“Woof!”
Quinn smiled and ducked her chin to steal one last kiss before letting Nora go. “I think Fort’s feeling a little neglected.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “Yes. Poor pup.”
Fort huffed and pawed at the floor as if to say he wasn’t at all amused by their continued disregard.
“Right,” Quinn drawled.
Nora chuckled and patted Quinn’s hip. “I’m afraid I’m out of danish, but I can make pancakes or eggs if you’re hungry. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“I’m good with whatever you want for breakfast. And coffee sounds wonderful,” Quinn said as she squatted down to give Fort’s ears a vigorous rub. “You, sir, are lucky you’re cute.” She laughed when Fort surged forward to lick her face. “You really are a retriever version of Sasha.”
“Who is Sasha?” Nora asked.
“My friend Emerson’s malamute.” Quinn stood and pulled her phone from her pocket to show Nora a picture. The first one she found was of Sasha and Mari, and she turned the screen toward Nora as she explained, “That’s her with Emerson’s fiancée.”
Nora’s brow furrowed, and her mouth fell open ever so slightly. “You…” She blinked at Quinn. “You mean to say that your friend Emerson is Mari’s Emerson?”
Now it was Quinn’s turn to look confused. “How do you know Mari?”
“I composed the scores for her last two movies.” Nora waved a hand as if it weren’t a big deal. “We do lunch whenever she’s out here for work. Which…” Her voice trailed off into a hum. “Yeah. I guess I should have picked up on that yesterday when you mentioned where you’re from.” She rolled her eyes at herself. “Mari just always says she’s going back to Halcyon, or to Minnesota, so I didn’t put two-and-two together.”
Quinn dragged a hand through her hair. “This is, like, some L-Word levels of interconnectedness.” She gave Nora a speculative look. “Did you two ever…”
“God, no!” Nora nearly snorted as she pulled the carafe from the coffee machine to start the coffee. “We’ve been friends for a really long time. Though, I will be saying something to her about not offering to set me up with you next time I see her.”
Quinn grinned as she rounded the end of the small peninsula counter that separated the kitchen from the dining room and leaned against the counter. “Do you have a thing for six-foot, chainsaw-wielding mascs with tats?”
“Artists,” Nora corrected with a little laugh. “Though I must say that I very much appreciate the package this particular artist”—she waved a finger at Quinn—“comes in.”
“Oh?” Quinn waggled her eyebrows. “Why’s that?”
Nora bit her lip and let her gaze travel slowly over Quinn’s body before letting it slip free with a sigh as she lifted a shoulder in a small, half-shrug. “Because it’s you.”
Quinn’s heart squeezed, and she took a deep breath as she pushed off the counter to pull Nora into her arms again. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
Nora smiled and looped her arms over Quinn’s shoulders. “I’m going to let you.”
A brief, “Woof!” was all the warning Quinn got before she was tackled by Fort later that evening, and she laughed as she reached down to scratch his head. Her stomach fluttered and swooped as her gaze drifted to Nora, who was sauntering toward them with a sweet, inviting smile that she longed to taste.
“Well, hello,” she murmured when Nora drew close enough that she was able to indulge the urge. She sighed as Nora leaned into the kiss, one hand settling suggestively low on her belly while the other wrapped around her arm for balance as she pressed up into her, and her breath caught at the brief, teasing flick of Nora’s tongue against her lips as she pulled away.
“Hello yourself,” Nora drawled. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Woof!”
“Fort concurs,” Nora translated.
Quinn nodded as she went back to packing up what was left of the ornaments she’d set out for the night. “I got that. How’d your meeting go?”
“Bioware accepted my terms, so it went well.” Nora waved a hand at Quinn’s display. “Can I help?”
“Nah, this is the last of it.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get here earlier,” Nora apologized as she gathered a few of the wooden baubles despite Quinn’s insistence and laid them carefully into the plastic tote. “There was a sigalert on the 405 when I was on my way back that tookforeverto clear.”
“That sounds awful,” Quinn commiserated.
