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Three out of four wasn’t a bad score, not for this kind of exam. Not expecting Victoria to even rise from her chair when he’d offered her his goodbye, she’d left him startled when she not only got up but then gave him a brief opportunity to feel her voluptuous body against his.

“She’s happy to be going to Fiji, finally,” Avril teased.

“That’s true,” Victoria whispered as their embrace ended, and he was confident he was the only one who’d heard her.

And lastly, he said goodbye to a woman with eyes like endless depths, which seemed to glow as he grew nearer to her. Hopefully, Anna wasn’t paying too much attention, though she’d long ago noticed that there appeared to be a shared interest between him and Tess. If she did, her mood didn’t seem any different after his warm hug with the next-door neighbor he loved ended.

“Next time we’re all together, we’ll probably be boarding a plane,” he pointed out.

“One month away,” Avril said, grinning.

“And then we’re off to Fiji,” Tess said.

One month away. And then Fiji. Yet there was so, so much that could occur within a month: development, refinement, even a shocking reveal or two.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The Rhythm of March

In the month of March, Liam experienced very little time that wasn’t well spent. During the week, he focused on excelling in his midterms, keeping up his gym regimen, and using his laptop and phone to get as much experience in chess as was humanly possible. His YouTube recommendations certainly took a drastic turn toward educational chess content, if anything else.

Was chess sexier than cards? He didn’t really think so, but he wasn’t trying to attractnewattention. He wasn’t about to bring out his chess set, sit down in the nearest park, and hope that a beautiful woman or two admired him for his brilliant tactics and positional play. He already knew two beautiful women, and they appreciated chess. They’d also gated certainopportunities that he desperately sought behind the game. So, chess became the new love of his life.

On the physical side, he finally noticed some changes to his body. Since about mid-February, he’d already found himself able to get in more reps, which had led to some increases in how much weight he worked with. But now, as he crept through the third month in a row where he’d stayed diligent and focused onanotherof his goals, he started to see changes in his definition. His muscles looked fuller and visibly more defined, and he could again increase his workload.

And then, of course, he continued to spend an excessive amount of time texting the four gorgeous women he’d see in bikinis and sundresses a month from now—and then three weeks from now, and then two weeks from now. With the weather also continuing to improve, Liam’s anticipation grew ever more palpable.

He could tell he wasn’t alone in experiencing that increasing excitement. Anna was the most obviously different, and they spent numerous hours discussing Fiji, what kinds of things there were to do there, how beautiful the sights were. Not far behind her, Tess seemed thrilled about what she described as her “first major vacation since… well, you know.”

And he knew. He cared very deeply about ensuring that the trip went well. Especially for Tess. Enough so that Avril got a little tired of him asking—and her not answering—questions about what she had planned for them once they reached the island paradise.

You’ll find the fuck out, just like everyone else,she told him.Let your beautiful big sis handle all the details. You just keep counting down the days.

Finally, Victoria was the least outwardly excited person that their trip was approaching, but Liam knew by now that her outward coolness didn’t always match her inward anticipation.She was totally excited, possibly even overjoyed. He just couldn’t prove it before a jury of his peers. But he knew it. And he knew she knew he knew it. He also knew she’d bought a few new outfits for the trip—he was sure she’d been telling the truth about that. She’d always intended to keep her word. He knew she was that kind of person.

Unfortunately, that internal excitement didn’t lead to more pictures. Their deal was through, replaced by one with a greater reward but a much steeper hill to climb. Victoria didnotgrant him any freebies, not in winning, not by sending him any more pictures of her past.

If you’d still wanted more of those, you should have thought about that when you created the new deal,she let him know one night, right after he’d inquired if there was any possibility of remaking that component of their deal.You knew when the original one would be coming to an end.

Yeah, but I got a little excited about the new one, so I wasn’t thinking straight.

I could tell,the dark-haired professor, merciless as always, said.But I cannot see a good reason to remake that portion of our deal.

Because you like showing off how attractive you are and receiving my compliments?he’d thrown out. It’d been like driving out into the ocean and trying to catch a marlin with a toy fishing rod.

If you wish to see another glimpse of me in a bikini before April, you’ll just have to improve your chess skills quickly,she’d replied.

However, if he could scrape a single win against her before the trip, he wouldn’t ask for another picture of her in a bikini. Instead, he had an idea that built off the last picture that he’d received from her. One that he hoped would continue building their relationship in the right direction, which would, in turn,make Fiji even more unforgettable than it already was going to be.

So far, his hopes had yet to materialize. Over the past two Saturdays, she’d kept up her dominance. At least, thanks to her instruction, some from Tess, and plenty of self-study, he was becoming more aware of the mistakes he was making, even before they reviewed things. And that was one small glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark fog.

If Victoria had wanted to keep him from ever beating her, she could have tried much, much harder to keep him at his current skill level. That, in and of itself, was meaningful. And so, he stayed hopeful about his final two chances for a rematch before their trip.

They were leaving on the 31st, a Sunday. If he couldn’t bring her down this coming Saturday, he’d have one final chance—the day before they all gathered onto a plane and headed toward paradise. From the breadcrumbs that Avril had handed him, the plan was to arrive at the airport and depart at almost midnight. Because of time zones and everything, they’d actually end up arriving on March 2nd, not the 1st, but Liam already knew how all that worked. South Korea was three hours behind Fiji, and he was used to losing a day during the flight over and then getting one back on the return trip. They’d get their full week in Fiji; he knew that much.

What bothered him was how elusive Avril was about the flight, where they should meet up, and when. At first, after she’d reminded him that he could just carpool with Tess, he’d let it go. But after asking Tess, he’d gotten the same odd brand of elusiveness. He couldn’t comprehend why. Like everyone else, he was okay with Avril covering the trip expenses. This time, he didn’t intend to argue over it. But maybe Avril had convinced everyone to hold back the details, in case he tried to replay his Christmas antics?

When his parents learned of his planned trip, they were surprised but completely okay with it. They knew he knew how to travel safely, and he’d already mentioned Anna a few times. A group FaceTime call had allowed them to meet his “girlfriend,” and if anyone could make a good first impression, it was Annabelle Royce. It had also probably helped that they’d been slightly stunned when he’d revealed that he was dating the heiress to Royce Railroads.

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