Page 2 of Holiday Home 4

Would it be alright if I came to see you next weekend?

That was how he’d ended up standing with chattering teeth outside his dorm on a frosty Saturday afternoon, waiting for a familiar black SUV to pull into view. After a couple weeks of brisk but survivable temperatures, he’d gotten used to wearing a lighter jacket. After coming down from his dorm and getting pummeled in the face by a wintry fist a few minutes ago, he’d immediately headed back inside and swapped into something heavier.

When the blizzard had buried them back in his hometown, he’d heard from Grant that Perrymont had dodged it. As such, he didn’t have to worry about standing in snow. Just hard, pale ground and rigid blades of grass stricken blue by frost.

Liam would take that small silver lining, however. He wanted to show Anna around, which was still possible, if a bit less pleasant, so long as itonlyremained freezing cold. The forecast had promised clear skies, and at least that had come through. So, after getting a message from her saying she was close, he’d tromped down to the front of his dorm to wait. The plan he’d put together saw them ending things with a visit to his dorm, not beginning there.

It was only a few minutes before he saw Anna’s vehicle reach the stop sign at the nearby intersection. He stayed where he was, waiting for her turn on the crescent-shaped roadway that saw brand new freshmen getting dropped off by teary-eyed parents every fall. As soon as she did so, he moved away from the lamppost he’d been loitering by and headed toward it.

Approaching the barrier between the sidewalk and the street to wait for her, Liam spent his final few seconds of alone time reviewing the itinerary he’d come up with. If it’d been Avril who’d come to visit, he wouldn’t have bothered, but Anna was a woman he knew appreciated preparation. And so, as she pulled up directly adjacent to him, he removed one hand from his coat pocket and tossed her a wave and a smile.

“You can leave it running,” he said, fighting off a shiver as the driver-side door opened.

Nodding, one of the most unreasonably beautiful women on the face of the planet left her SUV humming as she climbed out of it. It’d only be a few minutes before they were both back inside of it, driving to their destination.

“Hi, Liam,” Anna said, warming even the chilliest part of him with her radiant smile.

“Hi, Anna,” he said back.

Clearly aware that the temperatures had dropped, she’d made the long drive over in a pair of warm leggings, a long-sleeved shirt, and a puffy winter coat, all being black. Only a pair of light brown, low-heeled boots mixed things up within her ensemble. As for her sleek, lustrous black hair, she’d put it up into a ponytail.

“You look beautiful,” Liam said, which grew her smile. She had a luscious mouth that could torment the abstinent, and Liam immediately felt warmed by it.

His words also added a hint of a blush to her fair skin, which caused her green eyes, bright and alluring to a fault, to stand out even further. That was Annabelle Royce in a nutshell. No matter which part of her caught your eye, there was no losing out. She was as beautiful as a portrait, sincere, generous, and altogether a pleasure to be around. Even had they just stayed friends, he would have still been thrilled each time she asked him to spend time with her.

However, that wasn’t what they were anymore. And the fact that their relationship was no longer just an act or a means to an end meant that there were more than just “hellos” between them when they met up.

This time around, he initiated things. As he leaned in, he hadn’t intended it to be anything more than a chaste peck on the lips. And yet, as his chilled lips met a pair that had spent the past two hours kept warm by her vehicle’s vents, he found no reason to pull back. Nor, it appeared, did Anna.

Their mouths moved in tandem, equal in their yearning for the other. Liam experienced bliss in those incredibly soft, luscious lips. A racing heart, too.

Anna shut her eyes, and he followed suit. For about ten seconds, they greeted one another in this way. It hadn’t been all that long since they’d last seen each other, yet they kissed as if it’d been an entire season.

When their first kiss of the day ended, the hue of Anna’s face had shifted a few shades closer to vermillion. Yet, she only let Liam examine her face for a second. Her lips returned to his right after. This second kiss was half as long yet just as passionate. Anna was breathing a little heavily when it ended.

“Ready to get going?” he asked, grinning like a lovelorn fool. Kissing Annabelle Royce had that effect on him. How could it not? God, her lips were so soft, so full. And he was only the second person on the planet to have experienced them firsthand. “If you don’t mind, can I drive? I want to keep the surprise of where we’re heading a little longer.”

Anna nodded, then beckoned for him to take the wheel. As she moved around to the passenger seat, Liam shivered with excitement. It didn’t matter how cold it might get today. If he started getting too chilly, he knew he had someone nearby who could help him warm up.

Chapter Two

Café on Ice

If it’d been warmer, Liam would have taken her on a walk. Perrymont’s campus had some great outdoor views, even in the winter, and a robust set of walking paths through that scenery. He might still recommend they go for a walk, but he doubted they could spend a whole afternoon outdoors—not without ending up sniffling like a pair of wheezing vacuums. And his dorm was thefinalplace to visit, not the first. He’d put plenty of thought into where he would take Anna on their date. Even a little research.

Which was how he knew about the Café on Ice.

It was a well-regarded café, so it wasn’tjustthe gimmick that had caused him to take Anna there. Still, pretty much the second he’d found out about it, it’d leaped up his list of options. Primarily because, based on the café’s online pictures, it had a small ice-skating rink behind it. You ordered your drink, put on skates—the place rented them out if you didn’t have any—and then stepped onto a diminutive rink shaped like an infinity symbol. When your drink was ready, you could pick it up from a spot on the ice, like runners in a marathon pausing by the sidewalk to get some water from spectators.

Because who didn’t love drinking something warmwhileskating?

At the very least, he thought—he hoped—Anna would find it charming. Furthermore, to keep up the ruse for as long as he could, he’d invoked the aid of a devil of mischief. That was how Liam, but not Anna, knew that her skates were in the back of her vehicle. She’d know pretty soon.

Along the way, they passed the time with a banal conversation about how each of their semesters had gone so far. Around halfway to the café, Liam guided the conversation toward their upcoming—though still unfortunately distant—exotic spring break trip.

“No, I don’t mind where we end up going,” Anna confirmed once he floated the question.

“What about Avril? She’sclaimingto be impartial about it all, but—”

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