‘I don’t really care what people think, do you?’ Alex said.
‘I care that you’ll be subjected to some not so nice comments.’
‘Oh, let them talk. It will only be hot news for the next few days until the next piece of gossip comes along. And it has to come out eventually. We can’t keep it secret forever.’
‘Yes, but we can soft launch – be seen together for a while, then slowly up the ante, be seen holding hands,then maybe a kiss on the cheek – before we unleash a proper kiss on them.’
‘And drag out the reaction and gossip even longer? This way, we get it out of the way in one big hit, the pearl-clutchers can all talk about how terrible it is and hopefully it’ll be old news before Christmas.’
Quinn didn’t look convinced.
‘Look, what’s the worst that can happen?’ she asked.
‘The worst is that our fragile tentative relationship could shatter before it’s even begun.’
Alex looked at him in surprise and she stroked his face. She realised that by holding back, her reluctance to properly define their relationship and her desire to keep it a secret had made him doubt what they had and she hated that.
‘I don’t fear that at all, what we have is special. I love you.’
She leaned up and kissed him and after a second he kissed her back. He stroked her face and she melted against him. She heard an excited yelp come from near the bar which she guessed was Cleo, and could hear other people talking in excited whispers too. Quinn was right, this was going to be big news. But as the kiss continued everything faded away and she was only aware of this man, his scent, his touch, his taste, the feel of his lips against hers. This wonderful man was hers and she wanted everyone to know that – but more importantly she wanted him to know that too.
She pulled back slightly and looked at him. ‘Let’s go home.’
He nodded and stood up. She slid out of the booth and he helped her on with her coat, his fingers deliberately grazing the back of her neck. She looked back at him, his mouth just inches from hers, and the look he gave her was dark with need. It made her feel weak with just the thought of being with this man again. She was never going to have enough of him.
Just then Cleo came bouncing over. Quinn took a step away from her but Alex firmly took his hand and pulled him back by her side.
‘Did you enjoy your meal?’ Cleo asked.
‘Very much so.’
‘It looked like it. But you don’t need to hurry off, you can stay for dessert or coffee or—’
‘We have somewhere important we need to be,’ Quinn said and Alex giggled.
A lady called Tina who was sitting having dinner with another woman tutted loudly and Alex nearly laughed. Why would anyone care what Alex did or who she was with? What harm was she doing to anyone else? The only person who had any right to be upset by Alex moving on was Violet and, judging by her reaction to her and Quinn declaring their love for each other over iced cookies the other day, it seemed she was OK with it too.
Deciding to annoy Tina some more, Alex curled herself around Quinn. ‘We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.’
Tina glared at them and Alex ran a hand up Quinn’schest for good measure. Quinn stared at her incredulously.
A huge smile spread across Cleo’s face. ‘Well, that sounds like the date went very well.’
‘Very well,’ Alex said, looking at Quinn like she wanted to eat him.
‘How much do we owe you for the meal?’ Quinn asked.
‘No, no, on the house, as I said. It was our pleasure.’
After another warning look from Quinn, Alex resisted saying that shortly it would betheirpleasure.
‘Thank you, Cleo, tonight has been an eye-opener,’ Alex said.
‘For me too,’ muttered Tina, loud enough for people at several tables to hear. There were a few giggles.
Alex looked around the room and was surprised to see how many people were invested in her and Quinn and she didn’t know how to feel about that.
Quinn squeezed her hand and she looked up at him. ‘Come on, let’s go home.’
