5. QUINN
5
QUINN
So, we kissed. Big deal. That was like… normal in Europe.
I’d gone over a maddening amount of justifications over what had taken place in the museum. It’d been a few days since our kiss, and Enzo had done an expert job at avoiding me.
Every time I’d see him around, he’d somehow magically find something important to attend to and flee.
Not that I mind. I want to stay as far away from him as possible, lest we have a repeat of what happened.
I bite down on my lip, my cheeks warming at the memory.
Lilly doesn’t know about the kiss. I told no one, which of course, made the whole thing a lot harder to carry. It haunted me.
But today, I was finally going to put it behind me. I wasn’t a teenager, and a kiss just wasn’t a big deal. I still had too much time remaining here, and the last thing I wanted was to spend that time getting bothered by a man.
As if I hadn’t spent the last few years of my life doing exactly that.
Today, there is an old-school wine-making class on the agenda, and I couldn’t be more excited. I have planned to live-stream the entire thing.
I set up my camera, making sure everything’s working right before going live.
“You guys are not going to believe what I’m doing today.” I grin into the camera. “We’re making our very own wine!”
“Ahhh, it’s getting all over my clothes,” one of the girls shrieks in the background.
I laugh before going into the stomping area myself.
“Don’t be afraid to get your clothes dirty.” The instructor smiles. “It’s all part of the experience.”
“How come you’re not joining in?” Darrel asks Enzo, who is watching from the sidelines.
"I'm more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy."
One of the influencers steps forward. “Come on, you’re the boss here. Show us how it’s really done.”
I’m trying to keep my focus on my own live stream, but the conversation in the background keeps distracting me.
And the last thing I want right now is for Enzo to join us.
“You see, guys, you reaaaallly need to stomp in there to ensure all the juices are extracted,” I say into my camera.
The grape juice splashes against my clothes.
Another voice comes from behind me, “It’ll be great, Enzo. Just this one time, come on.”
“Alright, fine. If it means so much to you guys…”
My eyes widen when he steps into the stomping pit.
I mask my reaction quickly, not wanting it to be streamed to the entire world.
But the universe seems to have a twisted sense of humor as Enzo chooses the place right next to me to stand.
“I…um…” His closeness is making my brain short-circuit. “The trick is to take your time with it, enjoy the moment.”
Enzo’s gaze flickers over to me, but he looks away as I look his way. He doesn’t say a word to me, and a sense of awkwardness settles over us both.
Having him in close proximity has my mind racing with all the thoughts I’d been working so hard to suppress in the last few days.
Like how annoyingly handsome he looks even with grape juice stains all over his pants.
Or how sexy his arms look when he has his sleeves rolled up like that.
“The final push,” the instructor yells out.
Thank god. The sooner I’m away from him, the better.
Nothing can come out of this, whatever this is, with Enzo. He’s so much older than I am and probably thinks the kiss was a mistake.
A sharp pang hits me at the thought, and I force myself to feign a smile in front of the camera.
“Aaaand we are done,” the instructor announces, causing everyone to erupt in a round of applause.
“Good job, boss!” One of the influencers high-fives Enzo.
I need to get out of here. I turn to exit, but my foot slips on the slick surface of the vat, sending me tumbling down.
Enzo’s hands hold me right before I fall.
Our bodies collide in a brief, fleeting embrace as his hands grip tightly at my sides.
My breath hitches in my throat as I look up at him, the air thick with the same kind of tension that I felt back in that museum when we kissed.
But Enzo takes a step back, releasing me from his grasp.
I can’t tell what’s he thinking, but he doesn’t give me long to figure it out either as he steps out of the vat quickly afterwards.
My face flushes as I turn back to the camera. “Whoops, guys. I guess it gets a bit slippery here. So glad I ended up not falling.”
The double meaning of my own words is not lost on me.
You are not falling for him. He is off limits. End of story.
Comments start to roll in.
“ Show us the resort! ”
“ God, that looks like so much fun! You lucky girl. ”
“ Is it just me or did Quinn just have a movie moment with Mr. Handsome just now? ”
I ignore the last comment on my livestream.
“Guys, I can’t tell you how great it’s been. This place is perfect. Our hotel is literally within walking distance,” I laugh, panning the camera over to the large building. “You know what? I’ll give you guys a tour. I need to change out of these clothes anyway….”
I continue talking into the camera, pushing away all thoughts of Enzo into the furthest corner of my mind.
I just can’t afford to lose focus right now, not when there’s work to be done.
“I hope you guys had as much fun as I did.” I finally reach my hotel room. “Trust me, if I could find a way to pull you out of my screen, I’d do it. But for now, this is me signing off.”
I press the icon to stop the stream and stuff my phone into my bag before stepping into my room.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I can’t help but laugh at myself. There are grape juice stains all over my clothes.
“This is definitely a selfie moment.” I chuckle, pulling out my phone once more and snapping a quick mirror photo to post on my story.
By now, there’s several new comments on the live. I begin scrolling through a few.
“ UGLY!!! ”
“ Ew, who does she think she is? ”
“ She looks like a damn fool. ”
My stomach lurches.
Usually, I’m pretty good at filtering out the negative comments. But I’d be lying if I said they don’t affect me.
“Delete,” I mutter to myself before getting rid of them.
For every hateful comment, there were five nice ones.
I should focus on the positives. It was something my therapist kept telling me to do anyway.
I’m about to shut off my phone entirely and step into the shower when it starts ringing with a videocall request.
I hadn’t planned on it, but I immediately pick up when I notice the name that flashes across the screen.
“Girl, I knew I had to call you when I saw that story!” Laurie’s face lights up my screen.
She’s my best friend from back home.
“Guess you’re keeping up with me.” I grin.
“How could I not? You’re living the dream life.” She laughs. “Tell me all about Italy. I bet the men there are sexy as hell.”
A blush covers my cheeks, and I hope Laurie can’t tell. “You’re right about that.”
“Have you snagged one up already?”
“I’m here for work.” I fight a smile.
“Quinn.” Laurie raises her eyebrow, eyeing me with suspicion. “You already found someone, haven’t you?”
God, she knows me too well.
“I’m not confirming anything.” I laugh.
“You know, this is exactly the kind of break you need. Seeing someone there will give you a fresh start.”
“Why does everyone keep giving me that advice?” I roll my eyes.
“Because it’s the obvious thing to do,” Laurie replies. “You need to start your new life. Post-divorce, new you.”
I shake my head.
The last thing I want is any sort of encouragement when I’m already having such a difficult time resisting Enzo.
“That’s easier said than done, you know?” My tone darkens as much as my mood.
A look of understanding crosses Laurie’s face, and she nods. “I’m not trying to pressure you or anything. But I mean, you are abroad, single for the first time in years, free to be whoever to want to be. No strings attached.”
“Thanks for the advice. I’ll consider it.” I roll my eyes, eliciting a chuckle out of her.
“Alright, alright. I’ll get off your case.”
We continue talking for a bit and then say our goodbyes. It feels good talking to Laurie—even though I don’t dare tell her about the kiss.
It hasn’t even been a full minute after I’ve hung up when the phone begins to ring again.
I pick up without looking at the screen, laughing. “What is it this time, Laurie?”
But the voice that answers does not belong to her.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
I freeze, “Liam?”
“Don’t even try to act innocent, Quinn.” He’s seething. “I saw the video.”
“It’s really inappropriate for you to call me like this,” I manage to reply, exhaling sharply.
“What did you expect me to do, then? When you’re out there letting other men touch you. I’m disgusted at you.”
For a moment, panic soars inside of me as I wonder if Liam somehow found out about the kiss. But there’s no way.
What was he referring to, then?
“Who the hell was that guy holding you? Just because I’ve allowed you to go on that trip doesn’t mean you can just disrespect me like that.”
“Oh.” He must have seen me with Enzo while I was livestreaming. “I thought I blocked you.”
“Very funny, Quinn.”
“It’s really none of your business whatever I’m getting up to. We’re divorced. I don’t owe you anything.”
“A stupid piece of paper isn’t going to stop me from claiming what is mine.” His tone takes on a threatening edge, and my chest tightens. “You are mine. I’ll teach you that lesson soon enough, if you’ve forgotten alre—”
I hang up before he has a chance to finish, breathing hard. My mind is panicking, coming up with all the worst-case scenarios.
I throw my phone across the bed, yanking my fingers through my hair, and groan out loud.
Liam’s possessiveness’s taking its toll on me.
“It’s not fair,” I mutter. “He had his chance, and he blew it. He doesn’t get to do this to me anymore.”
I hate the fact that he can still get a reaction out of me.
That phone call is the exact opposite of the healing I need.
Will I ever be free from him?