Page 9 of Twisted Beauty

Liv let out a huff. “Not a chance. Not even dating.”

“Um, I meant in love with Mexico.”

Liv felt her face heat. Damn it. She couldn’t even get through introductions without acting like an idiot.

Zach looked like he might be suppressing a smile. “Well, I guess you’ve already met Matt.” He gestured toward his friend.

“That’s one way to put it,” Matt said.

He’d stepped back from Liv after she’d slammed into him, taking some of the air in the room with him. Now he was standing near the couch, with his arms folded and legs apart, studying her.

God, he was big. And sexy.

“Yeah, well, we haven’t technically met.” Liv noticed the amused creases around Matt’s gorgeous eyes, but he wasn’t exactly smiling. More like smirking. “I was on my way to the door. How did you guys even get in?”

“The handle.” Matt winked at her, shooting tingles through her body. “It wasn’t locked.”

What the hell? She hated guys who winked. They were all so full of themselves. Take Grant, for instance. He winked at every woman at work under forty, despite the anti-harassment seminar they were all forced to attend. There was nothing appealing about that. Zero. Unfortunately, the rest of her body didn’t seem to think that applied to Matt. She folded her arms and tried her best to look immune to his charms.

“Oops.” Katie shrugged. “Well, whatever. I’m so glad you made it.” She stepped between them and reached up to hug Matt.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Matt said.

Zach cleared his throat loudly, and Liv wondered what she was missing.

Katie ignored whatever it was, looped her arm through Matt’s, and smiled at Liv. “Matt was my first teacher at the Spanish Learning Center. He’s the one who introduced me to Zach.”

“That’s awesome,” Liv said. “You never told me you were learning Spanish.”

Zach slipped his hand around Katie’s waist and pulled her against his side. “That might be a generous assessment.”

“Hey.” Katie pouted and elbowed him in the ribs. “Okay, fine. I’m not great with languages. But I make up for it in other ways.”

Zach laughed when she snuggled against him, and Liv couldn’t help but look away. Of course she was happy if Katie was happy, but she didn’t need to watch. Besides, Katie hadn’t so much as mentioned him, which probably meant she wasn’t any more serious about this guy than any other. Poor Zach probably had no clue.

Liv glanced over at Matt, and he gave her a mock exasperated look. Finally, he stretched a hand out toward her. “Why don’t we start over. Nice to meet you, Liv. Welcome to PV.”

The tone of his voice was friendly enough, but there was something in his eyes that told her he wasn’t any happier than she was about this barbecue.

Liv took his hand and nodded. Her hand felt small in his, and his warmth spread through her and rendered her speechless again. She hoped to god it didn’t show on her face. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this tongue-tied around Grant, and he was supposed to be such a great catch. At least in his own mind. Well, his and the minds of his obsessed fans who were hell-bent on making her life miserable.

But these butterflies in her stomach? Not good. At. All.

She needed a reality check. The kind where she recounted every bad relationship she’d ever had and how she’d felt when each one ended. Because she was absolutely not doing it again. She hadn’t even returned the damn ring yet.

She glanced briefly at Matt again. That power stance he had going on looked exactly like the man she’d seen standing outside Katie’s car yesterday. She’d bet good money this was him. Katie may have even told her as much last night, but Liv couldn’t be sure of anything that happened after the third or forth shot of tequila.

Matt’s gaze moved to the front door and lingered, like he was hoping to make a quick exit. Or maybe waiting for someone more interesting to show up. Obviously, he couldn’t have been less affected by Liv’s presence. Well, good.

“So who wants margaritas?” Katie asked as she started for the kitchen.

But Zach caught her arm and pulled her back to him. “Come out to the car with me first, sweets. I’ve got some stuff to bring in.”

“More alcohol?” she asked.

“Like you have to ask.” He dragged her out the door, leaving Liv alone in the condo with Matt.

So, Katie’s idea of a nice way to welcome her to PV was to set her up with some random guy and leave her alone with him? Liv had been here less than twenty-four hours and this was the second time she wanted to throttle her so-called friend.