Although she could hear muffled shouts. Were they in her mind? Robbie began frowning. ‘Can you hear—’
‘Whoops!’ said Effie, hopping off the stool. ‘I need to let Fraser and Liv out of the cupboard.’
Robbie opened his mouth but didn’t reply.
*
Liv was fed up of crawling around the floor. Goodness only knew what dirt and grime she was getting on her clothes. She also was quite disorientated as it was so dark. She sat down where she was and reached out with her hands. Her fingertips touched something.
‘Ow!’ yelped Fraser.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Liv, biting her lip. ‘Did I hurt you?’
‘No, only kidding,’ said Fraser.
‘You’re hilarious,’ she said shaking her head, although there was no point because he couldn’t see her. ‘I guess Effie is right that we should stop arguing.’
‘I’m not arguing,’ he said.
‘Yes, you are!’ There was silence and then a snort of laughter. ‘Shall we agree we won’t keep having a go at each other?’
‘I will but can you do that because you seem quite fixed on me having ghosted you, which I haven’t.’ He said the last bit fast.
‘Okay but someone did. I am happy to accept that it wasn’t you.’ She was okay about that because if he really hadn’t done it then the Fraser she’d got to know was actually all right – a bit grumpy but then she had to acknowledge that she’d triggered some of that grumpiness. And it was this Fraser who had been kind to her, kissed her under the mistletoe and gave her goosebumps at his touch. He was also fit which was an added bonus.
‘You sure?’ he asked.
‘Yeah I am. Thing is, if it wasn’t you then who was it?’
‘I don’t know. Could be anyone. It could be someone like John.’
‘But he didn’t ask me for money. I don’t understand what they’d get out of building a relationship with me only to ghost me. Makes no sense.’
‘I guess we’ll never know.’
‘But don’t youwantto know who it was?’ It was already eating away at Liv like she’d rechannelled her hurt and anger on to the person behind the fake profile.
‘I guess. But I don’t know how to go about that. And I’ve got quite a lot of other stuff on my mind right now,’ he said.
‘Like where your dad is?’ There was a long pause and Liv feared she’d overstepped a mark.
She heard him take a deep breath. ‘I know roughly where he is.’
Liv heard shuffling. Was he sitting down or standing up? She couldn’t tell. Then he stepped on her foot. ‘Argh!’ She automatically pulled it free.
‘Whoa!’ he yelled.
That was all she heard before he fell against her and pinned her to the wall. ‘Ow! What are you doing?’
‘You tripped me up!’ he complained as he tried to right himself.
‘Do not put your hands there,’ she said into the darkness. He was half leaning on her. Her heart was thumping hard in her chest – but that was just the shock of a great klutz of a man falling on her, right? She got a waft of cologne mixed with something herby – a not altogether unpleasant smell.
‘Sorry. I honestly can’t see a thing. Is that your shoulder?’
His hand was resting on her shoulder and slightly touching her neck. She shuddered at the contact. It was a very different sort of shudder to the one she’d felt earlier. ‘Yep,’ she confirmed in a small, husky voice.
He adjusted his position and she could feel his breath on her cheek. If she moved her head slightly their lips would touch. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked, his voice soft and soothing.
