Page 60 of Fix Them Up
‘Stop being daft.’ Liam held my elbow tighter, pulling me into him as he pushed the door open. ‘I’ve got some ice.’
‘You’re fussing.’
‘If you don’t ice it, it will get worse. Knowing you, you’ll end up falling down the stairs.’
‘Rude,’ I muttered under my breath.
He sat me down at the island and busied himself, getting ice from the freezer.
He flicked his fingers. ‘Give me your ankle.’
‘I can do it.’
Liam levelled me a look. ‘Let me help, will you?’
I rolled my eyes and lifted my legging-clad leg onto the stool in front of me. Liam rolled up my leggings and I did the mental maths on the last time I shaved my legs. God, they had to be prickly as fuck. But Liam didn’t seem to care as he placed the tea towel-covered ice pack onto my ankle. He muttered an apology when I jumped a bit when the cold hit my skin. After a few seconds, the shock subsided.
‘Better?’ Liam asked, his voice low.
I glanced up. Liam was standing closer than I’d realised. His eyes were tracking mine, left to right; his cedar cologne had a citrus undertone. Lemongrass, maybe. Heat rolled off him, making me want to nuzzle closer.
Nope.
I aggressively hit Backspace on that thought.
I swallowed hard. ‘Yes. Yeah. Thanks.’ I went to take the ice pack from Liam, and our hands touched. ‘I can do that –’
Electricity fizzed as Liam’s hand was under mine. I looked up. Liam was staring at me like I was something new. His eyes were warm. No. They were hot, like melted chocolate.
‘Kat –’ His voice was gravelly. Was it me, or was he leaning closer? Blood rushed to my head as he drew closer still, his hand holding my ankle tighter.
Then, I did something I will be replaying until the end of my days.
I leaned forward, pushing up on my good leg and pressed Liam’s lips with mine. Liam’s body locked up with shock, which had me reeling and pulling back. Fuck. I’d misread the situation. Humiliation was about to burn brightly on my face until I felt Liam’s hand draw up my neck and into my hair, holding me there for a moment. His eyes were fixed on my lips.
Then, his lips touched mine again and softened. Tentative and sweet. His hand travelled up into my hair, pushing his palm further into my messy curls. I moaned at the touch.
The noise had Liam pulling back, his eyes wide.
‘Kat –’ he began, caution in his voice. White-hot humiliation flooded my body. This had to be a nightmare. I would wake up in a few moments in a cold sweat. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them.Nope. Not imagining this.
I jumped from the stool and could barely hear Liam saying, ‘Careful,’ as I stepped towards the doors.
‘I – I’m sorry. I should go.’ I turned to Liam. ‘This was a mistake. I don’t know what I was thinking. It won’t happen again.’ I gave a hysterical giggle. ‘God, I’m such a fucking idiot.’ I slapped my hand to my forehead, picking up the ice pack with my other hand.
‘Kat – let me explain.’ Liam ran his hand through his hair. ‘I didn’t want you to think –’
I didn’t let him finish his sentence. ‘Thank you for the ice pack. I’ll leave you to it.’
‘Kat –’ His voice was quiet and tender, like he was talking to a wounded animal. Pity. The thought of Liam pitying me made me feel sick.
My back hit the cold of the bifold doors. ‘We don’t have to mention this again. Actually, I’d prefer if we never spoke of it again.’
‘I want to talk about it –’
‘Well, I don’t.’ I smiled. ‘I’d prefer to die of embarrassment, actually.’
‘Kat –’
