Lorenzo #4
I find myself believing her. "Do you always spend your days hiding in bookstores?"
A blush creeps into her cheeks. "I don't hide."
"No?"
"No." The answer is immediate. I wait, and she sighs. "Fine. Sometimes I hide."
I nod. "That's more believable."
To my surprise, she laughs, it’s a genuine laugh; a real one, and for some reason I like the sound of it far more than I should.
She marks her page and closes the book. "What are you doing here?"
It's a fair question, and I don't have a good answer for it. "I was in the area."
The look she gives me says she doesn't believe that for a second. I don't blame her. "You were in the area of a bookstore?"
"I read."
She laughs. "I didn't say you couldn't read."
"You implied it."
Her smile widens. "No, I definitely didn't."
I glance at the book in her hand. "What is it?"
Her eyes immediately light up, the change is instant. "This?" She turns the cover toward me. "It's fantasy."
I stare at the dragon on the front. "Right."
Her smile falters. "You don't like fantasy?"
"I didn't say that."
"You made a face."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
I find myself fighting the urge to smile. This is ridiculous, we're standing in a bookstore arguing about dragons. "I don't understand the appeal," I admit.
Her mouth drops open. "You don't understand the appeal?"
"No."
"There's magic."
I stare at her. "Magic."
"Yes." She sounds offended.
I don't know why that amuses me. "That's your argument?"
"It is a very good argument." I shake my head. She points at me. "See. That's exactly the problem."
"What problem?"
"You're too serious."
The words catch me off guard. Nobody says that to me, ever. I cross my arms. "I'm not serious."
She gives me a look and I immediately regret speaking. "Okay," she says slowly. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."
I huff out a laugh before I can stop myself. Her eyes widen. "You do laugh."
I narrow my eyes. "Don't get used to it."
"Too late."
Something warm settles in my chest at the sight of her smiling, it's unfamiliar. For the first time since this arrangement was announced, Quinn doesn't look like a woman preparing for an execution. She looks eighteen, young, happy. Exactly the way she should look.
A voice calls Quinn's name from behind the counter. She glances over her shoulder. "I should probably pay for these before they think I'm stealing them."
I look at the stack again. Eight books, still ridiculous. "You'll finish all of those?"
She rolls her eyes. "You've already asked me that."
"And I'm still not convinced."
A smile tugs at her mouth. "That's because you're boring."
I shake my head. "Keep talking like that and I might reconsider this whole marriage."
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. For a second, humor flashes across her face.
"Bit late for that, Lorenzo."
She's right. The Syndicate would have both our heads.
I follow her to the register. The woman behind the counter smiles at Quinn. "Back again?"
Quinn winces. "Is it that obvious?"
"You were here yesterday."
"And the day before," another employee calls from across the store.
Traitors. I don't miss the way Quinn's face flushes. Interesting. She's embarrassed by books. Not by being forced into an arranged marriage. Books.
The cashier starts scanning them, I glance at the total, and then I hand over my card.
Quinn's head snaps toward me. "What are you doing?"
"Paying."
"No." The answer is immediate.
I raise an eyebrow. "No?"
"I can buy my own books." There's a stubbornness there I haven't seen before. I find that I like it.
"I know you can."
"Then why are you trying?"
Because I want to, the answer arrives far too quickly. I ignore it.
"Consider it an investment."
She narrows her eyes. "In what?"
I glance at the pile. "If I'm going to spend the rest of my life listening to you talk about dragons, I should probably encourage the habit."
For a second she just stares at me, but then she laughs. That same genuine laugh from earlier, the one that does strange things to my chest.
I pay before she can argue further.
Outside, I carry half the books despite her protests. Marco is waiting by the car when we reach the curb. His expression gives away absolutely nothing, which means he's judging me.
"Thank you for the books," Quinn says quietly.
I look down at her; the wind catches a strand of her hair and blows it across her face. She tucks it behind her ear.
"You're welcome."
For a moment neither of us moves, but then she smiles. "I'll see you at the engagement party."
Only four days until the entire Syndicate is watching us. I nod. "Four days."
She turns and heads down the street, I immediately spot one of Ronan’s men following her. I watch her go longer than I should, when she disappears around the corner, I get into the car.
Marco pulls away from the curb. "You bought the books."
I glare at him. He keeps his eyes on the road. "I told you not to say a word."
His mouth twitches. I look out the window. For the first time in weeks, my mind isn't on the leak. It's on a girl with too many books and an irritating obsession with dragons.
And somehow, that's worse.