Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
LIAM
Liam was busy working on the front of his shop in between customers. He’d planned an all-natural, farm-inspired theme with everything real and rustic, including a large sweep of evergreen he was draping over the front facade.
He was up on the ladder, finalizing a corner of the garland, when Cassidy’s voice called up to him.
“Does that mean your leg’s feeling better?”
Liam had been so focused on the decorating that her voice startled him. His foot slipped down one rung, and he barely caught himself before falling the rest of the way.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” she said quickly.
“It doesn’t count as a win if you kill me off,” said Liam.
He eased himself slowly off the ladder. It wasn’t entirely her fault; the metal rungs were slick with snow, and his hands were half-numb from the cold.
He hadn’t planned on staying outside so long, but once he started decorating, it was hard to stop.
“Maybe I should start wearing bells on my shoes?” she offered, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
He glanced at her outfit, half expecting to see another one of her famous Christmas sweaters, or at least a bright red coat, but instead, she wore faded denim overalls and a cream-colored wool coat. No cute hat. No glitter. She looked… subdued.
“You feeling alright?” he asked, folding up the ladder and propping it against the building.
“Yeah? Why?”
“No reason,” he said. He’d gotten used to seeing her Christmas sparkle, and prayed his gloom wasn’t already rubbing off on her.
Who knows, maybe he was reading into it too much.
Cassidy didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who cared what other people thought.
No, she was the kind of woman who probably wore Christmas sweaters in August. He liked that about her, which was shocking.
If it were anyone else, it would annoy the hell out of him.
He noticed she had a small square box in her hand.
“I just wanted to bring you a little thank-you gift for helping me with the chocolate earlier this week,” Cassidy said. “I know hot cocoa isn’t really your thing, and you were probably just feeling sorry for me, but still… it was nice.”
Liam felt like an ass. Cassidy thought the only reason he’d spent time with her was pity?
Maybe that’s what had got him to hang out with her in the first place, but that wasn’t the reason he’d stuck around.
Maybe her wide, nervous eyes and that dumb sweater and the way she’d looked so hopeful in the middle of the town square had tugged at something deep in his chest.
No, it wasn’t pity.
He’d stayed because of her.
Because she saw things he didn’t—little things, like how the lights reflected in the snow, or the way the carolers’ eyes shone as they sang. She didn’t just go through the motions; she truly found the wonder in them, and, somehow, standing next to her, he’d felt it too, for the first time in years.
He’d lived in Maple Falls his whole life, but with Cassidy beside him, he’d experienced more of the town’s magic than he ever had. Period.
And sure, yeah, he was going insane from wanting to kiss her, but it was more than that, too. So much more.
“Feeling sorry for you?” Liam repeated. “Not even close. Now, if you had suggested caroling, it would’ve been a different story.”
“What? No caroling?”
“Dear God, no.”
“Well, you’re no fun.”
“I wore that apron of yours, didn’t I?”
He might’ve had a dream about her chocolate shop later that night.
Only this time, she was the one in the apron—and nothing else.
Not after he’d slid her leggings down, inch by inch, kissing his way along the soft skin of her thighs while she whispered his name like a prayer, a carol playing in the background.
He’d lifted her onto the counter, hands spreading her legs as he sank to his knees, mouth trailing closer, closer.
Her breath hitched when he finally tasted her, his tongue slow and certain, fingers gripping her hips. She moaned, one hand tangled in his hair.
And by the time he was done with her, there was nothing innocent left about hot cocoa—or “Silent Night.”
He cleared his throat. “I had a good time, truly. Seeing Maple Falls through your eyes was… nice.”
Cassidy smiled softly and held out the box. “Still. Here are a couple of chocolates. Just a small thank you.”
He opened the box and laughed.
Inside were four individually wrapped bite-sized Snickers bars.
“Seeing as I haven’t figured out your favorite yet…” Cassidy said with a smile.
“Can’t go wrong with a Snickers.” He unwrapped one and popped it in his mouth. “Hits the spot,” he said after chewing.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I know you’re probably busy with your decorations, and I should be too, but I was talking to Zoe, and we were thinking about starting a Sunday hiking club.
Nothing crazy. I don’t know how your leg’s feeling, but if you want to get outside and hit the trail, Zoe’s plotting it out.
We’re thinking around ten o’clock tomorrow morning. ”
A hiking club. With Cassidy. Snow-covered trails. Her bright laughter echoing off the pines. Her flushed cheeks and blonde hair escaping her hat, falling in loose waves down her back.
Was it a bad idea? The more time he spent with her, the more he would want her, and he was already so far gone as it was.
The pre-Cassidy Liam knew he should be putting distance between them, reminding himself why the boundaries he’d carefully constructed mattered, even if her presence made the weight of the holidays easier to bear.
He opened his mouth to say no. To walk away before it got harder.
But the thought of fresh air and crisp snow, of being outside with friends, of being outside with her, was too much to resist.
Hell.
“Yeah,” he heard himself say, the word out before he could take it back. “Count me in.”
“Really?”
“I’ll come. If only to keep you from slipping on more ice.” He quirked a smile.
Cassidy smacked him playfully on the shoulder and he laughed, watching the way her eyes sparkled with challenge.
He took a small step back, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. “Ten o’clock tomorrow, then.”
“Great! I invited everyone back to my place afterward. There’ll be snacks, board games, all that good stuff. No pressure; you can just come for the hike.”
She was already backpedaling, probably assuming he’d come up with an excuse, that he’d bail. And yeah, he probably would have, if she hadn’t looked up at him like that. Like she didn’t expect anything from him but still hoped anyway.
“Actually, tomorrow’s Sunday lunch at my parents’. We could head over there after the hike. My mom would be thrilled to have everyone,” Liam said, surprising them both.
“Really?” Cassidy beamed.
And damn it, making her smile like that felt better than anything had in a long time.