“You okay if I give him a bit bigger push?” Quinn asked.
The woman rolled her eyes and waved a hand in awho am I to stop you?type motion. “Go for it.”
Quinn chuckled and nodded as she made her way back to Fort’s side. “Here we go, dude,” she said as she draped his leash over his shoulders. Fort gave a little wiggle when she grabbed him by the hips again, and she grinned at Fort’s mom. “The boy’s a total natural.”
Fort demanded her attention with an aggrieved, “Woof!”
Quinn gave him a playfully unimpressed look and drawled, “Yes, boss,” as she gave him a light push that propelled him a good six or seven feet down the boardwalk.
When the skateboard stopped, Fort looked over his shoulder at her with a wide, expectant smile, his desire to go again clear, and Quinn threw a look at his mom as she said, “I hope Santa has a skateboard stashed away on his sled for this guy.” When the woman huffed a laugh and shook her head, a perfect picture of amused resignation, she said, “I’m Quinn, by the way.”
The woman pushed her sunglasses up onto the top of her head and held out her hand. “Nora.”
Quinn blinked as she found herself ensnared by a bewitching pair of hazel eyes that were more gold than green or brown. Her mind went blank as she drowned in the strikingly variegated depths, and her pulse stuttered as Nora’s fingers slipped lightly over her palm. The little voice of reason in the back of her head shouted that this was an absolutely ridiculous reaction tojust shaking hands, and while she knew the voice was right, that knowledge did very little to stop the feeling that there was something special about this meeting, this moment, that buzzed across her skin.
Nora’s eyes darkened by a fraction as they stared at each other, and then they crinkled with a smile as she murmured, “It’s lovely to meet you.”
“I…” Quinn cleared her throat. “Yeah. You too.”
“Woof!”
“And you, as well, Fort,” Quinn added as she threw him a reassuring glance.
This seemed to satisfy Fort, as he wagged his tail and jabbered happily, but Quinn’s attention was pulled away from the pup when Nora flipped her hand over to inspect the scrapes that cut across her palm.
Even if she’d wanted to, there was no way Quinn could have stifled the shiver that tickled the back of her neck as Nora’s fingers caressed the shallow wounds, and she forgot how to breathe altogether when Nora murmured, “Oh, dear. Your poor hands.”
“It’s—” ThefineQuinn had intended to say caught in her throat, her brain shorting out completely as Nora stroked a scrape that ran from the base of her index finger to the heel of her palm.
Oblivious to the effect her touch was having, Nora lightly traced the length of another scrape. “Does it hurt?”
Quinn shook her head.
The left side of Nora’s mouth twitched with a smile. “You sure?”
Quinn’s brain rebooted with a commanding,Oh my god, say something, you useless lesbian!“Yeah.” She grimaced at how rough her voice sounded, and cleared her throat before trying again. “Totally sure.”
Nora’s smile broke free, bright and radiant like the warmest summer sun as she continued to lightly caress the wounds on Quinn’s hand. “I really am sorry.”
I’m not sorry at all.
“Woof!”
Nora inclined her head in Fort’s direction. “He is, too, even if he doesn’t seem like it.”
“WOOF!”
Nora rolled her eyes and squeezed Quinn’s hand before letting it go. “I think he wants another push.”
Quinn’s stomach sank at the loss of Nora’s touch, but she plastered on a smile as she said, “I think you’re right.” She sighed under her breath as she turned to Fort, who was staring back at her impatiently. “Okay, bud.” Quinn grabbed his hips and gave them a little scratch. “You ready?”
Fort jabbered eagerly and snapped into position, his entire body quivering withhell yeah, let’s go!energy.
“You and Sasha would be such trouble together,” Quinn told him before she gave him the firmest shove yet that sent him careening a good thirty feet down the boardwalk. And straight toward a family with two little ones on bikes and one in a wagon.Fuck!“Head’s up!” she yelled as she took off after him.
Thankfully, it was impossible to be annoyed by the sight of a grinning golden retriever riding a skateboard because, by the time she caught up to Fort, the kids had ditched their bikes and were staring at him curiously. Which was fair, given that he was looking at them the same way.
“Can we pet your dog?” the little boy asked.
