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A piercing pain tore at my heart at the thought. What was this? I wasn’t jealous. I didn’t care if he banged Miss Redhead’s hoo-ha until the cows came home. I mean, how else would he have arranged a meeting with the three brothers of Magnum?
My heart hurt just thinking about it. Well, I damn well wasn’t going to let him know I was bothered by his sheet shaking antics. Fine. Two could play that game. I wondered if the Viking was still around? I think I still had his number somewhere.
“Hello, Silver.”
That smoldering deep voice got me every time. Way to set a girl on fire. I needed a bathtub full of ice to cool me off. “Cameron,” I said, with a nonchalant nod. “What’s with all the mystery? Why not just tell me, over the phone, what’s going on with Magnum?”
Liam’s hand skimmed my bare arm as he leaned over and kissed my cheek. Who knew something so chaste could feel so erotic? What the hell was wrong with me? I think this whole celibacy thing was driving me insane. Maybe it was time to end that pact with myself. And just make one that forbids anything remotely sexual with Liam. No hugs, no kisses, and definitely no knocking boots.
“Patience is a virtue, Silver. Come on, I have a table waiting.”
His fingertips locked through mine as he led me to a cozy table in a dark corner of the colorful dining room. We were at a Mexican restaurant, one of my favorites, and I half expected a trio of Mariachis to jump out of the walls and serenade us. I didn’t put it past Liam. Clearly, I was being ambushed.
We sat down and within seconds, Liam blurted out the truth.
“We have a meeting with the Magnum brothers. Next week,” he said excitedly. Liam was like a kid at Christmas sometimes. The one who couldn’t keep from telling you what you were getting for Christmas, even though his parents had sworn him to secrecy. And right now, he was near giddy, a word I would not normally apply to Liam.
I put on my best fake smile. “That’s great,” I said through clenched teeth. How many times had he had to boink the redhead to get the meeting?
Liam frowned like a boy who’d just lost his puppy. “You aren’t happy?”
“Yes,” I said. “Of course. How did you manage it?”
“I ran into Harold Donovan after you left. He remembered me. I told him the wedding was great and reminded him I’d recommended the wedding planner. One thing led to another, and we got talking about his current contract with Telaros, and how I’d left them... you know, yada, yada, yada. He was in a good mood. I got lucky. What can I say?”
“You got lucky? How so? With Miss Fruitcake? Did you make a bargain with that she-devil to get the meeting?” I was trying to stop myself, but the words kept tumbling out.
“What? No? Apparently, she’s got a new boyfriend that she’s quite happy with now.”
“Really? She didn’t seem very happy last time I saw her,” I said, picking up a tortilla chip and dunking into the salsa bowl. “I figured once I was out of the way, she’d be on you like white on rice.” I took a bite of the tortilla chip, trying to be cool and casual, not expecting the salsa to be ten million chili peppers hot.
I coughed until tears ran down my cheeks, causing a scene in the restaurant. Liam ran to my side. A passing waiter set down a pitcher of something that looked like lemonade and poured me a glass, which I chugged down within a millisecond. But my mouth was still burning. My eyes were still burning with tears. A waitress brought me a glass of milk, while Liam sent the salsa back, asking for something milder. I was now living the chaos that I’d told Lexy was a good thing. What on earth had I been thinking?
The milk helped, and I shooed the staff away, embarrassed. It was hard to save face with Liam after nearly choking to death, though. I considered my options. I decided to go with drama. “Are you trying to kill me?”
Liam leaned back lazily, a wide grin on his face. “I admit, you’ve tempted me at times, Silver. But I prefer to make love, not war.”
I wanted to scratch that sexy little amused expression off his face. How could he sit there and laugh at me when my mouth was on fire? I growled at him while I filled my glass with the icy lemonade and gulped down half the glass. Liam raised his eyebrows but said nothing. At least, not until it was too late.
Two hours later, I was staggering through the parking lot, begging Liam to give me my keys.
“Not on your life,” he said. “You had three margaritas, Silver. We both know you aren’t a drinker. If you think I’m letting you drive home, you are mistaken.”
“I thought it was lemonade. You should have told me,” I whined as I slipped off my heels. My head felt like a doll’s spinning at the hands of a toddler.
“You were infinitely easier to deal with when you have a few drinks in you. Besides, how could you not taste the tequila?”
“I thought it was some sort of Mexican lemonade,” I said in between hiccups.
“I’ll drive you home,” Liam said, opening the passenger door. The inside of his sports car seemed to have shrunk.
“No fubby business,” I said, wagging my hand at him. But then I stopped because it was making me dizzy.
“No, fubby business, I promise,” Liam said with a laugh.
“No laughing allowed,” I insisted as I smooshed my body into the car.
Liam made sure all my parts were tucked in and shut the door. Within seconds, he appeared in the driver’s seat.
