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“You joke, but sitting at home alone every night is pretty close to what I consider a fate worse than death,” Tess said, melancholy eroding some of her smile’s shine. “It’s cold and dark by five, and then there’s nothing to do but waste away.”
“W-well, don’t worry about that again,” Liam hastily said, desperately wanting to vanquish the gloom threatening the most wonderful woman in the world. “Mi casa es su casa. If I can come over anytime, then so can you. No more frozen food for me, no more dreary nights for you.”
“I really did luck out,” Tess said, eyes turning slightly glassy as she stared at him. She threw up the sleeve of her sweater and wiped away the gathering. Her smile had reformed in its full splendor when she dropped her arm back down. “Now, I’m even more upset I won’t get to see you in one of my classrooms. You could be my favorite neighborandmy favorite student.”
She mustn’t have meant it, but he thought he heard a husky edge just barely there within her final few words. In response, a miniature thrill coursed up Liam’s spine, and he gulped. Smiling sheepishly, he shrugged.
“I can’t have everything, can I? That wouldn’t be fair to the rest of them.”
Tess rolled her eyes and, still smiling, reached for another slice of pizza, which she tilted meaningfully in his direction. “Excluding Anna and Avril, you’re already in a league of your own.”
“I might not be as used to exclusive clubs as one of them is,” Liam said with a smile.
“Really?” Tess asked, floating a curiously amused look his way. “And which one of them are you referring to?”
Liam’s eyebrows knit together. “Um, Anna, no?”
After examining him briefly, Tess just smiled and continued as if she hadn’t segued them into this point. “Maybe it’s not quite as prestigious as a country club membership, but I like to think it’s still something to hang a hat on. You’re my only non-student invitee, at least in your age range.”
“Consider my hat hung,” he assured her. “I’d pick you over a country club anytime.”
“Now you’re being too flattering,” she said, pushing on his shoulder. “It’ll go to my head if you say things like that.”
“I don’t see why it shouldn’t. Of all people, you should get to have a bit of an ego.”
“Should I?” Tess asked, raising an eyebrow. “What exactly do I have to be so confident about?”
Heat blossomed beneath Liam’s face, and he realized he’d prattled on without thinking a bit too much. “Ah, I just think you have a lot you can be proud of,” he stammered.
Ever so slightly, Tess leaned a little closer to him. Her eyebrow remained raised, yet an almost imperceptible shift glimmered behind her radiantly deep blue eyes.
“Such as?”
If he hadn’t grown up accustomed to Tess causing his heart to sprint a mile a minute, he might have thought he was experiencing a sudden heart attack. Rubbing his palms on his pants, Liam swallowed dryly.
“W-well, where should I begin?” he said.
“Wherever you think is best,” Tess replied without missing a beat.
“I, uh, I’d say that you’re easily one of the most warm and caring people I’ve ever known. And you’re as smart as anyone I’ve ever known, but you never look down or condescend toward anyone.”
It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to cringe at his own words. A toddler still learning to sound out his vowels could have matched his eloquence. The heat bothering him had already started to grease his palms in perspiration.
Yet, Tess remained smiling, remained leaning forward, and seemingly remained interested in what else he had to say.
“I’m all those things? Me?”
Liam nodded, swallowing again. “O-of course. Anyone who’d met you would agree.”
“Is there anything else?” Tess asked, subtly biting down upon part of her lower lip. “I know it’s ruining my chances of you claiming I’m humble, but I can’t help but want to hear you sing a few more compliments.”
Hopelessly besotted with the gorgeous woman, Liam nodded like a marionette on strings. “You always brighten my day, and I can’t think of a single time where I wasn’t happy to bump into you. You’re beautiful and amazing, and no one could ever convince me otherwise.”
Silence followed the bold end of his proclamation as Tess stared unblinkingly at him. He’d certainly sung her praises, just as she’d hoped. Yet, immediately clamping his jaw shut, a visceral dread stabbed through him. He’d said too much, hadn’t he? Every sentence except the last might have been the praise of a friend, but not the last. Not with how he’d said it, at least. Panic gathered like a maelstrom inside his chest, mincing his good mood into driftwood.
Tess saved him with a smile. She tilted her head slightly, beaming at him. “I plan to save those words for later, in case you ever forget that you’ve said them.”
He stopped himself from breathing a sigh of relief. Smiling weakly, he said, “I won’t. Not a chance.”
