Page 77 of Holiday Hostilities

“Livvy,” he says roughly. “What’s wrong?”

He’s discarded his tuxedo jacket and bowtie, leaving him in his dress pants and a perfectly tailored white button-down with the top button popped, showing off a little triangle of tanned skin. His hair is mussed and his eyes are heavy-lidded, and he looks so perfectly, exquisitely handsome that it makes my stomach clench. “Nothing.”

He comes to stand in front of me, his face creased with worry, and he gently puts his hands on my arms. “Don’t lie to me. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

His voice has taken on an almost tender quality, and for some reason, this makes me mad.

“No, I just…” The tears start to fall again, hot and angry this time, and I furiously blink them away. “Who’s Tessa?” I find myself asking.

He looks totally thrown off by the question. “Tessa? She’s someone I briefly dated last winter. Why?”

“She’s here tonight.”

“Oh, yeah. She works in communications at the RGM, so she knows a bunch of people.” He narrows his eyes. “Did she say something to upset you?”

“Honestly, it sounds like you broke her heart and she doesn’t understand why you ended it with her.”

Aaron scrubs a hand over his face. “Ah, yeah. We went on a couple of dates, and she wasn’t happy when I ended it. But it wasn’t going anywhere. We had nothing in common, and I had a feeling that she liked the idea of dating a hockey player more than she likedme.It was around that time that I realized I was getting sick of casual dating, and I didn’t want to prolong something with Tessa that would never amount to anything.”

“You thought she wasn’t good enough for you,” I say flatly.

“I thought she wasn’trightfor me,” he corrects. “Olivia, I promise I’m not a callous guy. I know you’d like to think I pick up and discard women as it suits me, but that’s not the case. It’s not that I believe people aren’tgoodenough for me.”

“Apart from me.” It’s a stupid thing to say, but my emotions are still getting the better of me.

His eyes flicker in surprise. “What?”

“You thought I wasn’t good enough for you.”

“What the hell makes you think that?” he demands.

“That night when you almost kissed me, then took off like a bat out of hell?” I reply, then immediately cringe at my own words. “Look, I know it’s dumb and petty of me to even bring it up, because we were just kids back then and a lot has changed since. I know you’re different now. But, I guess, hearing Tessa tonight reminded me of that whole situation and how it made me feel, even though it’s ancient history.” I sniff snottily, waving my hand. “This is so embarrassing. I’m such a mess for no reason.”

He closes the gap between us and captures my wrists in his hands, moving my hands away from my face so he can look at me. “You think I left that night because I thought you weren’t good enough for me?”

I nod.

He swears.

“Livvy, I left that night for the exact opposite reason. I panicked because I realized how much I liked you, but also realized that I was about to leave for Atlanta to start training camp. And on top of that, you were my best friend’s little sister and he’d be furious with me for making a move on you.”

“What?”

“The next day, I was going to talk to you about what almost happened, but then, you made some comment about how you’d gone temporarily insane. I thought you’d done the whole thingto mess with me. So, I did the same. Acted like I’d been messing around too, because I… I guess I was dumb enough to believe that was easier than admitting the truth.”

“The truth?”

He swallows, his Adam’s apple straining along the thick, tanned column of his throat. “That I was kind of obsessed with you.”

My head is pounding with confusion. “You… what?”

Aaron gives me this sweet, almost vulnerable look that I’ve never seen before but is already a favorite of mine. “Liv, you know why I gave you the nickname ‘Lil Griz’?”

“To make me crazy,” I reply with a dry smile.

“No. Because it was the easiest way to remind myself that you were Jake’s sister, and therefore off-limits.” His fingertips stroke my wrists, which are still wrapped in his hands. “I always had a crush on you. How could I not? You were so fun and feisty and interesting.”

He closes his eyes for a moment, long lashes skimming his cheekbones before he opens them again and gives me the full force of his gaze.

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