Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MILES
At six o’clock on the dot the next morning, I pound my fist against Luca’s front door.
“Luca! Open the door.”
Sleep didn’t come easy last night. Anytime I closed my eyes, the vision of Quinn on her knees or on the bed spread wide consumed me. I even tried to start my day at four thirty, but I got nothing done. I can’t stop thinking about last night.
I fucked up. I fucked up bad.
This is why people should never give in to lust or temptation of any kind.
It’s so hard to stop when it’s right there in front of you. All pink and wet and?—
“Luca, open the goddamn door!”
I hear the click and practically push the door open as I rush inside.
“Jesus, some of us do sleep in the morning. We can’t all be workaholics like you.”
“We need to talk.” I head straight for his kitchen and start a pot of coffee as if it were my own house .
I need a big fucking cup today.
Shit.
I’m a cool guy. I have my shit together, but right now I’m about to lose it.
“O-kay, what’s wrong with you?”
“Oh, what’s wrong with me? So, so many things.” I drop into a seat at his kitchen table and cradle my face in my hands. “Where do I start?”
“There’s a whole story? Hell yes.” Luca all but claps as he sits across from me with a smile, waiting for me to go on.
I take a deep breath, ready for him to interrupt me after each sentence.
“So, you know my thing with Cherry, right?”
“Yep.”
“You know I wanted to avoid her.”
“Yep.”
“Well, turns out Quinn wanted to avoid some guy, too.”
“Who?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“Still doesn’t matter. Anyway, she told her friends, who I don’t think she should call that, that she was dating me.”
“What? She just made it up when she saw them?”
I shake my head.
“No, she told them last summer.”
“You’ve been dating since last summer.”
“No. Pay attention.”
“I’m trying.”
“She told her … people that she was dating me so that they’d stop trying to set her up with this guy. Fast forward to this summer and those people show up here to get married at the lodge, so Quinn came to me with a plan that both validates her story and helps me keep Cherry away. ”
“And that was …”
“To fake date. We are fake dating.”
“I fucking knew it!” He stands so fast his chair flips onto its back. “There was no way she fell for your grumpy ass that fast. Not to mention, you’re always a dick to her.”
Was it that fucking obvious to the entire town?
“Anyway,” I go on, “the fake dating thing has been working out and Quinn even devised a plan to set Cherry up with the guy she’s avoiding.”
“Whoa, whoa, so you?—”
“But the reason I’m here is because we kissed last night.”
His jaw drops.
“And there may have been more than kissing.”
His eyes widen.
“We may have taken clothes off.”
He slaps his forehead.
“And I want to do it again.”
His hands cover his ears.
All in all, this is a very calm Luca response. He’s taking it pretty well.
He opens his mouth and then closes it, pacing the kitchen.
“So, are you still fake dating?’
“Yep.”
“But not fake fooling around?”
“Is that a thing?”
“I don’t know, Miles. You tell me. I didn’t think fake dating was a real thing until just now. That’s movie shit. Not real life.”
“That’s what I told her.”
“And yet here you are.” He puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head at me. “Wow. And we thought I was the one to make rash choices.”
“I came here for help, not for you to point out my current flaws. ”
He grins. “This isn’t a flaw. In fact, I think it’s great.”
“What? How? I just screwed everything up between us.”
He leans against the counter and nods toward the coffeepot. “How so?”
As I make myself a cup I say, “Because we were supposed to fake date and then break up, it was an easy plan. Fooling around and oral sex was not part of the plan.”
“Whoa, spare me the details.”
“I just think you need to know details to see the full depth of this fuck-up.”
“You didn’t fuck up, but,” he says and then stops, the biggest smile on his face forming. “I do love the dramatics right now. Is this how you feel when I talk to you?”
“Luca, I need you to be serious.”
“I am. I don’t think you fucked up, Miles. You’ve had a crush on her since the first day you saw her. I’d say this whole thing is overdue. You just had to fake date to get there.”
I groan. “I don’t think you get it.”
“No, I don’t think you do. An opportunity was given to you, and you need to open your eyes to figure out what it is and take it before it’s gone. Now you have two choices: see where this thing goes with Quinn or call the entire thing off. I think we both know which path you’re going to take.”
I hear him loud and clear.
Yeah, I do know. But I’m not so sure it’s as easy as he thinks.
Back at the shop, I get straight to work. I don’t know that my brother helped me all that much, but knowing he knows what’s going on is a weight off my shoulders.
I push back on my roller cart and pop out from under the Mustang I'm working on. I glance at the clock; Quinn should be coming to work soon.
I’ve been here almost an hour now.
I’ve got a lot done, so maybe venting to Luca did help.
Maybe Quinn will want to go for an actual hike today. Just the two of us. I can make time for her, and we can decide where to go from here.
Together. Yeah, that sounds smart.
I inhale and stare at the wall for a moment. I can run a business, but when it comes to Quinn Banks, I have no idea what I’m doing.
As soon as I turn around, I spot Marcus Pepperton walking up the driveway. His eyes are set on me.
I grab my rag from my back pocket and wipe my hands.
“Mr. Asher,” he says with a booming voice. “Good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you as well, Mr. Perpperton. You’re out and about early.”
I offer to shake his hand, but he looks at it and then shakes his head. “Maybe next time on that handshake.”
“Yeah, of course. What can I do for you?”
“I purchased a new car, and I need some work done on it. I was wondering if you could get me in next month. I’ll have it shipped and delivered as soon as you can get me in.”
I open my mouth to tell him yes, but Quinn has worked really hard to create a balanced schedule for me, and I don’t want to insult her by just agreeing.
“Let's go check my schedule. It’s been a busy year, but I think we can figure something out.”
“Oh, wow,” Marcus says. “This looks like a whole new place.”
“Yeah, Quinn has done a lot of work since she started. She’s been a godsend. ”
I sit at the computer and pull up the scheduling program she showed me the other day, but it still looks foreign.
I’m about to tell him that I’ll have Quinn call, when she walks in with a couple of coffees and a pastry box from B’s.
“I went to grab us breakfast,” she says quickly but stops short when she sees Cherry’s father. I know she knows who he is. It’s pretty obvious.
“You must be Quinn,” he says and offers her his hand.
She sets the box and drinks down and shakes it. “I am.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” he says. He doesn’t say it in a bad way, but it’s clear he’s talked to his daughter about us.
“Oh.” She laughs nervously. “All good things, I hope?”
He hmmms.
“I wasn’t aware that Miles was dating anyone, but I’ll admit, once I heard the news, I did a little checking up and found your travel page. Some of your partnerships are with companies I prefer as well. It’s very impressive.”
“Oh, thank you.” Quinn beams. “It’s been quite the life.”
“And now your next adventure is to stay here in Lovers.”
Her smile doesn’t falter even one single bit as she turns to look at me.
“Yep.”
It’s brief, but I can see a spark in her eyes that says she isn’t enjoying this conversation right now, and to be frank, neither am I. It’s one thing for me to feel threatened by this man, but Quinn deserves a hell of a lot better than that.
I clear my throat. “We’re looking at availability for next month for a new project.”
“How big is it?” Quinn asks and waves her hands for me to get out of the chair.
“Big. The car currently doesn't run,” Marcus answers.
“I don’t think there is availability next month or in August, but September has room for one more. ”
“I like to hear that business is good for you, Miles. I hope it stays that way. Go ahead and put me down, for now.”
“Great.” Quinn smiles as she keeps her attention on the computer. “Can I help with anything else?”
I shake my head.
“That’s all for me.” Marcus turns for the door. “See you two around.”
“Thank you,” I say.
I poke my head out of the office and watch him walk out of the shop, back toward town.
When I turn around, Quinn is grabbing something from the printer.
“I hope you didn't forget that you have interviews today. Your first one should be here in thirty minutes.” She nods to the coffee and food on the corner of the desk. “Grab yours.”
I do as she says and lean on the desk.
“Are you okay?”
She nods.
“Quinn.”
“I’m fine.”
I study her for a moment.
I’d been counting down the minutes, wondering how it would be when she walked in. Would she smile? Would she walk up and kiss me? Would she be shy? Would she regret last night?
None of those thoughts included the wrinkle between her eyes laced with worry.
I set my coffee down and squat next to the desk so that I’m at eye level with her. “Are we good?” I cup her face and brush my thumb against her cheek.
She nods. “Yes.”
And then she leans away from my touch.
“I’ll need details on the Mr. Pepperton job so I can mark off the appropriate amount of time on your schedule. ”
I stand slowly and nod.
“Of course.”
She does a perfect job of looking like she’s busy, a clear sign for me to leave.
I don’t want to push her, so I give her the space she needs and get back to work.
I don’t know Marcus well enough to know if his words were a threat.
I like to hear that business is good for you, Miles. I hope it stays that way.
I hope it does, too and there is only one way to make that happen.
Find a way to take any power that family holds over my business away from them.
The first step is obvious. No matter how much things with Quinn have changed in the last twelve hours, adding more to the situation we are already in isn’t smart.
It might not be just my dreams that get crushed in the end anymore, but Quinn’s, too.