Page 38 of Holiday Home 3

“Back to your place?” he asked once they needed to come up for air.

“Will you stay over for a little while?”

“Until you or Avril kicks me out.”

At the mention of the other individual who would be present at her apartment, Anna’s excitement slightly deflated.

“Hey, Liam.”

He could tell just by the tone of her voice where this conversation was headed. “Yeah?”

“Would you be all right if we don’t tell Avril about what we just did?”

“It’d be totally fine with that. Another secret between a fake couple.” Still riding the high of how wonderful her lips had felt, he also tacked on, “Even if our kisses are very, very real.”

She blushed crimson and stared into her lap. Nevertheless, a soft smile lingered on her lusciously full lips as he pulled his car out of their parking spot.

“I’m glad you liked it, too,” she whispered.

Chapter Thirteen

His Favorite Battleground

Outside of her apartment, he kissed her again. She’d been fiddling with her keys for a moment, only to stop suddenly. She’d glanced over her shoulder, which had raised one of his eyebrows questioningly. Moments later, when she turned all the way around, he finally understood. She wasn’t ready to go inside just yet. Liam was thrilled to oblige her with a reason to linger on her doorstep.

She didn’t break off their kiss for well over a minute. By then, he’d pinned Anna against her door as he felt again how soft and supple her lips were. However, this time, it wasn’t their lips alone that connected. Halfway through their kiss, his tongue slipped into her mouth. Anna’s eyes widened momentarily, butshe did the opposite of retreat. For the remainder of their kiss, their tongues tumbled together.

Slightly breathless once they parted, Anna swallowed audibly and placed a hand against his chest. As if discovering his frenetic heartbeat answered a silent question of hers, she dazzled him with a brilliant smile.

They gave themselves another minute to straighten their clothes and neutralize the color running rampant across their faces before entering the apartment. They could still hear the TV in the living room when they did. So, neither of them was overly surprised to find Avril lounging in the same place as they’d left her.

“Hey, welcome back,” she said, tossing a wave over her shoulder without glancing their way.

“Thanks,” Liam said, which was enough to tear her eyes away from this current baseball talk show.

She might be in the same spot as they’d left her, but there was something new, and it was far more interesting to him than the discussion on which teams were projected as the favorites of the upcoming season. A spread of playing cards littered the coffee table before her, evidence that she was practicing for New Year’s Eve. Naturally, Liam took note of the arrangement of dealt cards, even though he’d already surmised what game—Texas Hold’em—they’d be playing in a few days, thanks to Anna’s help.

Avril’s head swiveled away from the TV after hearing his voice instead of Anna's, shock momentarily supplanting her bored expression. “Oh. You’re back, too.”

“I asked him to come over,” Anna said. She hoisted the bag of romance novels for her roommate’s viewing pleasure. “I bought us some books, too. You may take your pick.”

“Sure,” Avril absentmindedly said, staring at him in a way that piqued his interest. They hadn’t finished their earlierconversation, but he knew she must have thought about what he’d said at least a little during their time apart. Ironically, his presence here likely stalled any chance for her to grill him on everything he’d said and done, which he suspected frustrated her. He’d honestly been surprised that she hadn’t barraged his phone with demanding texts while he was out with Anna.

Avril wasn’t the type of person who liked not being in the know.

As Anna leaned over the back of the couch and placed the bag of books beside her roommate, Avril finally noticed him staring at the cards on the coffee table.

“Hey, no peeking!” she barked, hurriedly mixing up all the cards like a criminal who wanted to cover the tracks of her ill-doings.

“I already figured out what game we’re playing on New Year’s Eve,” he told her, further enflaming her annoyance.

“And how would you have done that?” she demanded, glaring at her roommate, who merely shrugged.

He’d showered with Tess this morning. He’d gotten the better of Avril at midday. He’d made out with Anna in the early afternoon.

So, yeah, he was feeling himself a little bit when he said, “Want any tips? I’m sure I could help you out a little.”

The parallel between his offer and the one she’d made to him on the day they met didn’t go unnoticed. Or appreciated, apparently.