When We Kiss by Darcy Burke Page A

lips.
    Yep, Stuart was definitely tame, whereas Liam was wild and exciting and . . . Stop it .
    â€œDo you have a box cutter or something I can use?” Again he pulled her away from her lurid thoughts.
    â€œYeah, sure.” She went into the kitchen and found a sharp pair of scissors. “Will these do?” She handed them to him, careful not to actually touch him. She did not need physical contact along with the eye candy, thank you very much.
    â€œYep.” He turned and opened the box. “It’s so funny you ran out and bought a TV so you wouldn’t miss Game of Thrones . We watch it at the house after our Sunday dinner—on the big screen in the theater. You should come over tomorrow night and watch it with us. Come for dinner first.”
    If this were any other guy, she might think he was asking her on a date, but it was Liam. No way was this a date. Still, it was . . . weird. “I’m not sure what to make of that invitation.”
    He looked up from pulling the inner packaging off the television. “What do you mean?”
    â€œLiam, you’ve never invited me to anything.”
    His brow wrinkled, and his eyes narrowed. “The hell I haven’t. You keep forgetting about the Gorge last Labor Day. And New Year’s. I texted you.”
    Neither of those counted. “It’s not the same. Your text said, ‘I’d like to see you for New Year’s’—that’s not exactly inviting me to do something. And I was already going to the Gorge. Like you, I go to the concerts every year. We just decided to—” She’d been about to say “hook up,” but she didn’t want to say that. “Never mind.”
    He went back to his task. “This is just dinner and Game of Thrones . With my entire family.”
    Meaning it was as far from anything they’d ever done before as it could possibly be. That also meant it was safe. She wouldn’t have to worry about being alone with him. Oh, who was she kidding? They hadn’t been alone at the winery that day, and they’d flirted themselves into a sexually agitated state.
    â€œI’ll think about it. I sort of have my own thing here. I usually watch with my neighbors.” If usually meant a couple times since she’d lived here, then sure.
    â€œKyle’s cooking dinner, if that helps to sway you. I think he’s doing gourmet pizzas.”
    Kyle was an amazing chef. She’d only sampled his food a handful of times, but it was enough to make her mouth water when she considered what sort of pizzas he’d craft. “You’re making it really hard for me to say no, but then that’s your specialty.”
    He looked up at her over his shoulder as he pulled the instructions from the box. He arched one dark, far too sexy eyebrow. “You’ve demonstrated your ability to give me a hard pass, so I’d argue with your assessment that it’s my specialty.”
    If he only knew how difficult it was to stick to her guns.
    â€œIf Kyle’s food doesn’t persuade you, do it for The Alex. Everyone will want the latest on the zoning, and since you’re working on the response brief, there are things to share, right?”
    Damn it, he had a point. And he’d brought Alex into it, which only tugged at her guilt. Okay, he’d said The Alex, but in her mind they were the same thing, a man and the legacy that was all they had left of him.
    â€œI’ll think about it.” More like try to think of a solid reason not to go.
    â€œWhat are we doing with your old TV?” he asked.
    â€œIt’s dead, according to my uncle.” She’d called him last night and described the situation. “So I guess it has to go to the dump?”
    Liam tried to turn it on, but it did nothing. “Ned Stark dead or Jon Snow dead? Maybe it can be resurrected.”
    She laughed at his joke. There were two kinds of dead on Game of Thrones —the