“Liam.” Grace nodded, her tone frigid. Liam raised an eyebrow at that and then turned to look at Dylan in question.
“Grace, be nice.”
“Well, the man’s made false accusations against my best friend,” Grace sniffed, examining a chip in her nail.
“I thought you weren’t speaking to Fi,” Dylan said. “Now you’re mad at Liam on her behalf?”
“I can be mad at the both of them at the same time. It’s my wedding week, isn’t it?”
“Ours, darling. It’s our wedding week.” Dylan laughed and squeezed her arm.
“You’d better fix this with Fi. I can’t be dealing with this drama before the wedding.” Grace narrowed her eyes at Liam. Never one to be cowed by an angry woman, Liam just lifted his chin.
“I don’t have to be fixing anything, Grace. She’s landed herself in her own trouble.”
“Be that as it may, it’s not for the reasons you’re thinking,” Grace began, but Dylan interrupted.
“Let’s throttle back a moment. First, would you like a pint?”
“Of course,” Liam said, and Grace slid from the booth to go get him a drink.
“Listen, Gracie is in a real snit about all this, so tread carefully, okay?”
“I am not in a snit,” Grace said, materializing back by the table, her hands on her hips.
“Damn, you move like a cat. And I know a snit when I see one.” Dylan held up a hand to stem the flow of words bound to come out of Grace’s mouth. “Let’s just hear what Liam has to say. First of all, how did it go in Spain?”
“The authorities were very cooperative. It appears they’ve had their eye on Luis for a while now due to various other shady business dealings, but they haven’t had any ironclad proof. And this all lines up with my feelings about him all along.”
“And the authorities are going to go after him?”
“Absolutely. I supplied them with the contracts we signed – I’d scanned them with an app on my phone when I signed them – and they were able to see the changes that were made after the fact. Unfortunately for us, he’s left town.”
“No idea where he is?”
“Monte Carlo’s the word. They’re working with the police there and hope to arrest him later today. If not, it’s just going to take time to bring him in.”
“What will happen to his company?” Grace asked. They looked up when Cait appeared with a tray with a round of drinks on it.
“Liam.” Cait nodded, her tone stiff.
“Cait, nice to see you.”
“I wish I could say the same for you,” Cait said, and for a brief second, Liam feared she might dump the pint in her hand over his head.
“What did I do?” Liam demanded.
“My girl’s up there, refusing to leave her flat. Because of you.”
“It’s not because of me – it’s because she’s mad that she got taken for a ride,” Liam scoffed.
“Were you or were you not rude to my daughter?” Cait’s voice had sharpened to steel.
Liam braced his shoulders. “I might have been rude, but I was protecting Dylan’s company.”
“Then you need to apologize.”
“Me? I will do no such thing,” Liam began, but Dylan interjected.
“Cait, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Dylan said, wincing as her steely gaze speared him, “but I’m just getting the report on what the police had to say. We can get to personal once business is concluded, if you don’t mind.”
“I’ve got my eye on you,” Cait said, pointing a finger at Liam before she stomped away.
“How have I become the bad guy here?” Liam held up his hands.
“Oh, let me count the ways,” Grace began.
Dylan slapped his hand on the table, making her jump. “Stop. Seriously, stop. Business first.”
“The owner of the company has fired Luis and is returning from his yacht in Greece. He’s also cooperating fully with the authorities, and hopes that you’ll still consider doing business once they’ve done a full audit of all employees. And he did mean all – from the top all the way down to the janitor who sweeps the floors at night. I liked him, for what it’s worth. I think he was genuinely shocked by all this. He’s grown lax with his company, getting on in age, and this was an eye-opener that he needs a firmer hand on the reins.”
“I’ll take that into consideration. Can you set up a meeting to discuss for next month?”
“I’ll do that,” Liam said, blowing out a breath and then taking a long sip of his drink. “Business concluded?”
“For now, yes.”
“So,” Grace began, but Liam held up a hand to shush her. A storm washed over her face, but he didn’t care.
“I know I was harsh with Fi.”
“You were horrible, from the sounds of it.”
“I can be worse,” Liam promised.
“That’s not helping,” Dylan whispered, then shut himself up at Grace’s look. It was her turn to run the show.
“Do you honestly think that Fi has it in her to manipulate and cheat someone? Her best friend’s fiancé? I’m shocked, honestly shocked, you would think that of her.” Grace’s expression turned to wounded on behalf of her friend.
“I understand your feelings,” Liam began and held up a hand when Grace looked to interrupt him, “But I allowed personal feelings to mix with business. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I exploded on her.”
“You know Cait.” Grace nodded to the bar. “You’ve seen how she runs this establishment. Do you think she would raise a liar of a daughter?”
“No,” Liam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, I do not. After I calmed down I realized that I may have made assumptions.”
“She didn’t know, Liam. Truly. She explained what happened – how Luis slipped into the room and asked her to change a clause. She didn’t even understand what she was changing. Fi just thought it was a clause you two had discussed. She doesn’t know enough about the business to even understand how that would have impacted the bottom line.”
“I get that now.” Liam sighed again.
“She’s worked incredibly hard to build her reputation as a reliable and trustworthy interpreter. She works with high-level clients all around the world. Even a whisper of shady dealings could destroy everything she’s worked for. Why would she put her life on the line like that?” Grace asked.
“I get it, I get it, I get it,” Liam groaned. “Listen, a part of me just flashed back to when I found out I was being taken for a ride. My feelings… well, my feelings for Fi run deep. And it all overlapped and got confused in my head. I felt like I was being taken advantage of again. Like I couldn’t trust my own instincts with women.”
“It’s not like that,” Grace promised, this time reaching out to squeeze his hand. “I promise you.”
“I’ve been an arse,” Liam concluded.
“Make it right,” Cait said simply, appearing over Liam’s shoulder and making him jump. She brandished a key in front of Grace. “Both of you. You too, Gracie. You owe her an apology.”
“I –!” Grace glanced at Liam and shut her mouth.
“What did you do?” Liam said, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
“None of your business,” Grace griped.
“Now who’s being a child?” Liam murmured, and jumped again when Cait snapped her fingers.
“Both of you. Now. Go make it right. Don’t set foot in this pub until you do.”
“But…” Grace said, looking to Dylan.
“He can stay. You two are officially kicked out.”
Liam glared at Dylan’s wide grin and slid from the table with Grace at his side.
“I feel like I just got scolded by my teacher.”
“She’s much scarier than a teacher. Do what she says,” Grace whispered. Then, together, they hustled out of the pub to rescue Fi from her self-imposed prison.
Chapter 36
Fi started at the sound of her door opening and jumped up from where she’d curled,
once again, on her window seat.
“Liam!” Fi gasped, instantly looking down at herself and then at Liam, looking gorgeous as ever, standing in her doorway. She hadn’t showered in three days; she was certain she’d dropped some sort of food down her shirt – or were those coffee stains? – and hadn’t put on deodorant in a while. Not her best look, Fi decided, but straightened her shoulders.
“You can’t just barge into my flat, Liam. That’s breaking and entering,” Fi sniffed, even though her pulse picked up and her heart did a little bumpy shiver in her chest.
“Is it? Entering, maybe, but I have the key – given to me by your mum. So, I guess not technically breaking. Though I don’t mean to scare you.” Liam stepped inside and closed the door gently behind him. Leaning against the wall by the door, he crossed his arms and stared at her.
“That’s it? You’re just going to stare me down?” Fi fidgeted with the hem of her T-shirt, desperately wishing she could see what she looked like right now.
“I…” Liam cleared his throat. “It appears I may owe you an apology.”
“Oh, is that right?” Fi said, sticking her nose in the air, though she feared any attempt at trying to look dignified was lost in view of her ratty sweatpants and fuzzy hot pink pig socks.
“Aye, that’s right. It has come to my attention that perhaps you didn’t actually know about Luis’ fraud.”
“Perhaps I didn’t? Or actually I didn’t?” Fi demanded.
“Actually you didn’t.”
“Correct. I did not. I would never, never, have hurt my best friend’s fiancé that way. Hell, Liam, any company I worked for. I don’t even have to have a relation to them.”
“I’m sorry. Ah, Fi, I screwed up. I let my own feelings blind me and I just… I just saw red, I did. It takes a lot for my temper to boil over, but when it does… I just can’t be seeing straight.”
“You had no right, no right, to accuse me of what you did.” Fi jabbed a finger in the air.
“I know. And I’m sorry, I am. I can only hope you’ll forgive me. Will you accept my apology?”
“I can accept your apology,” Fi said, shrugging a shoulder, “But I can’t forget how you made me feel.”
“Och, that’s a sting to me heart,” Liam said, rubbing his chest. He stayed where he was, correctly guessing that Fi wouldn’t allow him close to her.
“You hurt me,” Fi whispered, doing her best not to let tears well up. “That you would think that? Of me? It’s… awful. And you were so willing to believe I’d be that person. That hurts more than anything. I understand everyone makes mistakes. I truly do. But you believed that of me. Which means you don’t really know me at all.”
“You haven’t given me much of a chance to know you, have you, Fi?”
“Oh, this is my fault, is it? Don’t be trying to put this on me, Liam,” Fi seethed, beginning to pace in the room as she warmed to the topic. “This is about your issues, not mine.”
“I’d say it’s both of ours.” Liam held up his hands when she glared at him, “Fine. I’ll start. You know how broken I was after my ex-girlfriend screwed me over. You know I was about to propose to her. It took me a long time to trust again after that – hell, I’m not sure I actually have fully trusted someone since then.”
“I know she hurt you.”
“And I thought… with you… well…”
“Well, what?” Fi crossed her arms across her chest, hoping to cover up most of the stains.
“I guess I saw myself being able to trust again. I liked that you didn’t play games with me. You weren’t coy or manipulative and you said things to me straight. I appreciated that in you. And… I like you, Fi. I genuinely like you.”
“But you were willing to believe the worst of me.”
“I guess, yeah. Because I did develop feelings for you. You scared me. The idea of you scared me. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman, a partner, and a best friend. I want to be around you. Spend time with you. Travel with you. It’s you that I want.”
Fi’s breath left in a whoosh.
“Liam…”
“I’m sorry I hurt you. I don’t know if you’ll be able to see past it or not, but I hope you can.”
“I understand your ex-girlfriend did a number on you. But you can’t hold everyone to that standard forever. You have to trust sometimes. And you don’t trust me,” Fi said sadly.
“And you don’t trust me. Not enough to let me all the way in. Not enough to try and work this out,” Liam shot back.
“That’s not fair. This isn’t about me – this is about you and your accusations.”
“Maybe so, but you’ve always held yourself back from me. And if you truly can say you don’t have feelings for me, that’s fine, I get it. But you haven’t been able to, and that’s not fair to me either.”
“You’re not wrong. Maybe I have kept you at a distance. I wanted to avoid all this. Everything’s a mess. I’m fighting with Grace. We’re fighting. Dylan’s in the middle. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. The messiness of it all. It’s why I always pick up and keep traveling and going… I’m not good with all these emotions and the back and forth. And it’s Grace’s wedding week! I should be there for her.”
“So be there for her. Can we… can we work this out? Tell me what you need, Fi.”
“I… okay.” Fi took a breath. “I forgive you, Liam. But I need some time. This week shouldn’t be about me. It needs to be about Grace and Dylan. I’m ready for us to go back to being mates.”
“Just mates?” Liam asked.
“It’s all I can give right now,” Fi said, her heart cracking at the sadness that swept his handsome features.
“I’ll respect your wishes then. There’s, ah, someone else here who wants to see you.”
Liam had barely said the words before Grace barreled into the room. Stopping, she wrinkled her nose at Fi’s appearance. “Ew.”
“I’ll just be letting myself out now. Grace, you’ll let me know if I can help with any planning this week. Fi, I’ll see you at the wedding.” Liam nodded, and with that he was gone.
When he left, Fi’s heart dropped, and she felt his absence keenly in her flat.
“You look like a hot mess,” Gracie said.
“Lovely, thanks for that,” Fi said, wary of another emotionally-charged discussion.
“Did you mean what you said? That this week is supposed to be about us?”
“It is, yeah.”
“Well then, why are you moping up here?”
“Um, because you betrayed my trust to Dylan?”
“Why are you so scared to show yourself to Liam? He’s scared but he told you how he felt. He’s right – you are a liar. You’re lying to yourself and to him. He doesn’t know the real you, and you’ve done that to yourself.”
“If you consider that an apology, you’ve got some work to do,” Fi said, her hands on her hips.
“Well? For feck’s sake, Fi!” Grace exploded. “Stop dancing around this! You have a good man out there. A man who will support you and partner with you. But you have to be honest with him. Stop hiding yourself from the world – from love – and live your damn life. It’s a gift not afforded to everyone!”
“Again, your apology needs some work.” Stubborn, Fi held her ground, though Grace’s words made her stomach turn.
“Look, I’m sorry I told Dylan about you. I trust him with my life about… everything. He would never betray or hurt you. But you’re right, it wasn’t my secret to tell. That being said, you need to trust Liam. He knows about magick. He believes in it. He’ll love you more for it, probably.”
“I’ve never told anyone outside of our circle aside from he-who-shall-not-be-named,” Fi whispered, turning away to return to her comfort spot in the window seat. “What if he hates me? What man wants a life with a woman who can read his thoughts?”
“Um, your father for one, duh.” Grace shook her head at Fi and crossed to sit next to her. “Let’s be honest – wh
en you live with someone, when you love them, you can practically read their minds anyway. I promise you, if you give this a chance, you won’t regret it.”
“You can’t know that. I’m the prophetic one, remember?” Fi said, leaning over to bump her shoulder against Grace’s.
“And? I’m betting you’ve had a dream about this. What did it show you?”
At Fi’s mulish expression, Grace threw back her head and laughed.
“I think that’s all I need to know. Please don’t be mad at me anymore. I need you this week.”
“I’m not. I love you,” Fi said. She went to hug Grace, who instead pulled back and wrinkled her nose again.
“Maybe after you’ve showered.”
“Remind me why I’m your friend again?”
Chapter 37
The wedding day had arrived.
The rest of the week had passed in a blur of preparation for Grace and Dylan’s big day, and Fi had barely had time to talk to her own mother, let alone Liam. Oh, she saw him periodically, but it was always with a group of people around them. True to his word, he treated her as a friend and kept a respectful distance. Fi hadn’t known the difference between Liam showing an interest in her and Liam just as a friend, but she found that she missed the Liam she knew. The Liam she had grown used to would throw her little looks, or smile at her periodically even when someone else was talking, and there was just an extra sparkle to his attention to her. Now, it was like someone had turned the light off and he was flat and polite with her.
Which was what she’d asked for, Fi reminded herself.
“Fi, it’s your turn for hair and makeup,” Grace called. Fi shook her head and headed into Grace’s bedroom in the cottage which had become wedding central.
“Oh, Grace, you look lovely,” Fi breathed. Grace’s hair had been pulled half back in an intricate braid, with a ribbon woven through it. The rest was left to tumble down her shoulder, and a floral crown would complete the look once she was in her dress.
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