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This evening, to put it plainly, was going to be a trial.

“Don’t you boys look nice,” Melody said, straightening Dean’s bowtie that didn’t need to be straightened. “Now let’s hurry and get some pictures before we leave.”

Liam wanted to groan out of sheer agony. First, he took a few of Dean and Melody, who made him snap different angles to “get our best look.”

Then she snatched Claire’s phone and pushed Claire toward Liam near the front door. Claire’s arm slid across his back, his own hand reaching past her waist and curling around her figure.

The first time they’d taken a photo together, their coats had helped to put much-needed distance between the two of them. Now, there was nothing but his suit jacket and her dress, and his racing heart seemed to be well aware of the fact.

“Aw, you guys are so cute,” Melody gushed, then she gave Claire back her phone as Liam took a wide step away.

After putting on their coats, the couples—no, not couples—the four single adults filed out of the house.

Liam was the last to leave, holding the door open for Claire as he dipped his head like he was one of the footmen in the period dramas his mum had made him watch. Honestly, it wasn’t too far from the truth. Claire was leaps and bounds above him, in beauty and class.

She ducked past him. “You look great, by the way.”

Why did her simple words buoy him higher than the clouds? “Thank you,” he responded, his voice cracking.

He grimaced. That was just great.

She waited for him as he locked the door, Melody and Dean already heading down the sidewalk toward the station. “I’m not overdressed, am I?” she asked.

He checked the lock on the door, then turned to Claire. In hindsight, he probably shouldn’t have looked at her again. In the warm light from the porch above, her hair glowed like a halo, and though her white peacoat now covered most of her dress, he’d still never seen anyone so stunning.

A soft breeze blew a few loose tendrils against her cheek, and he fought the overwhelming urge to smooth them aside.

“Liam?”

“Hmm? Oh, no,” he stammered. “You will fit in perfectly. There’s a wide range of dress there.”

Claire sighed with relief. “That’s what Melody said, but I just wanted to make sure. You never know with her.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

“So is this the sort of thing you always pack while on holiday?” he asked, motioning to her gown.

“I wish my life were so glamorous,” she joked. “Melody promised me a night at the theater before I left. I wanted to pack a much simpler outfit, but I didn’t want to look underdressed with her emerald gown.”

He nodded, pulling in his lips as he moved down the pavement. He knew he needed to pay her a compliment, but he didn’t want to be over-the-top like Dean had been.

“You look very…nice.” Really? That was the best he could come up with?

Claire peered up at him. “Isn’t that the word you guys use to describe food over here?”

He fidgeted with his cufflink. “Well, it’s the highest form of compliment I could ever offer,” he joked.

Claire smiled in return. Her footsteps clicked on the cement as they walked toward Dean and Melody, their arms already around each other as they walked beneath the streetlamps.

But Liam was hardly aware of his cousin any longer. Instead, he couldn’t seem to pull his attention away from Claire. As the cars drove by on the road beside them, their lights highlighted her profile and silhouetted her figure time and time again.

It was no wonder he’d almost kissed her. The woman had no equal.

“So are you ready for this?” she asked.

Her words jarred him from his thoughts once again. Ready? Ready for what, to kiss her? Yes. He was ready. But he hardly thought that was what she’d been referring to. “For what?”

She motioned forward with a nod of her head. “To be with them again.”