Fake Dating My Ex's Favourite Hockey Player - Chapter 92: Chapter 92

LIAM
I go quiet. The only sound in the car is the low hum of the road beneath us and the radio playing too softly to make out the lyrics.
“She’s good at pretending,” I say eventually. “Always has been.”
Emilia’s voice is barely above a whisper. “So those two weeks I didn’t hear from you…?”
She doesn’t finish. Doesn’t have to. But her eyes are suspiciously glassy.
I save her the effort. “It was one of the bad weeks. Jess has more good ones now, but when the bad ones hit, she forgets how to be a person unless I’m there. I’m the crutch that brings her back.”
“That’s so fucked up,” Emilia mutters, swiping under her eyes with her sleeve. She sniffs, trying to pull herself back together.
I should leave it alone. I really should. But teasing her makes things feel normal again — makes the urge to reach over and kiss the tears off her face a little easier to ignore.
“You cursing is weird. It doesn’t suit you. Neither does crying.”
She shoots me a look, but there’s no real heat in it. “Can you shut up and mind your business?”
“Sorry, love.” Her mouth tugs at the corners, and just like that, the weight pressing on my chest lightens. “I told Becca we’re not coming back to the cruise tonight.”
“Oh?” She’s wiped her face clean, but there’s still a flush in her brown skin, and I force myself to keep my eyes on the road. Hands on the wheel. Eyes forward. Christ.
“Didn’t you say it was starting to feel a little claustrophobic?”
“I can’t recall saying that out loud.”
“Well, you definitely thought it.”
“Oh, so now you read minds?”
“Only yours. And I’m taking that as confirmation. We’ll meet them at the next stop. Unless you want to go back.”
She tilts her head, mock-considering. “I’ll miss Lacey. But not that much.”
“Thought so.”
She goes quiet for a beat, then: “So… are you and Jessica…?”
“I ended it. Today.” The words feel strange in my mouth. Final. “It’s been over a decade of this endless loop, and the only way to break it was to walk away. Holding on would just hurt her more. And the more she hurts, the more I lose Mar. He’s too loyal to his husband to stay a real friend to me.”
Emilia frowns. “That’s even more fucked up. I thought he was chill. Guess that was just a vibe.”
“Not exactly,” I mutter, hesitating. I glance at her, trying to find a way to explain Rowland without turning this moment into a whole other mess. Everything I think of hits a wall, so I just go for it. “Actually, Em, the—”
My phone rings. Maya.
I sigh. “Is it important?” Emilia asks.
“No... yeah. Kind of.” I answer, putting her on speaker. “Hey, Mai—”
“Wha— Li?” It’s loud wherever she is. “Oh my God. Guys! Liam picked up!”
There’s the sound of running, voices rising. I brace myself.
“Actually, I’ll call you back—”
“Oh, cut the crap!” Julie yells. “Lacey told me you’re in town and not coming back to the cruise. Even Oldie said you stopped by. We’re all at Mum and Dad’s waiting for you and you didn’t call once!”
“That’s because I have no intention of coming home,” I deadpan, glancing at Emilia apologetically. “And you should all learn to mind your goddamn business.”
“There are kids here!” someone shrieks — Veronica, probably.
“Yeah, Li. Tone it down,” Maya adds.
Emilia starts giggling.
“Roni, tell Maya to tell Julie I’m not coming. I already booked a hotel.”
“Who gives a fu—”
“Language!” someone snaps.
“—dge,” Julie finishes, unbothered. “I’ll refund the hotel.”
“You can’t even afford a hotel, Julie.”
“Son of a—”
“Liam,” Veronica cuts in. Her voice is softer. “I have a recital coming up. You’ve never come before. I want you there.”
My heart tugs. Hard.
“Well…”
“And Luka’s been sick,” Veronica adds quickly. “He’s got the flu and can barely get out of bed. You’re really gonna leave him like this?”
I sigh — already folding like a house of cards. I glance at Emilia, who looks far too entertained by my downfall.
“Would you be willing to meet my horrible family?”
“Hey!” Julie snaps. “Don’t shittalk us while we’re still on the line!”
My eye twitches. “Somehow you all only care about swearing when I do it.”
“Oh, quit whining. If you keep it up, I’m feeding you Mum’s leftover casserole.”
I physically recoil. “Is that a threat?”
“Damn right it is. Emilia, help us out here. You’ll drag him back, won’t you? We’re way cooler than he is.”
Emilia grins. “Why not?”
And there goes the last sliver of hope I had. I swear I feel my lifespan shrinking. “Are you absolutely sure about this, Em?” I ask again, desperate.
Her grin widens. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
The best that can happen is my mother’s casserole, and that’s saying something. I bite down a groan. “Fine. Get my room ready.”
“Already done!” Maya says brightly. “See you in an hour!” Then the line goes dead.
Emilia bursts into full-on laughter. Her eyes are still a little pink, but now she’s glowing.
“So the great Liam Calloway is a total softie for his siblings?”
“Shut it.”
She just laughs harder.
EMILIA
I don’t start getting nervous until Liam and I pick up ice bags — because, apparently, to the Calloways, they’re the equivalent of cake in normal households. (His words, not mine.) I don’t ask. I just nod like that makes sense and pretend I’m not already sweating through my shirt.
By the time we get to the car, my palms are so clammy I have to rub them on my thighs. Liam catches me and snorts.
“You’re the one who wanted to come,” he says. “You can’t back out now. You tossed your out the minute you said yes.”
“I didn’t think of it like that,” I mutter. Then something awful occurs to me. My stomach drops. “Wait. To them, our relationship is real.”
He hums, annoyingly casual. “Feels pretty real to me.”
“No, I mean — they think we’re actually dating. Not fake-dating. Oh my God.” I stare at him, horrified. “I’m the girlfriend. Meeting my boyfriend’s family.”
The words hang in the air like a death sentence. I clutch the ice bags like they’re emotional support bricks. Liam glances at me out of the corner of his eye, clearly trying not to laugh.
“You’ll be fine,” he says, infuriatingly calm as he pulls into the driveway. “They’re like raccoons with Wi-Fi. Loud, a little feral, but ultimately harmless if fed.”
“That’s… not comforting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
I spot movement through the curtains before we’ve even gotten out of the car.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “They’re watching us. They’re waiting.”
“Of course they are,” Liam says. “We’re late.”
I whirl on him. “Liam.”
He’s halfway to unbuckling his seatbelt when I grab his arm. He pauses, glancing at me with that infuriatingly calm smile. “Mhm?”
“I just realised you actually have seven siblings. Not metaphorically. Not exaggerated. Seven. That’s cult numbers.”
He laughs under his breath, then turns fully toward me. “You’re panicking.”
“Understatement of the year.”
Liam studies me for a second — then sighs, leans over, and gently cups my face. He kisses me softly, right there in the car, like we’re the only people in the world and not being actively surveilled by an entire gene pool. I swear I hear a squeal from the house. I ignore it.
When he pulls back, he rests his forehead against mine.
“I’ll only say this once, okay?” he murmurs.
I nod, barely breathing.
“It’s not that deep. They’re not sane enough to take anything seriously. They once held a full-blown intervention because Seth became a vegan for three days.”
“That… doesn’t help.”
He huffs a small laugh. “Look, even if it was a big deal, you’re kind of perfect. They’re gonna love you. And if they don’t — which won’t happen — it’s because their brains are held together with duct tape and whatever it is Mum puts in that porridge of hers.”
I smile, just a little.
“And just in case you need reinforcements — Veronica and Luka are your safest bets. And Lucille, sometimes, if she’s not plotting global domination with Eliza.”
I try to keep up with the names, but then give up. “Comforting.”
“You’ll be fine,” he says again. “They’re a mess, but they’re my mess. So I kind of hope that makes them yours too.”
The worst part?
That sounds dangerously like something I want.