He tilted his head. “You haven’t seenmein years. How do you know I’m still an asshole?”
“Oh, I have a feeling that trait of yours is like a fine wine and it got better with age.” I smirked.
A beautiful redhead and her friend came up to him and started petting his bicep. One of them shot me a less than friendly look, but I barely noticed. It was nothing I hadn’t seen before. These girls were no different than the ones who’d flocked to him in high school. The nice thing now was, Liam had his own place to take them to instead of hooking up with them in the girls’ restroom. I’d never forget walking in on hot Jane, kneeling down in front of Liam, in between the paper towel dispenser and the sinks. Though I wouldn’t put it past him to do it here. Actually, now that I was living with him, I’d rather have him go down on the redhead and her friend in a restroom stall rather than doing it on the couch right outside my room. I hadn’t thought about what thatsituationwas going to be like when I moved in—living with four sexually active rock stars, one of whom was my brother.
Liam paused and looked down at the two relentless girls. He patted them off like they had actually drooled on him. “Not today, ladies,” he said flatly.
They both left with a huff but not before giving me and Nina a final once-over.
I watched the stage again, but I could feel him move closer. A wave of yummy cologne and the leather from his jacket danced beneath my nose as Liam shifted confidently. The surprisingly delightful smell distracted me for a moment, and then he opened his mouth.
“So? Stages don’t make you want to hurl anymore, Av?”
My whole body pulsed with heat, like an ember in a fire, as I resisted the urge to smack the smug tone off his tongue, but the first syllable of my name that fell from his mouth caught me off guard.
He’d never called me that.
The only nickname he had ever given me was ‘Little Fox’, and I’d never found it endearing.
“I’m not sure stages have anything to do with it actually. I think my upchuck reflex is just higher when you’re around.”
Nina made a noise of enjoyment, nearly spitting out her drink.
“Let’s see it then.” Liam nodded toward the stage, and my stomach started doing flips on itself.
“Hey, man.” A broad-shouldered teddy bear of a man sauntered over and exchanged some sort of manly handshake with Liam. “I got you and the rest of the guys a seat in the corner.”
I welcomed the distraction with a long exhale.
“Unless you want a smaller one for you and your girl here?”
Liam and I both snapped our eyes to him in disgust.
There was a kindness about him that settled in the creases of his eyes when he laughed. “All right then. Just the one table. I’ll send over a bottle on the house.”
“Thanks, Matt.” Liam nodded, and the man disappeared behind the bar.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
Liam nodded at the rest of the band and pointed to a table at the back of the bar before returning his attention to us. “Uh, that’s Matt. He owns the place. Why?”
“I like him.”
Liam frowned. “You don’t even know him.”
“Yeah, he’s nice. I can tell,” Nina agreed.
“He seems like the kind of guy I would trust to watch my cat,” I added.
“You don’t have a cat,” Nina stated.
“Please don’t tell me you’re hiding a cat in my house,” Liam added with concern.
“No.” I shrugged. “But if I did.”
“Do you make a habit of trusting guys you’ve never met?” Liam straightened himself, showing his full height as he towered over me a good seven or eight inches.
He must have gotten taller over the years. Or maybe he just made me feel smaller.
