The mighty Quinns: Liam by Kate Hoffmann

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 What Men Really Think, the book she’d read after her breakup with Ronald, claimed that a woman uninterested in a relationship gave off subtle clues to her indifference that only a man could read.
    “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