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staring
at our table. I rolled my eyes. Smiling, the stranger said, “I took a job in
the fifty-third precinct, so I came back here, family drama be damned. What
about you? You living here now?”
    “Uh,
yeah, I just got hired on at New York Presbyterian.”
    The
man smiled, saying, “You’re shitting me. Dude, that’s awesome, congratulations.”
    Brody
grinned. “Thanks man. So, you living back in Manhattan? ”
    “Hell
no. I got an apartment in the Village. Easier to dodge the old man that way,”
he said. So, the tattooed mystery man was a cop. That was kind of hot. I bet
he had a big gun , I thought, and immediately regretted it. Get a grip,
Rory!
    At
that moment, a man who I now registered was sitting at the table with Mystery
Man nudged him on the arm. “What am I, invisible?” he joked.
    The
mystery guy laughed and patted the other guy on the arm. “Sorry, man. This is
Nick Ramirez. He’s my partner in homicide.”
    Brody
gave him a wave. “Nice to meet you, man.”
    The
mystery man’s eyes were on me and he was staring intently. I tapped Brody on
the arm. “Um, hello! Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend, dumbass?”
    He
narrowed his eyes at me and smiled. “Sorry. Guys, this pretty girl right here
is Marissa O’Neal,” he said, sliding his arm around Marissa, and she politely
waved to them. “And, this smart mouthed pain in the ass is my little sister,
Rory Shaw,” he said, swatting me back on the arm. I smiled at him and gave him
the finger. “Girls, this is Liam and Nick. Liam and I went to IU together.” I
nodded and waved at both of them.
    They
both smiled at us, and then, suddenly, Liam turned to me and some unknown
realization crept across his handsome face. He ran his hand through his already
messy hair, and sighed. “Rory Shaw?”
    Confused,
I answered, “Uh, yeah.”
    “Are
you by any chance a hairstylist in Manhattan?”
    My
brows furrowed, and I answered, “Yes. Do I know you?”
    He
smiled a sexy crooked smile, and said, “No, but I’m sure you have heard all
about me.” Still puzzled, I stared at him until he finally answered, “Vivian
Tanner is my mother.”
    My
mouth fell slack. Vivian Tanner was this guy’s mother ? No freaking way. At
that moment, I put my hand to my forehead and rolled my eyes. “You have got to be kidding me. Relentless woman,” I laughed.
    Shaking
his head, he offered his hand to me. “Well it’s nice to finally put a name to a
face.” I reached my hand out to shake his. When he took my small hand in his
much larger one, I felt hot white heat radiate from my hand up my arm and
shiver down my back. “Liam Tanner. It’s nice to finally meet you Rory.”
    “You
too,” I said, my heart pounding. I tried to play off my reaction to his touch,
so I shook my head as if I were annoyed by out meeting.
    Brody
and Marissa looked at each other, confused. “What is going on? How do you two
know each other?” she asked. His friend Nick just sat there with his mouth
hanging open.
    “Oh,
we don’t, but I probably know more about him than I care to,” I said,
chuckling. “Liam’s mother is a good client of mine, and she has spent the last
three years trying to hook me up with this guy.”
    Nick
reached over and shoved his arm. “ That’s the woman Viv’s been trying to
hook you up with? Dude, I didn’t know you were gay,” he laughed, and Liam shot
him a dirty look.
    Brody
smiled at us. “Wait…so your mom’s been trying to hook you up with my sister?
Small world, huh?”
    “I
should have known she was up to something when she insisted I come here tonight.
‘I hear the music’s good there’, she said.”        
    “Oh
man, she’s sneaky. I accidently let it slip that we were coming here tonight
when I was checking her out this afternoon. I thought I was just making polite
conversation. Damn it, she’s good,” I said, and Liam flashed a crooked smile at
me. Just then, I felt a little jolt in my chest and my heart rate