Hot to the Touch

The band broke for the evening. After restroom visits, they piled into Quinn’s chauffeur-driven Lexus and headed back to Brewer’s Hill, stopping first at Marie’s house, which looked dark and anticlimactic after the evening of glitz and glamor. Still, it was where she belonged. Jezebel would greet her, she’d get back to planning the party with Candy, Kim and Darcy and the rest of her rich, full life would go happily on. What had Quinn said? Something to the effect that doing anything special too often made it less special. She wasn’t sure going out with him could ever feel ordinary, but maybe it could. And she already had Gladiolas midweek and next Saturday in Chicago to look forward to with him.

With that delicious thought in mind, she nearly took Quinn out by determinedly shoving open her door, not realizing he’d come around to open it for her. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. You missed me. I’ll walk you to your door.”

“You are so gallant.” She took his offered hand and got out of the car. “This was about the most wonderful and romantic evening of my entire life.”

“Romantic?”

She cringed. Did he have to get all defensive like that? “Champagne, fabulous food and service, dancing…what could be more romantic?”

“Yes, well…” He followed her to her door, waited while she dug out her keys. “I had a wonderful time too, Marie.”

She turned and smiled brightly. “Good.”

“You’re still game for Chicago next weekend on top of dinner at Gladiolas?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. Because I’m looking forward to spending more time with you.” He took her shoulders and leaned in; she puckered for a friendly good-night peck.

Instead, his mouth was soft meeting her tight lips, which went slack with surprise. He lingered, lighting sparklers all the way down inside her.

This was not a friendly peck. It was a kiss. A real one.

Quinn was kissing her.

She was still trying to wrap her brain around that concept when he pulled back, brushed her bangs tenderly off her forehead, and leaned in again for another briefer but just as sweet meeting of their lips. “Good night. Sleep well. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Yes. You, too. Sure!” She wanted to sound husky and sexual, but her voice came out all nervous and chirpy. Had she gone into shock? Maybe it had been too many months assuming Quinn felt nothing, so now she couldn’t act any other way. “You know me! I’ll be around!”

For God’s sake, stop twittering, Marie.

He looked disconcerted and backed away, sexy frown between his brows. “Yeah. Okay. Good night.”

“G’night.” She went inside, feeling slightly hysterical. He’d kissed her. He’d kissed her. What did that mean? Did he have feelings? Did he…

She threw her blue purse on her couch, kicked off her heels and stalked around her living room, muttering and gesturing in disgust.

Enough. Enough.

This was absolutely ridiculous. She’d spent a ridiculous amount of time tiptoeing around Quinn and her feelings.

Gladiolas would be too public, territory inhabited by people who knew her. But next Saturday she was going to tell this man the truth, a truth she’d owed him for some weeks now, a truth that could either cement them together or break them forever apart.

She was absolutely crazy in love with him.

10

DARCY BURST INTO THE GLADIOLAS kitchen, shivering and dripping from rain she hadn’t expected, annoyed at arriving later than she’d wanted to. Especially because they had a wedding rehearsal dinner that night for twenty-five people. She’d slept late and then hadn’t been able to summon her usual focus to get the house and kitchen ready for her and Troy’s date that night.

But what else was new? Since they’d met two and a half weeks ago, she’d barely been able to focus on anything but him. Things between them were going too well. Maybe she just wasn’t used to relationships that weren’t toxic, but she couldn’t help feeling some poop would have to hit some fan sometime soon. She wasn’t accustomed to being so happy, found she couldn’t trust the feeling or relax completely into it. When she was with him, everything was fine. On her own, the dark fears surfaced and played rounds of racquetball with her brain.