Chapter 17
LIAM
Liam paused just outside Sugarplum Cakes he didn’t want to give her any openings, any avenues to wound.
Mia nodded, her red curls framing her face.
‘I’m here to apologise.’ She cleared her throat, looking nervous, and dropped her eyes back to her mug.
‘I feel bad for what happened. For leaving the way I did and for Graham too, I suppose. I mean, it wasn’t really my fault.
’ She met his eyes again. Hers were misty, like she was about to cry – but he knew her games, knew she was looking for sympathy.
‘I was a mess after Charlie was born, it was really hard for me, I wasn’t ready to be a parent. ’ Her voice wobbled.
‘I understand,’ he replied.
She shrugged. ‘Maybe I’m just more sensitive than most.’ Her mouth pinched. She’d painted it a becoming shade of pink, but what would have once made him weak, now made him suspicious.
‘Maybe,’ he said – because he wasn’t going to argue with her.
‘So.’ He waited as Hazel approached and put a mug and plate in front of him before offering a sympathetic smile.
‘Thanks,’ he said, watching her wander back to the counter just as Sam appeared behind it too and frowned at his brother, jostling with him as a blonde girl approached and they fought to get there first. He knew how it felt to fight over someone and for the first time wondered how it might feel if those old wounds could be healed.
Watching it play out in front of him seemed…
well, like such a waste. But he wasn’t ready to address his feelings for Graham.
And he definitely wasn’t ready to forgive.
‘So,’ Mia huffed as she sat back in her chair and folded her arms. ‘You don’t seem very happy to see me. Don’t I look pretty today? I just had my hair done, I’ve got some lowlights. They really work, don’t they?’ She brushed her locks, looking offended when he didn’t automatically agree.
‘It’s been a long time,’ he said. She was gorgeous, but he wasn’t going to compliment her – talk about mixed messages.
Besides, how she looked didn’t matter to him.
‘Plus, when you sent the divorce papers two years ago, you mentioned that you wouldn’t be back.
It’s a surprise. Maybe you should tell me what you want, Mia, and we can go from there.
’ He took a sip of coffee. He didn’t particularly want it – he didn’t like coffee anymore – but it was better if he could keep his hands busy.
Mia frowned at him and he recognised the look.
Things weren’t going her way and she was trying to figure out how to get what she wanted.
‘I’ve missed you,’ she said, dropping her voice, imbuing it with a husky quality – one that would have driven him wild once.
‘I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I left. ’ She slowly nibbled her bottom lip.
‘You’ve been thinking about me for over two years?’ he asked, the disbelief clear in his tone. ‘Surprising you never contacted me then.’
She ignored the comment. ‘Nobody has ever come close to how I feel about you, Liam. I had to leave to understand that.’ Her eyes shone.
‘And Charlie?’ he asked, because he couldn’t help himself. ‘What about our son?’
Annoyance flickered across her face. ‘He’s important too of course.
It’s why I’m here. I want us to be a family again.
’ She leaned forward and placed a palm over his, but he tugged his hand away and put it on his lap.
‘We both know two parents are better than one. I’m ready to be a mother now, Liam.
I still love you. I want us to make a new start.
I can move in whenever you want, be with you for Christmas.
’ She beamed. ‘I’m already packed, so we could do it today. ’
Her words were punctuated by a sudden ding from Liam’s mobile and he pulled it from his pocket. ‘I’m sorry, I need to get this in case it’s about Charlie,’ he said, frowning when he saw the text was from a new unknown number.
He hadn’t heard from his mystery messenger since he’d called into the radio show. Had hoped that was the end of the communications. But it seemed he’d been wrong.
I hear your surprise arrived. Make sure you don’t unwrap it.
‘So?’ Mia asked impatiently. ‘Is it about our son?’ Her emphasis of the last word grated on him.
He shook his head before his attention strayed back to her.
‘I’ve been getting some odd messages recently.
You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?
’ The timing was suspicious. They’d started less than a week before Mia had appeared and she could definitely be described as a Christmas surprise.
He twisted the phone to show her. ‘Do you recognise the number?’
Mia flushed and her eyes shot to the table. ‘No. I know nothing about that,’ she said tightly and Liam knew she was lying, but it was no more than he expected. He knew she wouldn’t come clean, so he just needed to get this meeting over with.
‘We were talking about me moving back in with you,’ Mia said impatiently. ‘Not about texts from people I don’t know.’