Chapter 25 Liam
TWENTY-FIVE
LIAM
I’m standing in the Jensens’ living room, a glass of spiked eggnog in my hand, the hum of laughter and clinking glasses around me. The same twinkle lights. The same fireplace crackling under stockings stitched with names I know by heart. It’s all so damn familiar.
Last year, I stood in this exact spot feeling like an outsider with a smile too polite to be real—flanked by Jasper and his family, by warmth I told myself I didn’t need.
I’d built my world to run on distance—homes on both coasts, a revolving door of shallow dates, and work that looked impressive but didn’t mean much when I turned the lights out alone.
Then she kissed me.
Juniper Jensen. The girl who’d hovered on the edge of my orbit for nearly ten years. The one with the sharp tongue and big dreams and soft heart she guards with armor made of snark. The one who showed me in that stupid, impulsive kiss that maybe I didn’t want the distance anymore.
It wrecked me. Not the kiss. The want.
How badly I wanted to say yes to her. Not because it was sex with a beautiful woman, but because I knew it would change me. She’d be under my skin in a way I’d never known, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
So, I panicked. I walked away because the second her mouth touched mine, I knew. She could gut me if I let her in. And I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But I didn’t know how to hold something like that. Something good.
Across the room, she’s laughing at something Beck says. My traitor of a brother, who’s leaning against the kitchen door with all the casual charm he’s never had to earn. He’s grinning wide, arms folded, eating up the attention she gives him.
She tilts her head back when she laughs, and it hits me again—this year is different. This year, I stay. I stay for every laugh, every stubborn glare, every chance she gives me to prove she’s not just Jasper’s sister anymore. She’s mine. If she’ll have me.
Beck flicks his gaze my way, clocking the look on my face. He smirks like the shithead he is and bumps her shoulder. “C’mon, Juni, you’ve got to admit I’d be the more fun Hargrove to keep around.”
Juniper snorts, her cheeks pink from wine and warmth. “I’d rather not spend Christmas bailing you out of trouble, Beck.”
I push off the mantle and close the space between us. Beck straightens just enough to brace for impact. Smart man.
“I hear you’re trying to steal my girl, Beck.” I hook an arm around Juniper’s waist, tugging her in until her back settles against my chest.
Beck just lifts a brow, unbothered. “Can you blame me? She’s way too good for you, big brother.”
Juniper laughs, but when she turns back to look at me, there’s a softness in her eyes.
“I don’t know, Beck. Your big brother’s full of surprises. I think he’s got an edge over you.”
Beck scoffs. “You wound me, Juni.”
I dip my head, my mouth brushing her ear. “Tell him you’re taken, Firefly.”
She doesn’t say it, but she leans her weight back into me, just enough for Beck to see exactly where her loyalty lies.
I let my lips graze the shell of her ear. “Good girl.”
Beck rolls his eyes so hard I’m surprised they don’t get stuck. “Disgusting. I’m getting more wine. Try not to maul her while I’m gone, yeah?”
Juniper turns just enough to shoot me a look, hazel eyes glittering under the twinkle lights. “Possessive much?”
I just grin. “You like it.”
She hums, noncommittal—but when I press my palm flat against her hip, she doesn’t move away.
Not this year.
Because when I leave tonight, it’s with her.
And I’m making damn sure she knows: last year I ran. This year, I stay.