Chapter Thirty-Five
Kat’s To-Do List
Do not spiral
Do not overthink
Do not bolt
The sunlight streamed through the blinds, throwing patterns and shades all over the room and the bed. Something hot as a furnace was behind me.
Liam.
I smiled. He was pressed against my back, his head buried into the back of my neck and my hair.
I could feel a soreness between my legs, reminding me of last night – his teeth and tongue and the weight of him on top of me.
It made me shiver slightly, making Liam move. I tensed, wondering if I’d woken him.
My brain was up, even if my body was still tired.
I started to imagine my life in Everly Heath, now I was going to stay.
I could see it in technicolour – Liam and I waking up in bed together, in my house or his.
He’d make breakfast, and we’d listen to the radio with coffee cups in our hands, kissing now and then between songs.
Then, I realised the family I’d always imagined buying my dad’s house no longer had blank faces.
They were Liam and me.
I bit my lip, thinking about those damn white tiles.
I wanted to beat myself for not seeing this coming and picking whatever fucking design I wanted for the house.
Of course I was going to stay. The more I thought about it, the clearer it was.
Everly Heath was always going to charm me to stay. Liam had warned me. And he was right.
‘What are you thinking about?’ I jolted at the deep, amused voice behind me. ‘You’re just lying there with your eyes wide open.’
I shifted, turning in the bed to face him. I tried to keep as far away as possible in case of morning breath.
‘I was just thinking how stupid I am.’
Liam’s face dropped. ‘You aren’t stupid.’
‘I am. I should have seen this coming. I should have realised I was falling for you too.’
Liam’s face softened.
‘It’s okay, Red.’ He pulled me into his chest. ‘You had to come to it in your own time. You’re that stubborn.’
‘I am not stubborn,’ I mumbled. ‘But now I have boring white tiles.’ I moaned miserably into Liam’s chest.
His shoulders shook with laughter.
‘They are just tiles, Red. You do know I’m a builder, right? I can get them replaced tomorrow.’
‘Not just the tiles – everything. I would have done it differently if I’d known I would stay.’
Liam hummed and traced his hand over my back in little circles. It calmed me after a few seconds.
‘Let’s take it day by day,’ Liam said finally. ‘We’ll figure out what we want to do with the house. Mine too. If we wanted to sell both and buy a bigger one, we could do that.’
I tensed.
‘I don’t want to sell Dad’s house.’
‘Okay,’ Liam said. ‘Then we could sell mine. Whatever you wanted.’
‘It can’t be what I want all the time.’
Liam kissed my head. ‘I’m happy when you’re happy. This house hasn’t meant anything to me since I bought it. I could leave it behind, and I wouldn’t give it another thought.’
‘But what about Abi –’
‘You can design a room for her at yours, maybe?’ There was uncertainty in his voice, like he wasn’t sure if he was taking it a step too far by mentioning his daughter. But it had the opposite effect. I shot up in bed.
‘Oh my god, do you think she’d let me design it?
’ I squealed. ‘I wouldn’t just paint it all pink if she thinks she’s over pink.
I know she wears a lot of blue.’ I shifted.
‘Oh my god, I could get her one of those trundle beds so when she has friends over, she can have them to stay. I used to love sleepovers when I was a kid.’ Even if it was always at my friends’ houses, not mine.
It was Mum’s idea of hell having more children in her house.
I was more than enough. But I didn’t mention that to Liam because his face broke into a beautiful wide smile.
‘What?’
He shook his head. ‘You are something else, you know that?’
‘What do you mean?’
Liam didn’t explain; he launched himself at me, and I made an unladylike squeal as his weight came on top of me. He kissed me, hard and fast.
‘As much as I love this,’ I said, giving his bum a swat, ‘you’ve given me a new hyperfixation. I need to google stuff for Abi’s room.’
Liam laughed. ‘Day by day, Red. Let’s take it day by day.’
‘Okay.’
He kissed me and pulled me under the covers.
*
‘Coffee?’ Liam asked, barefoot in the kitchen after we’d finally got dressed. I insisted that we dress in separate rooms to keep our hands off each other after several failed attempts. Liam certainly had stamina, which was impressive for someone who hadn’t had any action in a long time.
‘Yes, please,’ I said, smiling, no, not smiling. Fucking beaming.
It was ridiculous.
I came around the island, not able to spend time not touching him. He pulled my arms around his waist, my cheek pressed against his back. A few weeks with this man, and I’d turned into some needy barnacle, clinging to him while he made my coffee.
Pathetic.
I loved it.
He leaned to the cupboard above, taking me with him, and pulled out some caramel syrup.
‘I got this for you,’ he said, half turning around with a wry smile.
‘You noticed,’ I said. We’d got drive-through coffee once. Only once. And I’d ordered a caramel latte because the option was there.
I felt Liam shrug. ‘It’s been hard not to notice you, Red. Even when I tried my best not to.’
My heart burst, and I planted a kiss on his shoulder as he poured some syrup into my coffee, stirred it, and then turned around, handing me the mug. I reluctantly let him go and replaced him with coffee.
A fair trade, just about.
I took a sip and hummed. ‘It’s really good.’
Liam smiled. ‘Good.’
We looked at each other, and I could tell we thought the same thing. How normal and natural this felt. Waking up in the same house and making coffee.
I loved him. I realised it then. I loved him and this mad town. I was really going to do it. Not run and hide like I usually did. Or doubt myself. I was going to do it.
The doorbell sounded.
Our heads whipped around at the sound.
‘Abigail?’
Liam shook his head. ‘She’s at this music weekend with school.’
My phone buzzed – a text from Lydia.
Lydia: Your mum came by the house. I’m sorry, I tried to keep her away, but she was insistent.
I leaned and looked through the peephole to see all five foot three of my mum. Her lips were a flat line, her nose flared.
Oh, she was pissed off.
Fuck.