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The strength she’d been needing to put her relationship with Chuck on the shelf had become part of her. She’d found within herself a solid foundation of sanity and self-reliance. Ironic that by engaging her heart, Justin had also given it freedom and independence.
Whether he ended up falling in love with her or dumping her back onto her single butt—either way, from now on Candy Graham was going to be fine.
Marie walked into Roots, not sure if she hoped Quinn would be there or not. On the one hand, she did want to see him. She was upset. This guy Troy had shown up at Milwaukeedates.com, and after Marie had done all she could to help him realize what he wanted, and help him see how they could get him there, it turned out he was a friend of Justin’s.
Even during their interview something had been nagging her. Only later when she connected him to Justin, did she figure out the parallel. Both had been closed off, analyzing her more than wanting to be analyzed, and only after careful prodding on her part did they reluctantly get to a place where they seemed sincere about wanting to find someone. Troy’s last girlfriend was playing manipulative games, so he was obviously drawn to female strength, which was why Marie showed him Candy’s Superwoman profile. He needed that female strength to be decent and true, not bullying that covered insecurity.
Marie had sincerely thought Troy might be a good way to get Candy back on the horse, so to speak, and that Candy, hurting from Justin’s disinterest, might be just what Troy needed.
But his reaction to seeing Candy’s profile had been Marie’s next tip-off that something wasn’t right. He’d stared at the picture for a few seconds, then fixed Marie with a look that had baffled her at the time. Accusation or contempt, maybe?
No reaction she’d ever seen before to a beautiful woman. Then he’d launched into a bizarre rant about how gorgeous she was and how he couldn’t wait to go out with her.
Marie was still baffled. Justin got tired of Candy so decided to pass her on to his friend? If that was the case, why go through a dating site? Why not just introduce her to Troy?
If Justin found out about the duplicate profiles, why didn’t he talk to Candy about it or come to Marie? Why send a friend?
Nothing made sense, but whatever Justin was playing at, Marie didn’t like it.
Nor did she enjoy the current dilemma: whether to call Candy about all this. That’s where she thought Quinn might be able to help her. He knew how men thought—particularly manipulative or predatory men—and might be able to shed some light on what Justin could be thinking, and how much Marie should tell Candy to protect her.
She slid onto a chair at the bar, smiled at Joe and ordered a Prufrock, uncomfortable with her reasoning. If Marie didn’t know Quinn, she’d talk the problem over with girlfriends, who would serve her well. She was afraid she was now making up excuses to speak to him. Not good.
Darcy had finally called back with the expected rejection of the idea of meeting Quinn, even for coffee, and Marie 174
had been guiltily relieved. Not good either. Her feelings were confused enough where Quinn was concerned. She couldn’t let a silly, unrequited crush get in the way of a match she was convinced would be good both for Darcy and Quinn. She needed to settle herself firmly into the “sister” role he saw her in, and treat him like the brother figure she’d said he was.
Half an hour later, he still hadn’t showed. Marie shame-facedly ordered a sandwich and another drink, knowing she should have gone home to prove she hadn’t become so hung up on a guy that she’d deliberately change her routine to put herself in his way, a tactic she associated with junior high school. But she’d ordered the sandwich and the second drink, now she was stuck finishing them.
Right. Because it was illegal to order food and leave?
A few bites into the sandwich, Quinn showed up, easing his athletic frame into the seat next to her, causing a rogue blush to climb onto her cheeks and have itself a nice ride around her face.
“Hey, Marie. I’m late tonight, huh?”
“Are you?” She glanced at her watch, hating herself for playing such a silly game. Why couldn’t she just say Yes, I waited for you so long I got hungry? Friends could say something like that easily. “I guess you are.”
