Chapter 21 #2
I was taking another drink and coughed as it went down wrong. Holden eyed me again, so I attempted to make conversation like a normal person who hadn’t slept with Quincy and then avoided her all week.
“Is her ex from Dragonfly Lake?” I managed.
“Born and bred. He moved to Memphis after the breakup,” Holden said.
Good riddance.
“She hasn’t said much about him,” I continued, digging for more intel despite myself. “I get the impression they were serious?”
“They were together for a few years. She was pretty upset when it happened—for a couple of weeks. She seemed to bounce back quickly.”
I wanted to ask what kind of a guy he was, whether he was a dirtbag, why they’d ended it, but I didn’t want to wonder about these things, let alone make it obvious to Holden I wondered about these things.
Apparently holding back didn’t work, because Holden asked, “You interested in her as more than a nanny?”
My beer was almost gone, so I resisted repeating that stall. I scanned the dance floor again. I scanned the dance floor and didn’t take long to spot Quincy’s golden hair. The cowboy was nowhere to be seen, but now there was a tall, skinny guy dancing with her, all grins. The punk.
“Don’t you think that age gap would be a bit much?” I finally asked my half-brother.
He shrugged. “I think attraction is attraction. Love is love. She’s legal and then some.”
It sounded good in theory, but this was real life, not theory.
“She’s going to college,” I pointed out. “It’s been so long since I was in college that I barely remember the name of the dorm I lived in and only recall a handful of my professors’ names.”
“Should I buy you a cane for Christmas this year, old man?”
“I trust we’re close enough now I can tell you to fuck off?” I said, laughing.
“Sounds like typical brotherly love to me.”
Our conversation moved away from Quincy on to more comfortable topics like beer and business and fatherhood.
Holden’s excitement about pending fatherhood was tangible.
It made me wonder how I would’ve felt to be in that position, with a woman I loved and eight or nine months to get used to the idea before the baby arrived.
During the next two hours, I met more people than I’d ever remember and counted no less than six male dance partners for my nanny. I was doing my damnedest not to let it bother me, but…
Fuck. It bothered me. It bothered me a lot.
It particularly bothered me a lot when the original cowboy took a seat at Quincy’s table, where she’d been sitting alone for about two minutes. It was as if he’d been watching her, waiting for an opportunity, after dancing with her at least two more times after that first one.
I’d switched to soda after one beer, recognizing fast I needed every ounce of good judgment and willpower intact if I was going to sit here and watch my daughter’s nanny flirt and touch guys who didn’t deserve her.
Not that I did.
Holden returned from the restroom as I settled my stare on the guy in the fake Stetson across the way. The smile Quincy gave him was strained, not genuine at all, as if she didn’t care to have his company. I straightened so I could see them better.
“It’s getting late for this married guy,” Holden said as he flagged down Donovan to clear his tab. “I’m going to head home to Chlo. Are you ready yet?”
“I’ll stay a few minutes and finish this drink,” I told him, my gaze barely leaving the big, ugly cowboy hat. “I won’t be far behind you.”
Donovan slid him a bill. Holden set some cash on it and handed it back.
“Need anything?” Donovan asked me.
I shook my head.
“You’re good?” Holden asked.
“I’m good. Go home to your wife. Thanks for convincing me to come out tonight,” I said. “It was great to talk more.”
“Agree. Take care. Don’t do anything too crazy.” He glanced toward Quincy, then raised his brows at me suggestively before heading out.
“See you,” I said, ignoring the look. I wasn’t going to do anything crazy, joke or not.
As he walked off, I leaned on the bar and cradled my drink between my palms. My gaze went back to Quincy just as she said something to the cowboy. It looked clear as day to me that she said, “No, thanks,” and her smile was nowhere in sight, so I went on alert.
When Quincy very clearly said no again and shook her head at the guy, I stood, trying to decipher what he was asking her for. I waited for the tension in her expression to lighten up and her to flash that smile I couldn’t get enough of.
Quincy cast a look at the dance floor, leaning one way, then the other, and I wondered if she was searching for her friends.
Maybe I was misinterpreting things, but I didn’t like the vibe she was putting off.
I made my way around the bar. My view of her disappeared temporarily as I got closer, thanks to the crowd, but when I was fifteen feet away, I saw her shake her head at the guy and scoot a couple of inches farther from him.
I walked up behind Quincy, put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and said into her ear, “Let me know when you’re ready to go.
I’ll drive you home.” I kept my words innocuous because I didn’t know how she’d react.
As far as I knew, she hadn’t seen me yet tonight and had no idea I was here.
I hadn’t been overly friendly to her all week, so she had good reason not to welcome my presence.
The way the cowboy’s eyes narrowed as he watched me squeeze her shoulder told me I hadn’t been wrong to be concerned.
“Knox,” she said, smiling up at me. “There you are.” She grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the stool next to her, opposite the cowboy.
“Here I am,” I repeated.
With narrowed eyes and all friendliness gone from the asshole’s face, he said, “You two together?” to Quincy.
“We live together,” I said.
“You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend,” he said, assuming exactly what I’d hoped he would assume.
“Knox doesn’t like to dance,” Quincy said.
“Fucking dick tease,” he said, his words just slightly slurred.
I stood up and leaned toward him, ready to advance on him if he pushed any more. “I suggest you leave, Cowboy.”
Quincy grabbed my hand as if to hold me back. I was generally pretty coolheaded and not one to fight, but if he said one more thing about Quincy…
“Please,” she said emphatically to the guy. “It’s never pretty when my boyfriend breaks out the black belt.”
Wisely, without another word, only a scowl, the asshole got up from the table and stalked off toward the pool tables. I took a breath and looked at Quincy.
“Thank you,” she said, the sugary-sweet “boyfriend” warmth of thirty seconds ago gone, replaced by obvious relief and a tinge of disgust I was pretty sure was aimed at the cowboy.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just annoyed. He was all charm at first, but he sure didn’t know how to take a no, thank-you.”
I took her at her word that she was okay. “I meant what I said about the ride home.”
She searched the dance floor again and smiled when she found Piper, who was dancing and singing—at the top of her lungs, it appeared—with three other females.
“They’ll be closing the place down if I know them,” Quincy said.
“You going to join them?” I made my voice matter of fact, not hinting at the disappointment I’d be hit with if she said yes.
After another glance at her friends, she met my gaze with her pretty, green-blue eyes. I’d missed looking into those eyes this week.
She picked up her phone and started typing. “That douchebag was exhausting. If you don’t mind, I’d love a ride home. Let me finish telling Piper and Jewel I’m leaving with you.”
I nodded briefly, acting nonchalant, but I felt anything but nonchalant at the thought of being alone with her.
As she smiled at me and preceded me toward the door, I put my hand on her lower back. I knew it still wouldn’t be smart to give in to this attraction, but I was desperate to touch more than just the small of her back—and I sure as hell didn’t want any fabric between us.