The mighty Quinns: Liam - By Kate Hoffmann Page 0,21

off when I was three or four. I never knew my father. My grandparents raised me and they died while I was in college. So it’s just me.”

“Sounds like you had a pretty tough childhood,” Liam commented.

“No, it was really wonderful. My grandmother was a librarian in this little town in upstate New York. And when I wasn’t in school, I hung out at the library with her. I just loved books—I still do. I mean, there’s an answer to every question in a book somewhere. You just have to find the right book.” She paused, realizing how silly and naive her words sounded.

“What do you do for a living?” Liam asked.

She grabbed up a handful of dried pasta and dropped it into the water, then stirred it with a plastic spoon. “Nothing right now. I’m looking for a new job. I just moved to Boston from Manhattan.”

“And what did you do there?”

“I worked in a bank. I’m an accountant.”

“Why Boston?”

“I had to get away from New York. I just couldn’t work there anymore.”

“Why is that?”

Ellie really didn’t want to get into a conversation about all her man troubles, especially with a man she was trying so hard to impress. “I really don’t want to talk about that. It’s in the past. I’m starting a new life here.” She paused, searching for another topic. “I didn’t think you wanted to accept my dinner invitation. I thought maybe I was being too bold.”

“I don’t mind that.”

“Some men do. That’s always been a bit of a problem with me. I’ve never really been myself around the men I date—not that I’m dating you. I guess I feel as if I can talk to you. You saved my life.”

“Speaking of which, I noticed that you don’t have a decent dead bolt on your door. And you could probably use some sash locks on these windows that open onto the back porch. If you’d like, I can pick up some stuff at the hardware store.”

Ellie nodded, warmed by his offer. How had a man like Liam Quinn ever stayed single for so long? A sudden thought hit her. What if he wasn’t single? What if he had a steady girlfriend? But then surely he wouldn’t have accepted her dinner invitation. But what if he’d felt obligated to accept?

“He probably was just looking for money,” Liam continued. “You don’t keep any large sums of money in the house, do you?”

“No,” Ellie said. “I don’t have any large sums of money. Why don’t we have our salad now while the pasta cooks?” She turned to retrieve the plates from the refrigerator, then walked out of the kitchen into the dining alcove. She set the plates down and Liam held out her chair for her, pushing it in as she sat. Then he took a spot across from her.

He grabbed up the wine she’d put on the table and poured her a glass. “I think we should have a toast,” he said. “To the burglar who brought us together.”

“And to the white knight who rode to my rescue,” Ellie added with a laugh.

Liam’s expression shifted slightly and, for a moment, Ellie thought she’d said something terribly wrong. But then he smiled and clinked his beer bottle against her wineglass.

Ellie took a gulp of her wine, watching him over the rim of the goblet. The liquid burned as it went down, but the sensation caused warmth to flood through her limbs, making her relax just a bit. Ellie knew that she’d have to stop after one glass, though. She was having a hard enough time keeping her distance as it was, especially while operating under the influence of Liam Quinn.

3

“WOULD YOU LIKE another glass of wine?” Liam picked up the bottle and filled Ellie’s glass, not waiting for a reply. God, she was pretty when she was drunk. Her face was flushed and her eyes glittered with amusement and she kept leaning over the table, giving him a tempting view of her breasts beneath the low-cut neckline of her sweater.

“I really shouldn’t,” she said with a giggle. “Two glasses is my limit.”

Liam didn’t have the heart to tell her that she’d reached her limit about three hours ago. The bottle was empty and Ellie Thorpe would probably wake up tomorrow morning with a raging hangover.

Usually, Liam was loath to take advantage of a woman who’d had too much to drink. But his mind wasn’t on sex tonight—not that he hadn’t thought about pulling Ellie to her feet and