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Worried that he’d done so by accident, she swiftly moved her leg away, but a few moments later, she felt him make contact again. She looked to Liam, his eyes already on her.

Common sense told her to pull away, but the warmth spiraling from where he touched her was too captivating to willingly separate herself from it.

By the time they’d finished their dessert and stepped into the cold night air once again, Claire could hardly breathe, leaving her coat unbuttoned to cool her down faster.

Eventually and mercifully, Dean—with more compliments and flattery—captured Melody’s attention again, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they broke away from Liam and Claire.

Instinctively, Claire’s footing slowed, Liam’s doing the same until they were a healthy distance from the others.

Silence marked the air between them, though the rushing sound of buses and taxis hurried by them on the road. Christmas lights decorated the shops they walked past, and streetlamps stamped their golden light onto the pavement in perfect circles.

Though Claire was relieved to have some distance between her and Melody, being alone with Liam now meant that they’d have to speak with one another. But Claire didn’t know what to say. Would they discuss the fact that they couldn’t keep away from each other? Or would they ignore that fact like they’d ignored their almost-kiss?

Determined to break the ice somehow, Claire settled on the safest topic she could find. “So did you like the ballet?”

“I did.” He paused. “Especially the second act.”

TWENTY-FIVE

Claire’s heart skipped a beat, a single glance at Liam telling her exactly what he was referring to. She drew a deep breath. “I preferred the second act, too.”

Just like before, that slight narrowing of his eyes promised of a smile to come, but she looked away, too nervous to hold his gaze any longer.

This was not good. They should not be talking about how much they liked being near each other. Nothing good would come of it. She needed a distraction, something to pull her mind off of him once and for all.

She glanced around her, anxious for anything to capture her attention. Her eyes settled on a red telephone booth tucked in the shadow of a nearby shop, and she smiled.

That should do the trick.

She pointed it out with a tip of her head. “You know, I’ve seen about a hundred of these, but I have yet to look inside one of them.”

Liam watched her, no doubt wondering about her random topic of conversation, but he motioned toward it all the same. “Well, now’s as good a time as any.”

They stepped to the side of the pavement, Claire opening the door and glancing around the small telephone booth. She could hardly see a thing due to the darkness of the street, but she was going to marvel the heck out of it until she thought of something else to distract herself from Liam.

She held up her dress to step into the booth, Liam holding the door open for her. He stood in the entrance, looking at faded stickers stuck to the top of the structure.

“Not much to write home about,” he said behind her.

“I dunno. I think it’s cozy.”

In reality, it was freezing and smelled of coffee and old paint, but the mere fact that this booth was British made it infinitely more spectacular.

She glanced around her, feeling Liam’s eyes on her before she turned to face him. Sure enough, he watched her with an unreadable expression. Was it admiration? Concern? Impatience?

She offered him a small smile as his stare continued, and it seemed to pull him from his musings as he blinked, looking down at the floor of the telephone booth instead of her.

Was he ready to keep going? If he was, he made no move to leave. “I guess we should probably go find Melody before she wonders where we are,” she offered, allowing him the chance to break away.

Liam nodded, but still, he remained. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Though I wonder if she even realizes we aren’t with her.”

“Probably not.” She paused, considering Melody’s watchful gaze throughout dessert. “Although, she did seem more aware of us after the ballet.”

“Knowing Melody, she probably thinks there’s something between us and is trying to figure out what it is.”

Claire’s heart rate picked up a notch. “I don’t know why she would. There’s nothing between us.”

He shook his head, his tone as smooth as chocolate. “Nothing.”