I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I don’t know what to do.”
He nodded slowly. “Alright. Well, if you want my completely unsolicited advice, you have two options: let it go, or make her see she’s wrong.”
I scowled at him. “Yeah? And how the fuck do I do that?”
Liam dragged a hand down his face, considering. “Dunno. Never been in love with my nanny before.”
I groaned, tipping my head back, eyes on the ceiling. “You’re fucking useless.”
“I’m fucking brilliant,” he said, “but you’re the one who’s useless right now. You think too much, mate. That’s your problem.”
My head snapped forward. I scowled at him. “That’s the problem? Not the part where she’s actively avoiding me like I’ve got a contagious disease?”
It had been awkward since Singapore. Three days, and she’d barely looked at me and hadn’t said more than two words to me unless it was about Hazel.
“Yeah. ’Cause if she really wanted nothing to do with you, she’d have quit. Packed up, left a note on the counter, vanished into thin air.” He slapped me on the shoulder, getting far too excited now. “But she’s still there. She’s still looking after Hazel.”
“She needs the job,” I muttered.
Liam hummed. “That can’t be the only reason.”
I wanted to agree. Wanted to believe it. It would be easier than letting my mind wander to the alternative.
“But she’s still there.”
I shot him a look. “You already said that.”
“Yeah, and I’m saying it again because you’re not listening to me.” He tilted his head. “She. Didn’t. Leave. She’s still sleeping in your spare room, still taking care of Hazel, still navigatingyour disaster of a life. If she really believed what happened was a mistake, wouldn’t it be easier for her to do the bare minimum? Clock in, clock out, never get too close?”
I rubbed a hand down my face, feeling the pull of exhaustion deep in my bones. “That’s exactly what she’s doing.”
“Is it?” Liam leaned in, his expression sharp now. “Or is she trying so hard to pretend it didn’t happen because it did mean something?”
I shook my head. “This isn’t a fucking race. I can’t just study her data, tweak the setup, and make the car work.”
His mouth twitched. “Yeah, except… maybe you can.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged. “You said it yourself, you’re driving like you’ve never seen a braking marker before. If something’s off in the car, what do you do?”
“I run the data. Look for the problem.”
“Exactly.” He jabbed a finger in my direction.
Exactly what? None of this made sense.
“What’s the actual problem here? ’Cause it’s not just that she’s avoiding you. It’s not even that she thinks it was a mistake. The real issue, the thing screwing with your head, is that you don’t think it was.”
I swallowed hard, forcing my gaze to the floor.
Because he was right.
It hadn’t been a mistake. Not to me.
And that was the part I didn’t know how to fix. Because if she wasn’t willing to see it, if she wasn’t even open to considering it, then what? What the fuck was I supposed to do?
He let the silence stretch, giving me space to admit what he already knew. He didn’t need words to read me. He never had.
