When we moved over to the weights, that’s when I noticed the looks Perry got from other men. The way some of them practically salivated over him. No one approached, though. They all just looked, like vultures keeping an eye on a potential prize.
Perry had just finished setting up the weights for some deadlifts when one of the men staring at him waltzed right over.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” the stranger said.
I eyed him with curiosity. He was definitely good looking. He had that whole chiseled jaw, blue-eyed, boy-next-door thing going for him.
“You say that as if I’m the one who hasn’t been around lately.”
Perry took a small step closer to me, which made me feel like I’d just won a competition I didn’t know I’d entered.
“Quinn, this is Rex. Rex, this is Quinn.”
Quinn stuck his hand out for me to take and we shook. Quinn had a genuine smile, one that reached his eyes and seemed to sparkle a little more when he looked at Perry. Which made it feel like such a curveball when he opened his mouth and said, “Perry and I have worked together. Quite well, I think.”
Quinn winked at me, but before I could react, Perry spoke up.
“Quinn, can I have a word with you?”
I reached for Perry and took his hand. It trembled in mine, and I gave it a squeeze to let him know I wasn’t letting him go. “Perry,” I said softly, then waited for him to look at me. When he made eye contact, I gave his hand another squeeze. “You don’t have to hide your job from me. And that includes your coworkers.”
Quinn put his hands over his heart. “Ouch. Coworker? Really, Perry. I’m wounded.”
Quinn didn’t seem at all serious and it made me think that he was one of those people who weren’t serious about anything. Ever.
“Coworker is a good way to put it.” Perry took a breath and threaded his fingers through mine. Quinn noticed our joined hands and his smile was soft and pleasant.
“Hey, man, sorry. I didn’t know you were a thing, or I’d have been a little more respectful.” Before either of us could say a word, he continued with, “Did you two meet on a shoot somewhere because, Perry, baby, you’ve been holding out on us. He’s gorgeous.”
I choked and sputtered, and Perry just put his hand on my back and started rubbing it to help me recover.
“Nope.”
“Even better,” Quinn said and he and Perry laughed at a joke that I didn’t quite get. But I didn’t have to because Perry kissed my cheek and replied, “I agree.”
TWENTY
PERRY
Rex met Quinn,someone I’d worked with on multiple occasions, and so far he hadn’t freaked out. There had been no weird jealousy vibes from him. In fact, Quinn seemed to be the person affected the most by his actions because he spent the next five minutes apologizing and then offered to buy us a coffee after our workout.
I declined. Not because I didn’t want Rex to be friendly with my coworkers, but because I’d promised Rex that we would go together to check on some animals that were being boarded at the clinic overnight. One of the techs would have already checked in and taken care of them, but Rex liked to split up the workload so it wasn’t always just one person.
“You could have had coffee with Quinn if you wanted,” Rex said as he unlocked the clinic and punched the code in to disarm the security system.
“I know, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to come here with you and help you like I said I would.”
He got a strange look on his face, but he nodded and tucked his keys away. “There’s not many here this weekend, thankfully. And both Blue and Mercy have been in a few times to check on our guests.”
“Is it hard to leave them here?”
Rex started to shake his head, but stopped. “Sometimes. And sometimes I don’t do a good job at leaving work here. If I can’t bring a patient home that I’m really worried about, there’s a couch in the staff room that I’ve been known to sleep on.”
Rex gave me the tour and he showed me the couch in question. It was an old, well-loved piece with sagging cushions and cracked leather. A pillow and a blanket lived on the one side of it, waiting for the next time Rex couldn’t leave an animal in need.
“I bet Blue gets so mad when he comes to work and finds you in here.”
Rex laughed. “Does he ever. He’s like a little mother hen. The staff takes bets sometimes on which patient will convince me that I need to sleep on the couch.”
