by Davies,Amy
“He knows how to treat the ladies,” Dex whispers in my ear, making me laugh. My tears forgotten, I watch as Connie steps down and smiles up at Liam, who then leans in and kisses the top of her head.
“Dude, stop whispering in my girl’s ear.” Liam takes Connie’s hand and hooks it over the crook of his arm. He offers me the other arm and I follow suit. I hear Dex chuckle beside us as we walk past him and into the restaurant. I hear Connie gasp as she walks away from Liam and me. She slowly takes in the room, turning in a circle on the spot.
The ceiling is filled with balloons, pink, blue and white. Fairy lights hang from everything; the light fixtures, the walls, the curtains. It looks like a fairy land in here. There are round tables around the room. They look amazing. Each table has a white tablecloth with a centerpiece in the middle, Connie designed them, they are little sand buckets filled with coloured sand and little cocktail umbrella stuck in them. They are made to look like mini islands. The Dj has all the lights flashing in time with the music, it looks amazing. We had a sweet table added along the wall, just next to the food tables.
“MUM!” Connie screams. I turn my head to see her run towards me. I hadn’t noticed her wander off. “This is freaking EPIC! OHMYGOD. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is the best birthday ever.” She hugs my waist and I lean in and kiss her head.
“I am so happy you like it, CJ.”
“Like it. I LOVE IT.” She lets me go and moves over to Liam. “Thank you, Liam. That man over there said that you helped my mum with all of this,” she waves her hand indicating the entire room.
“I was happy to help, Connie, I see…” But Connie cuts him off.
“CJ.”
“What?” he asks.
“I want you to call me ‘CJ’, like Mum.” She shrugs her shoulders. I smile at her and look at Liam, who has a look of adoration on his face.
“Okay. CJ it is.” He kneels down so he is eye level with her and speaks again. “You are like my own, daughter. I would do anything for you, just like I would, Knox.” He opens his arms and Connie steps into them and throws her arms around his neck. I choke back a sob as I watch the scene before me. Connie pulls back and kisses Liam on the cheek.
“I wish you were my dad, Liam.” I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand. She has never talked about her having a father before. I look around the room and see that people have stopped to watch what is happening. Rachel is standing next to Darla and they both have tears streaming down their faces. A deep throat clears in front of me and I see Liam quickly wipe under his eyes. Seeing how her words have affected him, hits my heart like a double decker bus.
“The feeling is mutual, sweetheart.” He kisses her forehead. “Now go and find your friends and enjoy the night. It is all yours.” She looks at me and I nod at her with a smile. She runs off to join her friends. Liam stands and pulls me to him, wrapping his big beefy arms around me and holding me tight. I take in his scent, it calms me straight away. I tighten my hold on him and lose myself in the feel of being safe and loved by this man. Even though the words have not been said, I think they need to.
“I love you, Liam.” I hold my breath for his reaction, but I also feel lighter now that I have said the words. I have no idea of how much time passes before I feel Liam take a deep breath and move his body back from mine very slightly. I chance a look in his eyes and he has the world’s most beautiful smile on his handsome face.
“I love you, too, Bambi. I think I always have.” He leans in and kisses me, taking my breath away. He always seems to do that. He tastes like chocolate and cream. He must have eaten a ‘Snowball’
“YES!!” Gets yelled and then the sound of hands slapping. We both turn our heads to see Connie and Knox laughing and high-fiving each other, causing everyone to laugh at them.
“They seem happy. Are you happy, Pen?” I swing my head back to face him.
“Of course I am, Li. God, the things you make me feel. They are indescribable.” I reach up and kiss him once more. “Let’s get this party started.”
Cheers go up around the room and we celebrate my daughter’s tenth birthday with style and coolness. Her words not mine.
Penny
Oh thank God I was on the early morning shift. It is now three PM and I on my way to pick up Connie from my parents, and then we are going to pop in and spend the day with Liam and Knox. I picked up some cakes from town on my way to my parents house. Liam and Knox have such a sweet tooth. And they are crazy for chocolate. When I was on my period last week, Liam ate enough chocolate to feed a small army. Liam came over one morning and I was doubled over in pain in bed; painkillers rushing through my system, not that they help much. I have always suffered with them, when I was younger I would have to take a day or two off school because I was so bad with them.
Well let’s just say that Mr Liam Bradley will never take the piss out of a woman on her period again. He hated that he couldn’t do anything for me. He refilled my hot water bottle throughout the day. He kept me comfortable. He fed the kids and kept us, yes us, in supply of chocolate; for him more than me. Me, well I was eating sherbert straws by the dozen. I always crave sherbert when I am on my period. I look down at the box full of cakes on my passenger seat and chuckle to myself at the thought of how my boys are going to react, because they are my boys. Knox may not be my blood, but that baby boy is mine, just like Connie is.
I pull up outside my parents house and turn the car engine off. I climb out and walk to the door. I can hear them laughing and Hetch barking like crazy at something. No doubt Connie and my dad are throwing the ball back and forth and he is trying to catch it. He loves the game, he's like a big furry toddler. I walk through the house, and outside towards the loud ruckus. I stop at the door and lean against the frame watching them. Connie is jumping up and down calling to my dad to throw her the ball. Hetch is barking and is running between them. My dad, my poor father looks out of breath, his face is bright red. My mum is sitting on the bench watching them and calling out instructions to them. Connie's laughing hysterically.
My dad looks up and sees me, he stands up straight and put his hands on his hips, taking in deep breaths. “I am getting too old for this shit. You can play with your daughter and that beast for a bit. I need a beer,” my dad puffs out, walking towards me. I turn and walk back into the kitchen and open the fridge. I take out a bottle of beer for my dad, I open it and hand it to him.
“Oh bless you. You are my favourite girl,” he says.
“I HEARD THAT!”
“Well I don’t see you getting dear old gramps a beer,” my dad shouts back. I laugh at their exchange.
“Sit down, Dad.” I pull the chair out for him to sit at the kitchen table with me. He takes a big gulp of the beer before looking at me. I smile at this man; the first man I ever loved. Every little girl loves her daddy and wants to marry a man just like him; well I do anyway.
“How was work?”
“It was good. Early but worth it. I am heading over to Liam’s now. We are going to take the kids swimming. Might as well make most of the summer while we have nice weather,” I say. My dad nods his head before standing up and makes his way over to the fridge. He opens the door and takes out another beer, offering me one but I shake my head no. Taking out a can of Sprite, he sets it on the table in front of me. He knows me well.
“Ta, Dad.” He smiles at me.
“So how are things with what's-his-face?” He smirks at me. I know full well he knows Liam’s name.
“Things with Mr, What's-his-face are going good.” I don’t offer him any more information.
“He seems pretty taken with, Con. And you with his young lad,” my dad states. But he speaks the truth. We are our own little family. He knows I love Knox as much as I love Connie and vise versa with Liam. We both turn to loud squeals coming from the garden. Connie is on the floor and Hetch is lying on top of her, licking her face. Her laughter fills the garden, my mum just stands by and watches. We ar
e used to seeing these two act like this. God, Connie has even fallen asleep laying on Hetch, on more than one occasion. I pick up my drink and walk out to the garden.
“CJ, we need to go. The boys are waiting for us.” I pat my thigh and call the dog. “Hetch, let’s go, bud.” He jumps off my daughter and bounds over to me. Connie climbs to her feet and walks over to my mum, hugging her before turning in my direction. She pokes my belly as she walks past me and into the kitchen to say goodbye to my father.
“Later, Old Man.”
“Oh, you little shit.” He reaches for her but she jumps back and runs towards the front door. I laugh and watch as both her and Hetch go through the front door. I turn back to face my parents and see them smiling at me.
“Proud of you, sweetheart. Jodi would be so fucking happy at how her daughter turned out. She is perfect.” A lump forms in my throat, but I push it down.
“Daaad, please don’t make me cry.” They both walk over to me and pull me into a big hug. Squeezing me tight, their love flows through me. I soak up the attention, feeling like a kid again. I used to love getting big hugs from my parents, hell I still do. We are a hugging family.
“Go. I can only imagine what those two are doing in the car. You know what happened last time.” My dad smirks at me.
Shit.
Please, don’t let them be ruining my car again. I run through the house dreading what I am going to see when I reach my car. I break through the front door and let out a huge sigh of relief. My car interior is in one piece. One time I left Connie and Hetch in my car while I talked to a friend, Connie dripped ice cream all over the car seat and Hetch decided to lick it up, but licking wasn’t enough for the big furry oaf, nope, he had to chew at the material as well. Cost a bloody small fortune to get it fixed. As I get closer to the car I see that Hetch is sprawled out on the back seat, exhausted from playing catch with CJ and my dad. CJ is sitting in the passenger seat, totally engrossed with her phone. I open the door and sit in the driver seat and start the car up.
“Are we still going swimming?” CJ asks, not even lifting her head to look at me.
“That’s the plan,” I reply. She nods her head and continues to play the game on her phone. I pull away from my parents and drive to Liam’s house. I am looking forward to chilling by the pool for a few hours. Work was hectic today and the shift has killed my feet. I turn the radio on and Adele’s ‘Send My Love’ is playing on Radio One. I sing along to the song quietly, not to disturb Miss Connie and her precious game time.
It isn’t long and we are pulling up into Liam’s drive. I love his house, it is a conversion. The owners have done a beautiful job keeping it in with the traditional feel of the building. I leave Hetch in the car, with the windows open, it would be murder trying to get him back in the car. CJ and me climb out of the car and walk towards the house. I hear voices coming from the garden, so I walk around the side of the house and into the garden, but the image before me is not what I was expecting to see. Liam is standing in the garden, in just a pair of jeans that hang low on his trim waist. He is shirtless and he is bare foot. Shock and complete and utter heartbreak tears it's way through my system as I take in one other detail; my boyfriend's hands on another woman. Hands are running up and down his toned back, his spine tattoo winking at me. I dread to think where his hands are placed. I can only imagine on her arse, since Liam is an arse man.
Fucking hell.
My body turns to ice and my heart is barely functioning. It is fighting against the ice to beat again and make me walk away. I hear a faint beep next to me and see Connie standing there, still looking down at her phone. Oh thank fuck that she never gets to see Liam cheat on her mother. I stupidly take one last look and see them now talking but they still don’t see me. I turn Connie with my hands on her head and walk back to the car. We are almost there and away from this messed up situation. After everything we have said to each other, he goes and does this to me. Well fuck him. If he wants to throw us away over some tart, then she is welcome to him. As I reach for the car door, Hetch lets out a God almighty bark, which I am pretty damn sure that people heard him three counties over. Both CJ and I jump out of our skins but climb in the car, just as Liam comes running around the side of the house.
“Bambi. Penny, wait,” he yells, but I start the car and drive away from his house.
“Mum?” CJ speaks up.
“Not now, babe.” I will the tears to stop but my nose is burning and my breathing is getting out of control. I know if I do not gain control, I will pass out with Connie in the car with me. I cannot let this happen again. I blink a hundred times a minute to stop the tears, but it is no good. The image of the woman’s hands on my man's back, no not my man. He is no longer my fucking man. I am so freaking done with him. I angrily wipe away the tears; he will get no more of my tears. Well today anyway. I take deep breaths to calm myself. I am very surprised that I make it to Rachel’s house. I pull up the handbrake and turn the car off. I lick my dry lips and take a deep breath. I chance a look at CJ, who has her own tears in her eyes. It breaks my heart to know that she will feel this betrayal just like me.
“Come on, let’s go and see if Aunt Rach has lots of ice cream.” She reluctantly follows me out of the car. I meet her at the front of the car. “I will explain later, okay. I promise.” I kiss the top of her head and we walk to Rachel’s front door. I knock the door, learning my lesson from the last time I came over unannounced. I was surprised that Rachel actually hit it off with Jay Castle at Connie’s party and not Dex. I came over one day and walked in on them in the kitchen, let’s just say that I made sure she scrubbed that worktop with bleach; four times.
Rachel answers the door in no time and her smile fades when she sees my face. Rachel is a beautiful woman. Wavy red hair, about my height and she has curves to die for. I have always envied her looks, but she knows that.
“Con, babe, there is ice cream in the freezer and sprinkles in the cupboard, you know where everything else is. Let me speak to Mum for a bit, okay?” She nods her head and walks into the house with her head hung low.
Bastard, Liam Bradley.
“What the fuck happened? Do I need to cut a bitch?” Her outburst doesn’t surprise me. Since Jodi passed away, Rachel has become fiercely protective of me and Adrian, and all the kids. We walk into her house and sit on the large corner sofa she has.
“I just walked in on Liam and another woman,” I explain.
“As in, they were having sex?” She lowered her voice at the last word, afraid that Connie might hear. I shake my head no.
“I think they must have just finished. They were in the garden, she was dressed and hugging him. He was in just a pair of jeans. No shirt or shoes on. He must have just thrown them on. Shit.” The realisation hits me and I gasp for air. I touch my throat and try to control my breathing. Rachel is kneeling on the floor in front of me and running her hands up and down my arms, calming me.
“In and out. In and out. You got this. Do not let that fuckhead hurt you. I will chop his balls off and feed them to that little dog of his. He will not win. We win. Always,” she states. “Say it with me,” she demands.
“He will not win. We always win.” It was our motto all through school and college. We knew that if we had each other, we would always win. We wouldn’t let anyone beat us.
Liam Bradley was not going to beat me.
Liam
Stepping out of the shower, I dry myself off and step into a pair of jeans. Sans t-shirt. I catch myself in the full length mirror and chuckle at seeing my jeans hang low on my hips. Bambi loves the way they fall. I run one hand over my abs, loving how they affect my girl. All the running and working on the cars has kept me in pretty good shape over the years. Also being a roadie keeps you active, loading and unloading all the band equipment. I shake my head and go to find Knox, I run the towel over my hair drying it as I search for the little guy. Bambi and Connie are picking us up in about an hour, and we are going to
spend the day at the pool. I love seeing the kids play and enjoying themselves, being free. Plus, what kind of bloke would I be if I wasn't happy to see my gorgeous girlfriend wear a sexy as sin bikini?
I just need to rein in my dick’s control, it has a mind of its own around her. I let him loose when we are locked behind the closed door but in public, that is kinda frowned upon. I walk through the kitchen and hear Knox talking in the garden. Who the hell is he talking to, out there? I hear a woman’s voice and it isn’t Bambi, I would know her voice anywhere. As I get closer, I see who he is talking to and my body goes rigid. I blink a few times just to make sure I am seeing who I am seeing.
What the fuck is she doing here?
How the hell did she find us?
She lifts her head and offers me a small smile, I don’t return it. I want her fucking gone. Now.
“Dude, go upstairs and stay there until I call you down.” He spins around to face me, confusion all over his face. “Now,” I say a little too harshly.
“Okay.” He runs upstairs without looking back.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I spit at her. Pain flashes across her once beautiful face. Yeah, she is pretty, but I could never have had deeper feelings for her, I never lied to Penny about that. With Bambi I can feel it deep in my heart that she is the one for me. I am done fucking around. This lad right here is settling down. I look Shelly up and down and she does look good. Better than the last time I saw her. She looked like shit after she gave birth to Knox, little did I know she was high as a fucking kite.
“I wanted to talk to you about meeting my son,” she answers sheepishly. She had the cheek to look hurt and embarrassed. She left him, she should feel the hurt of not seeing the boy he has grown up to be. I am damn fucking proud of that boy.