Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
LIAM
The gym smells like pine boughs and cinnamon, the floor polished to a shine beneath strings of white lights.
The town’s gone all out for the holiday dance with paper snowflakes hanging from the rafters and strings of white lights twinkling over the dance floor.
Couples laugh as they pin contestant numbers to their sweaters, and the band tunes up with a jazzy version of Jingle Bells.
And then there’s Ava.
She looks like she’s been dropped straight out of one of my dreams with full red lips, hair loose around her shoulders, wearing a cranberry-red dress that makes the whole room dim around her.
She’s beautiful, yeah. But it’s more than that.
She’s sharp in a way that keeps me on my toes, funny in a way that sneaks up on me, and caring in ways she doesn’t even realize.
She’s kind down to her bones, stubborn enough to drive me crazy, and strong enough to carry more than anyone should have to.
Every time she walks into a room, it feels like it’s hers without her even trying.
And God help me, I don’t know if I’ll ever stop being pulled to her like this.
When her eyes find mine, her mouth pinches tight like she’s holding something back.
Like she’s holding me back.
I cross the room to her, each step pulling me closer to the thing I’ve been trying not to want. She’s standing there like she belongs in Vermont, in this room, in my line of sight.
“You look beautiful,” I say, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
Her lips curve, soft and a little shy. “Thank you, Liam.”
“For what?” I ask, half a smile tugging at my mouth. “Telling the truth?”
She shakes her head, a quiet laugh slipping out. “For saying it anyway.”
My chest tightens with this pull to her that I can never shake when I’m around her. Every part of me is strung taut between wanting to keep it light and wanting to tell her the truth—that she’s the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen, and not just tonight. Always.
“Dance with me?” I ask, trying for easy as I hold out my hand.
She takes it, eyes flicking everywhere but me. “The contest is over, Liam. You don’t have to—”
“Ava, would you please just dance with me?” I say back, my heart beating like it thinks it’s prom night all over again and I finally got her to say yes.
She blinks, but then her hand slips forward, open and waiting and I take it without hesitation and walk us to the centre of the dance floor.
The band plays a waltz of all things as couples drift onto the floor, skirts swirling, shoes scuffing softly against wood. Ava hesitates, shifting her weight, and I see the crack in her armor—the part of her that is scared.
We sway back and forth with my palm resting at her waist, light but steady, her fingers curled against my shoulder.
The music swells. We move together, and it’s clumsy at first as her laugh bubbles out when I almost step on her foot…
but then we find it. That rhythm we’ve always had, the one that makes everything else drop away.
“Not bad, Carter,” she says, breathless, looking up at me with wide, shining eyes.
“Careful,” I say, squeezing her waist. “Sounds like a compliment.”
Her lips twitch, but then the smile fades. She looks away, over my shoulder, anywhere but at me.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” I ask, my voice low, trying to catch her gaze again.
“Nothing.”
I tighten my hold just enough to keep her from slipping further away. “Ava.”
She shakes her head. “Isn’t this just part of the act? That’s all it is. Just part of the contest.”
The words gut me, sharp and cold, because I know she believes them. But I’m not playing. Not with her. I dip my head, bringing my mouth close enough that only she can hear me. “It doesn’t feel like an act,” I murmur, and it’s the truest thing I’ve ever said. “Not to me.”
Her eyes flick up to mine, startled.
I swallow hard, my heart pounding loud enough I’m sure she can feel it through my chest. “Ava, I’ve been dancing with you in my head for years. Every time I thought about home, I thought about this. You and me. Together.”
Her steps falter, just for a beat, before she steadies. I tighten my hold—not to keep her close, but because if I let go now, I don’t know if I’ll get the chance again. “When we’ve been together the last couple of days…doing stuff like this, it doesn’t feel fake. Not one second of it.”
The music swells, strings humming low, and for the first time all night, she really looks at me. Not the way she looks when she’s sparring with me, or teasing, or pretending she’s above all this. But soft. Open. Enchanted.
Her lips part like she’s about to say something, but nothing comes out. And for a moment, I let myself believe she sees it too—the truth that’s been burning me alive since the day she left.
The song winds down, the last notes stretching thin. Applause breaks around us, couples slowing to a stop, but we don’t move. I’m still holding her. She’s still letting me.
My throat feels raw when I say it, low enough only she can hear. “I want to kiss you, Ave.”
Her breath catches, and for a second, I’m sure she’ll laugh it off, brush me away with that wall she’s been hiding behind. But then—she nods. Small, but certain.
I don’t hesitate, not giving her time to think. Without a word, I dip my head, closing the last inch between us, and press my mouth to hers.
She parts for me, and my tongue slides against hers, slow at first, then deeper, and greedier when her hands fist the front of my shirt like she’s been waiting years to touch me like this.
I wrap my hand in her hair as I taste her, licking deep into her mouth, kissing her like I want her to know that she will always be mine.
She whimpers against my lips, and my kiss turns hungrier, forgetting we aren’t alone in this room. Not caring who is watching.
This…this is what a kiss was meant to do. Meant to set something alight inside you, make every part of you remember you’re alive.
It’s perfect. Hot, hungry, nothing fake about it.
A sound breaks from her throat—half sigh, half surrender—and it nearly undoes me. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her in impossibly close to me like I can anchor us both in this moment.
The room blurs—the lights, the music, the crowd fading to nothing but her. The way she tastes like sugar and courage. The way her body fits against mine like it always belonged here.
For one breathless stretch of forever, I forget about the contest, the audience, and even the years it took us to get here, too naive to figure it out. It’s just Ava. Just us.
We break apart slowly, both of us breathless, her hands still gripping my shirt like she’s not ready to let go. I rest my forehead against hers, my chest heaving, the noise of the crowd fading to a dull hum.
“Finally,” I murmur, my hands coming up to tangle in her hair. “I knew it would be like this.”
“Like what, Liam?”
“Like I’ve waited my whole damn life to kiss you, and now that I have, I’m never letting you go.”
For a long moment, neither of us moves. Her breath warms my lips and I swear my heart is still wrapped up in that kiss.
“Liam…” she whispers, like she’s afraid to break whatever spell we’ve just slipped into.
I close my eyes, fighting to steady myself. “God, Ava. Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do that?”
Her lashes flutter, brushing my cheek. “It felt…” She trails off, then lets out a shaky laugh. “…perfect. It felt nothing like an act.”
Relief slices through me, sharp and sweet. I tip my head just enough to brush the bridge of her nose with mine. “Because it wasn’t. Not for me.”
Her hands fist tighter in my shirt. She doesn’t argue, doesn’t push me away. Her silence is an answer all its own.
“Not for me either…” She exhales, her voice barely audible. “It’s like we’ve been circling this moment forever, and we finally found it.”
The words sink straight into my chest, burrowing deep.
I pull her closer, brushing my lips against hers again, softly moaning like just that feather touch is going to be the death of me.
Then I coax her lips apart again, my tongue slipping into her mouth, tasting her, memorizing the feel of her in my arms. Every time her tongue slides over mine, a surge of lust rips through my bones.
“Ave,” I whimper between kisses. “I am ruined. I need these kisses every minute of every day.”
Her mouth looks kiss-swollen, the way her eyes won’t quite meet mine like she’s terrified of what I just admitted.
“Stop thinking, Ava,” I whisper against her mouth, my hand on her lower back pressing her body into mine.
The music swells into another song, couples spinning around us, but I don’t care. Right now, there’s only her and the way that kiss felt like the start of something I’ve been waiting my whole life for.
“Liam,” she whispers with eyes so blue they look like they are sparkling.
“What is it, baby? I’ll do anything for you,” I tell her.
“Please, let’s get out of here.”