Page 44 of Holiday Home 3
“I suppose so.”
“Your loss,” Avril said, standing in such a way that her butt crowded his vision.
Anna sighed exasperatedly upon noticing but didn’t say anything. Humorously, like a pair of fighters sizing the other up, perhaps expecting a cheap shot, they faced off as they sidled by one another on their way to their new seating arrangements.
“Oops,” Avril said when they were at their closest, feigning that she’d lost her footing and bumping her breasts into Anna’s.
Anna blushed but didn’t rebuke her. Liam certainly couldn’t think of any reason why he ought to be annoyed by what he’d just seen, so he remained silent. Avril took the armchair as her new throne while Anna gracefully sat beside him.
“Hi,” he said. “Glad to have you with me.”
Anna’s eyes met his. “Me too. I pick truth, by the way.”
He’d expected that, so he already had a question ready for her. Again, he wasn’t all that subtle about wanting to mend things between her and Avril.
“Are you really as good at ice skating as Avril’s led me to believe you are?”
Anna glanced toward her best friend, who shrugged. Returning her eyes to him, she said, “I’m not certain how good she’s said I am, so I’m not sure.”
“She tells me you’re incredibly talented but never show off unless you’re alone.”
“Bit like you and cards, except you’re all about showing off,” Avril noted.
“Bit like me and cards,” he agreed, keeping his focus on Anna. “I was just wondering if she was telling the truth.”
Anna looked between them both, clearly at odds with her usual humble nature now that he’d cast the spotlight on her obvious talent. “I think I’m a proficient skater. And… I haven’t shown off everything I know how to do.”
“Will you next time we go skating?”
“If… you’d like me to,” Anna replied, fidgeting beside him.
“I would.”
“All right. I’ll do my best.”
He smiled warmly. “I can’t wait.”
Unseen by the gorgeous but blushing ice skating phenom, one corner of her best friend’s mouth moved upward. She nodded complimentarily at him, then clapped her hands together.
“Right! Next round is mine, so prepare for it!”
The fifth round finally unseated him as the reigning champion, and it wasn’t because he eased his foot off the gas pedal. Having finally found her footing, Anna saw fit to make this round the fastest of all of them. By a combination of luck and skill, she wasn’t caught lying—and he honestly couldn’t tell if she ever had—during the whole round. Whichever it was, it saw her to a rapid victory.
“Congrats,” Avril said through gritted teeth, a muscle flexing in her forehead as she became the only player not to win since she’d upped the ante.
“Liam, you first,” Anna said.
“I’ll go with truth.”
“Lameee,” Avril complained.
Anna didn’t give her grousing roommate any heed. “All right. Did you have a good time today?”
He realized then that he hadn’t been the only one sitting on a question. His heart leaped because of what it realized her question entailed.
“Yeah, I really, really did,” he said, meeting her gaze as he answered earnestly. “I’m already looking forward to next time.”
Anna’s pulse betrayed the calm expression she forced herself to maintain. So did the color that only he could see on her face. In the background, Avril stared suspiciously at them both, though she underestimated her best friend. She didn’t follow the evidence Anna had supplied her to its proper conclusion; instead, she stopped short.