Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
LIAM
Liam hadn’t expected to hear from Cassidy that day—honestly, he hadn’t thought he’d hear from her much at all that week. She would be deep in prep for her Christmas light-up event on Friday.
So when her name lit up his phone with a new message as he was walking back inside his house from Sunday lunch with his family, he stopped mid-step. Shifting to balance his mom’s leftovers against his hip, he freed his thumb to read it.
Hey, want to come over for dinner tonight?
She didn’t say what she was making, but he figured she had it covered. Still, he wasn’t going to show up empty-handed.
He texted back:
Just tell me when. Want me to bring anything?
She replied:
Don’t worry about it. I’ve got everything taken care of.
That winking emoji should not have made his stomach do what it did.
Liam gave himself a stern talking-to, reminding himself that tonight wasn’t about crossing any lines.
He wasn’t going to tempt her with anything more than good conversation—maybe a goodnight kiss if the mood was right.
He respected her vow, even if it was getting harder and harder to ignore the way she looked at him sometimes.
He still couldn’t believe she’d stayed with Jean-Paul as long as she had… and yet, in a way, he could. That’s how people ended up in toxic relationships, wasn’t it? They didn’t realize how far they’d drifted until they could no longer see the shoreline.
Guys like Jean-Paul were master gaslighters.
They made you second-guess everything—what you heard, what you felt—until you were the one apologizing for their behavior.
Liam had never even met the man, but he could see it in Cassidy.
In the way she apologized for being “too much,” as if her brightness was something to tone down.
But she wasn’t too much. She was perfect.
He decided to bring a bottle of wine—maybe a little cliché, but Cassidy would appreciate it.
The sun set early in December in Maple Falls. It wasn’t even six o’clock, and stores had already switched on their Christmas lights. Families were arriving, bundled in scarves and hats, heading toward the Santa House or snapping photos in front of the town’s giant Christmas tree.
Liam imagined standing there with Cassidy, his arms wrapped around her waist as someone took their picture—not for social media, not for the town’s Christmas Countdown page—just for them. She wasn’t ready for that, but maybe next year. Yeah, next year Liam could see that.
Maybe they’d even send out holiday cards.
He chuckled to himself. Holiday cards? Christmas trees?
Who in the hell was he?
He was about to step into the general store for that bottle of wine when he spotted her.
She wore her red wool coat, the one with the oversized buttons and faux fur trim. Her black stocking cap was slightly crooked, the way it always slid when she rushed somewhere. She was gorgeous. And he smiled, knowing he was having dinner that night with the most beautiful woman in Maple Falls.
He lifted a hand, ready to call out to her, to cross the street and surprise her.
But then she stopped.
She hadn’t seen him. She was standing near the town’s Christmas tree, where the warm white lights glowed against the softening blue of early evening. Snow fell in gentle flurries, catching in the streetlights, turning the square into something out of a snow globe.
That’s when Liam saw him.
A man stood in front of her. He had a thick mess of dark hair, tousled in that effortless way Liam had always found infuriating. The kind of guy who looked like he walked out of a magazine shoot without even trying.
The man turned his collar up against the cold, and he was smiling at her. Smiling like he knew her. Like he had a right to stand that close.
Liam’s smile slipped, confusion tightening into something heavier in his gut.
They were talking, and even from across the street, Liam could see Cassidy’s face shift—her eyes wide, mouth parting, her breath visible in small white clouds. Her hands came out of her pockets, fluttering like she didn’t know what to do with them.
And then, without warning, the man dropped to one knee.
The world around them slowed. People in the square paused, their conversations cutting off mid-sentence, cider cups frozen halfway to lips, eyes widening as they turned to watch.
The lights from the tree twinkled above them, the snow falling thicker now, a perfect, cinematic backdrop for what was happening.
Cassidy’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes glistening in the glow of the Christmas lights.
Liam took a single step forward, heart hammering, a dull roar in his ears. He couldn’t hear what the man was saying, but he didn’t need to. The look on Cassidy’s face—shock, confusion, something like disbelief—told him enough.
The man rose, slow, confident, and then he pulled Cassidy into his arms, pressing his mouth to hers in a passionate kiss.
Liam felt the ground tilt.
His chest felt tight, the cold air suddenly sharp in his lungs, burning with every breath.
He didn’t need to get closer. He didn’t need to see any more.
Because there was only one man who would show up out of nowhere, who would kiss her like he owned her, who would look at Cassidy like she was a prize he was claiming.
Jean-Paul. Who else could it be?
All this time, Liam had assumed Cassidy’s vow was about healing. About reclaiming her independence. About moving forward. That’s what she’d said, wasn’t it?
And he’d believed her.
But maybe… maybe it was about waiting.
Waiting for him.
For the man she’d never gotten over.
Liam had seen it with Zach and Madison—the way feelings, when buried, never really went away. Deep down, Madison had always wanted Zach to fight for her. To chase after her.
Maybe Cassidy wasn’t so different.
Maybe she’d been holding out hope all along.
He couldn’t breathe. The woman he was falling for—who he was imagining a future with—had never really been his.
And Jean-Paul? God, everything Cassidy had told him about that guy screamed red flags—narcissistic, controlling, manipulative.
The kind of man who could shatter a woman’s confidence, piece by piece, until she didn’t even realize it was happening.
The kind of man who would show up like this, in the middle of town, making a spectacle, pulling her back into his orbit like she owed him something.
What was he supposed to do? Run across the street and drag her away?
If this was her choice… he would just never be able to understand it.
A familiar tightness pressed against his ribs, creeping up his throat.
He hadn’t had a panic attack in over a year, but he felt one coming on now.
It suddenly felt like this time of year was cursed for him.
He’d just started to let go of the past, and to fall in love again.
He should have known better than to tempt fate by allowing happiness to get a foothold at Christmastime.
Now he was going to have a panic attack here, in front of everyone, in front of her.
No. He needed out. Out of town, out of the crowd, away from the lights and the cheer and the image of Cassidy being kissed by someone else.
He turned to walk away and found himself running.
He had to escape Maple Falls.