Page 6 of Christmas Coffee

5

Celyn

THE NIGHT BEFORE

Irun my hand over my face and glance back at the hotel. “How the hell did you even find me?”

Quin glances over at me. We’re sitting inside his Hummer. He decked the thing out so it’s solid black and chrome. He smirks. “If you don’t want people to find you, turn off your phone.”

I pull my cell out of my pocket and glance at it. “I have that feature turned off.” I scroll through the control panel and find the toggle switch for FIND MY FRIENDS. It’s on.

“Yeah, I turned it on.”

“Damn it, Quin. Stop screwing with my phone.”

“You’ll be glad I did, because this can’t wait. I was at Bardenbey and overheard something I shouldn’t have.” Quin drives toward the city—Manhattan—in the inky night. It’s way past business hours and has been for a while.

“What the hell were you doing there now?”

He glances over at me, like I have no brain. “This absolutely stunning set of tits wanted me. As if I could deny her.” He scoffs. “We were in a compromising position, and being an honorable guy, I did the honorable thing and let her rush off before she got crowned office whore. I plan on nailing her another night. She likes to work late, if you catch my drift.”

“Yeah, caught it. What does this have to do with me? Because if you’re just shitting around with me…” My voice trails off. I just walked out on a woman that was beyond exceptional. There’s no way in hell she’ll let me explain or take this as anything but rejection. That’s why I didn’t tell her I was going. Yeah, it was a shitty thing to do, but I couldn’t explain. That would require spilling everything, who I am, what I’m worth, and that I’m going to fucking lose it all if I don’t figure this out.

“Never. And I said come quick. You could have taken that literally, nailed her, and left.”

“I don’t walk out on women I just slept with. I’m not that guy.”

Quin grins. “I am. You should try it some time.”

“I have and it’s not me, so move on.”

Quin makes a gesture with his hand and then gets serious. “Tell me everything. Start at the beginning and leave nothing out.”

I rub my hand over my face, exasperated. “Quin, we already did this.”

“No, you gave me the drive-by version. Every man alive thanks you for your brevity of words, but I need details so you need to flip on your chick switch and start at the beginning. Tell me about exactly what happened when your uncle called you into his office. Leave nothing out.”