Page 9 of Holiday Home 4

And unfortunately, this one’s taking the longest to accomplish,Liam thought, rubbing his eyes. He’d seen enough small print for today, and thankfully, the woman sitting at the same kitchen island as him recognized how he was feeling.

“That should be enough for today,” said a woman with an undisputedly calm and collected voice. It was her natural disposition, as immutable as the cold void of space. Okay, it wasn’tthatemotionless.Shewasn’t that emotionless. More and more, Liam was starting to detect theverysubtle cues that Victoria Moreno commonly used.

This wasn’t necessarily because he’d become more perceptive, absorbing some of Anna’s perceptiveness through osmosis, but solely because of the amount of time he’d spent with Victoria lately. Alone, even. However, it was certainly nothing like his time alone with her fellow professor. Not for lack of desire for such a parallel, though he also hadn’ttriedto make anything happen between them.

How could he? It’d be like expecting an astronaut to fly to the moon in a sailboat. An impossible miracle.

But then… what do you call your situations with Tess, Anna, and Avril?a particularly bold part of him asked. It’d become a recent tenant within his mind, and it spoke up more and more often. Often, he let it have its way. But not now, not here. Victoria Moreno wasn’t someone to trifle with.

Trifle with?that same voice snorted.She’snota goddess. You won’t end up incurring divine wrath if you flirt with her a little.

Well… he might, and well, shemight be.

Victoria Moreno possessed all the requirements necessary to be worshipped by ancient civilizations, revered both as a goddess of beauty and rulership. She was tall, curvaceous—oh, but she was curvaceous—and carried herself with the poise of such a deity. Constantly in control of her emotions, nothing seemed able to disrupt her mood. Outside of some subtle cues that he’d—with the occasional insight from Avril, who knew her better than just about anyone—started noticing, she really was statuesque.

Formed by a sculptor who loved women with height, severe intensity, and unraveling voluptuousness.

She had smooth olive skin, and he believed she had Spanish or Portuguese roots based on her last name. But Liam wasn’t certain; in fact, he didn’t know much about her past. Other than the eyebrow-raising fact that she’d been engaged to Avril’s older brother for a time, only to break it off after recognizing that he was in no hurry to mature. Surprisingly, even Avril praised Victoria for making that choice, basically calling her older brother unworthy of such a woman. But who was?

Alongside her height, luscious figure, and unflappable calm, she had a pair of eyes so startingly blue that they seemed formed from the same stuff as the wintry sky hovering above her roof. Piercing, intimidating, shiver-inducing—Liam could go on. When it came to her many,manyweapons, those eyes of hers, always so unfalteringly intense, were the best at stealing his breath.

So long as his gaze couldreachthose eyes.

That, in and of itself, was a challenge, akin to summiting a mountain. And thereweremountains to climb to reach her eyes.Right now, they were snug and comfortable beneath a sweater that a less busty woman might have worn loosely. Realistically, that was probably how it was sold: a loose sweater.

It wasn’t when Victoria wore it.

The sweater had only a single sleeve, and Liam silently thanked whoever had designed it for this omission. The khaki-colored top bared her right shoulder and arm but then decided it should also bare Victoria’s midriff. Everywhere else, it clung to her without remorse, shaping itself around her stunning figure.

She’s as fit as you are, Tess,Liam thought, though that was hardly surprising. It was Victoria who had pulled Tess into being a workout partner following the latter’s divorce. No, before that, he reminded himself. The divorce had only gone through a little over two months ago. But Tess and her unpleasant—and unworthy, as Liam saw it—husband had been separated for far longer.

Victoria didn’t seem to realize that he wasn’t helping put away some of the papers she’d pulled out of a fashionable beige briefcase a little while ago—more of a handbag than a 1950s-style briefcase. Fashionable. He’d left out that word when thinking of her a few moments ago. There were just so many to keep track of when it came to Victoria. As if she wouldn’t settle withjustbeing incredibly attractive, composed, intelligent, and diligent. She also had to have a killer fashion sense.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Liam couldn’t comprehend the question. So, he replied with the dullness of a rusted knife trying to saw open a coconut. Something that he’d never done but which he might end up getting to try his hand at in a couple of months.

“Would you like something to drink?” Victoria asked again, patient with him.

“Oh! Yeah, sure. Thank you.”

After finishing putting away the papers, she stood and headed toward the nearby refrigerator. Liam’s eyes greedily pursued. Instead of questioning where heshouldlook at Victoria to avoid feeling a surge of desire, the questions should be about where hecouldlook. Did an option even exist?

From behind, she was no less attractive than from the front. She had dark brown hair, only a few shades lighter than Anna’s black hair, and it gathered in a spiraling crown behind her head today. A couple lengths were allowed to go free, and one landed on the shoulder of her sweater. Another was allowed to caress her uncovered shoulder, which was the luckiest of the lot.

Down his eyes went. Her hourglass figure, which the sweater still clung to so merrily. Her shapely butt, hugged by a pair of tight jeans. Her long legs, which strode with a sure gait toward her destination.

Where. Should. He. Look?

Anywhere, everywhere,that bolder voice of his announced gleefully.For as long as you can.

Again, Liam didn’t let it have his way. He turned his eyes upward, admiring the ceiling. When that failed to keep him excited for even a second, he swept his gaze around the rest of her kitchen. It was enormous, as was the island he sat at. Lazily swiveling in his stool, he tried to focus on the décor.

Being a professor at Bellmore, one of the most prestigious colleges in the country, paid well. Tess could support that idea. Both women, unmarried, possessed beautiful homes. And among his handful of secrets about Victoria, he knew she enjoyed gardening. Once spring finally bloomed, he suspected that her home would flourish with color.

For now, it had to make do with indoor plants, including the bonsai tree he’d gotten for her at Christmas time, pretty much solely because Avril had suggested it to him. At the time, he’dbeen worried that it’d be some sort of insider joke, him the butt of it. However, no, Victoria hadacceptedthe gift graciously.

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