“To … poop in?”
“A litter tray, Liam,” I said. “Sorry, we forgot. But any old plastic box should do. And some litter.”
“Right, then. I’ll see if I can get one brought up.”
Oh dear. Liam didn’t look happy atall.I felt a slight twist in my stomach.Was it mean that I’d been slightly looking forward to the idea of Liam playing cat daddy to an animal that clearly made himwince?
Oh well. This wasn’t an ideal situation for any of us, including poor Mr. Darcy. At the end of the day, this was about Liam pulling off whatever ruse he had going with the minister. We were just a small part of that. Sosuck it up, Chesty.
It wasn’t like we could reschedule dinner with Hugo.
From the kitchen came the sound of something hissing in a pan. Liam turned.
“Oh. Rude of me, sorry. Can I get you a snack? Maybe something to drink?”
“Just a water for me, thanks.”
“Me too,” said Eliza. “Thanks.”
Liam walked into the kitchen, and Eliza turned to me. “Well, he’s clearly still into you.”
“What? Rubbish.”
“Give me a break. The way he was looking at you. We’ve only been here three minutes, and it’s already obvious to a blind man.”
“He needs me to make his deal work. That’s all. It’s just business.”
“Does Gerald’s face light up like that when he looks at you, then?”
I rolled my eyes. The idea of Gerald’s face lighting up foranyoneseemed crazy. Maybe if I ignored her, she’d let it go.
“Men don’t look at women like that unless they really like them, Andy.”
“He’s a playboy, remember? Women fall at his feet because he makes them feel like they’re the only woman in the room.”
“Oh, sothat’show he makes you feel, is it?” Eliza smirked. “Doesn’t sound likebusinessto me.”
I huffed. My sister really wasn’t helping. Yes, he’d held my gaze a little longer than he had to, but I knew what players were like.
Or at least, what Iimaginedthey’d be like.
“He obviously behaves like that with all women. Sparkles his eyes at them and makes them go all gooey. I’m not a moron, Eliza.”
“He didn’t look at me like that. Just you.”
Why did that thought light up a tiny speck of joy inside me? It was beyond naive. Everything was a deal to a man like Liam. Imagining something that could never happen—and nevershould—was idiotic. It was bad enough that we’d already slept with each other. Now I was letting him get under my skin too?
Mr. Darcy mewed from beneath the pile of boxes. We really needed to settle him in a quiet place.
“Help me with this stuff on the luggage trolley, will you,”I said, grabbing the laundry basket and passing it to Eliza. If I was going to be stuck here with Liam and his posh business associates all evening, I might as well make the place feel more like home.
Chapter 23
Liam
We still hadover an hour before Hugo and Miranda arrived. I glanced around my living room. It looked like someone had strategically vomited oversized pink marshmallows onto my white couches. One of them was covered in a sort of fuzzy hair.
From the other side of the apartment, I heard shrieking.Whatthe—
