Page 48 of Her Holiday Arrangement
“Yes,” Riley murmured, biting her lip. The hint of hurt in her voice was unmistakable, and Elizabeth hated it. Hated that she’d caused it, but she had no choice. Not here. Not now.
Elizabeth adjusted Riley’s elbow, nudging her into the right posture as they approached a small cluster of cousins and familyfriends. She forced a polite smile, exterior flawless, while her internal voice was a whip.Eyes forward. Keep her steady. No slip. Don’t let her ruin this.
One of the cousins leaned in, examining Riley with an almost imperceptible raise of the brow. Elizabeth’s jaw tightened. She caught Riley’s gaze, just for a moment, and saw the question there:Why are you being so cold?
Elizabeth stepped onto the balcony, the door clicking softly behind her. The night was quiet except for the occasional groan of the estate settling in the cold. Snow had begun to fall again, fine flakes drifting lazily against the iron railing. The air bit at her cheeks, but she barely noticed; she needed space from the warmth and gold of the ballroom, from the memory of Riley’s gaze across the table, from herself.
Her gloved hands flexed at her sides. She shouldn’t have let it go this far, the way her hand had lingered too long when she reached for Riley’s plate, the way her eyes had trailed over the curve of Riley’s neck. Riley’s soft laugh. Riley’s courage in stepping into a world she didn’t belong to. It was a dangerous, beautiful lie.
Footsteps on the snowed balcony made her tense. She didn’t turn, but she knew.
“Don’t walk away from me again,” Riley’s voice was low, hard, cutting through the quiet like a knife. “I’m not doing this silent treatment thing with you, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth exhaled slowly, shoulders stiff. “You should go inside.”
Riley came closer, boots crunching softly. “Why are you like this?” she asked, voice quieter, edged with frustration. “Why are you cold to me when we’re alone and smiling for everyone else?”
Elizabeth finally turned to face her.
Riley stood under the low archway of twinkling lights, cheeks flushed with cold, hair curling wildly around her shoulders, arms crossed over her chest like she was holding herself together. Her cocktail dress was mostly hidden under a coat that didn’t quite fit, probably borrowed. But her expression, furious, hurt, determined, made her look anything but small.
“We need to talk,” Riley said.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Bullshit.”
Elizabeth’s mouth twitched. “Charming.”
“Don’t deflect,” Riley snapped. “You’ve been doing it all night. Ifeltyou pulling away, right there in the ballroom. You couldn’t even look at me.”
Elizabeth looked away now, back toward the snow-laced hedges. “It was a lapse in judgment. Last night. That’s all it was.”
Riley inhaled sharply. “You’re really going to stand there and call me a lapse.”
“That’s not what I meant?—”
“Yes, it is,” Riley interrupted. Her voice wavered, but she didn’t look away. “You think if you call it that, just a mistake, you can box it up and bury it under your perfect career and your fake smiles. But you don’t get to rewrite what happened.”
Elizabeth’s hands curled into fists in her pockets.
“You kissed me like you meant it,” Riley said, stepping closer. “You touched me like you knew exactly who I was and wanted me anyway.”
Elizabeth flinched, just slightly. “Stop.”
“No.” Riley’s voice rose, not loud but fierce. “Because I’m not going to stand out here in the snow and let you pretend Iimagined it. That I made it up in my head. I’m not some passing mistake you get to regret in the morning.”
“Ican’twant this,” Elizabeth said suddenly, her voice low and brittle. “You think I don’t lie awake every night knowing exactly how reckless it is? You work for me. We live in two different worlds. If I start,if I let myself feel anything for you,it all comes apart.”
Riley blinked at her. “It’s already coming apart.”
They stared at each other under the weight of that truth.
Snow collected on Riley’s shoulders. Elizabeth’s throat ached.
“You’re not scared it’s going to fall apart,” Riley said quietly. “You’re scared itmeanssomething. And it does.”
Elizabeth looked down at the snow between them.
