I chuckled and opened the bottle of wine, thankful I went for a screw top instead of a cork. “Har har, noted.”
Quinn pulled her legs to her chest, grabbing a throw that was hanging on the back of the sofa.
“Did you really come here to watchOnce Upon a Time?” Her soft voice filled the space, and I met her gaze.
I swallowed. “Well, yes and no.” I picked up the glass and poured some wine for her, gingerly handing her the cup. Her fingers brushed mine for a second too long as she took it from me.
“What’s the no part?”
I met her gaze. “I didn’t like that you were upset. I didn’t want you to be alone.”
She pursed her lips and inhaled, her chest rising as she found the words. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she finally whispered.
“I’m not expecting that. I’m expecting to eat pizza, drink some sugary wine, and find out what happens to the damn Huntsman.” I pointed at the TV, taking a seat next to her. “Can we do that?”
She held my gaze, her eyes darting back and forth as she stared into me. Then a full smile formed, and she nodded.
“Yeah. We can do that.”
She leaned forward, grabbed the remote, and flipped open the box of pizza. “Oh yes,” she hummed. “Pineapple on pizza. Looks like you and I have something in common, Hartwell.”
Pineapple on pizza…favorite food? Check.
I leaned back into the couch, the theme ofOnce Upon a Timehitting like an old friend, when I noticed Quinn’s gaze on me. Her lips moved as she studied me, her eyes never faltering.
“What?” I finally asked, admittingly loving the way she was looking at me, but always desperately wanting to know what was floating through her mind.
“You know, about a year ago…I thought you were too full of yourself, too cocky…”
I narrowed my gaze. “Ouch.”
“I’m beginning to think I was wrong about you.” She sighed, lifting her slice of pizza. “You’re not so bad, Hartwell.”
“You’re not too bad yourself, Compton. Now shh.” I raised my finger to my lips, “I’m watching.”
She giggled and settled onto the couch, her legs stretching out in front of her, her toes coming awfully close to being shoved under my thigh. She was comfortable, she was smiling…she felt like mine.
Seventeen
Quinn
“You’retootight!”Cashcalled, his voice barely audible over Charming’s hooves hitting the dirt. “Loosen it up!”
He had placed five barrels in a straight line for me to weave in and out, back and forth, front to back, over and over again. Charming was loose one ride last week; if he were tighter, we could maybe cut back time a little. And the man wanted me toloosenup.
“I’m trying to be tight!” I yelled back at him.
I yanked on Charming’s lead, and he turned, his snout so far left I could see his entire profile. I felt the edge of the barrel against my boot.Shit, shit, shit.Don’t. Fall. I looked over my shoulder, a breath of air leaving my lips as the barrel wobbled but stayed upright.
“Remember when I said loosen up!?” I heard Cash’s voice.
I slowed Charming down, his hooves digging into the dirt as he halted to a stop.
“I’m trying to be tighter. We were loose in Albuquerque. If I tighten up—”
“You’ll knock barrels over. If I remember correctly, you won Albuquerque.” He folded his arms over his chest. I opened my mouth to talk back to him, but he spoke first. “None of this ‘yeah, but I could have won by a few milliseconds’ crap.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, hoping the glare stung. The way he raised his brow told me it didn’t.
