“You obviously needed the help,” she said. “I’m not going to deny you that. I’m happy to see you, Quint. Honestly. I don’t know where things are going from here, but I want you to know how happy I am that you made it home alive. I can’t imagine how hard the experience was for you.”

“I’m okay. Quit worrying.”

“Take it easy. Once we get out to the car, you can rest.”

She slowly escorted him outside, along the way brushing off eager hotel staff who kept approaching and offering assistance.

She stopped abruptly at the curb. “Oh no. I forgot about the dinner bill. Should I go back in and pay it?”

He smiled through the pain. “They’ll bill me.”

“That’s okay. I can leave a tip. How much?”

“They’ll bill it all to my room. Don’t worry

about it.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, not missing the look he gave her that basically said, “Aren’t you cute?”

She looked around. “Where’s the valet?”

The doorman stepped up beside her. “I sent him to fetch Mr. Forbes’ limousine, Miss.”

“No. That won’t work,” she told him.

To Quint, she said, “Wait here. The doorman will help you. I’ll go get my car and bring it around.”

He shook his head. “I have transportation, Amara.”

She paused for a moment before shaking her head. “No, that won’t work. If we’re going to Momma’s house, we have to be inconspicuous. She’s going to know something is weird if I roll up in a limo. You can’t imagine life without that kind of luxurious thing, can you?”

His brow came down as he turned to look at her, incredulous. “I can. I’ve come to understand a lot over these last few months, and even in the last few years.”

“Right. My bad. Of course you have.”

Quint was standing pretty steadily. He told the doorman to cancel the limo and return to his post.

Amara walked Quint to one of the columns near the entrance of the hotel. “Lean here for a second, and I’ll bring the car around.”

With that, she headed off into the brightly lit parking lot, soon returning with her modest, blue sedan.

Retaining some semblance of dignity, Quint managed to take a mostly normal walk to the passenger side door and slide in on his own.

Once they were both strapped in, Amara glanced at him, grinned broadly as she shifted into drive and then took off toward Raneesha’s house.

They were silent for several minutes until Quint said, “I was just thinking. Do you realize we’ve known each other for over two years now?”

“Has it been that long? Wow. I hadn’t realized the conference was that long ago.”

“A lot has happened since then.”

Understatement, Amara thought but didn’t say. She murmured her agreement.

There was a beat of a pause before Quint spoke with gravity. “I need you to know, Amara, that the man you met at that conference died in the plane crash three months ago. That’s not me anymore. Not entirely, anyway.”

Chapter Eighteen

“I CAN SEE HOW SOMETHING like that could change a man,” Amara said cautiously.

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