“You gonna keep your promise this time?” Quinn asked. His voice was teasing, but there was a hint of seriousness there too.
“Come hell or high water,” I vowed. “Even if Tommy Drakes comes knocking on my door with the Horn in his hand, I’d just—” I hesitated. It seemed wrong to lie. “Okay, I’d probably snatch the Horn and then come pick you up.”
Quinn laughed out loud. “Or, and this is just a thought, you could call me and explain. I don’t ever want you to not do what you need to do for your business. I just want to have a heads-up. That’s all I ask. Okay?”
“Yeah. I can do that.” I gave him one more kiss because I couldn’t help it, then headed out. “You wanna keep Herc with you?”
Quinn’s lopsided grin nearly stopped my heart. “We ask now? Who are you, and what have you done with Percival Champion?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m a man who’s learned his lesson. Or who’s trying to learn, anyway. Six o’clock,” I reminded him.
As I pushed open the shop’s front door, I heard the young woman ask Quinn, “Who was that?”
His soft laughter made me slow my steps.
“My one-night stand,” he sighed. “The kind that doesn’t ever seem to leave. Can’t say I mind it. Look at the man, for God’s sake.”
My face heated, and I refused to acknowledge hearing the compliment. But I caught myself grinning like an asshole the entire drive back to Carter and Riggs’s place.
19
QUINN
Despite feeling nervous and awkward, I managed to get my shit together by the time Champ showed up for our date.
I had mixed feelings about accepting his dinner offer, but it hadn’t mattered in the end since my mouth had decided to accept him regardless.
Now here we were, digging into an appetizer sampler plate at the Steak ’n Bait, the Thicket’s premier fine-dining experience, surrounded by other couples.
I twisted my napkin nervously. “I… I meant to tell you earlier. Vince came by today.” I filled him in on nearly everything Vince had said, except the part about Champ never loving me. I wasn’t nearly masochistic enough to bring up that little fact.
Champ blew out a breath, but it was clear that he was struggling to keep his temper. “Maybe, possibly, he has a point about my mom. But the rest? No way.”
“I know, but—”
“He’s a manipulative ass. If he can’t make you betray me because you care about me, he’ll try to make you question me.”
“I know, but—”
“He is not looking out for you.”
“Yes, I know.” I placed a hand over Champ’s on top of the table. “Look, I believe you, okay? He was convincing… he really got me for a minute there. But what I wanna know is why? Why is he so obsessed with this?”
“Vince has always been like this to some extent. Obsessed with the job and proving himself.” Champ sounded bewildered. “I don’t know, really. It makes me realize that maybe I never knew him as well as I thought I did.” His gaze refocused on me. “But what I do know is that I didn’t ask you out on a date so we could talk about my asshole ex. Pretty sure that’s not date talk.”
“Fair enough.” I popped a tater tot in my mouth and gave him a teasing grin. “I haven’t been on a date in so long I might’ve forgotten. And the last time I went out to eat with a man, we shared a chef salad. Scott was obsessed with calorie-counting, and he wanted me to be too.”
“I don’t wanna talk about your asshole ex either.” Champ eyed me over his beer bottle and grinned at me lasciviously. “But I don’t mind telling you how fucking amazing your body is. Strong legs. Perfect fucking ass. I’ve never figured out how you manage to eat like a horse and still look like that.”
“Lucky genes,” I said. “And I go for a run most afternoons when the shop is slow.” I gave him a once-over, giving particular attention to his broad shoulders and the biceps straining the fabric of his shirt. “You must find time to squeeze in workouts somehow, but I don’t know when.”
“We have a gym at the office,” he admitted. “Good place to take out my frustrations when shit isn’t going right on a job.”
“Will you still use it while you’re working from Carter and Riggs’s place?”
Champ’s eyes met mine with unexpected intensity. “Was hoping to find other ways of working out in the meantime.”
The breath escaped my lungs in a ragged exhale. “Oh.”
He made a low noise in his throat that went straight to my dick. I reached for my cocktail but fumbled it, sending vodka cranberry splashing over the edge of the glass. Champ’s growl turned to a low laugh, which didn’t help matters.