‘I’ll show you what it says, shall I?’ She handed Liv the magnifying glass, one of the few remnants of Eddie yet to be dropped off at the workshop.

‘Aww.’ Liv covered her mouth with her hand before she whispered the words. Happy Birthday, Mum. She leant back against the chair, feeling a fizzing mixture of giddy and weak all at once.

‘Exactly. Happy Birthday, Mum.’ Maya stretched out on the chair. ‘So now, who was right?’

‘I can’t believe it. I’ve been such a complete fool.’

‘At every single turn.’ Maya shook her head, but her smile lit up her whole face and it felt as if somehow the whole world had spun half a circle on its axis and they’d landed quite close to where Liv had always hoped she’d be. ‘You should call him.’

‘I should. Although, I have no idea what I’m going to say to him.’

‘Ask him out for a drink; tell him you have something for him.’ She raised her eyebrows as if to insinuate there was more on offer than just the return of his mother’s Christmas gift.

‘You are in so much trouble for opening that box.’ Liv laughed, but how could she be cross with Maya?

Liv decided that a text was best. The truth was, she wasn’t sure she could trust herself to talk to him and not say something stupid. Hi Finn. I just remembered this morning that I still have that gift for M. Would you fancy meeting up? Liv. And that was that – now all she could do was hope she hadn’t completely messed things up.

17

The flat was colder than Liv ever remembered it when she got back to Dublin. It wasn’t the temperature; rather, it was the fact that somehow it seemed to have become unfamiliar. In reality, the place was sweltering. Obviously, Eddie had left the heat on full and now it was stuffy and airless. It was a mess too. Whatever tidying she’d hastily done before she went home for the holidays had been undone when Eddie and Anya had come back here. There were bags and giant boxes everywhere. Anya’s belongings filled every available space; it seemed she and Eddie had just cleared everything from Pete’s and dumped it here.