chapter 9

Eva paid the driver, then carried the bag of Chinese food into the house. "Dinner," she yelled in the general direction of the stairs, not sure if Liam would come down or not. She was gratified to see him walk into the kitchen a couple of minutes later.

"Why aren't you out with the nerd brigade?" he asked as she pulled a couple of plates out of the cupboard.

"Nerd brigade?" She smiled. "They'd like that. It sounds very military. They're all going to a club downtown and I'm not in the mood. Plus, I knew you were lonely, so I stayed home to keep you company."

"I'm not lonely."

He sounded annoyed as he spoke, which made her want to giggle. Liam was really easy to rile. It was that stick up his butt-if he would just let it go, he could be a regular person.

Of course, his macho I'm-in-charge attitude was part of his appeal.

"Can you reach those?" she asked, pointing to the tall glasses some idiot had put on the top shelf. She could never have left them there.

While he got them for her, she