Playing for Real - Book 2

Chapter 12

Cash 

Quinn's feet shuffled out of my bedroom thirty-six minutes after I woke. I'm already sitting at the kitchen island with two cups of steaming coffee. I thought once I poured my heart out to her and told her the truth about my relationship with Daniela, I would be able to get some sleep. What I didn't take into consideration was the effect Quinn's warm, inviting body had on me or my nagging mind swirling that even though I knew where I stood on ending things with Daniela, the reality of Daniela letting me go without a fight was an entirely different dilemma. Quinn walks through the living room and toward me, dressed in light blue jeans and a faded gray tank top. The same labradorite pendant she wore at my bedside in the Dark Room is around her neck. She lets out a tiny yawn and smiles over at me before sitting down on the stool next to me.

"Hey," she breathes.

"Good morning." I admire her bare shoulders. "Coffee?"

Dark curls frame her face, and she tucks one behind her ear as she stretches for another yawn, exposing her long neck. I immediately think of sucking little marks into her skin, from her ear to her collarbone.

"Yes, please," she says. "How are you feeling today? Still nauseous?"

She takes a coffee mug from my hand and pulls back to look at me silently. I feel the heat of her hypnotic green eyes and the temptation of her full, pink lips. Sipping her coffee, Quinn blinks away before sitting on the stool beside me.

"I'm feeling a bit better," I reply. "I took a few Tylenol when I woke up. And I even made another glass of that terrible all-natural concoction and drank it."

She blinks. I lean in a little, and the way she's staring at my mouth makes my skin hum.

"Wow," she says, smiling. "I'm impressed." She takes another sip of her coffee and places it on the countertop. "Are you hungry?"

I shrug. "A little."

She tears her eyes from my mouth and looks up at me, lifting her chin and nodding toward the stove. "Oatmeal?"

"Don't burn it." I wink at her. She rolls her eyes at me with a tiny smirk on her lips. I take a sip of my coffee and watch her press onto her tippy toes and reach into the cupboard. "So I guess I wasn't imagining things when I saw you wearing a labradorite stone in the Dark Room. You got my package, then?"

Quinn blushes. "Yes, I did. Thank you."

"I knew you would make something beautiful."

An awkward silence falls between us as she prepares oatmeal on the stovetop.

"Have you made anything else with the stones?" I finally ask.

"No, so far only this necklace..." she tells me, turning to face me as if she's only really looking at me now. "I haven't had much time to focus on my collection. My website has kept me busy making my most popular jewelry pieces for clients."

"Your website?" I ask, raising a brow.

Nodding, she studies me for a breath and says, "Yeah, I've been selling my jewelry online.'

"That's amazing, Quinn. Show me your online shop."

"No."

"Why not?" I ask. "What's your jewelry business called?"

Pushing off the wall, she steps closer to me a couple of steps. "That's not important."

"Come on. Tell me."

The longer Quinn stares at me, the tighter and tighter and tighter my chest gets.

"Wild Horses Jewelry Co.," she finally breathes out.