disappear when it suited him, never to be heard from again?
She shuddered just at the thought of going through that again. Not again.
Never again!
‘Laura!’ Liam reached her side in two long strides, having watched the emotions flickering across her face, reaching out to grasp her shoulders, shaking her slightly as she refused to look up at him. ‘Won’t you at least give me a chance to try to make amends for—?’
‘No!’ she finally gasped, shaking her head in firm denial as she glared up at him. ‘I like my life just the way it is, Liam. I do not want you around, with your egotistical arrogance, cluttering it up!’ She was deliberately nasty, wanting to put an emotional barrier between them even if, with Liam’s close proximity, she couldn’t get a physical one.
He became very still, looking down at her searchingly. ‘You lied to me yesterday morning, Laura,’ he finally said heavily, his hands slowly dropping away from her shoulders.
She shivered involuntarily at the removal of that warmth. ‘In what way did I lie?’ she challenged hardly, afraid of what his answer might be. If he were referring to Bobby—!
He drew in a harsh breath, grim lines beside his nose and mouth. ‘You do hate me,’ he said tonelessly. ‘But I can assure you it’s no more than I hate myself for the idiot I was eight years ago.’
He wasn’t talking about Bobby! Her relief at this realisation superceded everything else.
‘I didn’t lie, Liam,’ she told him, almost gently. ‘I really don’t hate you. But neither do I wish to be involved with you again,’ she added with finality.
Even if she might have some residual feelings left for Liam—and after the way she had responded to him yesterday morning she must have!—she must never lose sight of the fact that any involvement with him was a possible danger to her own relationship with Bobby.
‘Fair enough.’ Liam held his hands up in supplication.
Laura eyed him uncertainly. Had he accepted her decision just a little too readily to be sincere…?
Or was it her hurt pride that was reacting now? Surely she didn’t really want him to keep up this personal pursuit?
As she had already told Liam, there was no point. It might just be that part of her that was still smarting from his desertion eight years ago that felt a certain sense of satisfaction in the knowledge that their roles had now been reversed; Liam obviously wanted a relationship with her now, and she was the one repulsing him.
Not very nice sentiments, she inwardly rebuked. Not nice at all.
She put up a hand to her temple, which had begun to pound painfully. ‘I think, in the circumstances, I’ll give dinner a miss, if you don’t mind…?’
He nodded abruptly, eyes reflecting nothing but the room about them, his expression also unreadable. ‘I think that might be a good idea.’
Laura bent to pick up her evening bag from the table she had placed it on when she arrived. Such a short time ago. But a lot had happened in that half an hour or so. Primarily, Liam was once again going out of her life.
She should be glad. Should feel nothing but relief at having the pressure of his presence removed from her life once and for all.
She paused beside the door. ‘What do you intend doing about the book, Liam?’ She looked at him with inquisitive eyes.
He shrugged. ‘You’ve assured me Perry is an excellent editor; I have no reason to doubt you.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You’re agreeable to his being your editor now? To Shipley publishing your book?’ She couldn’t quite believe this easy acquiescence. It wasn’t like the Liam she knew at all!
His mouth twisted into a humourless smile. ‘I’m not as completely unreasonable as you seem to think I am.’
No, but he had gone to so much trouble to try and achieve his own way, had even involved the newspapers—something he had told her he didn’t want under any circumstances. There was definitely something not quite right about this!
‘Liam—’
‘Laura?’ he came back smoothly.
Her feelings of unease increased. He was too smooth, too calm, too everything! ‘You’ll come in to see Perry on Monday?’
‘I will,’ he agreed, sounding very Irish. ‘After which I have to return to Ireland.’
Not only was he agreeing to accept Perry as his editor, but he was removing himself from London—and her life—as well. There had to be a catch in this somewhere!
‘I wish you had looked this pleased to see me again!’ Liam chuckled self-derisively at her obvious relief at his going. ‘I will be back, Laura. There are still things to do concerning the book.’
Yes, but she didn’t have to be involved in them now…
Why didn’t she leave? She had said she was going to, and yet she had made no effort yet to open the door and go.
Possibly because she felt that once she left here tonight she would never see this particular Liam again. The professional writer Liam O’Reilly, yes, but not this man who had pursued her so relentlessly the last few days.
Oh, she didn’t know what she wanted any more! She had been telling Liam for those same few days that she wasn’t interested in renewing their past relationship, yet now that he had accepted her decision she hesitated about leaving him.
She set her shoulders determinedly. ‘Goodbye, Liam,’ she told him firmly.
‘Goodbye, Laura.’ His expression was still unreadable.
Her feet felt as if they were weighted down by lead, her movements slow and sluggish. But finally she managed to open the door and walk out into the hotel corridor, closing the door firmly behind her.
And closing the door to that compartment of her heart that contained her repressed feelings for Liam—the door he had been trying so hard to prise open…!
CHAPTER TEN
‘I CAN’T believe I slept until this time!’ Laura exclaimed self-disgustedly as she entered the kitchen at ten o’clock the next morning to find Amy already preparing the vegetables for lunch.
Amy turned to give her a warm smile. ‘You obviously needed the rest,’ she volunteered.
No, it hadn’t been that at all. When Laura had arrived home shortly after nine o’clock last night she had gone straight to her bedroom. But not to sleep. Not that she hadn’t tried to sleep, to push everything but Bobby and her work from her mind. But memories of Liam, both from the past and the present, had kept intruding, making it impossible for her to relax enough to go to sleep. Consequently it had been the early hours of the morning before she’d fallen into a fitful slumber, resulting in her completely oversleeping this morning.
‘Where’s Bobby?’ She had checked his bedroom before coming downstairs, and the morning room on her way past, expecting
