Don’t hang up. I am so sorry I didn’t call yesterday. I—”
“Forgot?” she asked sharply.
Lying would be wrong. Really wrong. “I wouldn’t say forgot, exactly…”
“It’s no problem, Quinn. It gave me time to think.”
Not good at all. He wanted sex with Lori Love. It was slipping from his grasp, making him realize just how much he wanted sex with her. Time for brutal honesty. “You’re right. I did forget. I’ve been working on this difficult site, and…Okay, you don’t want to hear that. I’m so sorry. I know it’s insulting and degrading and…” He tried to think of a few more choice adjectives that had been applied to his forgetfulness in the past.
“It’s fine, Quinn. I’m not mad.”
He would not let this slip away from him on a wave of polite distance. “Of course you’re mad,” he pressed.
“Nope.”
“Then why do you sound so strange?”
“Because I’m on my back under a car?”
“Oh. Seriously?”
“Yes.” Her voice dropped. “But it’s nice and private under here.”
Quinn turned that odd comment over in his head for a moment. Was it possible she really wasn’t angry? Or was false relief making him stupid? Still…“And you need privacy because…?”
Her long pause stretched through the distance between them, tightening their connection like a wire about to snap. She’d had time to think, and surely that was a bad thing. Planning and forethought couldn’t be the quickest route to a red-hot affair. But maybe…
“Does your offer still stand?” she blurted out in a near whisper.
Quinn’s heart turned over so quickly he felt dizzy. “Yes,” he answered with a casualness he didn’t feel.
“Because I think maybe it’s a good idea. If you still do.”
Strangely, he thought of her stretched out under that car, her feet and ankles vulnerable, available to him. He could stroke his hand down the instep of her small foot, kiss her painted toes, curl his fingers around her delicate ankle, smooth his palm up the inside of her rising calf. In his fantasy world, she only wore boots and thick denim when he wanted her to. Today, she was barefoot, wearing a little flowered skirt as she labored beneath chrome and steel. Her—
“Quinn?” she breathed into the phone.
“Yes, I still think it’s a good idea.”
Her relieved sigh made him smile.
“So,” he ventured, “should I just stop by tonight to service you?”
A wheeze burst over the phone line, followed quickly by the clang of something heavy and metallic. Quinn grinned at the Mexican Food sign on the building in front of him.
“Oh,” Lori squeaked just before she coughed. “Oh, I guess. That would, um…Tonight?”
“I’m teasing you, Lori.”
“Oh, thank God. Jesus, Quinn. That was cruel.”
“Sorry.” Not that he was sorry at all. “I was actually thinking maybe we should go to dinner. Unless you’d prefer I just come over and drop my pants. I’ve got an hour free before lunch.”
“Quinn.” Lori’s voice had dropped to a tone he suspected she used with her employees.
“All right. Dinner first. Unfortunately, I’ve got a previous obligation tonight. What do you think? Tomorrow?”
“That soon?”
“Yes.” He left it at that. No point letting her mull over her decision any longer. And, frankly, he couldn’t wait.
“Okay.” The little squeak was back in her voice, making him smile. It thrilled him that she was nervous, that he wasn’t just some old friend who’d climb into her bed and make her feel comfortable and safe. He wanted her tense and excited. “What time?” she asked.
Quinn didn’t bother trying to think of his schedule. It had never once cemented itself into his head and never would. “Six-thirty.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you at your office.”
“No, why don’t I—”
“Listen, Quinn. I’m not interested in sitting here in my living room in a dress and heels for hours, waiting for you to remember our plans. I will meet you at your office.”
“Oh. I see. All right.”
She hung up with no added pleasantries, leaving Quinn staring at the restaurant sign for a few stunned seconds. “No chance am I forgetting this date,” he said to no one at all. “I’ll be there with bells on.”
He was still wondering what the heck that phrase meant when he pulled up to his office two minutes later. One more date with Tessa, and then he’d be Lori Love’s meaningless fling, hopefully for a good long while.
L ORI ROLLED OUT from under the car, wiping her hands on a rag. “Joe,” she called as she stood and stretched. “Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes? I’ve got a quick errand to run.”
After Joe gave her a thumb’s-up, she walked out and headed for the office of her Realtor. As she strolled along the cracked sidewalk, she realized how good this felt, confronting something. She’d been passive for so long, swept along by her life. Now she was taking control of a few small things. Finally. Maybe this would snowball into a real life.
“Fat chance,” Lori muttered, but she was smiling when she opened the door of the tiny Main Street office. “Hi, Helen!” she called to the tall blonde at the back of the room.
Helen Stowe looked up from pouring coffee, her big hair bouncing with the movement. “Hey, Lori! What can I do for you this morning?”
“Oh, I just had a couple of questions. How are you doing? I thought you were going to meet me and Molly at The Bar last week.”
Helen shrugged as she took a seat at her desk and waved Lori over to the chair that faced it. “You know. I just got busy.”
“We’re dropping by on Friday. Why don’t you come along?”
“Oh.” Helen’s heavily mascara’d lashes fluttered. “I don’t…I would, but…If…”
“Helen.” Lori sighed. “Did you break it off with Juan?” Juan was the manager and bartender of The Bar. He was also ten years younger than the newly divorced Helen.
“No,” she whispered, the quiet word trembling in the air. “He…” One fat tear escaped her lashes and tracked an ashy line down her cheek.
“Oh, Helen.”
“He
