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“I know! Isn’t that great? The missus stopped by today and put a huge order in. And I mean ahugeorder. It’s going to be fabulous! This will really give a lot of exposure to the catering end of the business and—” She scowled. “You’re a jackass, Quinn.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Quinn said. Then, smiling at Alex, he nodded his head toward Roxie. “Attention span of a gnat.”
“You know, I’m beginning to hate you,” Roxie said, her death glare fixed on Quinn.
He rose and smacked a loud and sticky blueberry pie kiss on Roxie’s forehead. “I know.”
The two continued to bicker, and she watched their antics with amusement.
Rounding the table, Quinn took her empty plate and shot her a grin that made her mind go blank. “Dinner, sweetheart?”
She blinked at him. “Sure,” she said, cringing inside. That one word had come out like a croak instead of the calm, casual reply she’d intended. Good god, this man was starting to fry her brain.
Roxie started chattering again, a steady stream of commentary flying past her lips. Listening with half an ear, Alex grew increasingly distracted as she watched Quinn prepare dinner. Not because she was interested in him or anything.
Nope. No, definitely not.
She simply had a pair of functioning eyes. After all, it was hard not to notice an attractive man moving around the kitchen. Especially when he moved very,verywell.
Holy crap, woman. Slow. It. Down!
Quinn caught her stare and smiled.
She averted her gaze but couldn’t stop the flush that stole over her skin. Good god, she’d been gawking. Like a freaking high schooler. She wished there was a rock she could crawl under.
When the food finished cooking, Quinn dished up their dinners. They sat at the table, and Roxie treated them to the latest town gossip while they ate.
“Between the mayor’s upcoming party, the Rotary dinner, and Ray and Martha’s anniversary party, it’s going to be a busy next couple of months. Oh! That reminds me—” Roxie shot up from her chair and ran out of the room.
With her fork halted midair, Alex shot Quinn a questioning look.
He shrugged. “Who knows? It’s Roxie. Just, I don’t know, sort of smile and nod at whatever she comes back with.” His grin turned mischievous. “That usually works for me.”
Chuckling, she shook her head as Roxie burst back into the room.
“Here, I almost forgot,” Roxie said, handing her a bag.
Opening it, she removed a navy-blue apron withComfort Foodembroidered along the top. As far as aprons went, it was nice and all. If you liked aprons. “Um, thanks. This is for...”
“Work. In a couple weeks? At my café? Remember our conversation last night?”
“Oh.” She hesitated, her mind drawing a big, fat blank. Was that what she’d agreed to last night? “That’s right. Of course. How could I forget?” Apparently, very easily. The giant smile on her face was beginning to hurt. “I can’t wait, Roxie. We may have to run through the details again, but—”
“Excellent! I was thinking—” A cell phone rang from the living room, and Roxie held up a finger, rising from her chair. “Hold that thought. I need to get that.”
Alex could only blink as the other woman hurried away. She turned and found Quinn staring at her, amusement dancing in his eyes. She cleared her throat. “What?”
“Nothing.” The devilish grin on his lips implied otherwise.
“Then why are you smiling at me like that?”
“Because you fascinate me, Alex.” He leaned in, and she held her breath. “You are... by far... the worst liar I have ever met.”
She released her breath and grimaced.
Scoffing, he said, “Really, Alex. That was quite impressive in its sheer horror.”
Her forehead scrunched. “Was it that bad? Do you think she noticed?”
