Page 21 of Christmas Baggage

She took a step back from the stairs to allow Liam passage, averting her gaze as she did so. She must look like a total idiot, waiting at the front door like a puppy hoping to be let out to play in the snow.

“Hey,” she greeted simply.

He nodded, stated, “Morning,” then walked past her without another word.

She stared after him, his thin t-shirt draped pleasantly over his muscular shoulders. Opening her mouth, she hesitated, then closed it again.

She and Liam hadn’t spoken to each other since the Temperate House the day before, despite remaining at Kew Gardens until after dark to enjoy the Christmas light display. Afterward, instead of eating Chinese takeout together, Liam had taken himself off to his room, where he had remained the rest of the evening.

Seeing Tasha’s disappointment over Liam’s avoidance of them was Claire’s final breaking point. She knew she was the one reason Liam wasn’t eating with them, and she had to make amends before things got even worse. But there was no way she was going to bring up her own faults around Tasha and Melody.

Now, however, without either of them present…

“Hey, Liam?” she called out just before he was about to disappear around the corner to the kitchen.

He stopped, hesitating a moment before turning to peer at her from down the hallway. “Yes?”

Alright. It was time to get this over with. “I just wanted to say sorry for yesterday,” she blurted out, her eyes skirting from the wooden flooring to the photos on the wall to the bathroom door once again. “I shouldn’t have said those things, and…yeah. Sorry.”

Her apology could not have sounded any less elegant—especially when compared to his eloquence yesterday. Was that why it was taking him so long to respond?

Finally, she found his gaze just as he nodded. “Thank you,” he said, turning away. “I accept your forced apology.”

Then he disappeared into the kitchen.

Claire stared at the vacant hallway. Wow. If that wasn’t the most perfect comeback ever. Not only had he responded the same way she had during his own apology, she couldn’t even call him rude because then she, in essence, would be saying she herself was rude.

How annoying.

The creak of the bathroom door drew her attention up the steps again, and she blew out a sigh of relief as Melody stepped out.

Bring on a full day without Liam.

With a happy smile, she chirped up the steps. “Hey, Melody! Are you re—”

Her words ended abruptly as Claire took in the sight of her friend still in her pajamas, her hair in a stringy mess around her face, and her skin, ashen.

“Melody,” she breathed, climbing the steps at once. “Are you okay?”

The bags under Melody’s eyes stretched to the tops of her high cheekbones, her lips red and chapped. She barely managed a single step before plopping down on the top of the stairs and leaning forward to rest her head on her arms.

“No,” she mumbled.

Her hoarse voice gave Claire reason to pause for just a moment. “Is it a stomach bug?” If it was, would Claire catch it, too?

She pushed aside the selfish thought, knowing it didn’t matter, so long as she could help care for her friend.

But Melody shook her head, looking up from her arms as she stared straight ahead in a daze. “No. Food poisoning.”

“Oh, no.” Claire grimaced, moving to sit beside Melody and putting her arm around her. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Aunt Tasha has it, too. We were passing each other on our way to the bathroom all night.”

All night? Claire had slept with her AirPods in the night before to drown out Melody’s snoring. Was that why she hadn’t heard them? And did that mean Tasha was in bed instead of at work?

Then another thought occurred. “Wait. We ate the same thing last night. If you both have it, why don’t I?”

Or Liam for that matter? Unless he always looked exceptionally attractive even when sick.