Chapter 12
S he wasn’t sure what she was more concerned about, the glaring or the fact that she couldn’t remember what happened last night.
Then again, the pacing was a bit concerning, mostly because that muscle in his jaw twitched in time with each step as Quinn made his way back and forth across the large bedroom that she couldn’t remember passing out in last night.
Granted, most people would probably be more concerned about waking up to discover that they’d passed out underneath a bed at some point during the night, but considering what happened on her twenty-first birthday, she was actually good with this.
Deciding to leave Quinn to his glaring, Dylan finished crawling out from under the bed.
For a moment, she considered asking him what happened last night, but something, mostly the glaring, told her that it would be in her best interest not to bring it up.
Leaving him to whatever he was doing, Dylan made her way to the bathroom.
After closing the door, she made quick use of the bathroom before she stepped into the shower big enough to fit a small army, turned the hot water knob as far as it would go and slowly exhaled as she stepped beneath the spray of hot water and-
Once again found herself wondering what happened last night.
She remembered Brooke pissing her off, being forced to show Quinn that she would make a valuable addition to the crew, and coming back here, realizing what they had to do and…
That was it.
Something told her that they didn’t have sex last night, mostly the glaring and the fact that she didn’t wake up to find Quinn crying tears of joy, which made her wonder what she could have possibly done to piss him off last night.
There were so many possibilities, Dylan thought with a heartfelt sigh as she grabbed his shampoo off the shelf only to realize that it was the same brand that she used.
Curious, Dylan took in the conditioner that she used on his shelf, the same body wash, lime sugar skin scrub, and-
Was that her baby pink loofah sponge and razor?
she found herself wondering as she took in the rest of the items neatly lined up on the shelf that clearly didn’t belong to the pissed-off man in the other room, making her wonder how he knew about her apartment and the fact that she’d been crashing in his trailer.
No one else knew. She’d made sure of it, which left the question, how did he find out?
Deciding to find out, Dylan debated all the possibilities as she finished her shower, helped herself to a towel from the warmer, and couldn’t help but sigh with pleasure as she wrapped the towel around herself and savored its toastiness for a moment before she made her way back into the bedroom.
She watched as Quinn paused mid-step to run his eyes over, his gaze slowly moving over her, pausing on her towel before moving down to her legs and-
Went back to doing what he did best.
Curious about something, Dylan made her way to the closet that had been empty the other night to find her shirts hung up, her pants neatly folded and stacked on the shelves and her shoes lined up against the wall.
She took her time selecting a shirt and a pair of pants before she moved on to the bureau, only to feel her lips twitch when she found her panties, bras, and socks color-coordinated.
“How?” Dylan asked, not bothering to look back at him as she took her time selecting a pair of black panties and matching bra before heading to the bathroom.
“I decided to find out what else you were hiding from me and visited your apartment only to discover that you moved out a few years ago with no forwarding address. After that, I decided to take a closer look at the security footage on the trailer. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a pain in the ass had been breaking into my trailer every night,” Quinn drawled, making her wince as she closed the bathroom door behind her.
Clearing her throat, she said, “I’d like to change the subject now.”
“And I’d like to spank your ass,” came the response that had her shoulders slumping in defeat as she mumbled, “Understandable.”
“Is there anything else that you’d like to tell me, Dylan?” Quinn drawled, the action causing his incredibly deep voice to do things to her that she felt were counterproductive to her peace of mind.
“Not willingly,” Dylan said, tossing her clothes on the bathroom counter.
She just…
She really didn’t want to think about all of those things that she refused to think about over the years because it didn’t matter.
None of it did.
This was just a deal, Dylan reminded herself as she thought about last night and-
There was something seriously wrong with her.
There was no other way to explain why she’d willingly married the man who made it clear that he would never see her as anything more than the pain in the ass that ruined his life.
She was fucking with his head.
She just…
God, she was driving him out of his fucking mind, Quinn thought as he stood there, staring helplessly at the woman who professed her undying love for him one minute only to go into a rant about pots of gold and leg room the next.
That was followed by her accusing him of always being after her Lucky Charms. When he tried to get her to focus, she mumbled that they were magically delicious, following that up with a sniffle.
After that, he’d stopped trying to get answers, mostly because that’s when she decided to mumble “A Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall” incoherently against the carpet, only to keep losing count after she got to ninety-nine and had to start over again.
He’d spent the rest of the night alternating between pacing the room and struggling not to lose his fucking mind.
When she finally crawled out from under the bed, he’d waited for the moment when she remembered what she said last night only it never came.
Instead, she’d hummed what sounded suspiciously like “It’s a Small World” to herself as she got ready for work, completely fucking oblivious to the fact that what she’d said last night had left him reeling.
“Why are we glaring at your wife?” Tristan asked as they watched Dylan press her face against the passenger side window and release a shuddering sigh as she stared longingly at Blackwood Manor.
“Do you think she’s evil?” Quinn asked, watching as Dylan mouthed the words, “I love you,” to the house that had been officially removed from the condemned list this morning.
“Yes,” Tristan said without any hesitation as they watched Dylan place her hand against the window with a shuddering sigh. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re glaring at her.”
“Because it brings me joy,” Quinn said dryly as they watched Dylan drop her hand away from the window and-
“Child safety lock?” Tristan asked as they watched Dylan try to open the door only to give up with a sigh.
“She really didn’t leave me with much of a choice, not after she took it upon herself to help secure the roof,” Quinn said as he watched Dylan slowly turn her head so that she could glare at him.
“Are you going to tell me what she did to piss you off?” Tristan asked, watching as Dylan narrowed her eyes on him and-
Had his lips twitching.
“Did…did she just mouth, ‘Watch your back, bitch?’” Tristan asked as Dylan followed that up by pointing at Quinn just in case there was any confusion.
God, she really was fucking adorable.
“Probably,” Quinn thought as he glanced back at the truck loaded with temporary chain-link fence panels. “Are those six-foot or the eight-foot panels?”
“Six,” Tristan said as Quinn glanced back at the small woman watching his every move and-
“Send them back and grab the tens,” Quinn said, only to rethink that decision when Dylan’s gaze shifted back to the ladder. “Make it twelve.”
“Do you really think that’s going to stop her?” Tristan asked as they watched Dylan’s gaze turn calculating when it landed on the sledgehammer and-
“Probably not, but I know something that will.”