Chapter Twenty-One
‘Yasmin.’ Liam’s tone was a warning. He was walking hand in hand with the little girl, his hair still wet from the shower.
He ran his other hand through his hair, pushing it back.
His T-shirt was wonky and damp, like he hadn’t dried off properly.
The shirt stuck to him like he was in some kind of cologne advert.
His eyes were wide, flickering between me and Yasmin and back.
The cogs of my brain were moving now. Liam was a dad. He was a dad and hadn’t mentioned it.
‘What the hell, Liam?’ Yasmin hissed. ‘We go away for a couple of weeks, and I come back to this again? I swear to god –’
Liam’s eyes flickered to me with a pained expression, as if sensing my discomfort.
‘Slow down a minute. You’re jumping to conclusions,’ Liam said, sounding resigned. Tired. ‘Abi-chops.’ Liam pulled her into his side, kissing her head. ‘Did you have a nice time in Formby?’
Abigail babbled, ‘Gran and Grandad have a new puppy, Freddie, and he’s so cute. I taught him how to sit, and I’ve got videos of him running on the beach on Mum’s phone. Do you wanna see?’
Liam smiled. ‘I’ll have a look in a bit. Why don’t you go in? It’s cold, and I need a word with Mum. The Switch is in the cupboard by the TV if you want to go on Zebra Crossing.’
Abigail rolled her eyes, making her look older than her years.
‘It’s Animal Crossing, Dad.’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ He ruffled her hair. Abigail moseyed back into the house, leaving three very awkward adults alone.
Animal Crossing sounded really fun right now.
‘Liam, you should have let me know you had someone staying.’ Yasmin widened her eyes at the last word.
‘I was waiting for you to get back,’ Liam said, tense. ‘And I don’t owe you an explanation. This is my house—’
‘We promised we would communicate about girlfriends,’ Yasmin threw back.
‘I’m not his girlfriend,’ I blurted out. ‘We’re not – we’re not together. He’s actually working for me. Or with me. I don’t know, the lines are a little blurry on that.’ I heaved a breath. ‘We’re not together. This is strictly business.’
Yasmin and Liam looked at me, dumbfounded at my rambling. Luckily, Liam took over.
‘Kat is Brian Williams’s niece,’ Liam said slowly.
Yasmin’s eyes widened as she looked at me, and her face morphed into pity. She knew about Dad, my gut knew it. Liam continued, ‘I’m working on her dad’s house. She had to move out. Plaster was shot.’ Liam lowered his voice. ‘This isn’t going to work if you don’t trust me.’
That sentence was laced with history – tense subtext wrapped in barbed wire. And I didn’t feel like getting cut.
‘I’ll – I’ll leave you guys to it.’
Liam gave me a small nod, and I made my way back into the annexe, closing the door and leaning against it, taking some deep breaths.
Liam had a daughter. Liam had a daughter that he hadn’t mentioned. No one had mentioned it. Not Uncle Brian or Auntie Sandra. Not Lydia. We’d talked about grief and the house and all the baggage with my dad. I’d drunken kissed him, for god’s sake. But he’d never mentioned his own daughter.
I rubbed my chest, feeling the residual anxiety.
How often did he see her?
Oh my god.
What if Yasmin lived here? Had Liam pulled away last night because he was still seeing Yasmin?
They hadn’t seemed very… happy, but that didn’t mean they weren’t together.
Oh my god, I’d kissed a man in a relationship without knowing.
Were they on some kind of Ross and Rachel-style break, and Liam hadn’t mentioned it because he was a huge dickhead?
Had I inadvertently become a homewrecker? Because if I were Yasmin, I’d be pissed too.
My head was swimming with possibilities, my hands becoming tingly from panic. I needed to get out. I’d take up Sandra and Brian’s offer to stay with them. In a trance, I had begun to pack my clothes into a bag when I heard Liam’s voice at the door of the annexe.
‘Kat?’ He called again, and I heard his footsteps closer. ‘Are you decent?’ Liam poked his head around the door, his eyes dropping to my bag on the bed. He frowned. ‘Where are you going?’
I gave a half-hearted laugh. ‘I figured I should get out your hair. I don’t want to cause any drama. I’ve already caused enough fuss as it is. I’ll go to Brian and Sandra’s.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous –’
‘I’m not being ridiculous. It was my fault. Last night, I mean. I didn’t know you were seeing someone or with someone. I mean, you might be engaged for all I know.’ I gave a hysterical snort. ‘Married even.’
I began shoving more clothes into my bag.
‘I should have asked. I’m such an idiot.
’ Oh boy. My thought-to-mouth speed was becoming supersonic.
‘I mean, we did speak about loads of things, about my dad, about your mum. Your job, my job. The house. I mean’ – I gestured around – ‘I moved in here. But throughout all of that, you never mentioned you had a wife and daughter. A family. I mean, they could live with you, for all I know.’ I lifted my hands.
Liam held a hand up. ‘Hang on, hang on. You’re jumping ahead. Yas is my ex. We haven’t been together in – god, it must be seven years now. And yes, Abigail does live with me, some of the time –’
‘And that’s not something you mention?’ I was floating above myself, watching my frustration and anger ripple through my body language, eyes, and hands, but I could not control it. ‘I mean, who does that? Who doesn’t speak about their daughter to anyone for weeks?’
Liam’s jaw clenched. ‘It’s complicated. I like to keep things private –’
‘What kind of dad does that?’
Liam’s eyes lit with anger. ‘You do not get to sling around accusations.’
‘Well, don’t you think it’s a bit weird?’
‘If you let me explain –’
‘Yeah, it’s fucking weird. Is she some secret daughter? Does anyone even know she exists?’
‘Of course people know she exists.’
‘I mean, do you know what that feels like? To have someone forget that you exist?’
‘Kat. I am not like your dad.’ He squeezed his eyes shut. ‘I have a relationship with my daughter. Don’t project his failings onto me.’
I recoiled, instantly defensive. ‘This has nothing to do with my dad.’
Oh fuck.
Was that what I was doing? It took one moment of introspection to realise – yes.
That’s exactly what I’d done. I’d vented all my frustration and anger at my dad onto Liam.
Shame sat heavy in my stomach. It was absolutely none of my business when or where Liam saw his daughter.
I had overstepped and freaked out and it was all so fucking irrational.
Freud would have a field day.
The revelation must have shown on my face because Liam’s gaze softened an inch.
‘You’re right, I don’t have any right –’
‘It’s fine.’
I kept shoving clothes into my bag. ‘It’s not. We don’t know each other like that. You’re doing me a favour. I don’t have any right to comment on your family situation.’
Liam’s hands came to mine, stilling me. ‘I should have told you. I was going to. I needed to speak to Yas first. What happened with Yas’ – he gestured outside – ‘well, some of it, I deserve. She shouldn’t have jumped down your throat, but I made some mistakes.
We’ll talk later, yeah? I’ll explain everything. ’
‘Okay.’ I bit my lip.
‘You’ll stay?’ Liam stepped closer, holding out his pinkie finger. A ghost of a smile on his face. His attempt to lighten the mood.
Come on, play with me.
I smiled, taking it and shaking it with my own.
‘I’ll stay.’
‘Then I’ll see you later.’ Liam left the annexe, glancing back at me like I might disappear at any moment.
Once Liam was gone, I collapsed on the bed, my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe I just vomited insecure attachment style all over the place. I glanced down at my phone.
Lydia: Pick you up in half an hour?
‘For fuck’s sake.’