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He knew just what to say to make me feel special. “You’re a very sweet guy, you know?”

Laughter spilled out of him. “I’m trying.”

I wanted to ask what he was trying so hard for. I wanted to ask why it was me he invited. But I was too much of a chicken.

As we danced and shared prolonged eye contact, I silently wondered about what was happening. Was Liam just being a good friend, or was there something else here? I had nothing to compare it to, no previous boyfriends or guy friends that I could make a conclusive decision.

For two months, Liam had been consuming my thoughts and daydreams. It was only out of fear that someone would catch me that I hadn’t been writing my name and his inside hearts in my notebook.

Two slow songs later, Liam asked, “Do you want to get some dessert?”

I nodded. “I’d love some.”

We crossed the room, found that there were still heaping piles of cookies, cakes, and other sweet treats. I’d never known abundance like this before. “There’s so much. I don’t know what to choose.”

“Take a few things that look appetizing, and I’ll get different things. Then we can share,” he reasoned.

I took a plate, loaded it up, and Liam did the same. I had expected we’d return to the table we’d had dinner at, but Liam took me by the hand and led me out of the ballroom.

“Where are we going?”

“I just want us to be able to have dessert and talk without my brothers or anyone else around,” he explained, leading me down the hall toward the elevator.

We rode it up to the top floor, made a left turn, and strode down another hall before coming to the end of it where a huge glass window overlooked the courtyard behind the hotel. There were Christmas lights and displays outside, and Liam urged me to have a seat on one of the sofas there that offered the perfect view of the night sky.

“This is beautiful,” I marveled. “And much quieter.”

“Yeah. We’ll head back to the party to have more fun before we need to leave and take you home, but I wanted some time to have you to myself, especially since I probably won’t be able to see you until our winter break is over.”

Liam was something spectacular. He was always thinking ahead and finding ways to be creative. Maybe that’s why he was so good at doing things with his hands, like carving pumpkins and fixing equipment and rides at the amusement park.

“I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about the long break. Do you have big plans?”

Liam had taken a bite of one of his Christmas cookies and held it out to me. “Here, try this one.” I took a bite, feeling my belly tremble as I did. A guy was giving me a bite of his dessert. I felt spoiled. “We’ll be home doing things together as a family through Christmas Day. Then we’re probably going to take a ski trip to Keystone Mountain. It didn’t used to happen every year, but it’s become a bit of a tradition in recent years.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“It is. We have a great time. What about you? What are your plans?”

“It’s just my mom and me. We’ll spend our holiday together, but then I’ll do what I always do, which is to spend time with her at her store.”

“Her store?”

Nodding as I picked up a mini red velvet cupcake, I shared, “My mom owns a consignment shop near the downtown Landing area.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I didn’t know that.”

I shrugged. “It’s nothing like Westwood’s, so I don’t exactly go around bragging about it or anything.”

“I’d love to stop by sometime to check it out.”

My cheeks heated. If Liam coming to my house hadn’t been enough for him to see how different we were, then him coming to the store would do it.

But even if that was the case, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him he couldn’t show up. He’d been so kind to me.

“Sure.” I sunk my teeth into the cupcake, my eyes widening with delight as the flavors hit my tongue, and Iinstinctively held it out for Liam to try. “You have to try this one. It’s so good.”

He took a bite, never taking his eyes off me. There was something unfamiliar in the air around us, something passing between our intense, silent stares.