by Violet Duke
“Okay,” she replied automatically before she caught herself.
Wait. Tomorrow? If the whole ‘beautiful’ thing hadn’t hijacked her brain, she wouldn’t be standing here actually looking forward to ‘tomorrow.’ Whatever that meant.
“Quinn Christiansen?” called out a loud voice from the door. “Delivery!”
What happened to ‘a few’ minutes?
She went up front to sign for the delivery and stopped in her tracks when she saw it.
It was a ginormous gift basket of beer.
She burst out laughing. The ass.
No guy would have dared to give her this kind of gift before.
She liked it.
And in defiance of all that was sane and smart, she was starting to like him, too.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE MAN WAS driving her crazy.
Mainly because he wasn’t actually driving her crazy.
Quinn had to concede the fact that Rylan was actually a nice guy. A real-deal good guy, judging by all she’d been hearing about him lately…and it did sound like, weirdly, she was hearing his name a lot. At first, she thought it was one of those things like where you don’t notice any ugly Christmas sweaters during the holidays until you actually receive an ugly Christmas sweater—then you suddenly can’t un-see them all over the place.
Then, she realized that Dani had somehow activated some sort of covert government-level matchmaking mission, and all her little sleeper agents around town were now on full deployment.
The CIA had nothing on her and her meddling.
At least a half dozen band flyers with Rylan looking crazy hot had been mysteriously slipped under the Desert Confections door the past few days. And well more than a dozen folks had casually found a way to bring him up in conversation yesterday alone…which had been a particularly impressive feat to see in action when she’d stood in line at the bank next to the Carradine sisters, two sweet old biddies from the town center who had somehow transitioned from talking about their menopause symptoms to Rylan in two seconds flat.
She would’ve sworn Rylan were behind it all if not for the one final damning clue.
Dani calling her up and just plain asking her why she wouldn’t date Rylan.
After muttering through a few standard single mom excuses that didn’t come off as convincing as she’d hoped—Dani was beyond direct—Quinn finally found herself blurting out the one biggest reason.
“He hasn’t asked me out.”
Did she mention the man was driving her crazy?
In the last two and a half weeks, he’d shown up every single day to chat with her and not once did he ask her out.
It’s not that she was arrogant enough to believe he should ask her out or anything of the sort, but if those heated glances he’d sometimes let her see, or even more dangerous, the affectionate ones, were any indication, he seemed interested in her. And most impressive of all, he didn’t seem the least bit scared of her.
Instead of turning tail and running far and fast away from her like most smart men, or hitting on her simply for the challenge she seemed to present to the stupid ones, he just came by every day to spend a few minutes with her, by all evidence happy just to talk…and listen.
He never asked her any of the standard questions that guys usually did. He never asked her what she liked to do for fun, or what her favorite food was. He asked about her day, he asked why she looked a little more stressed than the day prior.
And he took special pleasure in being charmingly aggravating, teasing, exasperating, and an overall goofball when and where he could.
It was all unnerving.
But rather great at the same time.
A few weeks ago, he’d begun buying a single piece of chocolate from the shop and handing it to her when he’d drop in each day, simply because she’d made the mistake of telling him on day one of his friendship crusade that she never indulged in any of the shop products. So ever since, he’d come in and talk while he selected a chocolate. Then he’d push it in front of her, and then be on his merry way, utterly shameless about riling her up before he left.
“You okay there, beautiful?” came the deep timber of Rylan’s voice, rough with concern. “Don’t get me wrong, I love it when a gorgeous woman is so blinded by my good looks that she can’t help staring but—”
Quinn blinked herself out of her thoughts and narrowed her eyes, doing her best to keep her smile hidden. How the man could get her to smile so easily was a complete mystery to her. “I wasn’t staring at you or your enormously big head.” Her eyes shot wide. “Ego! I meant enormously big ego.”
His grin turned almost wicked. “I don’t mind you talking about my big head at all. In fact, I like that you think about me and my big head.”
Don’t you dare blush, Quinn Christiansen!
“I don’t think about you or your big anything,” she lied shamelessly.
He shrugged. “That’s okay. I think about you enough to make up the difference.” Sliding a chocolate forward in her flummoxed silence, he gave her an atrociously sexy wink. “See you tomorrow, sunshine.”
She started to say something to stop him from leaving, for some reason not wanting him to go just yet.
Suddenly, he stopped. “Sweetheart, those eyes of yours are lethal weapons,” he said as if reading her thoughts. “I have a feeling I could get addicted to having your eyes on me like that.” His gaze brushed over her lips and then rose back to her eyes. “Hell, I’d be like a slot machine junkie looking for another adrenaline-pumping jackpot every minute of the day.”
His words served as the electric jolt she needed to fry the heated web she’d somehow allowed herself to get caught in, as he confirmed the one thing she’d heard about him in town that she wasn’t a fan of. “You gamble?” she asked as casually as she could.
He laughed. “I’ve never played a slot machine in my life.”
A tiny bit of hope glimmered in her belly. Maybe—
“That’s barely gambling,” he continued. “Now poker? That’s a different story. I’m always up for a game of poker.” Grinning, he added, “It isn’t really gambling unless skill and stakes are involved.”
The disappointment she felt crushing her lungs was a little startling. A musician she could deal with. A gambling musician like her ex? Hell no.
“I’ll see you around, Rylan.” She’d put the full frost of her iciest wicked witch of the west tone in that one sentence.
But instead of leaving, he stood there silently studying her for a moment.
“I won’t push,” he said gently. “But one day, I hope you’ll tell me why you thought you hated me as much as you did at first glance…why you’re trying to convince yourself to hate me right now.”
Damn, that sounded terrible. “I didn’t…I’m not…”
“Don’t. Honey, it’s your right to be cautious, to have doubts. Just like it’s my job to give you reasons over time not to doubt me, to prove to you and continue to show you that I’m different from what history has taught you to know and expect. No one has any right to expect that you start with a clean slate with all the trust in the world for a stranger until they’ve earned it. If any man tells you different, give me a call and I’ll set him straight.”
Holy hell.
“And Quinn?”
“Yeah?”
“I gamble, yes. But never for money.”
* * * * *
“YOU BIG LUG NUT! You haven’t even asked her out on a date yet?
Rylan continued unloading his truck, unsurprised that Dani was here in his driveway poking into his business. “Why hello to you too, my favorite little meddling brewmaster. To what do I owe the honor of your exasperated presence?”
“Quinn just told me you haven’t asked her out.”
Interesting. He didn’t know the two mortal enemies had turned into BFFs. “She’s right, I haven’t.”
“Why on earth not?”
“She doesn’t want me to.”
“Oh, yes
she does.”
He stilled. “Did she say that?”
“Well, no. Not in so many words.”
He resumed packing up his truck. “Dani, she’s a single mom living in a new town with a newly relocated business. She’s too busy to date. Simple as that.” He frowned at her. “You haven’t been hounding her have you? The woman looks exhausted nearly all hours of the day. You know I love you and most of the times, your meddling ways, but I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t bother Quinn, especially not where I’m concerned.”
“Wow. You really like her.”
“Yeah, I do,” he sighed. “But that doesn’t change anything.”
“Ry, it changes everything. You haven’t been even remotely interested in anyone since Lacey.”
“Leave it alone, Dani.”
Damn. He didn’t mean for that to come out so harshly. “I didn’t mean to snap at you, babe. Just… Don’t bring up Lacey. Please.”
She paused, then asked gently, “I’ll stop after this, I swear. But, as your friend, I need to know. Are you still hung up on her?”
“I’m not hung up on Lacey.”
“Because we’d all understand if—”
“I’m not.”
He knew what everyone thought. That Lacey had left him broken-hearted. He’d been broken down back then, yes, and his heart had been put through the ringer, most definitely. But not in the way everyone thought. No one knew what the end of their relationship had been like. It had messed with him. Bad.
One thing Dani was right about was that Quinn was the first person he’d been interested in since Lacey. At first he thought it was because she was the exact opposite of Lacey. The farthest thing from a wilting daisy. No, his little hellcat was more like…a venus fly trap.
Maybe that’s what started it all, why he’d gravitated toward her.
She was strong. Not like Lacey. She’d never put him through what Lacey had.
Or vice versa.
Studying him for a beat, Dani nodded as if believing him at face value. “Okay, if that’s not it, then why won’t you give Quinn a chance?”
“I’m not chasing after someone who doesn’t want to be chased.”
“Well what if she did want to be chased?” she asked.
“Then she wouldn’t be the right woman for me.”
Dani groaned in aggravation. “You’re not making any sense.”
His merciless little meddler.
“Look, sweetie, I like her. Part of the reason why I like her is because she doesn’t play games. I’m not going to play games with her either. We’re friends. I visit her sometimes to make small talk and she pretends to hate it when I do. I bug her until she wants to smack me. Then we rinse and repeat. It’s…just how we are.”
“My sources tell me you don’t just visit her sometimes. You drop in on her every day.”
“Fine, I stop by every day. She’s adorable to tease, what can I say? I have a sweet tooth for that sort of thing.”
“And the little daily gifts?”
Damn, she really did miss her calling as an interrogator.
“I’ve just been welcoming her to town.”
“Pretty extravagant welcome.” Dani tapped her foot and stared at him, telling him in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t going to budge one step until he fessed up. “Want to know what I think?”
Not at all, no.
“I think you are trying to date her. You’re wooing her and testing the waters to see if she’ll just trip and fall into a relationship with you. And because you’re still broken-hearted over Lacey, you’re being a wuss about the whole thing.”
“You’ve got this all wrong, Dani.”
“Won’t believe you until you explain it to me.”
He sighed. “I just…like seeing her smile, okay?” God, that sounded lame.
Dani was now clutching her hands to her chest and looking at him like he’d just recited a freaking poem.
“The woman never smiles,” he clarified gruffly. “Except for when she’s with her son, then she lights up the whole freakin’ room. But other than that, she never smiles. And it’s a damn shame. She’s obviously a great mom and judging by everything she’s been doing with the chocolate and beer throwdown, she’s hella good at her job. But you just have to look at her exhausted face to see the universe has been treating her like crap.”
He leaned back against his truck and avoided Dani’s eyes. “So I bug her, and crack a few jokes—generally, just act like my usual dumbass self until she smiles.” Shrugging, he tried to explain what it felt like the first time he’d dragged a smile out of her. “I don’t know, for those short few seconds when she’s smiling, she’s not just happy but it’s like she’s…getting along with the universe for a little while. So, yeah, I just…like making her smile. Even though she fights like hell not to.”
“So you’ve just been trying to make her smile? That’s it? That’s the only reason?”
“No,” he sighed. “I also do it because I’m a friggin’ junkie looking for a fix every day.” Shoving his hands in his back pocket, he thunked his head back against the truck. “I damn near go into withdrawal by afternoon, wanting, criminy, needing to see her smile again. You happy? I admit it. I’m addicted to the little hellcat’s smiles.”
Dani stood there in stunned silence for a few surprised seconds.
…Before taking off down the driveway for her car.
Oh, shit.
She was locked in her car backing out onto the street before he realized what she was going to do.
“Woman, don’t you dare meddle.”
Dani shouted back from her quickly retreating vehicle, “Give me a few days, a week tops, considering it’s Quinn and all. And you better not try to ignore me when I call you!”
With her delighted laughter trailing behind her on the wind like cartoon skid marks, Rylan turned and headed back to his house. Though he loved Dani, he was annoyed as hell that she was going to interfere with the pleasant foundation he’d built for his platonic little friendship with Quinn.
But mostly, he was secretly glad she had only one one-hundredth of the patience he did.
CHAPTER SIX
A FEW DAYS LATER, Quinn was standing at the counter in Desert Confections staring at the front door like it owed her money.
She’d seen Rylan’s truck pass by and turn into the side alley a good ten minutes ago but he’d yet to make his usual appearance. Even though she’d never utter the words unless required by a warrant signed by a Supreme Court judge, seeing Rylan during his little visits was becoming one of her favorite parts of the day.
So where the heck was he, darn it?
Images of him getting accosted by band bunnies outside of Ocotillos suddenly flooded her mind. The idea was outlandish, of course, because just as Rylan had noted, he wasn’t surrounded by hoards of girls like she’d once thought. After she finally took her blinders off, she noticed that yes, there were fans, and yes—dammit—there were women who hit on him a lot, but it was nothing like the slutty sex carnivals Brody and his buddies used to live for.
She was still leery of the whole gambling thing, and while his assurance that he never wagered money when he gambled should have eased her wariness of the whole thing, it didn’t.
Because she knew exactly what sort of things could be wagered in the place of money.
…A disturbing reminder she forced herself not to jump to conclusions over again.
Besides, Rylan was just a friend. So his gambling was the talk of the town at times, he was free to do as he pleased. She had no claims on him.
Now seriously, where the heck was he?
Quinn gathered up a half-empty trash bag—knowing how these things tend to overflow when the shop was busy—and went out to the side alley to throw it in the dumpster.
The unbidden smile that was clamoring to get out as soon as she saw Rylan out there swiftly turned into a scowl when she saw he was standing next to her car, which, currently, was jacked up a few feet off
the ground with its hood up and an unknown body underneath it, tinkering away.
“What the hell are you doing to my car? And who in the world is that?” Quinn shoved the trash bag at Rylan and peered under the car at the smiling mechanic.
“Hey there,” called out a sunny, feminine voice, still buried under the car. “I’m Sienna, a friend of Rylan’s.” A dainty, grease-covered hand popped out from right behind the tire and waved. “Just doing a quick oil change and tune-up. Won’t be able to get to your brakes today without all my tools but I can do it tomorrow if you want.”
Rylan piped in then. “Sounds good. Or, I can see if Lia has some time to go grab the rest of your tools from your place. Hang on a sec.”
He was already dialing a number on his cellphone, as if Quinn’s gaping glare wasn’t demanding an explanation ten seconds ago.
“Lia?” Smiling at his phone, he nodded before tipping his head back and chortling heartily. “Tell Gabe he deserved it, and I’m expecting him not to welch on the bet.”
Yet another reference to a bet. This just got better and better.
“But that’s not why I’m calling. I’m sure you’ve been torturing your brother plenty enough for the two of us.” He headed over to a big white vehicle that looked to be a custom made lovechild between a minivan and a truck with a big mobile mechanic logo on the side of it. “Do you think you could swing by Sienna’s place for a few tools?”
“Ry, it’s not my tools,” called out Sienna, sounding even more muffled than before. “And it’s not at home. I left most of my stuff with the kids yesterday so Lia would have to go to school. Does Max still have her car?”
Rylan nodded at the reply coming from the phone. “Okay, babe, I understand. No worries. Thanks though.” More nodding. “Everything going okay at the shop? You’re not transporting guns on your bike again are you?”
Wait, what?
Quinn stared at Rylan who had his index finger held up, silently telling her he’d explain in a bit.
“Next time, take my truck,” he scolded big brotheringly.
