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platter, and Leeza ordered a chimichanga.
What is a chimichanga? Liam asked her after the waitress left.
Basically a deep fried burrito, Leeza said with a shrug. Liam must have had some strange
look on his face, because she immediately continued. That s probably not the best way to describe
it. They really are good. I ll give you a bit when mine comes I never have room for all of it.
I shall take your word for it.
They really are good.
Liam nodded. I have no doubt, but I will not take food from your plate.
Why not?
Bad manners.
Leeza grinned.
* * * *
Liam couldn t remember the last time he d had such a nice time. Well, actually, he could,
and it was at a Renaissance fair. With her. Though nice seemed hardly the appropriate word for
this instance.
They d talked easily enough through the dinner. Leeza was pretty good about just telling
him things, leaving him to say very little about his own life. They did talk about glassblowing and
how he liked doing it.
And as she promised, she did give him a part of her chimichanga. And it was very tasty
though he doubted it would stay in his stomach very long.
He probably would have continued having a nice evening if his cellphone hadn t rang.
He pulled it out of its holster on his hip and glanced at the number. He didn t recognize it.
Liam, he said.
Leeza watched him with a strange look on her face.
Candice Gilmer 83
It s Nicole, came the female voice.
Liam sat up straighter. Are you all right?
We re fine. I don t have long. She inhaled a breath, like she was about to recite something.
We re under Jobe s protection, where the trees are like Templars.
Liam nodded his head, his free hand moving around. In a flash, Leeza had a piece of paper
and a pen in front of him, and he started scribbling down her words.
Sun is rare, though we re not in shadows, she continued. Soon we ll go where the
nightmares began, until the night says we can return. Then the phone went dead.
Liam finished writing her words down, though he was pretty sure he knew what it all meant
anyway.
Leeza watched him. Work?
Liam nodded. A, uh, client was apprising me of her status.
She didn t say anything for a moment, shifting the leftover food around on her plate. So
now it s time for me to ask you a personal question. Leeza wiped her mouth off with her napkin
and threw it on the plate, her chimichanga and sides pretty much gone.
Liam was still working on the rice that came with his fajita. Which is?
What is the whole Sir Liam thing? Is it a job title or something?
I am a knight.
She raised an eyebrow. For real or for a job?
I was sworn in as a knight by legal means.
Huh. Didn t think there were any out there anymore. Not real ones. She sipped on her
water. Do you have a sword and chain mail and all that jazz?
Liam couldn t help letting the side of his mouth tip up in a smile. I do. Heavy armor, light
armor, chain mail, and several swords among other melee weapons.
Leeza smirked and shook her head. Somehow I m not surprised. So what do you do with it?
With what?
The armor, the weapons. What do you do with it?
Protect the innocent.
Of course you do, Leeza said. And where does this fantasy play out?
Out there, on the city streets.
I see. But it was obvious she didn t see. She was starting to throw up her defenses, like
she thought he was not mentally stable. Maybe she would run from the restaurant screaming.
Probably not a bad thing if she thought he wasn t stable, she might not want to be around
him. And that could only help him control his emotions properly.
Aren t you afraid of the boogie man? Liam asked.
A bit of a smile quirked up on the corner of her mouth. The boogie man used to scare me.
He raised his eyebrow. And who defends you from the boogie man?
Men like you, I guess. She grinned this time.
84 Broken Shine
And he joined her in the smile, raising his glass of water to her. She clanked her partially
filled glass of iced tea against his, the plastic clacking together like a child s toy.
You are something, Liam.
And so are you, Leeza.
Leeza laid her hand down on the table, her finger tips precariously close to his. He didn t
realize it at first, well, he never actually expected her hand to touch his it was such a casual
gesture, he didn t realize it was more.
At least not until she brushed his fingertip with hers. And in that second, he felt a slamming of
her emotions, of her thoughts, and he knew exactly what her intentions were, her desires, her wants.
Which only intensified his.
Leeza, he whispered, his heart hammering in his chest.
Am I making you uncomfortable? she asked as she outlined one of his fingers with hers.
He should have moved his hand.
He could just jerk it away.
Yet it was like some unforeseen force was holding his hand in place, keeping it there for her
to touch. He glanced around the restaurant, half expecting to find Eros or even Aphrodite around,
feeding him with feelings.
Yet the feelings were genuine both hers and his, wrapping around him, enveloping his
mind in an arousing onslaught. All his adrenaline was pumping, as though he d just been in a fight.
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