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Liam hesitated. ‘You don’t have to. I’ve been happy to help at the house.’
‘And I’m happy to help you, too. I’ve got tomorrow to give Driftwood its final touches before the Eppings descend, and it’ll be nice to see a few people, to be honest. It gets a bit lonely up there on my own.’
Liam nodded because he knew all about being lonely. ‘How’s the search for J going?’
Rosie’s smile faltered. ‘I’ve done a bit more discreet digging and have eliminated a few men from the list. They’re either too young, too old, or only moved to Heaven’s Cove recently. The rest don’t look that promising, to be honest, but I don’t have time to pursue it.’
‘I’ve made a couple of discreet enquiries myself, but couldn’t Matt give you a hand? He could do a bit of searching online.’
‘He’s quite supportive when we talk on the phone but he’s too busy to spend time sorting out my business.’
Matt was a self-centred idiot, thought Liam, trying to keep his expression neutral. If Deanna had been so upset and in need of help, he’d have given it. He’d also have moved heaven and earth to be with her, rather than whining from a thousand miles away.
‘Anyway.’ Rosie smiled. ‘Would you like me to stay and help for a while?’
She’d already started pushing purple sprouting broccoli into a bag for a new customer so it seemed churlish to turn down her offer.
Liam nodded. ‘That would be helpful. Thanks.’
At first it was awkward, having Rosie with him behind the stall. There wasn’t much room and they performed a peculiar dance to avoid bumping into each other. But after a while she seemed to relax – he supposed he did too – and the occasional arm brush as they served customers went unremarked.
When the sun climbed in the sky, it grew warmer and even Rosie ditched her jumper as the stream of shoppers continued.
‘Phew, it’s quite full-on, isn’t it?’ remarked Rosie during a brief lull.
‘It’s not always this manic. The good weather has brought everyone out, so it’s fortunate you’re here to help.’
‘It’s good for me, too, to think about something else for a while.’
‘Something other than the house and your mum.’
‘Yeah, and my dad. The man I’ve always thought of as my dad. I’ve been thinking a lot about him these past few days. I wish I’d known the truth so I could have thanked him for kind of adopting me. After he cheated on my mum and left us, I was furious and not very nice to him for ages, but he didn’t let on even then that I wasn’t his.’
When Rosie pushed hair from her eyes, Liam noticed dark shadows along the underside of her arm.
‘What’s that?’
He caught her hand and turned her arm over. Ugly purple bruises were blooming from her inner elbow almost to her shoulder.
‘It’s nothing.’ She tried to snatch her hand away but Liam held on tight. ‘I fell off the ladder yesterday while I was painting the coving in the hall.’
‘Hell, Rosie, you’ve got to be careful. I bet that hurt.’
‘It’s fine, though it smarted a bit.’
She was trying to sound upbeat but her voice caught and something twisted in Liam’s heart. Rosie stared at his hand while he traced his fingers gently across her soft, bruised skin. And when she lifted her eyes to his face, Liam glimpsed a vulnerability he hadn’t seen before. The hubbub of the market, the wash of the waves and the screech of seagulls faded away as his fingers rested on her skin.
‘I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.’
Liam dropped his hand to find Katrina staring at him with one perfectly arched eyebrow raised. She picked up a cabbage and held it out, across the stall. ‘These look lovely, Liam. I’ll have some of the spinach as well. I’m into smoothies right now. They do wonders for my complexion. Talking of which, look at your freckles, Rosie! You really need to keep slathering on the sun cream or you’ll have skin like leather by the time you’re forty.’
Liam knew he was often oblivious to subtext. He’d never really bothered with it in the past. He was an upfront, in your face kind of person. But only an idiot would be unaware that Katrina was being unkind, and Rosie was certainly aware of the weight behind her words.
When she pulled down her ponytail and let her hair swing in front of her face, annoyance lodged in Liam’s chest. Katrina was absolutely beautiful, well-off – thanks to her divorce settlement – and clearly had the hots for him, if her flirting was anything to go by. But she could be bitchy at times.
‘I’d better get going,’ said Rosie, taking off her apron and folding it before passing it back.
‘Are you short-handed, Liam?’ Katrina leant across the vegetables in her low-cut top. ‘No worries ’cos I’ll help you out for a while.’
