‘Of course.’
Alex considered telling him she wanted one night of hot passion. It had been so long since she’d been with a man, she’d almost forgotten which bits went where. She felt herself go hot just at the thought of him kissing and touching her in that way.
He moved closer and she could smell his citrus scent. ‘What are you thinking?’ he asked, softly.
She would die if he knew what exactly she had just been thinking about. ‘Oh, nothing.’
‘You can tell me.’
She frantically wracked her brain for something. ‘Oh, it’s just the toilet doesn’t flush properly, the shelf in the bathroom keeps falling down and the kitchen sink keeps clogging up.’
He stared at her and then a smile spread across his face. ‘Consider it done.’
‘No, I don’t need you to take care of that for me, I can get someone in.’
‘It’s no bother.’
She sighed. ‘I lead a glamorous life.’
‘It’s hard doing everything on your own. And you don’t have to.’
‘I’m not alone, I have Immy.’
She would forever be grateful to Immy for moving in with her and Zara after Liam died. She’d always been close to her sister and when Immy had brain trauma after falling off a horse, Alex had looked after her. Alex knew moving in with her was Immy’s way of repaying the favour. A few days after the funeral Immy had turned up on her doorstep asking to move in, claiming that her landlord had doubled her rent and they’d cut her hours at work. But Alex had known Immy was doing it for her. It was a good job too – she would never have been able to afford to stay in her house by herself.
‘You and Zara could have moved in with me,’ said Quinn. ‘I’d have looked after you.’
Alex shook her head. ‘I love having you in my life, Zara adores you and I appreciate everything you do for us so much, but I would never want you to feel obligated to us, to help us or keep coming round. I wouldn’t want to be a burden to you.’
‘You could never be a burden to me.’
‘It’s very kind but I come as a package, and Zara comes with a lot of books, toys and games. She loves arts and crafts, everything she makes or paints has copious amounts of glitter on it. Believe me, that stuff gets everywhere.’
Quinn grinned. ‘I’m already finding glitter for most of the year after Santa leaves. She’d be right at home.’
‘And how would it look when you bring home awoman, and she finds you’ve already got another woman and child in situ?’
‘I don’t have too many women at my house and if I did I’d just explain I have a lodger.’
The thought of sitting in his lounge while he brought another woman home and took her upstairs to his bedroom made Alex’s stomach turn. Of course she knew he had girlfriends, there was a period of time when he seemed to have a different one each week. But it was one thing knowing he was sleeping with other women – being there while it was happening would be another kind of torture.
‘And what happens when I bring men back to yours, you’d be happy with that?’
His face darkened. ‘What?’
‘I’ve decided to start online dating. It’s time I got back on the horse.’
‘You… you’re dating?’ Quinn said, his voice rough.
‘Yes. Well, I just filled in the online application over the weekend. I have coffee with a man at lunchtime. Immy thinks I need a one-night stand, apparently they are very liberating.’
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ he said through gritted teeth.
She felt her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. ‘What? Why?’
Quinn ran his hand through his dark hair. ‘Because…’
He clearly didn’t have a reason other than his loyalty to Liam.
