AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Would you say Tess has been your favorite professor so far?”
“She had better be,” the woman in question stated, peeking her head around the corner. “Dinner’s almost ready, by the way.”
A thin crack in her prim armor appeared as Anna glanced over her shoulder at the eavesdropping professor and slightly smiled. “I would rank Professor Williams among my favorites, yes.”
“Favorites, plural?” Tess said, feigning an affronted gasp. “It’s an absolute crime.”
She disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving the living room’s mood warmer just for her brief appearance. He knew that was entirely her aim, and he wondered if Anna was aware of it too. He wondered many things when it came to the beautiful woman. Chief among them, did she know what Tess was after between them? Based on how Tess had spoken earlier, he assumed not. Because of that, he inevitably mused about how Anna might take it if she found out.
He mused about it, but he definitely didn’t plan to drop the bomb if she wasn’t aware of it.
“Was it just you and Tess putting up your lights today?” Anna asked.
“Yeah, my parents are off having a holiday in Denmark for the winter, and my brother lives in South Korea with his family. So, Tess offered to help me out.”
“Oh.” Another shift in her tranquil demeanor appeared as her eyebrows slightly knitted. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Liam hastily said, leaping into an explanation about his family situation. She relaxed once she learned about his parents and his happiness that they were off experiencing their dreams.
“I’ve heard of Carr Dentistry,” Anna said after learning about his parents’ shared work. “They sponsored several charitable drives and events over the years.”
“Yeah, they tried to give back when they could,” Liam said, stifling a chuckle at the fact that he’d remembered the same thing about her family. “They always ran in your family’s marathon. When Tess first mentioned you, I couldn’t place the Royce name until I finally remembered that.”
Matter-of-factly, Anna said, “Typically, it is the opposite. I meet so many people who know of me before I even know they exist.”
He could only imagine. For better or worse, in the city, in the state, in the right places throughout and beyond the country, there was always a chance someone’s ears perked up in familiarity just because they overheard mention of her last name. Based on how Tess had described it, she lived the life of a celebrity on campus, though the overbearing nature of her father and this Trent character seemed to have laid its fair share of restrictions on her time there.
Still uncertain about what Tess had told Anna about him, Liam decided to take a minor risk. “Actually, I think you knew about me before I knew about you. When did you hear about me?”
“Pardon?”
“Tess only just told me about you a little while ago.Today, in fact. The first time I heard your name was while we were putting up my house’s lights.”
“Truly?”
He nodded. “Yeah, so I kind of lied earlier. Tess brought you up to brag about you—and to mention you were coming over for dinner, of course.”
A glimpse of color made its presence easily known within her alabaster complexion. “I don’t know if I’m quite worthy of whatever praise she might have heaped on me.”
Liam curled his forefinger and nestled it under his chin, acting as if he were thoughtfully recalling what Tess had told him. “Heaped is the right word for it. She sang your praises like you wereherdaughter. Wonderful, kind, a perfect student, and the list goes on.” Liam counted compliments on the fingers of his other hand.
“She’s just being kind.”
“I don’t think so. I’ve known Tess for a long time, and I’ve never heard her rave about someone the way she did you. She meant every word.”
Holding back a smile, he watched Anna fidget in her seat. As far as he could tell, she was battling with humility and a tinge of pride. The lingering scarlet upon her expression, the downward shift of her chin and eyes, the battle with her own slight smile—it all depicted how much Anna seemed to value Tess’s opinion. He wondered ifhe’dever made a face like that, potentially for the very same reason.
“She’s said similar things aboutyou,” Anna said, immediately providing him with just such an opportunity. “However, they usually end with, ‘and I still don’t know why he isn’t here at Bellmore.’”
As Liam opened his mouth, uncertain about what manner of reply he would give, footsteps and a callout from the woman they were discussing clamped it back shut. This time, he and Anna directed their attention to more than just Tess’s head. Smiling, and seemingly unaware of what they’d been discussing this time around, the gorgeous woman beckoned them to dinner.
On her kitchen counter, she’d portioned their dinner, which consisted of beef, broccoli, and rice all mixed together, into three separate bowls, with one—obviously meant for him—heaped higher with ingredients than the rest. On top of her stove, recently pulled out of the oven, sat a dozen piping hot bread rolls. As Tess herself said moments later, it was simple fare, though both he and Anna thanked her graciously. Yet, it was also the first time he’d ever had her cooking. That alone cemented the following meal into his memory.
At the dinner table, savoring the flavorful sauces and herbs added to the mix of meat, vegetable, and grain during its time on the stove, Liam, Tess, and Anna made polite conversation. While he didn’t typically scarf down food like it was a race to see who got down first, he realized in a few minutes that he’d effectively code-switched into a much primmer version of himself. He ate slowly, giving time to savor and chew each bite, but also so that he matched Anna, who dined with the practiced decorum befitting the stuffy dinner parties he suspected she was used to attending. A fifteen-minute meal turned into a thirty-minute one just because of the speed of their chewing.
“Do you and Avril have weekend plans?” Tess asked Anna about midway through the meal.
“We’re thinking about going ice skating the day after tomorrow,” she replied after calmly chewing and swallowing the morsel of beef currently in her mouth. “It’ll be the first of many occasions while we’re on break, I hope.”
