Chapter Thirteen
Liam drove us through a modern estate of houses that all had the same kind of look but different configurations – some detached, semi-detached or terrace style.
It was clearly an area that had been regenerated recently because it had that new design to the roads that made it feel like a toy town.
We pulled up in front of a detached house with large floor-to-ceiling windows and a huge grey front door.
It had to be one of the biggest of the designs.
It was gorgeous, even if it wasn’t to my personal taste. I also hadn’t pegged Liam as modern and sleek. I could see him wearing plaid shirts and chopping trees in a remote cabin in the woods, not wearing a suit, making coffee with an overpriced appliance as this house suggested.
I whistled. ‘Very nice.’
Liam shrugged. ‘I bought it in a bit of a rush about four years ago. I wouldn’t usually go for new builds ’cos they are usually built like shit.
’ He glanced out. ‘And so many of these new estates are pushing people from neighbourhoods they’ve lived in since they were born.
I could justify this, just about. It was a derelict industrial estate. ’
‘They’re pushing people out of their homes? How can they do that?’
‘Compulsory purchase. They have no choice.’
‘That’s not fair.’
‘No. Progress is progress, I guess. Gentrification isn’t a London thing, you know.’ He shot me a wry look.
‘Why were you in such a rush to buy?’
Liam glanced away. ‘I’d broken up with my ex. I moved into a flat in town for a bit, but it wasn’t… practical. I needed somewhere to live and quickly.’
His comments triggered tons of questions, sprouting in my head at speed. But from his tense body language, it was clear that was all the information he would give. So I climbed out of the van, running to the boot in the rain.
Liam’s hand covered mine.
‘Go stand on the porch.’ I wanted to reject his attempt at chivalry, but I was fucking freezing, so I stood undercover as Liam grabbed my bags. Acts of service, indeed. Liam fished for his keys in his pockets and opened the door.
Liam sighed. ‘I’ll put the heating on. Bloody freezing.’
‘Are you sure this is okay?’ I blurted out, making Liam stop.
He turned around and came back to stand in front of me. His hair had dried a little bit in the car, making it curl slightly at the nape of his neck. His eyes flickered around my face.
‘I told you. The annexe is always empty. It feels silly not to use it.’
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the buzzing in my chest.
‘You okay?’ Liam said, frowning. ‘Are you cold?’
‘I’m fine. Just a bit overwhelmed.’
Anxiety.
It was anxiety.
I knew it but couldn’t say it out loud.
‘That’s understandable. You almost got hyperthermia and died tonight.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ I retorted, rolling my eyes. ‘You are so dramatic. I didn’t get –’ Liam’s face morphed into a smug smile. He’d goaded me on purpose to get me out of my head.
Liam smirked. ‘Can’t resist getting a word in. So I know you can’t be that overwhelmed. Come on.’ He gestured down the hallway with his head.
The hallway was modern, with light beechwood floors and spotlights.
It was completely bare, with no furniture or pictures hanging on the wall.
Two doors led off, presumably to a downstairs loo and a lounge, but I didn’t want to nosy around – yet.
A beige-carpeted stairway led upstairs. It was like a show home, everything new and shiny, but it showed none of Liam’s personality.
I followed Liam and came into an open-plan kitchen and living room.
The kitchen was modern and sleek. In my head, my kitchen would be more farmhouse-traditional, something out of a Nancy Meyers film, with clashing patterns and soft colours.
Liam’s kitchen was the opposite – dark grey slab-fronted units with industrial pendant shades hanging above the island.
The kitchen had expensive-looking appliances – an in-built coffee machine, a wine cooler and a double oven.
It was obvious that Liam had expensive taste.
I sat at one of the metal barstools. ‘Your house is lovely.’
Liam clicked the kettle on. ‘I can’t take credit. Someone pulled out of the sale after picking all the fittings. I wouldn’t have picked it out myself, but it’s certainly… out there.’
I frowned. He didn’t like the house? Buying a house you didn’t like seemed strange.
I couldn’t imagine it was cheap. It had to be four bedrooms at least, not including the annexe he’d built.
He’d built it for his dad, which, I had to admit, was adorable.
I was envious that they seemed to be so close.
Even when Liam berated his dad’s working habits, he did it from a place of love.
Their relationship was clearly strong enough that Liam could be honest. I wondered if he knew how special it was to have frank conversations with his dad without worrying about their relationship breaking down, that it could be the final straw.
I’d never had that. I’d never really been honest with my dad about how his absence made me feel. I’d been too hurt.
And I never got the confidence to stand up to my mum when she put me down, either.
‘Brew?’ He interrupted my thoughts. ‘I don’t have any alcohol in the house. I don’t drink.’
‘You don’t drink?’ I hadn’t noticed at the club.
‘I quit a few years ago. I – I hadn’t loved my relationship with it, I suppose.’ He said it lightly, like he didn’t want to lower the mood.
‘Tea would be lovely. Thank you.’
He poured boiling water into two mugs. I watched his hands grip the handle of the kettle. They were nice hands. I wondered what they felt like, running across skin. A strange shiver ran through me.
Liam’s eyebrows furrowed. ‘Are you sure you aren’t cold?’
I went pink, cringing at where my brain had taken me. I was standing in this man’s house, objectifying him. I should be ashamed of myself.
I smiled tightly. ‘I’m fine, thank you.’
‘I can get some towels –’
‘Honestly, I’m fine. You’ve done enough. I – I really appreciate it,’ I said, hoping my face was earnest.
‘Did that hurt to say out loud?’ Liam asked sardonically.
I rolled my eyes. ‘I’m saying I’ve forgiven you for the car park debacle if that makes you feel better. You don’t have to keep trying to repent.’
Liam’s eyes widened comically. ‘Are you saying I don’t have to keep going to midnight mass? Because it was really messing with my sleep.’
I held up my hands. ‘I mean, I don’t know about the rest of your sins.’
Liam nodded solemnly. ‘I should probably keep going. Father Nichols would be disappointed.’
‘The older ladies need some eye candy. Keeps them from falling asleep.’
‘Eye candy.’ Liam raised his eyebrows.
Fuck. I could feel heat travelling up my neck.
‘Well, you know,’ I sputtered, ‘their husbands are probably long dead. And they haven’t had their eyes tested in a while. So anything will do.’
Was that funny enough to play off my blunder?
‘I have been called a last resort before,’ Liam said dryly, with an arched eyebrow.
It took me a while to realise he’d quoted what I’d said at the social club.
I winced. ‘Not my finest moment.’
‘Come on, you can’t go back on it now.’ Liam laughed. ‘You’ve made up for it with “eye candy”. I think I could probably use that to fuel my ego for the next five to seven years.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Typical man.’
Liam laughed as he busied himself in the kitchen, adding milk to the tea.
I looked out the bifold doors into a spacious garden, and at the end of the garden was a mini house made of bricks and wooden beams. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, slightly out of place for a residential area, but the garden was big enough that it worked.
‘Is that the annexe?’ I asked, mouth agape.
Liam joined me at the doors and handed me a mug of tea.
‘Yeah.’
‘You have to be kidding me.’
‘What?’
‘Liam. Look at it. It’s like, from a film. It’s ridiculous.’
‘I googled some ideas and picked it. Do you want to have a look? I’ll grab your bags.’
He ‘googled some ideas’. It looked like a mini version of the cottage from The Holiday, for fuck’s sake.
I shook my head. ‘You are too chill about this.’
Liam leaned to take the mug of tea from my hands. Our fingers brushed, and that familiar shiver trailed up my arm. I glanced up to see Liam looking intently at my hands, his brow furrowed.
‘Your hands are cold,’ he murmured. He placed our mugs on the sidetable beside the sofa and drew my hands between his.
‘I’m always cold,’ I explained, my voice going a bit hoarse. It was true. I was always cold, my hands and feet especially.
Liam frowned as if personally offended by the temperature of my hands. He continued to hold them between his much warmer, calloused ones.
‘There,’ he said, glancing down at me again, and I realised how close we were standing.
Our eyes met, and time slowed. Liam’s face softened, and I swore that, momentarily, he felt it, too – the electricity.
His eyes darted down to my lips, and he leaned forward slightly, like he couldn’t help himself.
He blinked, and it was gone.
My cheeks heated. I needed to pull myself together. It was pathetic pining for some man who basically hated me less than twenty-four hours ago.
Liam cleared his throat. ‘I need to check the heating is on. It gets cold in there.’
Liam led the way down the stone path to the house. Solar lights were dotted about either side of the path, making it easy to find in the dark. I stood at the door, not knowing what to do next. Liam reached up to the door frame; his shirt lifted, revealing a line of toned skin across his lower back.
‘There is a spare key. You can leave it here if you like; it’s a pretty safe area.’
He unlocked the door, and we stepped into the annexe, the smell of pine in the air.
The cosy room had a small kitchenette on the left, with a dining table and two chairs.
Two well-worn armchairs sat in front of an electric fireplace with floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books on either side.
It was homely and sweet but also had that well-worn look, which differed from the modern appliances and furniture in Liam’s house.
‘It should have everything you need for a few weeks.’ Liam dropped my bags onto one of the armchairs and strode to the back of the little cabin, oblivious to my gaping mouth. ‘It’s a small bedroom, but it has an en suite, too, so you won’t need to walk into the main house for the loo.’
‘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 radiating off 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 petered off, 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.