Four

‘Where did you learn to dance like such a fanny?’ Maeve asked.

Liam twirled and dipped her, then pulled her close as the band launched into a sultry blues number. Maeve was quite pleased she’d gone for a black slinky number that had looked plain on the hanger but now shimmered around her curves like a living thing. Liam’s expression when she’d stepped out of the bedroom would stay with her for a very long time.

‘I was sent to fanny school every Sunday from primary six onwards,’ Liam replied.

Maeve thoroughly and intimately knew every square centimetre of Liam’s body, yet a flush of thrill fluttered through her at the sensation of his chest pressed against hers. His hand was firm on the small of her back, and Maeve felt an intense need to find out what would happen if it explored a little lower. This despite the fact they’d almost been late thanks to his hand exploring quite a bit lower.

‘Though to be honest, I think I’m just a natural fanny.’

‘You can fake a lot, but you can’t fake fanny.’ Maeve nodded thoughtfully, watching Summer and Nicola solemnly Tango past them. Summer had procured a rose from somewhere and clutched it forcefully between her teeth. 

‘However I believe, with enough training, you can aspire to plonker,’ Liam whispered in her ear, then gave it a tiny nibble. ‘Maybe even silly goose, if you’re prepared to work for it.’

Maeve stood on tiptoe to kiss the little dip in the side of his neck where it met his collarbone, and was rewarded by the teeniest twitch against her hip. Then she sighed as she remembered the other reason they had almost been late. What was she going to do?

‘Are you thinking about mould?’ 

Maeve nodded miserably. While digging through the built-in cupboard in her hallway for the fancy dress she wanted to wear tonight, she had happened upon extensive water damage from what appeared to be a leaking pipe behind the wall. Her good winter coat and two pairs of boots were for the bin, and the mottled and discoloured paintwork screamed major repairs.

‘Do you think it’s my bathroom pipes?’ she asked for the eighth time. ‘Will I be liable if it’s spread tae other neighbours?’

‘Insurance will sort it out,’ he replied for the eighth time. ‘If the pipe is part of the building’s plumbing it might be on the factor —‘

‘Good luck getting them tae pay a penny,’ Maeve said glumly. ‘In all my years of living in factored buildings I’ve never known them tae dae anything but demand random sums of money at regular intervals for no apparent reason. Which is a genius business model. Who needs tae provide goods or services when you can just send bills without bothering with either?’ She still hadn’t managed to drop into conversation that home insurance was one of those wee things on her forever to-do list. She could already picture Liam’s faintly traumatised expression as he tried to work out a way to reassure her anyway, and she wasn’t quite ready to put either of them through that. 

‘Well, we’ll take a look in the morning and work out a plan,’ he said.

He paused then for an instant, and Maeve’s stomach flipped. She knew what he wasn’t saying. She drew back a little, staring intently at the white shirt he’d been ironing when she found the mould. ‘We don’t even know how much —‘

The song came to an end, and Maeve’s words were thankfully drowned out by applause. She drew back from Liam’s embrace and clapped with unnecessary gusto. She smiled around the general crowd, pretending not to feel his concerned look boring into her head.

It turned out that dealing with the estate of one of the richest men in the world wasn’t as simple as when her Gran died and, for reasons best known to herself, left Maeve her collection of hats. Months of intricate legal and financial wrangling over Walter’s vast holdings still hadn’t come to any firm conclusion regarding who was owed what. Maeve took the situation as a sign it wasn’t yet time to come to terms with the bombshell that rocked her life. So far, only Liam knew the manky truth of her parentage, and that was a-okay with Maeve. 

Well, Eden might know. Maeve had initially put Eden’s distant and sporadic texts since she went back to LA down to grief, but as the months wore on she started to realise Eden was actively cutting her off. Eden could hardly blame Maeve for turning out to be her aunty when it couldn’t be more obvious Maeve didn’t have a clue, yet Maeve had wracked her brains a thousand times for what else she could have done. Fraser was useless at texting at the best of times, so it felt as though the pair of them had got on a plane to LA and floated out of existence. Despite Liam’s entirely correct advice, Maeve failed miserably at not taking it personally. 

‘Listen, we don’t have to talk about it a moment before you’re ready.’ He led her to little loveseat at the edge of the dance floor, accepting two more champagnes from a passing waiter. ‘But I also think that worrying about what repairs to your flat might cost when —‘

‘When nothing,’ Maeve reminded him stubbornly, knocking back half the champagne in one gulp. ‘All we know is that I’m in the will. He could have left me a tenner. Imagine if I go and get some fancy, top notch repairs done on the assumption that —‘ She cut herself off with a shaky breath. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘That is absolutely fine.’ Liam leaned over and kissed her forehead. ‘Just let me know when it’s time.’

‘Sure.’ Maeve knocked back the second half, firmly deciding it would never be time. ‘Will do.’

‘And in the meantime, you could always stay with me if you end up needing extensive work done.’

‘What, really?’

‘Of course.’

Somebody shouted something about fireworks, and the crowd started making its way towards the beach behind the castle. Maeve didn’t move. She’d seen loads of fireworks before.

‘Yeah, maybe I could,’ she said. ‘You wouldn’t mind? I’m not too messy?’

‘We spend just about every night together anyway.’ Liam twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. ‘I like to think it’s clear how much I enjoy that. We’ll be a bit squished, but I think we’ll manage.’

‘Yeah, that’s true.’ Maeve toyed with her empty glass. The crowd oohed at the first fireworks. ‘Suppose we could just get a place. That was a bit bigger, I mean.’

Liam’s face lit up as the sky exploded in silver behind him. ‘Yeah. That is a pretty good idea, I think.’

‘Really? You don’t think it’s… weird?’

He cradled her chin and gave her a soft peck on the lips. ‘Maeve Harris, I think it’s about the least weird thing I’ve ever heard. I would love nothing better than to move in with you.’

 

1. how do you think Maeve is handling the bombshell from last season?

2. are they moving in for the right reasons? Can you see it working?

3. what would you do if you suddenly became filthy rich?!