Page 14 of Holiday Home 3
“I… think it’s a bad idea too,” Liam said, though they were for vastly different reasons than the one Victoria had laid out. “Too many things could go wrong and turn everything into a disaster.”
“We agree there,” Victoria said. She pulled her hands back from the table and began to stand. Liam followed suit.
“If you decide you’d like me to speak to her about any of this, you can get my number from Tess and contact me,” she said.
He concealed his surprise at the offer with a quick nod. “Okay, thanks.”
“You and Avril should talk well before New Year’s Eve. The sooner you can sort things out, the better. She is resilient, so you shouldn’t worry too much about things ending poorly between you. And at the very least, she isn’t a fool. With the situation you’re in with her best friend, I’m certain you can make her see how reckless it would be for you two to be involved with one another.”
He had nothing more to add to the topic but one final nod. Thanking her again, they parted ways. To soothe any worries about her growing suspicious if she could still spot him when he departed, he picked upanothercan of root beer, paid for it, and hurried into the frigid night.
They’d talked long enough that he’d lost the chance to see the sunlight dwindled to nothing, but Costco’s store lights ensured he could see the puff of frosty air he exhaled as he stepped outside its protection. Glancing over his shoulder just in case Victoria had somehow finished her shopping and was hot on his heels, he briskly hurried toward Tess’s car once he confirmed that wasn’t the case.
Shoving one hand into his pocket but leaving the other shivering as the cold clawed at it while it held the root beer pack, he found Tess’s car running as he reached it. Yet, he ended up unable to enter the car via the passenger door. Because the seat it led to was already taken.
Blinking rapidly, Liam cocked his head to the side. Inside the warm vehicle, Tess looked up from her phone upon sensing his presence. Relief flooded her eyes as she saw him. A smile followed, as did a motion toward the driver’s seat. Confused but yearning to escape the cold, he circled around to the driver’s door and let himself in.
“You can put those in the back,” she said, nodding at the root beer he’d nabbed.
“Uh, sure,” he said, extending his arm over the middle console and placing the root beer—the only thing they’d ended up getting tonight—on the floor mat behind her seat.
“I ended up leaving our shopping cart in the store,” Tess admitted. “I’m sure a worker isn’t going to be pleased when they find it.”
“If they knew the circumstances, I’m sure they’d understand,” Liam said, buckling up and then letting the heated seat and steering wheel chase the cold out of his body. He didn’t feel he needed more explanation than finding her sitting in the passenger seat to understand that she intended him to drive them home.
“You think so? ‘I’m dating my much younger neighbor, but I had to flee because my work colleague almost found us in the health and beauty aisle.’ It’s quite the tall tale, no?”
Liamhadbeen busy staring at the Crown’s unusual gear selector, trying to figure out how to put the car into reverse. But the moment his ears heard the word ‘dating,’ they’d perked up like a hare hearing the screech of a falcon in its field. However, the last thing Liam wanted to do in this situation was flee from it.
“I guess it is,” he said, barely hearing his own voice over the emphatic sprinting of his heart. He knew she might have said it without realizing how it could be taken, so he forced himself to keep his hopes from shooting up too high. “A little hard to believe, given how beautiful you are.”
Tess raised an eyebrow at his self-deprecation but smiled all the same. “I’m not sure that’s an apt way to describe things anymore. Seeing as how Avril has joined your list of potential suitors, it seems to me that you’re quite the bachelor.”
He blushed and shook his head. “Yeah, I’m still trying to figure that one out.”
“She did explain it, if you were listening.”
“I’m pretty sure my ears only just stopped ringing a little while ago,” he said, fretting over Avril and her kiss remaining the conversation’s topic. “I must have missed it.”
“You’ll just have to ask her to repeat it later, I suppose.”
“Huh?” His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. In response, Tess finished leaning over. She placed a kiss on his cheek and patted the hand he had on her gear selector.
“Okay, we should really get away from this parking lot, just in case. There’s also a game I’d like to play while we head home.”
“A… game?”
He saw a mischievous glint in her eyes in the pale but poignant light granted by her car’s touchscreen and electronic display. Without saying anything further, she wrapped her hand around his and helped him put the car into reverse. The Crown pulled back from its parking spot.
Whether Victoria somehow saw them or not, neither of them had the ability to notice. They were far too busy staring into one another’s eyes.
Chapter Five
Christmas Comes Twice a Year
Eventually, the dark expanse of road in front of him forced him to look away from the eternally beautiful woman next to him, which was a crying shame. Nevertheless, he noticed her leaning toward him as he drove them back toward their neighborhood. He’d spent enough time around Avril to recognize a lascivious plot when it was underway.
He remained rather confused by what Tess had said about Avril a few minutes ago, but he wouldn’t have any opportunities to mention her for the remainder of their car ride home. There wouldn’t be many names other than hers he’d manage to utter for the coming driver.