Start Me Up. Victoria Dahl
But remind away.” He raised one eyelid to glance at the clock—8:30 a.m. Yes, he’d most definitely missed Monday by a mile.
“Here we go,” Jane said, just as she always did before running through his appointments. “You’ve got a preliminary consult with Jean-Paul D’Ozeville at ten this morning. Lunch with Peter Anton of Anton/Bliss Developers at twelve, a conference call at three about the lecture in Vancouver, and then the benefit dinner with Tessa Smith at seven.”
“The what?”
“The fund-raiser for the Aspen Music Foundation. You bought tickets weeks ago. I believe Ms. Smith wanted to meet Sting.”
Quinn thought he could detect a sardonic hint in her words, which would have surprised him if he hadn’t been busy reeling over the shock she’d just delivered.
“Tessa and I broke it off last week.”
“Well, she called yesterday to be sure you hadn’t forgotten.”
“Uh…right.” He vaguely remembered Tessa’s shouted assertion that she was not going to let him back out of such an important event.
“And,” Jane continued, “she went to dinner with you on Friday?”
“Yeah. Apparently I forgot to cancel that, too.”
His office manager cleared her throat. “I don’t see any more dates on your schedule. As long as you don’t accidentally agree to any other shared meals, this should be your last evening with Ms. Smith.”
“Good. I’m not—Jane, are you laughing at me?”
“Certainly not, Mr. Jennings. If there’s nothing else I can do for you, I’ll see you in a few minutes.” The line clicked dead, confirming his suspicion that she was, indeed, laughing at him. As he deserved. What kind of man found himself on not one, but two accidental dates?
Of course, Tessa was defined by her persistence. Quinn wasn’t normally apt to notice when women flirted with him, but women like Tessa didn’t wait for a man to notice, they simply assumed their place. So it was that one evening Quinn had looked up and found he was dating a big-breasted blonde who wore frighteningly tall heels. His developer friends had been impressed. Quinn had simply been too apathetic to break it off until Tessa had gotten clingy. Then it had been an easy decision.
Speaking of easy decisions…
Quinn dialed information, got connected to Love’s Garage, and then wiped the sweat off his brow while he waited.
“Love’s Garage,” a very feminine, very grumpy voice answered. Not good.
“Lori, it’s Quinn. Don’t hang up. I am so sorry I didn’t call yesterday. I—”
“Forgot?” she asked sharply.
Lying would be wrong. Really wrong. “I wouldn’t say forgot, exactly…”
“It’s no problem, Quinn. It gave me time to think.”
Not good at all. He wanted sex with Lori Love. It was slipping from his grasp, making him realize just how much he wanted sex with her. Time for brutal honesty. “You’re right. I did forget. I’ve been working on this difficult site, and…Okay, you don’t want to hear that. I’m so sorry. I know it’s insulting and degrading and…” He tried to think of a few more choice adjectives that had been applied to his forgetfulness in the past.
“It’s fine, Quinn. I’m not mad.”
He would not let this slip away from him on a wave of polite distance. “Of course you’re mad,” he pressed.
“Nope.”
“Then why do you sound so strange?”
“Because I’m on my back under a car?”
“Oh. Seriously?”
“Yes.” Her voice dropped. “But it’s nice and private under here.”
Quinn turned that odd comment over in his head for a moment. Was it possible she really wasn’t angry? Or was false relief making him stupid? Still…“And you need privacy because…?”
Her long pause stretched through the distance between them, tightening their connection like a wire about to snap. She’d had time to think, and surely that was a bad thing. Planning and forethought couldn’t be the quickest route to a red-hot affair. But maybe…
“Does your offer still stand?” she blurted out in a near whisper.
Quinn’s heart turned over so quickly he felt dizzy. “Yes,” he answered with a casualness he didn’t feel.
“Because I think maybe it’s a good idea. If you still do.”
Strangely, he thought of her stretched out under that car, her feet and ankles vulnerable, available to him. He could stroke his hand down the instep of her small foot, kiss her painted toes, curl his fingers around her delicate ankle, smooth his palm up the inside of her rising calf. In his fantasy world, she only wore boots and thick denim when he wanted her to. Today, she was barefoot, wearing a little flowered skirt as she labored beneath chrome and steel. Her—
“Quinn?” she breathed into the phone.
“Yes, I still think it’s a good idea.”
Her relieved sigh made him smile.
“So,” he ventured, “should I just stop by tonight to service you?”
A wheeze burst over the phone line, followed quickly by the clang of something heavy and metallic. Quinn grinned at the Mexican Food sign on the building in front of him.
“Oh,” Lori squeaked just before she coughed. “Oh, I guess. That would, um…Tonight?”
“I’m teasing you, Lori.”
“Oh, thank God. Jesus, Quinn. That was cruel.”
“Sorry.” Not that he was sorry at all. “I was actually thinking maybe we should go to dinner. Unless you’d prefer I just come over and drop my pants. I’ve got an hour free before lunch.”
“Quinn.” Lori’s voice had dropped to a tone he suspected she used with her employees.
“All right. Dinner first. Unfortunately, I’ve got a previous obligation tonight. What do you think? Tomorrow?”
“That soon?”
“Yes.” He left it at that. No point letting her mull over her decision any longer. And, frankly, he couldn’t wait.
“Okay.” The little squeak was back in her voice, making him smile. It thrilled him that she was nervous, that he wasn’t just some old friend who’d climb into her bed and make her feel comfortable and safe. He wanted her tense and excited. “What time?” she asked.
Quinn didn’t bother trying to think of his schedule. It had never once cemented itself into his head and never would. “Six-thirty.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you at your office.”
“No, why don’t I—”
“Listen, Quinn. I’m not interested in sitting here in my living room in a dress and heels for hours, waiting for you to remember our plans. I will meet you at your office.”
“Oh. I see. All right.”
She hung up with no added pleasantries, leaving Quinn staring at the restaurant sign for a few stunned seconds. “No chance am I forgetting this date,” he said to no one at all. “I’ll be there with bells on.”
He was still wondering what the heck that phrase meant when he pulled up to his office two minutes later. One more date with Tessa, and then he’d be Lori Love’s meaningless fling, hopefully for a good long while.
L ORI ROLLED OUT from under the car, wiping her hands on a rag.