what Liam had called me at the funeral.
I raised my head to meet Liam’s gaze, but his expression was vacant. It revealed nothing. The lights were on, but no one was home.
Lydia smiled brightly. ‘Kat, this is Liam. He’s the builder I mentioned last night.’
‘We’ve met.’ Liam’s deep voice sounded resigned. Grumpy.
‘We have,’ I added uselessly. Lydia handed me my pint, and I stared at it.
‘I’m Jack.’ The dark-blonde man grinned and extended a hand. ‘I work with Liam.’
I gave a sickly smile. ‘My condolences.’ Jack gave a strangled laugh like he hadn’t expected my joke.
‘When did you meet?’ Lydia frowned, eyes flitting between Liam and me, finally sensing the tension in the room.
‘Ah –’ I began.
‘I went around this morning like you asked, Lydia. At eight.’
Lydia’s head swung to me, eyes wide. ‘Eight. As in this morning.’ She probably recalled stumbling into the taxi at three o’clock in the morning. I’d had a measly five hours’ sleep before Liam turned up, seemingly unannounced.
‘Yup,’ I added.
‘Your cousin wasn’t in the best mood,’ Liam said, sarcasm dripping from his words. He turned to Lydia. ‘Before you mither me, she’s gone with someone else.’
‘About that.’ I bit my lip. ‘See, I made some calls today. And it seems like everyone else is booked up.’ I breathed. ‘I’m going to struggle to find someone in time.’
I glanced up at Liam, trying to assess his reaction. He watched people filing in for the members’ meeting.
I cleared my throat. ‘Liam.’ His eyes flickered to me, then quickly away. ‘I was wondering if you might be able to look into it.’
He took a sip of his drink. ‘Look into what?’
The bastard was going to make me ask. Or beg, maybe. His expression was neutral and utterly infuriating. Lydia’s eyes were wide, bouncing between us like it was the final at Wimbledon.
‘If you could look into helping with the house,’ I said through gritted teeth. ‘Please.’
The last word was hard to get out.
Liam’s eyes were indecipherable. Clearly, he didn’t like me, but I waited patiently for his reply anyway.
Come on, give me something. Anything. Just don’t say no.
Liam and I locked into a staring contest. In my periphery, I watched his chest expand with each breath. His hands were clenched at his side. His face gave nothing away. It wasn’t until he took a deep breath that I knew what was coming.
