“Beautiful, isn’t he?” Q asked, fishing for a compliment for his choice.
“He’s definitely that,” she admitted. “I’m almost tempted to change my mind.” Quentin’s beautiful smile exploded across his face, causing Alyssa’s Jell-O belly to quiver once again.
“I promise I’ll take it a little easy on you.”
“Are you suggesting that you’ll throw the race?” she asked. “That kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?”
“I’m just trying to be gentlemanly. Say, I give you a ten-second head start?”
Alyssa shook her head. “That’s all right. I’d rather win fair and square or not at all.” Quentin’s laugh boomed and cloaked Alyssa like a warm blanket. She discreetly pinched her hand to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming.
“You know what? I think I like you, Ms…?” He cocked his head. “I don’t believe I caught your name.”
“That’s because I haven’t given it to you yet,” she answered with a teasing smile.
“Ah.” Q nodded his approval. “Playing the mysterious card, eh? You know I’ll find out sooner or later.”
That was what she was afraid of. “I tell you what.
We’ll race to the estate’s entrance and back. If you win I’ll tell you my name.”
Quentin didn’t answer. Instead he kept his gaze leveled on her. “No deal.”
Alyssa’s eyebrows sprang up in surprise.
“How about if I win I get a kiss?”
She blinked, her heart now forging its way up her throat. “You want to kiss someone you don’t even know?”
“Scared?”
“Of you?” she asked, smiling. “Hardly.”
“Then it’s a deal?”
Alyssa stared. Suddenly the idea of winning didn’t sound so appealing. “All right. Deal.”
Quentin led Midnight toward the fence’s gate and then waited patiently as Alyssa trotted behind him. Once she was out, he worked his way up into the saddle. He wasn’t exactly smooth about it and Midnight seemed to sense that he didn’t know what he was doing and started trotting off a bit.
“Whoa. Whoa. Come back here, boy,” Quentin instructed, pulling back on the horse’s reins.
Midnight ignored him and kept trotting in the opposite direction.
“No, boy. This way.” Quentin pulled the reins to the right. “C’mon, Midnight. Stop playing. Let’s go this way.”
Alyssa snickered and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She watched as Quentin and horse continued their battle of the wills for a few seconds before she took pity on him. She trotted Charlie over and took over Q’s reins.
“C’mon, Midnight,” she said gently.
The horse’s ears perked and then he allowed Alyssa to lead the way.
Quentin frowned. “Oh, you’re just going to play me like that?” he asked Midnight.
Midnight whinnied, but trotted alongside Charlie.
“Are you sure that you still want to do this?” Alyssa asked, fighting hard not to laugh.
“Absolutely.” Q held out his hand.
She gave him back the reins and shrugged. “All right. It’s your neck.”
His gaze returned and lingered on her face. “It’ll all be worth it in the end.”
Heat rushed into Alyssa’s face. “You still have to win.” She leaned forward in her saddle. “Ready?”
Quentin sneaked a peek at his mysterious model’s backside. Good Lord, the woman’s pictures didn’t do her justice. She was a walking, talking masterpiece and he was looking forward to all the games they could play during this weekend.
She glanced back at him and asked again, “Ready?”
He took a deep breath, tightened his hold on the reins and then prayed a quick prayer. “Ready, set…Go!”
Midnight and Charlie took off.
It was probably not a good idea to race with one’s eyes closed, Quentin realized, but reason fled and fear took over. Midnight’s powerful gallop and the fierce wind rushing against his face, quite frankly scared the bejesus out of him. What the hell was he thinking? He could be killed on this animal, he realized belatedly. Why was it that he always lost his mind when it came to competing for a beautiful woman?
Just stay in the saddle and hold on tight he coached himself. But shouldn’t he at least see if he was winning? Quentin strained to peek between his eyelids. To his surprise Charlie had pulled in front of Midnight. Yet he still had a pretty good view of his competitor’s lovely rump.
“Ya! Ya!” He snapped his reins in another sign of sheer lunacy. After that he wasn’t quite sure what happened. All he knew was something hit him. Hard. Next thing he knew he was airborne. When he finally smacked the ground every ounce of air fled his lungs.
“Quentin!”
He heard his name but wasn’t sure from which direction. How did she know his name?
“My God, are you all right?” Ms. Sexy Model asked, rushing over to him.
Quentin heard the rush of horse hooves and then a pair of feet hitting the ground.
“Quentin, please speak to me. Are you all right?”
He tried to speak. Really he did. But the act seemed as hard for him as figuring out a calculus problem. His clock had been thoroughly cleaned.
“Maybe I better go get some help?” she said.
Quentin finally managed to groan, and as a reward she gathered him into her arms. He smiled, languishing in the cheap thrill of his head being pressed against her bosom. Of course that was over with the minute she started smacking him on the face.
“Quentin, please speak to me.”
When her embrace loosened, he reached out to stop her. “No. No. Don’t go,” he croaked.
“Oh, thank God. You’re all right.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Are you in pain? Where does it hurt?”
What? Was she kidding? His entire body was in pain. “I think…I think, I’m broken.”
“What? What’s broken?” She leaned forward, to make sure she could hear him.
“Everything is broken,” he said, convinced that it was a true statement. He should just lie there and die peacefully in her arms.
“I better go get you help.” The concern in her voice thickened.
“No. I’m going to be all right. Just give me a second,” he said, snuggling closer. “What happened?”
“Tree branch. You didn’t duck. You ran dead into it. I don’t see how you could have missed it.”
He probably wouldn’t have if he’d been riding with his eyes open, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Instead, Quentin groaned, pitifully. “I guess this means I lost the bet.” He tried to move, but gave up when more pain shot through his body. Maybe he did need help. Midnight cantered back into view and Quentin frowned. “Demon horse. You could have killed me.”
“I don’t think you should be blaming Midnight,” she admonished gently.
“Don’t tell me you’re taking his side.” Quentin’s gaze shifted to her. He smiled. She really did have the face of an angel. And those dark eyes…
Something tugged at him. Something in his memory. “Why do I feel like I know you?”
Her smile faded. “Do you think you could stand up?”
“Actually, I’m comfortable right where I am. It’s almost as good as winning that kiss. Of course,” he went on, “you could always take pity on me and kiss me anyway.”
An adorable blush crept into her face.
“I was going to win anyway,” he lied.
She threw her head back with a laugh. “Hardly.”
“Come on,” he whined. “Don’t you want me to get my strength back?”
Her eyes narrowed. “What kind of trick is this? Did you hit that tree branch on purpose, since you knew you were going to lose?”
Quentin laughed and winced from the pain. “You’re giving me way too much credit. No one takes a blow like that on purpose.” He chuckled. “Unless he knew it would work.” Their gazes locked again. “Is it working?
”
She laughed, and he found he loved its lyrical sound. Actually he was beginning to like everything about her. “One kiss,” he said, mentally willing her to say yes.
She hesitated, weighing her decision.
Was his heart racing?
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” she finally said. “There’s a chance you might regret it.”
“Not unless you tell me that you’re my long-lost sister or something. Then that would be weird. We would probably have to move farther south.”
“No. It’s nothing like that.”
“Then kiss me,” he said.
“All right.” She smiled. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Slowly she leaned down and Quentin couldn’t remember ever anticipating anything this much in his entire life. As she drew nearer, their eyes closed and their lips finally touched. It was quite possibly the sweetest kiss he had ever tasted. When he dipped his tongue inside her mouth, he couldn’t believe how much she tasted like pure honey and he moaned at its sweetness. He lifted his arm and hooked it around her neck to pull her closer. How easy it would be for someone to become addicted to her. If it wasn’t for his lungs screaming for oxygen, he would have never let her go.
“God. Why in the hell would I ever regret that?” he asked, panting.
She simply smiled. “We better get you up to the house.” She stood and helped him up onto his feet.
He moaned and groaned the entire way.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“After that kiss, I believe I’ll live.”
She blushed again, but he shook his head. “Surely, you can tell me your name now.”
“Why? Because I kissed you? Hardly sounds like a reason to me.”
Quentin’s eyebrows spiked in amusement.
She grabbed hold of Charlie’s reins and started to walk him back to the stable.
Quentin grabbed Midnight’s reins and rushed after her. “So where have you been all my life?”
Her laughter danced back at him.
“C’mon. How much longer are you going to play this game? You know I’m going to find out.”
“Quentin!” Sterling shouted, coming toward them. “Have you seen Alfred around?”
“No. I haven’t seen him.”
Sterling’s gaze swung toward Q’s new modelfriend and a smile bloomed across his face.
Out of possessiveness, Quentin moved closer and draped an arm around her shoulder.
“Well, I’ll be doggone,” Sterling said. “Look who’s all grown-up.”
Quentin frowned and then swung his gaze between Sterling and his mysterious woman.
“Hello, Sterling,” she said.
She knew Sterling’s name, too?
“I’ve been looking all over the place for your father. Have you seen him?”
“Her father?” Q’s gaze zoomed in on her. “Alfred’s your father?”
She nodded.
“Then that would mean…” His eyes widened as recognition finally settled in. “Alice?”
“Alyssa,” Sterling corrected.
She shrugged sheepishly. “Surprise.”
Chapter 5
Alyssa waited with bated breath for Q’s reaction. So far, he could do little more than bulge his eyes and sputter.
“I hear that congratulations are in order,” Sterling said, also taking his full measure of Alyssa. “I hear you’re a famous model nowadays. I’m sorry but I haven’t had a chance to see any of your work, but I must say that from where I stand you’ve blossomed into a beautiful flower. Isn’t that right, Q?”
“Absolutely.”
Alyssa smiled graciously. “Thank you.” It wasn’t any surprise to her that Sterling would know little about the world of modeling and high fashion.
Sterling Hinton rarely pulled his nose away from financial spreadsheets and corporate negotiations.
“Actually, I have had the pleasure of seeing some of your work,” Q admitted.
Alyssa blinked. Did that mean he knew who she was all along?
“You’re on this month’s cover of Vogue, am I right?”
“That’s right.” Her smile broadened with pleasure.
“Of course I didn’t match your beautiful face with the memory of my little Alice,” he added. “I feel like a fool now.”
His Alice?
“Shame on you for holding out on me,” he said, with a teasing smile. “It wasn’t very nice of you to take advantage of me like that.”
His Alice?
“It wasn’t quite like that,” she reminded him while trying to ignore the quivering of her belly and how her knees weakened beneath the power of his dimples. “I did tell you that you would regret it.”
“In that case…you were wrong.”
Their gazes met and held for a long moment. The afternoon’s breeze cooled Alyssa’s heated face as the memory of their kiss replayed in her head.
“Humph!” Sterling cleared his throat. Alyssa jumped. She’d forgotten that he was still standing there. She flashed him an embarrassed smile.
“Well, congratulations again,” Sterling said. “Maybe I’ll see if Alfred is in the east wing.” He turned toward Quentin. “Maybe you should come with me?”
“Um, actually—”
“Great!” Sterling made it clear that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Between the two of us, we will be able to find him in no time.”
Quentin drew a deep breath, but gave in to his brother’s silent pressure. “Of course. Though I can’t imagine what could be so urgent.”
Sterling ignored the comment and fluttered another smile at Alyssa. “Will we see you tonight at dinner?”
“Absolutely.” She glanced at Quentin. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I can take Midnight to the stable for you.” She took hold of the reins. “I think he likes me better anyway.”
“That makes two of us.” He winked.
“All righty.” Sterling tossed his arm around Quentin’s shoulders. “Come on, bro. No need to make a nuisance out of yourself.”
From the look on his face, Q was obviously annoyed, but he offered no resistance as Sterling pulled him away from Alyssa’s side.
Alyssa watched the brothers stroll away, while a knowing smile remained plastered across her face. His Alice.
Once she hated that he never seemed to remember her name—but now Alice held new meaning for her. It felt more like a lover’s pet name—something intimate…and possessive.
Hadn’t he always been her Quentin?
Her Q?
Alyssa turned toward the stables feeling both giddy and mischievous. Was this actually happening? Was there a chance for her to win the heart of her childhood crush? An undeniable wave of hope blossomed, while an old fantasy of becoming Mrs. Quentin Dwayne Hinton started to feel more like a real possibility.
After returning both Charlie and Midnight to the stables, Alyssa practically floated back to the servants’ quarters and to her old bedroom. She found Tangela sprawled across the floral and lace bedding with her head buried beneath the pillows.
“Don’t tell me it’s time to get up,” Tangela said, her voice muffled because she refused to remove the pillows. “My whole backside is killing me. Just let me lie here for a couple of years.”
Alyssa sighed as she closed the door and then floated her way over to the bed. “Don’t worry. Take all the time you need.” She sighed again.
When Tangela didn’t pick up on her mood, Alyssa gave a deeper—longer sigh.
Tangela grunted, and finally lifted the pillow from her head. “All right. All right. I’ll bite. What happened?”
“Quentin is home.”
Tangela’s head popped up, her face awash with curiosity. “And?”
“And…” Alyssa turned giggly. “He kissed me.”
“Shut up!” Tangela’s jaw dropped open. Her eyes doubled in size.
“I know. Can you believe it?”
“Shut up!” Tangela sprang up onto her knees
and stared down at her best friend. “You’re lying. You gotta be lying.”
“Nope.” Alyssa jumped off the bed and launched into a victory dance. “It was unbelievable! Magical!”
Tangela, now with a surge of energy, leaped from the bed and danced with Alyssa. As far back as elementary school, Alyssa had shared her dreams of marrying Q with her best friend. Tangela knew every embarrassing story of Alyssa following Quentin around like a puppy.
“But wait,” Tangela said, stopping in midgroove. “I thought you said that you were over Quentin?”
Alyssa shrugged, sheepishly. “I lied.”
“Did you see the curves on that girl?” Quentin asked his brother as they strolled into their father’s library. “Little Alice Jansen.”
“Her name is Alyssa,” Sterling said, his face growing more sour by the second. “And you stay away from her.”
Quentin’s thumb stabbed his chest. “Me? What did I do?”
Sterling finally pivoted around to level his younger brother with a sharp gaze. “That’s the question I should be asking you. What were you two doing out there?”
“Nothing,” Q protested with mock innocence.
Sterling rolled his eyes. “Want to try that look with someone that doesn’t know you like the back of their hand? You’re the last person on earth to be trusted with a beautiful woman.”
“Aha! So at least you admit she’s beautiful?”
“Of course I admit it. I’m not blind. But that’s hardly the point.”
Q laughed and strolled over to the minibar in the corner of the library. “Then what’s the point, bro?”
“And she’s Alfred’s daughter! She’s not some plaything you can toy with and then cast aside the moment you get bored. Good God, the girl is practically part of the family.”
Q laughed. “No blood of mine runs through her veins, which makes her fair game.”
“Fair game?” Sterling thundered, storming up behind him. “Listen to you. You should be ashamed of yourself for even considering hitting on that girl. She spent most of her childhood ogling you.”
Quentin frowned. “How old do you think she is now?”
Love Takes Time Page 5
