Chapter Five
The next time Isabel saw Liam was when it was already dark outside.
She had spent the past hour, chopping vegetables and making a thick creamy soup with whatever ingredients she could find in the cupboards in the kitchen. She was also baking bread. Dinner rolls, rather, which her own father had taught her how to bake when she was a small girl.
Sophie had come downstairs sometime after her father had left the house, curious to know what had transpired.
The two of them bonded instantly. Sophie hung from the edge of the counter, watching Isabel cook with wide, curious eyes. She claimed she had finished her homework for the next day. She spoke incessantly, filling Isabel in on all the friends she had in her school. She didn’t talk much about her father and she didn’t mention her mother either.
“This smells delicious,” Sophie said with a smile as Isabel plopped thin slices of butter into the boiling soup.
“I can’t remember the last time we had a dinner like this,” she added and Isabel looked up.
“What do you usually have?” she asked. Sophie shrugged her shoulders.
“Instant noodles or ham sandwiches. Daddy isn’t a good cook,” she said and giggled, still watching Isabel closely as she stirred the broth.
“We should go together and shop for some more ingredients. Maybe we can roast a chicken tomorrow,” Isabel suggested and the little girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Can you bake a cake?” she asked.
Isabel nodded. “And cookies, buns, and cupcakes. We need the ingredients, that’s all.” She wiped some of the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Isabel…” Sophie began, watching Isabel with so much interest.
“What was your life in New York like? Was it magical?” Sophie asked, looking up at her with wide eyes. Isabel sighed and opened her mouth to say something, but Liam came into the house right then and interrupted them.
“Daddy!” Sophie shrieked, distracted, and jumped into her father’s arms. He hugged her tightly and lifted her up onto his shoulders.
“Doesn’t it smell lovely?” she asked, rubbing her father’s cheeks affectionately.
Liam looked over to Isabel, who was now pouring the soup into three deep bowls. She had already arranged the dinner rolls on plates. And she tried to suppress a smile as she glanced at him. He looked pleasantly surprised.
“It does, indeed,” he said and lifted Sophie off his shoulders and onto the floor.
“Let’s sit down,” Isabel said as she placed the plates on the small four-seater table. She was careful to place the bowl and plate for Liam at the head of the table and the other two on either side.
“Isabel said she can bake cakes and cookies too. And cupcakes. I’ve never eaten a cupcake. Only seen them on TV.” Sophie was talking excitedly as she sat down at the table and carefully tucked a napkin into the collar of her blouse.
Isabel stood behind her chair as Liam sat down, and she followed next.
Sophie was quick to dig into the food. She made loud slurping sounds as she ate and smiled widely at them both. “See daddy, I told you,” Sophie said and Liam shot her an angry look.
Isabel’s brows raised and she looked at them both quizzically. “Told him what?” she asked Sophie. Her spoon was poised over her bowl of soup. But Sophie wasn’t going to answer, not after the look her father had thrown at her.
“We don’t talk at the table, Isabel,” Liam said as he dipped his own spoon into the soup and slurped it off. She saw his tongue peep out when he did and noticed the way his mouth moved. His lips were covered with the liquid and it shone under the bright light of the lamp hanging on top of the table. He didn’t bother to look at her as he ate, and Isabel proceeded to eat in silence. Sophie was still happy, giggling and enjoying her food exaggeratedly.
Isabel was itching to talk. She couldn’t remember the last time she had remained silent in the company of others for this long.
More importantly, she didn’t know anything about this small family she was sharing her dinner with. Who she had cooked for. She was supposed to marry him and be a mother to Sophie, yet she knew nothing about them. Whatever she could see, she knew. The rest was a mystery.
“I need more supplies for the meals,” she said after several minutes of silence. She could see that Liam was almost done with his dinner. Sophie was nearly done as well, while Isabel wasn’t even halfway there. She couldn’t eat because of the way her stomach was turning. She was hugely attracted to him, but afraid and curious at the same time. Her mind was swimming with mixed emotions.
Liam grunted in response. Then he stood up. “Tuck Sophie into bed when she has finished her dinner. Then go upstairs to the bedroom. Sophie will show you,” he said, wiping his mouth with the napkin. Isabel stared up at him in shock. What was he even talking about? Were they supposed to share a bedroom?
“What’s the matter? You look surprised, Isabel. You said you wanted to prove yourself, didn’t you?” he asked and another one of his defiant grins began to spread over his face.
Isabel raised her chin and met his eyes, even though her throat was closing in. “Of course,” she said with a weak smile.
“What’s for dessert?” Sophie asked, interrupting their conversation. The little girl obviously had no idea that Isabel’s mind was about to give out. That she nearly fainted from the way Liam was looking at her.