Liam glanced up at her, frowning darkly. ‘Of course I’ll be back, Bobby. And when I do—’
‘You’ll never come back,’ Bobby cried, shaking his head, his face flushed with emotion. ‘My daddy went away and he never came back!’ He was breathing hard in his agitation.
Laura swallowed hard, feeling tears sting her eyes. ‘Bobby, this isn’t the same at all.’ She made a move towards him, only to come to a halt as he began to back away from her towards the door. ‘Daddy was ill, Bobby. You know that,’ she told him huskily. ‘He didn’t want to go away. He just didn’t have any choice,’ she said emotionally.
‘Liam has a choice—and he’s still going away!’ Bobby accused stubbornly, glaring at Liam now. ‘I thought you liked me,’ he declared chokingly.
Liam had straightened, frowning his consternation at Bobby’s reaction. ‘I do like you, Bobby. I’ll only be gone for a short time, I promise you—’
‘No.’ Bobby was shaking his head in disbelief, his hand on the doorhandle now. ‘Take your old kite with you! I don’t want it any more!’ came his parting shot as he wrenched open the door. The sound of his feet running up the stairs could be heard seconds later.
Laura was stunned. Shocked. Dismayed.
Where had all that come from?
She had spent hours with Bobby after Robert’s death, explaining about his father’s illness, how Robert hadn’t wanted to leave them, that his heart had just given up under the strain. From Bobby’s outburst just now she felt she couldn’t have got through to him at all.
She dropped down heavily into one of the armchairs before her shaking legs refused to hold her up any more. ‘I—’ She swallowed hard, holding a hand up to her stricken face as her lips began to tremble. ‘Oh…!’ She buried her face in her hands as the tears began to fall.
This was too much, just too much, after the strain of the last few days!
‘Laura!’ Liam came to sit on the arm of her chair, gathering her up into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. ‘Bobby didn’t mean any of that, you know,’ he soothed, after letting her cry for several minutes. ‘He’s just hurting right now, hitting out.’
She shook her head. ‘I had no idea he felt abandoned after Robert’s death. I—I thought he understood.’ She sighed shakily. ‘I must go to him.’
Liam’s arms tightened about her as she would have got up. ‘Leave him for a few minutes,’ he advised. ‘At the moment he’s so angry, at both of us, that he might say something in the heat of the moment that he will bitterly regret.’ Liam looked down at her ruefully. ‘One thing’s for sure, your decision concerning transient friends in your life seems to have been the right one!’
Laura felt a jolt in her chest. Transient friend? Was that what Liam was?
‘No, it isn’t,’ Liam firmly answered her unasked question. ‘You know that isn’t what I want at all.’
Did she? Not really. Liam had shown her—all too clearly!—that he would like to resume some sort of relationship with her, but she had no idea what he had in mind!
He was right about one thing: she had been right to try and protect Bobby from being hurt again by coming to care for a man who was simply going to walk out of his life when he felt like it…
Although until the last few minutes she had been completely unaware of how Bobby felt deserted by Robert.
‘I really must go up to him,’ she said firmly, releasing herself from Liam’s arms to stand up, smoothing down the shortness of her hair before turning back to him. ‘I think it might be better if you had already left when Bobby comes back downstairs.’
Liam looked up at her searchingly. ‘I will be coming back, you know, Laura,’ he told her.
Her mouth quirked humourlessly. ‘Well, I suppose that possibility is more than you gave me eight years ago,’ she said bitterly.
His expression tightened, his eyes flashing deeply blue. ‘Is it…?’
She eyed him warily. ‘Isn’t it?’ she challenged defensively.
He stood up abruptly. ‘I have some business to attend to in Ireland—’
‘Business, Liam?’ she echoed tauntingly. ‘Would that be business of the female kind?’
He drew in a harsh breath at her deliberately insulting tone. ‘I realise you’re upset at the moment, Laura.’ Otherwise she wouldn’t be getting away with this so easily, his own tone implied! ‘And as it happens, yes, it’s of the “female kind” it’s my mother’s sixtieth birthday on Wednesday. We’re having a surprise family party for her. Obviously I have to be there,’ he added dryly.
‘Obviously,’ Laura echoed, wondering how Mary O’Reilly would react if presented with the biggest surprise in her life: her grandson, Bobby!
‘You could always come with me.’
She looked up at Liam sharply, wondering if her own thoughts could possibly have been reflected on her face. Liam steadily returned her searching gaze, giving away none of his own thoughts.
‘And Bobby, of course.’
‘I don’t think so, thank you,’ Laura replied dismissively, her hands clenched so tightly at her sides her fingernails were digging painfully into the palms. ‘As you said, it’s a family party.’ She looked across at him challengingly.
‘As I said…’ He gave an acknowledging inclination of his head. ‘In view of Bobby’s upset, I’ll be coming back on Thursday, Laura. And when I get back I think we need to talk. I mean really talk.’
‘I—’
‘Don’t you?’ he queried pointedly.
No, she didn’t! But if she knew anything about Liam—and she knew a great deal!—she knew she wouldn’t have much choice in the matter!
Did he know Bobby was his son? Did he know, one hundred percent certain, that he was Bobby’s father? And, if he did, why didn’t he just come right out and say so?
Now was the perfect time for Liam to launch into his attack, when she was already feeling utterly defeated by Bobby’s emotional outburst. So why didn’t he…?
Liam shook his head as he watched the emotions flickering across her face. ‘I’m not the man you thought I was eight years ago, Laura,’ he told her. ‘Then I tried to act noble—and ended up being completely the opposite! This time around I’m determined to succeed.’
‘Noble?’ Laura repeated dazedly; it wasn’t a word she had ever associated with Liam! ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘No, I know you don’t.’ He gave a humourless smile. ‘But that’s part of what we need to talk about. I’ll get here on Thursday in time to speak to Bobby before he goes to bed; keep the rest of the evening free for me, Laura.’
She moistened dry lips. ‘I—’
‘Go up and talk to Bobby now,’ he continued firmly. ‘Tell him I’m coming back. And make him believe it,’ he added grimly.
How could she be expected to do that when she wasn’t sure she believed it herself…?
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘FINISHED?’ She looked questioningly at her son as he left half the pizza that she had ordered for him on his plate.
Since their talk on Monday evening Bobby had been very quiet. He had seemed to accept what she’d said about Robert, and why he had died, but at the same time had not quite believed what she’d said about Liam’s intention of coming back today.
Maybe because she still wasn’t sure she believed that herself…!
Liam had telephoned her from the airport on Tuesday morning before his plane took off, wanting to know how her talk with Bobby had gone. Not that she’d been able to reassure Liam too much on that point; Bobby just wasn’t giving away his feelings at the moment.
Other than that brief telephone call from Liam she had heard nothing from him the last three days, had no idea whether or not he still intended coming to the house this evening. It was a point Bobby was well aware of; the first question he had asked when he’d woken up this morning was had she heard from Liam? Which she hadn’t. And still hadn’t, as the day progressed.
Which was one of the reasons she had
decided to take Bobby out for a pizza after school, hoping to take his mind off Liam’s proposed visit. Although, from Bobby’s lack of appetite, she might as well not have bothered!
‘Finished. Can we go home now?’ he asked eagerly.
She gave a weak smile. ‘Of course.’ She stood up to pay the bill, feeling an ache in her chest at Bobby’s obviously suppressed excitement; he was just too afraid to dare to outwardly anticipate that Liam would keep his promise.
Laura knew the feeling.
Only too well!
But this bewildered pain was exactly what she hadn’t wanted for Bobby, was the reason she would have preferred Liam and Bobby never to meet. Of course, she couldn’t have anticipated the invisible bond that had come into existence between the two of them from the moment they had met, but she had known enough not to want even to take the risk of the two of them forming an attachment. Because it was a risk. To Bobby’s fragile emotions…
But, after doing everything in her power to prevent the two of them ever meeting, she had bowed to the fact that they had, that there was nothing she could do about the fact they actually liked each other. What she would do was personally strangle Liam if he let Bobby down this evening!
Bobby could barely contain his excitement on the drive back to the house. Laura was relieved at having the concentration of driving herself, for a change, to keep her own mind from dwelling on the possibility of Liam’s arrival. In fact, she had chosen to drive herself for that very reason.
Bobby waited barely long enough for her to bring the car to a halt in front of the house before jumping out and running in, leaving the front door wide open as he did so. Laura followed at a more leisurely pace, reluctant to feel the sting of her own disappointment as well as Bobby’s.
‘What kept you, Mrs Shipley?’ drawled an achingly familiar voice as she entered the hallway.
She couldn’t help it; her pulse rate quickened at the sound of Liam’s voice, her eyes glowing with pleasure as she looked up at him standing only feet away with a grinning Bobby held up in his arms.
Her breath caught in her throat as she realised how right they looked together. But it wasn’t with that wariness she had felt from the moment she met Liam again over a week ago, this was something completely different…
She was still in love with Liam!
Had she ever stopped…?
She had thought she had, had believed, when she’d finally accepted Liam had left her eight years ago, that her love for him had died too. But looking at him now, so achingly familiar, his eyes smiling into hers, their son held in his arms, Laura knew that she had never stopped being in love with Liam, that she had only buried that emotion deep in her heart, never to be looked at again.
Except Liam was back…
‘He came back, Mummy.’ Bobby’s words echoed her chaotic thoughts.
She swallowed hard, inwardly struggling to behave naturally, even if she did feel like screaming at the painful discovery she had just made. ‘So he did,’ she acknowledged lightly, concentrating on putting her bag down on the hall table so that she no longer had to look at Liam.
How could she have continued to love him all this time?
How could she not? came the next instant thought; every time she looked at Bobby, the son she loved above everyone and everything else in life, her love for Liam, the man he resembled so strongly, became more deeply entrenched in her heart.
‘Okay, Laura?’
She looked up to find Liam looking at her concernedly. But how could everything be okay when she had just realised her love for this man?
She swallowed hard, avoiding that searching blue gaze. ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll leave you two to chat while I go up and change.’
Liam continued to look at her frowningly for several long seconds before giving a barely perceptible shrug. ‘Don’t be long; I’ve brought you back a piece of my mother’s birthday cake.’
Wonderful—it would probably choke her!
She fled up the stairs, throwing herself dazedly down on her bed once she reached her room. She was still in love with Liam! Unbelievable. Incredible. Impossible!
Oh, Liam had made it more than obvious that he still found her attractive, that he would be happy for the two of them to have some sort of relationship. But too much had happened in the last eight years, to both of them, for them ever to be able to start all over again.
Besides, there was still Bobby…
Bobby was Liam’s son, as well as her own. When Liam had left her life so suddenly eight years ago…had married another woman within weeks of leaving…Laura had known, once she found out, that she couldn’t contact him to tell him she was pregnant; she simply hadn’t wanted him in her life, in any guise, under those terms.
But what of Bobby’s life? Her decision had meant that neither Bobby or Liam knew of the other’s existence.
There was no doubting that Robert had been a wonderful father to Bobby, but, given a choice, would Bobby rather have had his own father, even on a part-time basis? More to the point, how would Liam see, in the light of his unknowing absence in America, what she had chosen to do eight years ago?
He should never have left her in the way he had!
This wasn’t solving anything, she acknowledged heavily. She might still be angry with Liam for deserting her in the way that he had, but Liam might be just as angry with her at not being told of her pregnancy. Hadn’t he made a comment last week along the lines of not having made the mistakes in his own life over the last eight years if she had been his wife when he went to America…?
Laura sighed heavily, having no idea what she was going to do now. She was in love with the father of her son. Under other circumstances it would be the most natural way in the world for her to feel. Under these particular circumstances, it might be just as disastrous for her as loving Liam eight years ago had been.
What was she going to do?
Liam had told her that they needed to talk this evening, once Bobby had gone to bed. She was starting to dread what that conversation might be about!
‘Come and have some cake, Mummy,’ Bobby invited as soon as she entered the kitchen. A pot of coffee, and a plate of cake, were laid out on the wooden table. ‘It’s delicious!’
‘One of my sisters made it,’ Liam supplied, his expression indulgent as he watched Bobby enjoying his slice of cake. The little boy’s appetite had obviously returned.
‘Domesticity has never been my forte,’ Laura heard herself snap in reply, instantly cringing inwardly. It wasn’t Liam’s sister’s fault Laura had just discovered she was still in love with him!
Liam raised dark brows at her sharpness. ‘Tough day?’ he sympathised.
Laura felt the sting of tears in her eyes at the gentleness of his tone. The last thing she could cope with right now was Liam being kind to her! Especially when she had just so obviously been a bitch.
She gave an uninterested shrug, having changed into denims and a loose blue jumper. ‘No tougher than usual. Where’s Amy?’ She frowned at the absence of her housekeeper.
‘She said to tell you she had to pop out for a couple of things,’ Liam explained, still frowning slightly.
Probably because Laura had forgotten to mention to Amy there was a possibility of Liam being here for dinner this evening! Because she hadn’t wanted to end up looking a fool when he didn’t arrive.
‘You’re looking tired, Laura.’ Liam looked at her concernedly. ‘Do you have to work so hard?’
Her eyes flashed her resentment as she glared across the room at him. ‘I have a business to run!’
He nodded slowly. ‘And a child to look after and a home,’ he elaborated.
None of those things were the reason she looked so tired; the truth of the matter was she hadn’t slept well since Liam had left on Monday evening. And she hadn’t even realised she was still in love with him then!
‘Liam, in this day and age lots of women have a bigger workload to cope with than I do,’ she replied.
&
nbsp; ‘But probably not as much lone responsibility,’ he persisted. ‘From what I’ve observed you’re a working single mother, and Shipley’s is a big company to run—’
‘The art department have started work on the cover of your book, by the way,’ she interrupted brightly. ‘I think you’ll be pleased with it.’
‘I’m sure I will,’ he dismissed uninterestedly. ‘Come and sit down, Laura, and I’ll pour you a cup of coffee.’
Laura sat. Not because Liam had told her to, but because she was still deeply shaken by the realisation she was in love with him.
Bobby, she could see at a glance, looked happier than he had in days. Obviously because of Liam’s presence. What was she going to do?
‘Stop worrying so much,’ Liam murmured at her side, reaching out to briefly squeeze her hand with his. ‘Things will work out.’
Would they? Would they really? Somehow she didn’t feel that Liam would still feel that way once he learnt the truth. And a part of her said she now owed him and Bobby that, at least…
It was at times like this that she wished she had an older sister she could talk to, or a close friend she could confide in. But, as Liam had already pointed out, her life was kept busy enough being Bobby’s mother and running Shipley Publishing. The closest she came to having a female friend was Amy, and because Amy had worked for over twenty years for Robert Laura knew she would feel slightly disloyal talking to the other woman about her feelings for Liam.
‘I’ll go upstairs to my room and get my kite,’ Bobby said excitedly, having devoured two slices of birthday cake.
Laura watched her son leave the room, all the time wishing that he hadn’t. She had no idea what she was going to say to Liam now that they were alone.
She sipped her coffee, warming her hands around the cup; for some reason she felt incredibly cold. ‘Did you have a nice time with your family in Ireland?’ She tried to pick an innocuous subject to talk about; they had hours to get through before Bobby went to bed and the two of them could have that talk.
‘I missed you and Bobby,’ Liam came back—instantly turning the conversation back into intimacy.
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