Yes. My heart screamed the answer, but I didn’t let it show on my face. “I would like you to be. Can I buy you breakfast?”
She shook her head. “Nope. That’s a trap. Just tell me what you want from me.”
Straightforward. Resistant. Determined. I shouldn’t have liked it as much as I did.
“Straight to the point.” I scratched my neck. “I’m a friend of Commander Ezra.” I hated dropping his name, but I needed her to sit with me. I had nothing else to offer her. “I’ve just heard a lot about you.”
Quinn studied me. Her heart pounded against mine.
“I have training with Rowan.” Quinn’s gaze flicked down my body. “And Rowan has a tracking spell on me or something. If I’m not headed toward the arena, he’ll show up here and kick your ass.”
“I’m sure he could try,” I said before quickly backpedaling. “I mean, whatever time you have. I just wanted to meet you.”
“Are you Ezra’s partner?” Quinn asked point-blank.
I coughed. No one ever referred to me as that, but it wasn’t wrong. “I am.”
Quinn visibly relaxed. “I don’t want to get into the middle of anything, but he’s hurting.” She waved her hands. “Not that he’s said anything, but you can see it in his bench press.”
I leaned forward. “In his bench press?”
Quinn narrowed her eyes. “Are you really willing to face Rowan’s wrath?”
“Oh, yes.” I smiled. This would be a test of Rowan’s loyalty. Would one of Ezra’s generals, mine by extension, follow my lead? Or had his tether changed his allegiance? “I suggest the full Scottish breakfast; the fry-up here is delightful.”
Chapter 8
Quinn
XanwasnotwhoI expected Ezra to be with, but it was easy to see why they clicked. The two were yin and yang. Where Ezra was dark, brooding, and lacked a single funny bone in his very hot body, Xan was everything bright. His unruly, baby-blue eyebrows made his sharp face even more expressive, while his easy smile matched his relaxed posture. Long legs brushed against mine, often shifting as if the most comfortable position was still to come.
I liked the slight paunch at his waist; it made him real. Based on the stack of scrawls he’d brought with him to the pub, unlike Ezra, he probably had an office job. Although I enjoyed having the hotness of, well, all my friends around me, it was refreshing to connect with someone who didn’t look flawless. Though, in his defense, he’d still blow most men out of the water.
A server brought us two massive breakfasts of bacon, eggs, tomato, hash browns, sausage, and more. I stopped recounting my time spent with Ezra at the gym to dig in.
“So, you’re assuming he’s unhappy because he’s lifting five fewer pounds with his chest than the first time you worked out with him?” Xan summarized.
I swallowed my bite. “That, and he occasionally sighs.”
Xan bit his lips together, though I still heard his little laugh.
“Am I off base?” I asked.
Xan shook his head. “No, our relationship has recently gotten very complicated.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “That’s rough, but you’ll get through it. Ezra and I did.”
“Oh?” Xan smirked. “I didn’t know the two of you were involved.”
I choked on a piece of tomato. “No, I meant. Well, it’s complicated.”
Xan took a dainty bite of his food. “I’m all ears.”
“Look.” I gathered my thoughts. “Basically, I trusted Ezra, and then he did things that made me not trust him, but then we talked about those things, and now I trust him again, mostly. As friends. That’s it.” Heat stained my cheeks, but I couldn’t stop it. He had to know how hot Ezra was.
“Youfancyhim.” A massive grin split Xan’s face, even crinkling his eyes.
“He keeps giving me protein squares, and I’m terrified of the day he calls on me to return that favor, but until that day comes, I’ve decided to trust him. That’s it. Simple, nothingfancyabout it.”
