Fireline

by Annabel Allan

  ‘Maybe you shouldn’t get too close; you could get it too,’ he said.

  ‘I think that after all the sex we had last night I would be sick already,’ I said with a smirk. ‘It’s just a virus. Once your fever breaks, you’ll feel much better.’

  He nodded, pulling the blankets up so he could lie down. ‘Good, because I don’t want you to be too far away.’

  ‘As long as you don’t throw up, I’ll be by your side,’ I said.

  ‘I’m not nauseous,’ he said. ‘Just my throat is killing me.’

  ‘I could call Jessy back, see if she can pick up some stuff for you,’ I said.

  He nodded. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘OK, I’ll be back,’ I said, ‘I promise.’

  ‘OK.’

  I went and found the phone, calling Jessy. She was happy to run the errand, coming by half an hour later with the stuff.

  ‘I got him some anti-fever meds, some lozenges, and cough syrup just in case,’ she said, handing me the bag.

  ‘Oh, great,’ I said.

  ‘This is the first time in three years that Mister Quinlan has been sick,’ she said.

  ‘Really?’ I asked.

  ‘Well, it could be longer. I’ve only been working for him for three years,’ she said.

  ‘At least he doesn’t have to be alone,’ I said. ‘I can take care of him. Thank you for getting this stuff; I didn’t want to leave him.’

  ‘No problem,’ she said.

  She went to turn, but I stopped her. ‘Jessy.’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Has anyone asked you about where Quinn was last month?’ I asked. ‘I mean, other than the usual business guys.’

  She shook her head. ‘Not really.’

  ‘OK,’ I said with a smile. ‘Thanks again for running out.’

  ‘You’re welcome,’ she said, smiling back.

  I saw her out. I then made my way back to Quinn, who was asleep, finally. I got into bed, cuddling up next to him, feeling his head gently. I frowned, hoping the fever would break soon or else we would end up going to the hospital.

  I pulled the blankets higher up on him, watching carefully.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I adjusted Quinn’s blue tie before smoothing out his shirt.

  ‘There,’ I said, smiling.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, turning towards the dresser and looking at himself in the mirror.

  ‘You sure you feel all right?’ I asked, putting on one of my silky blue pumps.

  He nodded. ‘I’ve been in bed all week. I’ll admit, for about thirty-six hours I was touch and go, but I’m fine today.’

  I frowned. ‘Touch and go, you weren’t dying. You had a virus. We probably should have taken you to the doctor.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said, putting on his black suit jacket.

  I, myself, was wearing a light blue dress with little leaves embroidered on it. It cut off just below my knees, the sleeves just covering my shoulders.

  I stood up from the bed, looking in the mirror and examining my hair, which I had curled, pinning it into a low bun. I added a fake white flower pin just to make it look a little extra feminine.

  I was worried about Quinn more than my hair. As he had said, he had been really sick for nearly thirty-six hours, his fever breaking near ten that first night then coming back down. I was awake worried about him, barely getting any sleep. The fever broke again in the morning, but once again came back, but didn’t last long, sweating it out and then that was that.

  He could still barely move Thursday night, but seemed to bounce back on Friday, and here we were on Saturday, getting ready for Miranda Davenport’s wedding. I hadn’t met Miranda, so I had no idea if she was one of ‘them’ or one of us, like me and Quinn.

  It was a fairly warm day so I wouldn’t need my jacket or a sweater. I was pleased that it wasn’t going to rain on Miranda’s wedding day. Wasn’t rain bad luck for weddings?

  ‘So, have you been to a wedding before?’ I asked Quinn.

  He nodded. ‘Quite a few.’

  ‘This will be my first,’ I said, looking to my nails, which I had painted blue to match my dress.

  ‘What about your brothers? They’re both married,’ he said.

  ‘I wasn’t on good terms with Michael so I skipped the wedding to spite him. It didn’t go over too well with my family, but eventually they got over it. John’s wedding was in the backyard of his place, so it wasn’t something fancy.’

  ‘I see,’ he said, nodding.

  ‘So, what goes on at a normal wedding?’

  ‘Well, first is the ceremony, which is being held in a church. Then we head over to the club for the reception.’

  ‘That’s it?’ I asked.

  He nodded. ‘Yeah, there’s a little time of people hanging around while pictures are being taken, then when the couple come in we get ready to eat, there’s speeches, then the couple cuts the cake, then dancing.’

  ‘Huh, so it’s just prom,’ I said.

  ‘I wouldn’t know,’ he said with a smirk.

  ‘You didn’t go to prom?’ I asked, surprised.

  He shook his head. ‘No. I took my girlfriend at the time somewhere and we basically had sex the whole night.’

  ‘Oh, well, that’s way better than prom,’ I said. ‘Prom kind of sucked. Well, I went alone, so that’s probably why it sucked, and I was fat.’

  ‘I’m sure you were beautiful,’ he said.

  ‘You’re so biased.’

  ‘I am,’ he said, giving me a dashing smirk.

  I looked to my watch. ‘We should probably get going.’

  He nodded, putting his hand out for me. I took it, looking up to see he was staring at me. I couldn’t help staring back, admiring every gorgeous loose curl, how careless they looked, then to his eyes, which held me in their gaze, no doubt using that X-ray vision of his to disrobe me.

  If only there was time for a quickie...

  I cleared my throat, breaking our gaze. ‘We should get going.’

  He nodded, seeming to have shaken himself out of it. ‘Yeah.’

  We left the condo, taking the car to the church; St. John’s. It was like any other Catholic church; gothic and ancient-looking, grey brick with an expansive window.

  We walked inside, gasping at how large it was. We walked up to who I assumed was the wedding coordinator, a woman using a headset and wearing blue like I was, which was a relief. I worried I wasn’t dressy enough for a wedding.

  ‘Bride or groom?’ she asked.

  ‘Bride,’ Quinn said.

  ‘To the left,’ she said, pointing to the row of pews, which were nearly half full already.

  Quinn took my hand, leading me to the first empty one. We sat down, more people filing in and finding spots.

  ‘Wow,’ I said, looking around. ‘This church is huge.’

  ‘You went to a Catholic school, didn’t you?’ he asked.

  I nodded. ‘Yup. I’ve seen some big churches, but man, this one is huge.’

  ‘Are you going to want to get married in a church?’ he asked.

  ‘Um, I don’t know. If it were up to Michelle, I would be getting married at Casa Loma.’

  ‘You don’t want to get married there?’

  ‘I would, actually. It’d be pretty amazing, getting married in a castle. Kind of like my own fairy tale. I already have Prince Charming,’ I said with a smirk.

  ‘Prince Charming, huh?’ he asked. ‘I don’t really think I fit that character.’

  ‘OK, the Black Knight,’ I said.

  ‘Black Knight,’ he said. ‘Sounds more accurate. I thought princesses were supposed to marry a prince, though?’

  ‘I think they used to have games where a knight could win the princess’ hand,’ I said. ‘I’d have to research it, but I’m pretty sure a princess could marry a knight. I mean, it would be preferable if it were a prince, but I guess if there were no other heirs... why are you looking at me like that?’

  ‘I think it’s kind of adorable whe
n you start to ramble on like that.’

  ‘Ramble on,’ I repeated. ‘I don’t ramble.’

  ‘Sometimes you do,’ he said.

  ‘I do not,’ I said. I glanced behind him, seeing Ellie Peterson walking in with – surprise, surprise – Donald Vandermeer on her arm. ‘Oh crap. I should have known they would be here.’

  Ellie wore a little pink cocktail dress, Donald wearing a pink tie to match. They walked past us, though they did see us, throwing that casual glance.

  ‘Ellie is close friends with Miranda,’ Quinn said, ‘but Donald is a mystery. Why he would be here, I don’t know.’

  ‘Probably to try to rattle you,’ I said, sitting properly beside him, his arm around me.

  ‘Probably,’ he said. ‘I don’t let them get to me like you do.’

  ‘They don’t get to me,’ I said. ‘All right, they get to me. So what?’

  ‘You let them win,’ he said.

  ‘They only win if you and I break up,’ I said, kissing his cheek.

  ‘Not going to happen,’ he said, looking into my eyes.

  ‘Good,’ I said. ‘There’s a lot of people here.’

  ‘They like to pack a lot of people in the church for the wedding, only a small amount of people actually get to the reception,’ he said. ‘That’s not the case here, though. There will be a lot of people at the reception.’

  ‘Oh, goody,’ I said sarcastically.

  We watched as more people filed in, everyone finally settling, and the ceremony started. It was long; I was bored. I wanted to turn to Quinn, to say something, but it was quiet, so I was left to thinking up little scenarios in my head of how to surprise Quinn by going down on him. Not at that moment, but later, maybe when we got home or in the car. I was turning myself on, just as I had in the car on our way home from the airport, his hand going to my thigh once again.

  I was pleased when they finished up, everyone filing out. We made it to the car, Quinn unlocking the doors.

  ‘So, how was your first wedding ceremony?’ he asked inside.

  ‘It was OK, kind of long, what with the actual mass involved, but Miranda looked pretty. Her husband is a little unfortunate-looking.’

  ‘Yeah, but he has money,’ he said, pulling out of the parking lot. ‘It’s a good match.’

  ‘Like we aren’t?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh no, we are,’ he said, nodding. ‘We’re both good looking; I have the money.’

  ‘I’ll have money... eventually,’ I said. ‘With you being sick all week I was able to finish up the revisions on my manuscript. I need to print it out, do a hardcopy read through.’

  ‘Well, we’ll get that done tomorrow,’ he said, ‘unless you’re too tired. I can always have Jessy do it on Monday.’

  ‘Did you ever sleep with Jessy?’

  ‘No. What makes you think that?’

  ‘I don’t know, she’s just... awfully into helping you out,’ I said. ‘Then again, if she was into you then she wouldn’t like me.’

  ‘True,’ he said. ‘You seem to have bad luck with that.’

  ‘Good luck when it comes to Jessy; she’s the only one that likes me,’ I said.

  ‘Like you need their approval,’ he said, watching the road carefully as we followed the other cars.

  ‘True, I guess,’ I said.

  We made our way to the club, which was just outside the downtown area. We pulled up to the large house-like structure, the valet helping me out, Quinn getting out on his own and handing over the keys.

  We made our way into the large lobby. We were led to the staircase and into the reception area, which was set up with white tablecloths, and extravagant centre pieces with pink roses and peonies.

  We were led to our table, number 34, the chair pulled out for me. Quinn sat to my right, looking about at the tables scattered around. A large dancefloor was in the middle of the room.

  ‘You going to want to dance later?’ Quinn asked.

  I smiled to him. ‘Of course. Not with you, but I’ll find someone.’

  ‘Ouch,’ he said, laughing.

  ‘I’m joking, who else would I dance with?’ I asked, kissing him.

  ‘Hmm,’ he said, adjusting himself so his elbow was resting on the table, his hand resting on his face. He glanced behind me. ‘Ah, your friend Ellie.’

  ‘Oh crap,’ I said.

  ‘Quinlan,’ Ellie squealed. ‘It was a beautiful ceremony, wasn’t it?’

  Quinn nodded. ‘It was.’

  Ellie looked to me, faking a smile. ‘Oh, hi.’

  ‘Hi,’ I said.

  ‘Did you call Aunt Anita about your mother’s diamonds?’ Ellie asked, an evil smile on her lips.

  ‘I did,’ Quinn said, ‘Stephanie decided to save them for a more special occasion.’

  I gave my best bitch smile.

  Her smile melted away, unsure of what to say. ‘Oh. Well. Does that mean you and Aunt Anita are on good terms again?’

  ‘We had a conversation. Why do you need to know, Ellie?’ he asked.

  ‘Because...’ she started, before sitting down on one of the other chairs. ‘Because you’re willing to give up your family for this –’

  ‘I’m not having this conversation with you,’ Quinn said. ‘You’re walking a fine line. The next words out of your mouth dictate whether or not I keep you in my life.’

  She stood up straight, unsure. I could only smile, cocking my head to the side and waiting for her response.

  ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘I see there’s no changing your mind. I’ll drop the subject.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Quinn said.

  Ellie stood up gracefully, looking to me. ‘You’ll never make him happy, you know.’

  ‘Funny, I think that’s your problem,’ I said.

  Her bitch face was a solid ten, walking past us to another table.

  ‘I really hope she isn’t supposed to sit with us.’

  He sighed. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘She upsets you.’

  ‘No, she’s just annoying. I’m tired of their antics. I’m tired of Anita and her pressure, of Ellie and her cattiness.’

  ‘What about me?’ I asked.

  ‘You, I can’t get enough of,’ he said. ‘Did I tell you that you look beautiful today?’

  I smiled, blushing. ‘You just did.’

  ‘It’s going to be a while until they get here; you want to head to the bathroom?’ he asked, his brow raising.

  I laughed. ‘In the club bathroom, again? Really?’

  ‘We’ve got time to kill and I know you’re wearing garters,’ he said, looking to my legs.

  ‘We should behave,’ I said, trying not to laugh. ‘That bathroom is going to be filled with women.’

  ‘Ah, you’re no fun,’ he said.

  ‘Well, at the end of the night we can always park somewhere,’ I said.

  ‘I’m too tall for car sex,’ he said.

  ‘Not if I’m on top,’ I said.

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘I take that as a yes,’ I said playfully.

  ‘Now you’ve given me reason to leave early,’ he said.

  ‘That was my plan,’ I said with a wink.

  We flirted a little bit as people continued to file in, everyone finding their seats. It was once everyone was seated that the bride and groom came in, her in a clingy lacy gown, and him in a traditional tux.

  Everyone clapped as they walked through the path between the tables and to the head of the table for the wedding party. I had to admit, Miranda wasn’t unfortunate looking, her hair pulled back into an up do, her veil gone but a bright smile on her face. She looked happy.

  I glanced to Quinn, who was staring at me. I gave him a sensuous smile, knowing he was undressing me with his eyes. We definitely would be ducking out early.

  The first course was served, the best man and maid of honour making speeches before the bride and groom said a few words. We were left to eat, cake coming last, the couple cutting it while we all looked on. They didn’t try to shove
it into each other’s face; I’m sure that Miranda would have gone nuts.

  After cake, which I didn’t eat, it was time to dance. First was the first dance, then the father-daughter dance. Quinn and I made our way hand in hand to the dancefloor. He took my waist in his hands as I put my arms around his neck. I wanted to make sure I danced with no one else, so I held on tightly and made sure that my eyes were on him at all times.

  Of course, that didn’t happen. Donald walked up to us, tapping me on the shoulder.

  ‘May I cut in?’ he asked.

  I looked to Quinn, fear obvious on my face.

  Quinn backed up from me, nodding to reassure me. I groaned, the music softer, so I was able to take his hand and put my free one on his shoulder. It was old school dancing, which he should have been familiar with.

  I watched as Quinn walked off towards our table.

  ‘So, are you enjoying the evening?’ Donald asked.

  I nodded. ‘It’s been great.’

  ‘I’ve heard you’re going to be at the ball next weekend,’ he said.

  I nodded again. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘And I hear that some coveted diamonds are not in the equation,’ he said carefully. ‘Why is that?’

  ‘Because I’d rather wear them for a more important occasion,’ I said.

  ‘Like a wedding? Your wedding,’ he said.

  ‘If you must know, yes. If Quinn asks me, I will wear them,’ I said. ‘In the meantime, I’m fine with getting jewellery on loan.’

  ‘Jewels interest you?’

  I shook my head. ‘Not really.’

  ‘But you’re going to get jewels on loan,’ he said.

  ‘Quinn said there’s a dress code.’

  ‘And there is,’ he said, his hand moving towards my butt.

  ‘Your hand is getting a little low, Donald,’ I said.

  ‘I thought you would appreciate a rich man making advances,’ he said. ‘Quinlan is rich, but I’m richer.’

  ‘And if I was someone like Ellie, that would matter to me,’ I said, trying to pull away from him. ‘Hey, let me go.’

  ‘We’re not done. You haven’t heard my proposition,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t want to hear it,’ I said.

  ‘I have this terrible jealous streak. You see, I want what Quinlan has. I want to take it from him. I want to see him suffer and you can help me do that,’ he said, his sadistic eyes never leaving me.