subject of her sleepless dreams stood at the end of the coffee line, his hands shoved into the pockets of his faded jeans, his broad shoulders accented by his battered leather jacket.
She looked over at the door and wondered if she ought to just walk out. He hadn’t noticed her yet and she could easily make an escape. But Ellie felt compelled to say something to him. She owed him at least a thank-you, some acknowledgment that he’d likely saved her life.
She stepped up behind him and gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder. He slowly turned and Ellie found her heart fluttering as he looked into her eyes. She was struck again by the incredible color of his eyes, an odd mix of green and gold. She swallowed hard. “Hello,” Ellie murmured.
Liam blinked, obviously surprised by her sudden appearance. “Hello,” he said.
He gave her an odd look, the same look Erica had given her, and for a moment Ellie wondered if he remembered who she was. Her stomach lurched and she forced a smile. “It’s Ellie,” she explained. “Eleanor Thorpe. From-”
“I know,” Liam said. “I know who you are. It’s a little hard to forget the woman who tied me up and had me arrested.”
“I’m sorry,” Ellie said. “I called the police station Saturday morning and they explained everything. That you weren’t a burglar or even a criminal. And that you were really coming to my rescue. I guess I ought to thank you.”
He glanced around nervously, then fixed his gaze on the menu above the counter. Ellie wondered why he was being so aloof. Was he embarrassed by what she’d done? Or was he simply not interested in chit-chat? He’d been so charming that night and now he seemed as if he wanted to be anywhere but here talking with her. “Well, I should really go.”
“Right,” he murmured. “You know, I really didn’t save you. The guy probably was just after some jewelry or maybe some easy cash.”
“No, no, you did,” Ellie insisted. “The desk sergeant told me I was very lucky you came along. Burglars often come armed and if I had caught him in my apartment, he probably would have shot me. So you were like a…a white knight.”
“No, I wasn’t,” Liam said. “Not even close.”
An uneasy silence grew between them and Ellie shrugged casually. “Well, I guess I should get going. Thanks again.”
“No problem,” Liam said.
Ellie hesitantly started toward the door, then stopped short. This was crazy. She didn’t have a single friend in Boston and Liam Quinn had been the very first interesting person she’d met. Even though he was a man and she’d sworn off men for at least the next year, she could at least try to get to know him a little better as a friend.
Ellie turned and walked back to him, taking a deep breath and gathering her courage. “Would you like to have dinner with me?” The words came out before she realized she was talking to his back. She quickly circled him to stand within his line of sight. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”
“Me?”
“I feel as if I should do something for you. As a gesture of gratitude.”
“It wasn’t really any big deal.”
Ellie frowned. “Is there some reason why you don’t like me?”
“I don’t know you,” Liam said.
“You seem to be a little nervous around me. Is it because I tied you up? If I’d known you were trying to help, I wouldn’t have done that.” She cleared her throat. “I’m not one of those women who feels compelled to dominate men. I hit you on the head because I was scared and I tied you up because I didn’t want you to get away.”
“I understand.”
“Good. I’m glad we got that straight.” She swallowed hard then pasted a bright smile on her face. “Well, I should really be going. It was nice seeing you again. Good luck with your photography.”
Ellie quickly turned on her heel and headed for the door, certain she’d made a complete ass of herself. She knew enough about men to know when one wasn’t interested. Liam Quinn couldn’t have been more indifferent. Maybe she gave off some kind of strange aura that men found repulsive. The author of
“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.”
