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“See you soon,” he said for the final time.
His escape from her house involved no tremendous amount of skill or luck. Anna remained showering in the distant guest bathroom, and she’d even shut the door. Even the creaks heading down the stairs were unlikely to result in anything. Even if Anna did hear them, she’d certainly think it was just Tess heading toward her kitchen or living room.
There was no way a woman as pure as her would consider that it might be due to a young man sneaking away after bringing the house’s owner to climax. He reached the door, put down the shoes he’d carried from Tess’s bedroom with him, slipped them on, and then slipped outdoors.
Unsurprisingly, the elements didn’t care at all about his triumph. He hurried home as quickly as he could, arms wrapped around his sides and shoulders hunkered forward, shivering more drastically than any he’d caused Tess.
Once safely back among modern heating, Liam sagged against his door.
It’d happened. It wasn’t a dream, even if it felt like one. He and Tess. He and Tess!
He considered sending Avril word of his success, but he decided he’d hold off. After all, it was possible he’d have more to report by the end of the day.
Every minute he spent loitering in his house trickled by with agonizing lethargy. A second felt like a minute, a minute felt like an hour, and an hour felt like an eternity. He spent more time checking his phone’s clock than he did anything else. He wanted to rush back over immediately, but he also remembered Avril’s claim about Anna’s perceptiveness.
There'd be no hiding it if she’d seen him now, bubbling with excitement like a steaming hot pot about to overflow. He was neck deep in his jubilance, struggling not to fist pump the air each time he envisioned the vivid memory of the morning he’d just spent with Tess. To grin. To exult with a cheer.
It was an emotion he worked to quell—at least the outward-facing aspect—through his time at home, but he found it like trying to cool lava by blowing on it. Part of him hoped Tess was in better control of her emotions following their intimacy, yet another part of him hoped she was struggling just as mightily as he was.
He wondered where her thoughts had led her in the aftermath of her climax once he’d gone. Assuming she accomplished what he struggled to achieve in his home, there’d be no sharing those thoughts while Anna was around. But he wondered how their next length of privacy would go once she was gone.
Well. It would go well. He told himself this repeatedly, keeping at bay the fretful thought that she might regret what they’d done. That she might call it a mistake. He refused to let the ruination of his good mood burrow into his heart.
It would go well. This became his mantra.
Ten-thirty crept upon him like molasses, and he finally felt like he’d smothered the spontaneous smiles and delighted shivers that had wracked him since he’d made it home. Ten-thirty felt late enough for him to trudge over and see what the two beautiful women next door were up to.
So, dressed more appropriately for the weather and potentially expecting they’d start clearing the driveway and at least Anna’s car, Liam made his way to Tess’s door for the second time that morning. Anna answered when he rang its doorbell.
“Hi, Liam,” she said, smiling at him. With each new one she favored him with, he saw less stilted politeness and more warm friendliness. “Welcome back.”
He buried the trill of alarm that rang in his mind, knowing it was nothing but paranoia. She didn’t know about this morning. There was no way she knew.
“Thanks for having me,” he responded, quickly banging the snow off his shoes onto Tess’s doorstep and then scuttling into the house’s warmth as Anna, who was not dressed for an outdoor adventure just yet, moved back.
“I have some news from Avril,” Anna said as he hung his coat and removed his shoes.
Another trill followed the first, which was even more ridiculous and unfounded than the first. Bending over to hide his face while he undid his laces, he admonished himself for being so foolishly jumpy. If anyone were going to give things away, it would be him, especially if he didn’t stop practically wincing every time she said something.
“Yeah, what’s she saying?” he asked once he’d stood up and faced her.
“They’ve already started clearing most of the main roads, and they’re saying they’ll have them reopened by tomorrow morning. Avril wants to come and get me outside the neighborhood by then.”
“Meaning she wants you to trudge through about a mile of snow, and a hill, to get to where she’ll be able to pick you up?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow.
Anna nodded. “That is what she’s said.”
“It’s a silly idea,” a new voice called from the living room, unseen but well-heard. “Anna, you can stay here another day or two until they clear off our streets.”
“I don’t want to keep imposing,” Anna whispered to him. “And I do miss my own bed and clothes.” She nodded toward the way her borrowed pants bunched at her ankles.
“If you decide to go, I can walk with you,” he offered.
“I wouldn’t want to force you to come along. I could get myself to where I need to.”
“I wouldn’t feel forced,” he promised. “Just let me know if you decide to go, okay?”
After a moment of staring at him with those unique, alluring eyes of hers, Anna’s full lips curled into another warm smile. “Thank you, Liam. I appreciate that.”
