by Cindi Madsen
Of course that same crowd had turned the outing into a local debate, and despite his attempt to keep it away, bitterness had crept in more and more with every person who took Quinn’s side. He could see her fighting it, too—her jaw tightened whenever anyone said the word “lodge.”
By the time they’d made it to the parking lot, he wasn’t sure getting into a small, enclosed space together was a good idea. But instead of snide comments or the cold shoulder, she’d made a joke to smooth over the friction. Yes, he definitely owed her, and after they dropped off Ollie, he planned on making it up to her in the most creative ways he could think of. And most of them involved his mouth.
“Just relax a little,” he said, rolling the ball in his hand until his fingers found the seams. “I’ll give you an easy one.”
Instead of relaxing, she shot up. “Don’t you dare go easy. I came to ground balls and I’m not going to half as—halfway do it.”
He laughed over her slip of the tongue. “All right. You asked for it.”
She squinted one eye closed. Regardless of what she claimed, she wasn’t ready for his full swing. He hit the ball toward her, nice and low. It rolled across the ground, hit a stray rock, and he held his breath, afraid it’d pop up and hit her and then he’d spend the night icing her mouth instead of kissing it.
The hand at the top of her mitt knocked the ball back down, though, and she scooped it up and stood. “Get him out before he reaches first, Oliver,” she yelled, tossing the ball to him.
There’d been no running bases so far, but Heath dropped the bat and sprinted toward first. If he pushed too hard, he’d get there before his little brother, so he held back and then acted disappointed at getting tagged out. “Dang it, I should’ve slid!”
“Oliver would’ve still gotten you,” Quinn said, and Ollie grinned. He held up his hand to give his brother a high five and then turned to Quinn to do the same.
Ollie seemed to go back and forth about whether he liked Quinn tagging along, but Heath could tell that he was leaning toward liking it again. Even though she was obviously a bit out of her element with Oliver, Heath loved that she tried. The kid definitely needed more positive role models in his life. He only hoped he didn’t get too attached—of course, right now, he didn’t see how anyone could spend time with Quinn without getting attached.
“So, ice cream at the Dairy Freeze?” Quinn asked. And just like that, she won them both over for good.
Chapter Twelve
After ice cream at the Dairy Freeze, Heath dropped Ollie off at his mom’s place, making sure she was actually home before telling his little brother good-bye and hustling back to Quinn’s car.
The instant the door closed behind him, he leaned over the console and planted a kiss on her lips, the contact a relief after hours of holding back. “I wanted to attack you the second you showed up tonight, but we were surrounded by parents and kids, and I knew it’d push the friends cover.”
Quinn trailed her fingertips down the side of his face. “I thought you were worried about smearing your makeup. I hear guys turn into total divas after they’ve had their beards gelled.”
His jaw dropped, and she erupted in giggles. “Little girl, I’m going to get you for that.” He tugged her to him and rubbed his whiskers against her cheek. She squealed and made a halfhearted attempt to shove him away, but then he kissed her neck, and her squeal turned into a moan.
Desire flooded his senses. He undid her seat belt and pulled her onto his lap. Good thing these windows were tinted, although for what he had in mind, he needed more room to work with.
Her hair fell over them like a dark curtain as she sank onto him, the soft touch of her lips igniting every nerve ending in his body. His elbow banged the door as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I feel like I’m in high school again,” she said before slipping her tongue in to meet his.
He ran his hands up her thighs, groaning when she rolled her hips. “Is there anyone at your place?”
She froze and then sat back. “My sister and her husband are staying there for another week.”
“Damn. My dad will be awake, and he’s been in a mood lately…” He was almost willing to risk it. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the house she’d grown up in and her fancy car and how his current living situation looked even worse in comparison. He already felt like a loser living at home again. She was probably used to guys who owned fancy condos with lots of square footage and high-thread-count sheets and all the stuff he didn’t have.
“We can watch a movie with my sister and her husband. It’ll be fun.”
Not compared to what I want to do.
She started back over the console, and he held her in place with his hands on her hips. “We can go to my house. Just…ignore whatever my dad says, and close your eyes till we get in my room. Maybe even after that, too. How do you feel about blindfolds?”
The fake smile came out.
“I was kidding,” he said.
“You know what? I’m starving.”
“After all that ice cream?”
She smacked his chest. “Hey, Jenny Craig. I skipped dinner, so now that I’ve had dessert, I need real food. Or more dessert. I’m not picky.” She climbed back into the driver’s seat, and his lap immediately felt empty.
“This is Hope Springs, remember? Everything’s closed after nine.”
“Well, I guess I’m going to break my rule and make you food, then.” She ran her thumbnail along the steering wheel. “Unless you want me to drop you off?”
He wanted to go back to where she gave it to him straight, because there was something different going on now that he didn’t quite understand. She sounded disappointed at even the idea of dropping him off, yet clearly he’d pushed too far.
He reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “You’re in the driver’s seat. For everything. Know what I mean?”
Some of the anxiety melted from her expression. “Okay. Then I choose food and a movie at my place.”
“Then I’m along for the ride.”
As soon as they got back to the giant house on the ritzy end of town, Quinn called out for her sister. When it was clear she wasn’t home, a hint of nervousness crept back into her features.
Before he could ask what was up, she charged into the kitchen. The clang of pans and slam of cupboards being opened and closed filled the air. She frowned at what she found inside the pantry and then pulled out a bag of rice. She peeked in the fridge and brought out a package of fish. “Here’s hoping Maya loves me enough to not care if I use her groceries.”
After getting a pot of water boiling, she poured soy sauce, sake, and grated ginger over the salmon and then placed it in a skillet. He’d eaten dinner, but the smell of the food made him hungry all over again.
Watching her move around was entertaining in and of itself. She’d crinkle her brow, tap her lip, and mumble to herself, and then dive back into the fridge or pantry for another ingredient. When she’d settled in front of the stove, he moved behind her, swept her hair to the side, and kissed the back of her neck.
Her tiny gasp made him smile against her skin and do it again. “Just so you know, I’m firmly against cooking for a guy so he thinks of me as domestic,” she said.
“Well, don’t I feel special? But don’t worry, the last thing I’d call you is domestic.”
“Yeah, much to my family’s dismay. Maya’s way better at it.”
“So she doesn’t have to work at the company with you?”
“She already had”—Quinn made air quotes—“discipline and direction in her life, whereas I apparently needed it. Sometimes it feels like my father thinks if he works me hard enough, I’ll decide the life of a trophy wife would be easier.” She grabbed a knife, sliced a lemon, and squeezed it over the fish. “Stir the rice, will you?”
Heath grabbed a spoon and stirred as instructed. “You’ve got the looks for the trophy wife, but I barely know you and I can tell you’d never
be happy with that life. Maybe put on your fake happy front and pretend, but it wouldn’t be the real kind of happy.”
She stared at him, the surprise clear on her features. “How…”
“I pay attention.” He gave the rice another stir, sending a few grains over the pan. They sizzled against the burner, the ends curling up and turning black. “So, we’ll fry this up and make egg rolls, right?”
Her jaw ticked, although she tried to hide it.
The laugh he’d worked to hold back broke free. “That’s for the diva comment earlier. I know egg rolls are Chinese, not Japanese. I actually read up on your culture online.” The other night he’d gotten curious. He couldn’t believe he’d done it, much less confessed to doing it.
Their gazes met and held. Then she leaned in and kissed his cheek. The simple gesture sent a surprising amount of warmth through him, a much deeper affection than lust that should scare him. Instead he wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold onto it as long as he could.
“So if you”—his tongue stumbled, like it didn’t want to admit the possibility, but he forced the words out—“get the B and B, will you be doing the cooking?”
She reached over the stove and lowered the temperature on the burner. “To start with, anyway. I’ve got recipes set aside that I’ve perfected with a gourmet breakfast experience in mind, and I actually enjoy cooking once in a while, but it depends on how busy the place gets. As soon as I’m fully up and running—and with any luck, mostly booked—I’ll be out delivering the food and talking to the people instead of being locked away in the kitchen, although I’ll do that, too, if I have to.”
He nodded, noting she already talked about it like it was hers. He did the same thing. In fact, he’d emailed Cam today with information on tents, hunting packs, and snowmobiles he’d priced so they could figure out start-up costs. Dad had made a comment about both of his boys working at the shop soon, and when he explained they wouldn’t be because they’d be running the hunting lodge, and Dad scoffed at their chances, it’d lit a fire under him to come up with an exit plan he could execute as soon as possible.
Conflicting emotions rose and got tangled up in his gut. He needed that property—large plots of land rarely went on the market around here, since families had owned most of it for generations and they liked to keep it that way—and it was the only place that backed up to the mountain range.
But he could tell how much working for her dad ate at Quinn. Just talking about it dimmed her usual spark of frantic energy. Discussing the B and B, on the other hand, had the opposite effect.
If she were simply a spoiled girl with no substance to her, it’d be easy to brush her off and think she had no chance. To dislike her for trying to take away his dream. But she was smart and funny and overloaded every one of his circuits with the lightest touch. He liked her—more than he should for someone he barely knew.
His thoughts turned to what would happen if Cam finally came home only to find nothing here for him, though. Most likely he’d reenlist and leave again. He’d been on several dangerous missions he wasn’t at liberty to discuss, and Heath wanted to ensure his brother didn’t have to keep putting himself in harm’s way day after day anymore.
This deal’s bigger than just me. While he’d feel horrible about Quinn not getting what she wanted, failure wasn’t an option. Sorry, Quinn, he thought as she turned off the burner.
Once they’d piled the steaming food onto their plates, they moved to the couch. He expected her to put on a chick flick, so he was pleasantly surprised when instead he got the newest superhero movie.
After they’d finished eating, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, drew her closer, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thanks for dinner. For the record, I think it’s cool that you care about your heritage, but yet you don’t conform. Promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll never lose that feisty, impulsive side of you.”
“You’re just saying that because that’s the side of me that means I forget about our differences and kiss you.”
He curled her tighter to him. “That might have something to do with it.”
She smiled, and then he slanted his mouth over hers. He pushed a hand through her hair, and the kiss took on an urgent edge that fanned the need he’d felt earlier. He let her control the tempo, though, not wanting her to pull away like she’d done in the car.
A loud throat clearing interrupted the moment. Apparently Quinn’s sister and her husband had come home at some point. Quinn made introductions and invited them to watch the rest of the movie with them. Her earlier comment about feeling like she was in high school again suddenly applied, because that was what the group date made him feel like. Only he’d never done the group dating or hanging out with a girlfriend’s sibling thing, even in high school.
As soon as the movie was over, Steven said he was tired and going to bed. When he tried to pull Maya to her feet, she waved him off and told him she’d be up in a minute. She watched her husband go up the stairs and then turned to Heath, and he got the feeling he was about to be interrogated. “So, Heath, you’re in Sadie’s band, right? And then you work at Rod’s Auto Repair?”
“For now.” He glanced at Quinn, wondering if her sister knew about Mountain Ridge. She gave a slight shake of her head, apparently reading his mind. “I’m hoping to run my own business someday—technically, I already do. I build custom motorcycles, and once I have a larger garage, I’ll be taking on more projects as time allows.”
“What’re your thoughts on steady, committed relationships?”
“Maya,” Quinn said, glaring at her sister. “That’s kind of a deep question for a simple movie night.”
“I’m just asking. I want to get to know the guy my sister keeps coming back to Hope Springs for.”
“That’s not the only reason I’m in town,” Quinn said. Then she rubbed a couple fingers across her forehead. “It’s on my way to Salt Lake.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Maya turned to him. “You never answered the question.”
Clearly she’d heard things about him, and between that and the way he looked, that was enough for her to judge him. He never bothered trying to convince people of who he was and wasn’t, and he wasn’t about to start now. Except he didn’t want to leave things badly with Quinn. Despite the couple of bumps along the way, as well as the giant elephant in the room that always stood between them, they’d managed to have a great night. And it wasn’t like he had anything to hide. “I’m sure they’re great for some people. Honestly, I’ve seen and been in my fair share of bad ones, though, and I’m in no hurry to jump in. But that’s nothing Quinn doesn’t already know.”
“Sometimes Quinn needs lots of reminders.”
“Okay, that’s enough talking about me like I’m not here. Heath has to be up early for work, so I’m going to tell him good-bye.” Quinn stood and offered her hand. He took it and let her pull him up. “Sorry,” she said once they reached the door. “She’s a little overprotective, despite being the younger one. Must be that driven, disciplined thing I mentioned earlier.”
“It’s okay. I get it, I don’t exactly scream boyfriend material.”
“In my experience, boyfriend material is overrated. And I know we’re keeping things light, even if she obviously didn’t listen when I told her that’s what you and I were doing.”
That statement should be more comforting, since it was what he wanted. Great. Now he was the one wanting to hold on, and the fear was over her not feeling as much for him as he did for her. He’d never been on this side of things, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“See you tomorrow at the shop?” Quinn asked, arching both of her eyebrows, and he nodded. She gave him a quick kiss and started to pull back, and then dawning crossed her features. “Oh, wait. I drove, and your motorcycle’s still at the school. Let me grab my keys and take you.”
Between the sudden neediness and the fact that he’d be tempted to go for round two of making out in the car, where he’d probably
get caught up and push too far again, he decided he’d best cut and run before his head got even more messed up over this girl. Cool air and expending energy with a walk would do him some good. “It’s not that far. I’ll just hoof it.”
“But it’s late at night. I know it’s a safe town, but still.”
He laughed under his breath. “Don’t worry, I’ll be the scariest thing out there. Who’d mess with this?”
Quinn raised a finger as if to say she would, and his best intentions to pull away cracked—another point for getting out of here as quickly as possible.
“Till tomorrow,” he said, reaching for the door handle.
“Okay. Text to let me know you got home safely.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. The future of my lips touching yours again depends on it, too. I won’t be able to sleep knowing I let you walk alone late at night without me as a bodyguard.”
No one had ever wanted him to check in. Not Dad, and not Mom before she’d left. None of the women he’d dated. Most of the time he liked not being accountable to anyone, but something about picturing Quinn pacing the halls, worried about him, hit him in the chest, an unfamiliar sensation tugging at his heart. “I’ll text you.”
An appeased smile lifted her lips, and he couldn’t help turning around for another kiss. Who knew it’d feel so damn good to have someone look after him?
Immediately he quashed the yearning that rose up, whispering that he wanted this to be more. That was a dangerous road, especially with Quinn, and he’d learned a long time ago that it did no good to wish for things you could never have.
Chapter Thirteen
“Not cool, dude,” Quinn said to Maya as she reentered the living room.
“Just trying to look out for you. You know that Chichi and Haha would flip if they knew you were dating him.”
“As you pointed out, we’re not in a serious, super-committed relationship anyway.”
Maya shrugged, unapologetic.
