The mighty Quinns: Liam - By Kate Hoffmann Page 0,18
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“Ellie?”
She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Liam. “Yes?”
“I’d love to have dinner. When?”
“How…how about tonight?”
“Tonight would be great. What time?”
“Seven?”
Liam nodded. “I’ll see you then. I know where you live.”
Ellie smiled, then hurried out the door before he could reconsider. For the first time since she’d come to Boston, she felt as if she might like it here. She’d made one friend and even though he was just about the sexiest guy she’d ever laid eyes on, she was simply going to enjoy the acquaintance and not worry about romance.
When she reached the street, she glanced back, hoping to catch one last look at him. But when she turned around to continue her walk home, she bumped into a man on the sidewalk. They both stopped and Ellie looked at him and gasped.
“Ronald?”
“Eleanor? What are you doing here?”
She stared up into the face of the man who’d once been her lover. “Me? I live here now.” He looked completely different. His usually tidy hair, mussed by the wind, was much longer than she remembered and it looked as if he’d had it highlighted. And he wasn’t wearing glasses. And his pasty complexion was perfectly bronzed. “I barely recognize you. What are you doing in Boston?”
“This is incredible. You’re the last person I expected to see today.”
“Then you’re not here to see me?”
“No,” Ronald said. “I didn’t even know you were here. I’m visiting an old college buddy from Columbia. He lives a few blocks from here. I was just looking for a good cup of coffee.” He paused. “But maybe it’s fate we ran into each other. I’ve been thinking about you lately,” he said, running his hand along her arm, “wondering how you’ve been doing.”
“I’ve been doing fine, Ronald,” Ellie replied, not willing to give him any encouragement. To her surprise, she felt no attraction to him at all. His touch left her cold. At the time of their breakup, she’d wondered if she’d ever get over him. At least she had her answer.
“We should get together,” Ronald suggested. “What are you doing tonight?”
Ellie sighed softly. “Ronald, I’ve started a new life here. What we had didn’t work out and I’ve moved on. I think you should, too. It was good to see you again, but I have to go now.”
He grabbed her wrist and yanked her to a stop. “Come on, Eleanor. Don’t be that way. We can still be friends.”
“You dumped me, Ronald. You asked me to give back the pearl necklace you bought me for my birthday and the music box you gave me to put it in. And then you paraded your new girlfriend around the bank just a week after we broke up. I don’t think we can be friends.”
“Don’t say that!” he said, anger lacing his tone. “There’s no reason we can’t—”
“No!” Ellie cried, twisting out of his grip.
“Is everything all right here?”
Ronald looked up, his hand falling to his side. Ellie had never realized how short Ronald was, or how skinny. Compared to Liam Quinn, he looked almost wimpy. “I’m fine,” she said.
“I—I gotta go,” Ronald said. “I’ll see you around.”
He hurried off and Ellie watched him as he disappeared around the corner. Then she turned back to Liam Quinn. “Thanks.”
“Who was that guy?”
“No one.”
He searched her face, as if he didn’t believe her. “It looked like he was angry with you.”
“No, we barely know each other.”
“What did he want?”
Ellie smiled. “Nothing. Just wanted to say hello. Really, I’m fine.”
“Good,” Liam said. “Then I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
As he walked off in the opposite direction, Ellie headed toward her apartment. She fought the impulse to look back, knowing that she didn’t want to appear completely enthralled with him. But when she rounded the corner, she stopped and looked back down the street. Liam was gone. Ellie smiled. At least, this time, she knew her white knight would return.
ELLIE LIFTED THE LID from the pasta pot, then glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall. They’d agreed on a time for dinner, but she didn’t know whether Liam Quinn would expect to eat the moment he walked in or if he’d want to socialize for a while.
When she’d invited him to dinner, it had been an impulsive move. Once she’d had a chance to think about it, she realized that the “date” raised all sorts of problems. Should they go out to dinner or stay in? If they went out, would he insist on paying? Since she’d invited him,