Page 44 of Fix Them Up
‘Liam.’ He turned around. ‘I – I don’t know what to say. Thank you. Really, this is amazing. I mean, I can’t imagine camping now.’
Liam raised an eyebrow as if to say,Most people wouldn’t be stupid enough to camp outside in February in Manchester. He turned on the lights, and I peeked around his shoulders into the bedroom. I saw a small double bed with brushed cotton bedding and a sliding barn door leading to the en suite.
‘Towels are in the airing cupboard in the bathroom,’ Liam said, turning his head towards mine. I stepped back when I realised how close we stood.
‘Perfect. Thank you.’ I nodded.
‘No problem.’
He turned around, and I smiled up at him, wanting to show how much I appreciated this. A friendly smile, nothing more. The corners of his lips turned up. We stood like this for a beat until he stepped closer, and the smile slipped off my face, and I avoided eye contact. Blood rushed to my head, making me lightheaded as his cedar scent filled my senses. I could feel the heat radiatingoff his body. I didn’t dare look up at his face. I couldn’t help but stare at his chest, hidden behind a black tee.
‘Kat,’ Liam rumbled.
‘Yes?’ I murmured, still refusing to look up. He had a really nice chest.
Liam coughed, which suspiciously sounded like a laugh.
‘I need to get past.’
Oh.
I met his gaze and found his eyes twinkling.
‘Oh. Sorry.’ I turned and shuffled awkwardly into the kitchen.
I wanted to bang my head on the exposed wooden beams until it bled.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Liam said. He walked towards the door and put his hand on the door handle, but he turned back towards me. ‘We can do some dinners if you like.’
‘Oh, you don’t have to do that –’
He shrugged. ‘I’ll be cooking anyway, and I make too much.’
‘Oh, okay. That would be nice.’ I smiled. ‘I usually forget to eat.’
Liam frowned. ‘You forget to eat?’
‘Yeah, it’s a whole – thing.’
‘A whole thing?’
‘It’s my ADHD. I struggle to remember. My friend, Willa, brings me food to my desk and forces me to eat at work. I get so focused on a brief for a client that I forget to eat.’
Liam was still frowning, so I went on.
‘It’s like I’m…’ I searched for an example. ‘I’m like a runaway train. I’m impossible to stop. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. Some people like me get irrationally angry if they are interrupted in their flow. I can get like that sometimes. It depends.’
‘You need to eat. I’ll make enough for two.’
‘Only if you have extra, don’t go out of your way…’ I peteredoff, but Liam had already opened the door and walked into the light splattering of rain.
‘Lock the door, Red,’ he called out.
‘Well, good night!’ I shouted back louder and went to shower all the rain and mud off myself. In the shower, as much as I tried to stop it, my mind couldn’t help but drift to brown eyes and cedar cologne.
Chapter Fourteen
Kat’s To-Do List
