Page 67 of Liam

Chapter Twenty

ALERIA

Lunchtime finds me in the cafeteria with Mia, my salad untouched as I try to focus on her animated chatter. But my traitorous eyes keep drifting to where Liam sits with a group of executives. Every so often, our gazes lock, and I swear the temperature in the room spikes by several degrees.

“So, about the Halloween party,” Mia says, her voice cutting through my distraction. “I’m thinking of going as Marie Curie. Too cliché?”

“Hm?” I blink, forcing my attention back to her. “Oh, um, no. Not cliché. Radioactively cool, actually.”

Mia snorts. “Did you just make a science pun?”

I giggle, the sound too loud and a little hysterical. Halloween party. Right. The bet. Liam and I never discussed what we’re doing about that. Is the bet still on? I mean, I guess not, but are we going together? Separately?Not at all?

“Speaking of the party,” Mia continues, oblivious to my internal panic, “I’m thinking of asking Leo. You know, the guy I met at the science convention?”

“Uh-huh.” I nod, my eyes drifting back to Liam.

“I mean, he’s cute, right? And he laughed at my jokes.”

“Mm-hmm,” I mumble, watching Liam lean in to whisper something to a colleague.

“So, I was thinking of asking him to go skydiving with me first as a warm-up to the party invitation.”

“Sounds great,” I say.

“Then we’ll rob a bank together. Nothing says romance like a felony, right?”

“Absolutely,” I agree.

Mia waves her hand in front of my face. “Earth to Aleria! Are you even listening to me?”

I snap back to attention. “What? Yes, of course. Leo, party, bank robbery. Wait, what?”

Mia’s eyes narrow. “Okay, spill. What’s going on with you? And don’t say ‘nothing’ because you just agreed to me committing a federal crime.”

My face heats. “I... It’s nothing. Just distracted by the new lab setup.”

“Uh-huh,” Mia says. “And does this ‘new lab setup’ have anything to do with a specific dream guy?”

“W–what?” I gasp out. “How did you... I mean, there’s nothing... I don’t...”

Mia’s eyebrows shoot up. “Whoa, calm down there. I was just referring to your date to the party. You said you’re going to ask Jake. But based on that reaction, I’d say there’s something else going on.”

“No! I mean, yes. I mean, Jake is fine. Everything’s fine.Totally normal. Nothing to report on the, uh, quantum entanglement front.”

“Quantum entanglement?” Mia repeats. “Aleria, honey, you know that’s not a euphemism for sex, right?”

“Of course I know that,” I mutter, taking a sip of my coffee. And gag.

“Ugh! What is wrong with this coffee?” I splutter, reaching for a napkin.

Mia peers into my mug and then bursts out laughing. “Oh my God, Aleria. You put salt in your coffee instead of sugar.” She waves the empty bag in front of me. “You’ve got it bad, girl. Was the sex with Jake that good?”

I stare at my ruined coffee, mortified. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mumble.

“Uh-huh,” Mia says. “Well, whatever—or whoever—has got you this distracted, I hope they’re worth it.”

I force a laugh, my eyes drifting back to Liam. He catches my gaze and winks, the slight gesture sending my heart into overdrive.