Bored at home all day, Liam and his cousin, Tom Kerrigan (Philip McGinley) start a new business called "Lad Rags". Tom, however, fails to persuade the bank to loan them £50K so he asks Carla to invest, which she does. Liam is furious when he finds out, telling Tom that her 25% share is coming out of his half of the business. Knowing that neither Tony or Maria would be pleased about them working together, they agree to keep it a secret from them and it is clear that Liam and Carla still have strong feelings for each other.