Page 37 of Holiday Home 5

She stayed quiet until they reached the soft, wet sand. She strode a few steps farther, then waited for the salt water to cool her feet and tickle her ankles. Standing right beside her, Liam looked out into a nearly endless expanse. How many hundreds of miles away was the next island? Were they looking eastward, just as he looked westward, and their vision met somewhere in the middle of that vast range of ocean?

Victoria’s cool words drew him back to the present. “You’ll get your chance to impress me, Liam,” she said, almost whispering. “I’ll promise at least that much.”

Bubbling with pride, Liam couldn’t help but break into a wide smile. He searched for the right way to keep the conversation flowing in the right direction, which led him to circle back to a thought he’d had all the way back in the hot spring.

“So, do you keep a chess set in your classroom?”

Victoria blinked. “At Bellmore?”

He nodded. The next encroaching tide flowed in, washing a few feet past them.

“No, I don’t keep one in my classroom. Why?”

“Well, you should. I’m going to want to play some matches with you before or after class. It’s one of the two things I’m most excited about doing in your classroom.”

Hinting suspicion, Victoria eyed him. “And the second thing?”

“You’ll find out in four months,” Liam said.

Victoria rolled her eyes and returned her focus to the beach. “I hopestudyingwill continue to be important to you. Bellmore’s curriculum is tasking, and—”

“You don’t give extra credit?” Liam asked. He couldn’t resist grinning as Victoria’s expression flattened.

“I do not,” she said, lifting her chin. “But I’ve provided slight boosts to students who showed me throughout thewholesemester that they deserve that bit of help. My office hours are always posted, both on my door and online. Not understanding or struggling is not the same as not caring.”

Liam kept grinning. “I’ll strive to be one of thosedeservingstudents, then. Themostdeserving student.”

“I’ve seen your grades,” Victoria remarked dryly. “You shouldn’t need to invest that much time visiting during my office hours.”

“Maybe not, but I’ll want to.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be on the other side of campus, visiting Professor Williams during hers?”

Liam didn’t flinch. “Do you two plan them out to be at the same time? That would really suck.”

“We often do, yes. It allows us to leave at around the same time, in case we want to go out to eat or head to the gym.”

“That’ll make things a bit more challenging, but I’llstillbe the student who visits you the most.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s a promise,” Liam said, chin held high.

Glimmers of amusement appeared within the woman standing next to him. The way she ever so slightly shook her head, the way one corner of her lips rose. The way she kept chatting with him, alone at night on one of the most romantic beaches in the world, and how she eventually suggested they had back inside their suite.Theirsuite.

Chapter Eighteen

Before a Goodnight

Liam actuallyhadn’tpurchased most of the chess books he owned. Of his four, he’d only purchased one—Silman’s book, specifically. After noticing how invested he’d suddenly become, Grant had gotten him one only a week ago—and another friend had followed suit. They’d primarily meant it as a joke, a “here, enjoy your spring break with some boring books on chess.” Instead, it was going to help himcontinueimpressing one of the sexiest women alive.

If the room had come with internet, he probably wouldn’t have even considered digging for the books in his suitcase. Instead, he would have gotten on his laptop, thrown in some earbuds, and continued his usual route of learning chess—through videos and online lessons. He’d brought them along asreading material for the beach, expecting that there’d besomedowntime in his days. With the five of them together on a warm beach, bathing in the sun, Liam wanted something to do. That would have been these books, which might also strike up some interest from Tess and Victoria.

For it to happen on the very first night, his luck must be holding firm. He decided to push it a little, even.

“So, our deal starts when you getintobed, right?” Liam said. “Not just when the lights go off and we head to sleep.”

Having obtained her book already and begun heading toward the suite’s massive bed, Victoria glanced back at him. He was on one knee, searching in his suitcase for where he’d placed the stack of books.

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