Until There Was You(62)

“Which was excellent,” she retorted.

“Well, I’m sure she has other skills,” Liam murmured, and bam, her cheeks went nuclear. She shoveled in a bite of pasta and chewed, still not looking at him. She wore two flannel shirts, but both were unbuttoned a few, and Liam could see a little camisole thing underneath it. Girl clothes, in other words, and Liam had the sudden urge to peel off those layers of flannel and see what lay beneath.

Well, well, well. Granted, it had been a while, but here he was, picturing Cordelia naked. Might be a nice little package under there. Compact. Petite. The word spitfire came pleasingly to mind. As if reading his thoughts, Cordelia laced her hands together and stretched out her arms, cracking her knuckles and staring at him with narrowed eyes. The Slitty Eyes of Death, Osterhagen-style. Liam grinned at her and took another bite of the spaghetti Bolognese.

“It sure has been nice meeting you,” Ginny said, and Liam stood up.

“Same here,” he said and kissed her on the cheek. “I had a great time.”

“I’m going to relive that for quite some time,” she said, and he laughed and kissed her again, then took his seat once more.

Most of the people were trailing out, he noticed. Jon was leaning in the doorway, laughing with a student. Only Cordelia and he were still eating—she might pretend not to notice him, but here she was—and Liam realized he really didn’t want to go home just yet.

“Do you have plans tonight?” he asked.

“N— Um, yes.”

“No, you don’t.”

She narrowed her eyes again—pretty eyes, now that he noticed. Brown. He’d always liked brown eyes. “What makes you so sure I don’t have plans, Liam?”

“Do you?”

Another blush. “Jon, we’re having drinks tonight, right? At Rosebud’s?”

Jon paused, his eyes going from Posey’s face to Liam’s. “Uh…yes?”

“Mind if I tag along?” Liam asked.

“I… Posey?”

She set down her fork and glared up at him. “Okay, Liam, fine. I don’t have plans other than going home and watching a movie with my dog and cats. Okay? Happy now?”

Liam cocked his head and studied her face. “Are you mad at me?”

“Nope.”

“You seem mad.”

Jon’s phone rang. “Oh, there’s Henry. Bicker away, young lovers. I’ll call you tomorrow, Posey. Nice seeing you again, Liam.”

“Same here. Thanks for letting me stay.”

They were the only ones left in the room. She was clearly pissed, but why? And why wouldn’t she just tell him, since he’d asked and everything? Women. They were the least straightforward creatures in the universe. “So,” he said. “Back to your bad attitude. Are you always this grouchy?”

She shoveled in a huge bite of pasta. “No,” she said thickly. “You just bring out the worst in me.” She pursed her lips, and there it was again, that not-quite memory.

“So, how about it?” he asked. “Want to grab a beer? Or a coffee?”

Her face flushed. “Liam, I’m betting at least two dozen women have come on to you since you got back to town. I bet women have to take a number just to stand close to you. Why don’t you call one of them?”

“Why don’t you want to go out with me?”

“On a date? You want to take me on a date, Liam? Because don’t forget, this is a singles cooking class, and only desperate people sign up for these things. I’ve never been married, I’m thirty-three years old, I have three cats, my mother already has an entire roomful of toys for my unborn children. You really want to take me out for a beer? Because you know I’ll read into this and start shopping for a wedding dress.”

He bit down on a smile. “Is that a yes?”

She tossed down her fork. “It’s a no.”

Well, color him shocked. He wracked his brain for a memory of the last time he’d been turned down and came up empty. “Okay. I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Truck.”

“Whatever.”

The smell of rain was in the air, and a damp wind blew from the river. Liam sighed. Guess he’d be sitting home alone after all tonight. Well. At least he’d gotten out a little.

Cordelia’s hair fluttered in the wind, and she hugged her thick jacket more closely around her as they approached her truck.

“Liam,” Cordelia said abruptly, then stopped. She sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Do you really want to get a beer with me, or are you just jerking my chain?”

He looked down at her; she was staring at her truck door. “I’d love to get a beer with you, Cordelia.”

“Why?”

He hesitated a second. “Because I’m a lonely widower who doesn’t want to go back to his empty apartment and stare at the walls.”

She folded her arms and scowled at the pavement. When she looked up, her expression wasn’t nearly so fierce. “Okay. But only because you pulled the widower card.”

“At least it’s good for something.”

Then she smiled, just a flash, and something moved in Liam’s chest. Something warm, and something he hadn’t felt in a long time. “Meet you at Rosebud’s,” she said.