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Standing in the cramped kitchen I’m reminded of the day he came back to me; the rock star appearing at a five-year-old’s birthday party to fulfil a promise. He didn’t come back to fix a single mum’s situation, he came back to see Cerys. The intense attraction I have to this man who’s an unreal mix of gentle and passionate is undeniable. In the short time that’s passed since he returned, my life has transformed.
“I love you,” I say quietly.
Liam doesn’t need to say the words because the silent communication between our hearts speaks for us. When his mouth touches mine, I sigh into the kiss annoyed with myself for almost screwing up the best thing in my life since Ella. Liam holds me in a warmth and comfort I’ve never had before and could never imagine coming from anybody else.
Wrapped together I understand what he means about coming home; anywhere I am with Liam is where I should be. If we’d had this short conversation days ago I could’ve avoided the tears and worry. Why did I push so hard against something so right?
We order an Indian takeaway, back to weirdly ordinary things in our weirdly unordinary life. The rock star and the single mum sharing curry in front of the TV. Liam loves these moments. He’s told me he’d swap a glitzy awards show or celebrity party for a night in with me any day and I believe him. The tensions between us ebbed as quickly as they flooded in the other day, but one topic remains.
As I clear up Ella’s mess in the lounge room, Liam watches. “Heard any more from your ex?”
“We had an argument last time he brought Ella home from their day together.” I grab a handful of Lego and shove the bricks into the box. “He’s demanding I let her stay over with him, but I’m not ready to do that yet. When we were together and Craig went out, he often stayed over at a mates if he was too drunk to get home. I’m scared he won’t be there if Ella wakes in the night, in a strange place.”
“Craig wouldn’t go out and leave her, surely.”
I focus on tidying the toys. “I don’t know. Probably not, but I’m not ready to let her go…”
Liam kneels beside me and touches my arm. “I’m sure this will get sorted. Think about what he did at Christmas. The court will be on your side and he’ll wish he went to bloody mediation instead.”
“I don’t want to talk or think about him, Liam.”
“Okay.”
I sit back on my heels and touch Liam’s leg. “Why would I want to think about him? Screw Craig and his custody issues; you’re part of my life and there’s nothing about you that makes you bad for my daughter.”
“I’m glad to hear,” he says and helps throw some Lego in the box. “Can we make up properly now?”
I pull an exasperated face at him.
“What?” Liam fakes an innocent expression. “You said you didn’t want to think about him.” I tug him by the t-shirt toward me. “Then I guess Ella will get to see you in the morning.”
