The mighty Quinns: Liam - By Kate Hoffmann Page 0,53
said. “Not at all. I’m just not interested in doing your dirty work. If you want to watch her, then go ahead. If you want to chase Ronald Pettibone around Boston, feel free. I’m just saying that I’m done with it.” Liam pushed away from the bar. “I’m going to play some pool. I’m sure there’s some beautiful young thing who needs a partner.”
He left his brothers to discuss the vagaries of love while he wandered to the back of the pub. Two girls in tight shirts and body-hugging jeans had commandeered the pool table, giggling and flirting with the men who had gathered to watch. Liam set a quarter on the corner of the table. “I’ll play the winner,” he said.
They both turned to him and graced him with dazzling smiles. He’d assumed that charming a new woman would take his mind off the previous woman. But as he watched them finish their game, Liam found himself comparing the pair to Ellie Thorpe—and they were suffering in the comparison.
He hadn’t known Ellie for long—not nearly long enough to be sure that he loved her. But he knew the important things: she was honest and kind and stubborn and determined. She was passionate and naive and spontaneous and optimistic. And she had a natural beauty that didn’t fade over time. In truth, Liam could go on and on, listing all the qualities about her that he admired.
He strolled over to the rack and picked out a cue. Maybe that was it. He didn’t just need Ellie or want her, it wasn’t just about attraction. He admired her. She’d walked away from her life in New York and come to Boston to start fresh. Though her history with men had been a series of disasters, she still believed in romance and passion. She wasn’t jaded or cynical or bitter, she was just…Ellie.
“So, are you one of the famous Quinn brothers?”
Liam turned around, startled out of his silent contemplation of pool cues. “What?”
“Which Quinn are you?”
“Liam,” he said. “Liam Quinn.”
“I’m Danielle,” she said.
“And who’s your friend?” Liam asked, nodding toward the redhead.
“She’s not my friend. And you don’t need to know her name. She’s going to lose this game.” The blonde reached out and touched his arm, initiating a flirtation that Liam knew by heart. First, she’d touch him innocently. Then he was supposed to touch her. And then gradually the touching would become more regular and more intimate. And then, after a few hours, he’d kiss her, just a casual kiss at first and then— Liam groaned inwardly. Hell, it suddenly sounded so trite and silly. How many Saturday nights had he wasted charming women just like these two? And where had it gotten him?
Danielle sauntered up to the table and took a shot, banking the cue ball off the rail and sinking the nine in a side pocket. Then she wandered back to Liam, brushing against his body. “So are all the tales true?” she asked.
“Tales?”
“About the Quinn boys. Women do talk, you know.”
“And what do they say about the Quinn boys?”
Danielle tossed her hair over her shoulder and sent him a sexy smile. “They say they’re the best.”
Liam groaned inwardly. He was just too tired to play the game tonight. Or maybe too bored. Or too preoccupied. But the best way to forget about one woman was to spend a little time with another. Liam grabbed the chalk from the edge of the table and ground it onto the end of the cue. “Well, we are pretty good pool players. As for the rest, most rumors are just that—rumors.”
He watched as Danielle’s friend knocked the eight ball into the wrong pocket. Then he grabbed his quarter from the end of the table and shoved it in the slot. The balls tumbled down and Liam reached for the rack.
One game of pool. And if he didn’t find it…interesting, then he’d leave. Liam stepped back from the table and hung the rack on a hook on the wall. And if he managed to go fifteen minutes without thinking about Ellie, then he’d have to consider that a victory.
ELLIE STOOD OUTSIDE Quinn’s Pub, staring at the neon beer signs that glowed from the windows. A damp breeze blew off the ocean, tingeing the air with the smell of the sea. She pulled her jacket more tightly around her body and took a deep breath.
She wasn’t sure what she was doing here, but she knew she had to speak to Liam. She’d watched