Page 48 of Holiday Home 3

Sighing, Anna looked first at her and then at him.

“Fine. I’ll be the one to go and get it.”

Chapter Sixteen

A Hundred Ways

Liam vividly remembered the last time he’d eaten one of Giacomo’s massive pizzas. It’d been when his older brother had suffered his fear of flying long enough to fly back to the States so he could properly introduce his then-fiancée to them. He’d been craving pizza, and as far as he was concerned, Giacomo's was the best pizza around. Before the night was up, even with her differing preferences, his Korean fiancée had given the place her stamp of approval.

With the memory of that night resurfaced, his stomach audibly rumbled at the prospect of having it again. However, he also knew that the pizzeria was on the other side of town. So, he chimed in before Anna could find her phone and order ahead.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

A pair of beautiful green eyes glanced first at him, then at Avril. Seconds later, they pivoted back to him.

“That’s all right. You can stay here and give Avril the tips she needs to be a better dealer.”

“Uncalled for!” her roommate grunted. “We’re supposed to have stopped ‘feuding,’ remember? Otherwise, Liam will pout again.”

Anna smiled at her best friend. “You should make use of this resource while it’s available. There’s only a few more days until New Year’s Eve.”

After ordering two pizzas, one with pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives, the other Hawaiian, which Liam was surprised a place as Italian as Giacomo’s even offered, Anna departed. It’d be over an hour before either of them saw her again.

“So, want some tips?” Liam asked once he and Avril, who remained away from the open front door as they saw Anna off, were alone.

“No, I don’t want any fucking tips,” the redhead growled. “We’re finishing that conversation we started earlier.” She shivered and hugged her body. “And close that damn door.”

“Which one?” he asked, playing dumb. He didn’t shut the door either.

Avril appeared unamused. “You know which one, little boy. Now, stop acting so damn smug.”

“I’m just imitating my ‘Big Sis,’” he retorted unapologetically.

“Well, knock it off; you look like a real jackass when you do.”

A grin split his face, which added to Avril’s mostly playful vexation. Grunting, she demanded he follow her back to the living room with a wave of her hand. Once there, she jabbed her forefinger toward the couch’s middle cushion. Still grinning, he obeyed her command and sat down.

Avril, however, did not return to the cushion next to him. She remained standing, eyeing him like a hawk. A very impatient hawk.

“Now say what you said earlier again. About how you and Tess wouldneverhave a relationship beyond being friends.”

Holding her stare, he did just that.

“Tess and I are just friends,” he said. “Always have been. It’d be inappropriate if we were anything but that.”

“Uh huh,” Avril said dryly. “Guess I’ve just been hallucinating everything you’ve told me about the past week.”

“You must have. I only ever remember referring to Tess as a close friend, nothing more.”

Avril rolled her eyes. She rolled her eyes, but she also cracked a smile. As he had with her and Anna’s thing, he was sure she’d already figured out why he was hitting her with the worst gaslighting attempt in history.

“And so you’re as single as they come, is that it?” Avril asked, stretching her arms above her head in a way that showed off all her enviable assets. “No hot next-door neighbor who you’re secretly fucking, no girlfriend who happens to be my roommate?”

“That’s right,” he said, shrugging. “I’ve never been more single in my life.”

“Sounds pretty boring.”

His gaze met hers, and what had started bubbling on their shopping trip on the twenty-third finally reached its boiling temperature.

---