Page 27 of Fix Them Up
‘Maybe.’
‘Okay.’ Liam dusted off his hands. ‘Let’s make it interesting. I bet you that you end up falling in love with this place. I bet you that you never go back.’
I gave a melodic laugh. ‘Are you kidding me?’
‘I’m serious,’ Liam said, lifting his palm.
‘You’re on. Easiest bet I’ve ever made.’ I lifted my hand. Then, I paused, lifting my pinkie finger. It would be so much funnier this way. There was something funny about making a grown man pinkie swear.
‘Let’s pinkie swear on it.’
‘Deal.’
Liam wrapped his finger around mine, and I tried to ignore the hum of awareness that buzzed up my skin. Liam’s eyes were on me again, a faint smile on his face. Truce – was this some sort of truce?
He cleared his throat and returned to assembling sandwiches, and I pretended not to be disappointed about his focus moving elsewhere.
‘It’s nice that you do this, you know. You, Pat, and Sandra. I didn’t say it before because I was shocked to see you in chef whites.’
‘New kink unlocked, huh?’ He gave me a side-long glance. My face heated. When I went red, I wentred. Tomato. The curse of the gingers.
Liam grinned. ‘We raise the money to cover the food and drink costs. Just because they are a bit poorly doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a pint. Or a glass of prosecco for theladies.’
‘You know, that’s a dated view that women aren’t supposed to drink –’
‘I’m winding you up.’ Liam bumped his elbow against mine. ‘I don’t have a problem with you sinking Guinness.’ His tone was light, even if it didn’t reflect in his face.
‘I don’t sink Guinness.’
‘Sure, Red,’ he said, laced with sarcasm.
‘Can you stop calling me that? It’s a bit immature, don’t you think?’
‘Definitely immature,’ Liam said, ‘but unfortunately for you, I find it entertaining.’
I rolled my eyes, and Liam’s lips twitched. It was the most relaxed I’d seen him, jovial even. It was… nice. I felt like maybe we had thawed some of the ice between us.
We arranged the sandwiches next to cakes and scones on the tiered stands.
‘How many people are coming?’ I asked Liam as he arranged another five stands. He kept bringing more from his car. I was standing uselessly, watching his large hands doing delicate work. It was such a juxtaposition that it threw me off.
‘Do you always ask this many questions?’
‘Answer them and I’ll stop.’
‘About fifty in total. I store the stands at my house because there’s no space here.’
‘That’s… nice of you.’
‘Yes, you’ve mentioned how nice it is. Several times.’
I narrowed my eyes. ‘It’s an impressive operation.’
‘It was all Pat’s and Sandra’s idea. It’s their baby.’
Sandra’s voice behind us made me jump. ‘You’re being too modest, Liam.’ Sandra collected the stands, arching an eyebrow at Liam. ‘We couldn’t do this without you, and you know it.’ Sandra touched my shoulders. ‘Love, would you help us work the room out there? We like to have a chat with everyone while they are here.’
‘Sure,’ I glanced at Liam, ‘unless –’
