“I would have sped away, yes. But you wouldn’t have been in the car with me.”
“Oh, okay.” He lit up. “I see you. All for one. Good to know. Remind me not to bring you along in a tornado.”
“As if that would ever happen. Don’t forget, according to your tragedy meter, I’m not allowed to go to tornado alley with you because my dog died when I was in fifth grade.”
I took in his self-assured grin, and as he leaned in, his heat ignited me. The close contact caused the hairs on my arms to stand at attention. I could smell the scent on his skin. My heart began to pound. This man was fire.
And then came his voice, soft and deliberate.
“I might be willing to relax my rules for a trip into the heartland with you.”
Oh. My. Dear. God. Dead! I was dead. His was possibly the sexiest come-on in the history of come-ons, and it hit me squarely where it counted. Quinn was everything I could want… and more. What would it be like to be chosen by someone like him? I’d been told my whole life I was up there on the attractiveness curve, but I was nowhere close to tipping the scales like the man sitting beside me. Quinn was like one of those teenage crushes that made you feel all giggly inside—that unattainable dream guy who was just personable enough to make you think you had an actual shot with him. Like Nick.
No, Jess. Shut up. Not like Nick at all.
Fighting off his allure with everything I had, I replied with as much sarcasm as I could muster, “I’ll be waiting on your decision with bated breath.”
Quinn’s eyes lit up, seemingly pleased with my response. I then watched as he dropped back into his seat and adjusted it to make room for his long legs. Through the skintight vinyl, I could see the movement of the muscles and could almost picture what was beneath. I was mesmerized by his freshness and strength. Oh, yeah. I had to stop. I could not be fantasizing about this guy while he was still sitting in my car. There’d be plenty of time for imagining when I got home.
“I wouldn’t get too comfortable there,” I said, pressing my thighs together to hide the evidence.
“Why?”
“Because you’re about to tell me where I’m driving you to.”
He rolled his head to the side, gracing me with another wide grin. “Do I look like I have anywhere to go?”
Come to think of it, no, he didn’t. Was Quinn planning on riding around with me all day? “Well, thirty dollars isn’t going to get you far, big spender. So I suggest you start thinking.”
Quinn groaned. “I don’t want to think. I just want to chill.”
“Maybe you can chill at home.”
“Nah, I don’t want to be alone in my time of need.”
“Family, then?” I tried. “Friends?”
“Uh… definitely don’t want to see my family right now, and as far as friends go, I don’t have many to speak of.”
“Really? Why not?”
“Eh, I don’t know,” he replied, distracted. “I probably should’ve tried harder to make ’em when I was still young and cute.”
What guy who looked like Quinn didn’t have friends to spare? They should be lined up around the corner, taking numbers. He didn’t add up. There was something about him that didn’t jibe with his perfect exterior, like there was some big reveal that might help explain why a professional singer would walk off the stage in the middle of a performance. But he didn’t offer up any clues, so I forged on, trying to figure out where to take this wayward rocker.
“Come on, Quinn, focus. Where am I taking you?”
He sighed, long and loud. “Fine, just take me somewhere fun.”
“Fun?” I asked. “Like an amusement park?”
“Not that much fun.”
“A museum?”
He rolled his eyes. “Please.”
“Quinn.” I bit down a smile. “I’m about to push you out of my moving vehicle.”
