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Roxie laughed. “Yeah, something like that.”
Her thoughts drifted to last night’s magic, and her face heated. She cleared her throat as her skin sparked with the memories. “Aside from him being gorgeous, Quinn’s different. The more I get to know him, the more intrigued I am to know him even better. I find that there are so many different sides to him. He’s like a puzzle I can’t quite figure out.”
“Do you like puzzles?”
“I do.” She really, really did. “I know he has a temper. I can see it in his eyes. They turn dark and flinty, like granite. It should scare me, but it doesn’t. He controls it. And I know—deep in my gut—that he’d never,everhurt me. Quinn O’Conner is quite possibly the most genuine and compassionate and fascinating man I’ve ever met.”
Roxie made a circular motion with her hand. “Meaning?”
“Meaning that I’ve never met anyone like him in my life.” She didn’t intend to say more, but something about the lack of judgment in her friend’s eyes cracked her open. She wanted to be honest with Roxie. And with herself. So, she continued, “Things have been so crazy in my life, but being with him makes me forget the mayhem. Then, when reality hits, I find myself doubting whether I deserve his attention and affection. I mean, I’m trying to enjoy every moment, but honestly... I’m scared.”
“Alex, give yourself some grace. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is nauseating. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable after whatyou’vebeen through is beyond scary. Relationships are nerve-racking and dazzling and terrifying all at once. But that’s part of the beauty of them, right?”
She nodded. Roxie had nailed it on the head. “This is going to sound horribly cliché, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I know I’ve only known him for such a short time—”
“What does time have to do with anything? I mean, no offense, Alex, but do you think if you’d dated your ex-husband six months or even a year longer before tying the knot that it would have turned out any different?”
“No,” she said with certainty. “He knew exactly how to play me. Time wouldn’t have mattered. But that’s the other thing, Roxie. Everything’s so damn complicated. Preston’s not myex-husband. Heismy husband. Sure, the divorce papers have been filed, but the last time I checked, I’m still married to him.AndI’m pregnant with his child.”
Roxie shot her a teasing smile. “Well, what relationship isn’t complicated?”
“Ahhh, the eternal optimist.” She chuckled as she applied a shimmering eye shadow to her lids. “I just don’t feel like I’m being fair to Quinn. He deserves more. Really, Roxie, my life is like a bad Lifetime movie.”
Roxie recaptured her gaze in the mirror. Waving a mascara wand, she said, “Alex, I know Quinn like the back of my hand, so trust me when I tell you that I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. God knows I’ve never seen himactthe way he does with you. Sure, he’s protective of you because that’s the kind of guy he is. But he’s also tender with you.” Roxie made a face. “I’ve seen Quinn with other women, and the wordtendercomes nowhere into play. Usually, he’s an asshole. That’s his thing.”
Alex’s chest squeezed. The third-party confirmation that Quinn’s feelings were real helped push the uncertainty away. When she was with him, she was sure he cared about her, but when they were apart, the little voice in the back of her mind screamed that she had rotten instincts. With such an awful track record, how could that voice not exist? But hearing Roxie’s take on it all sent a new surge of hope through her.
“And yes, it’s complicated,” her friend continued. “There’s that crazy-husband thing and then there’s the pregnant-with-said-crazy-husband’s-child thing. But”—Roxie paused until Alex met her gaze—“Quinn knows about these things. He would’venevermade that first move if he had problems with any of these complications. He’s a big boy, Alex. He knows what’s best for him and what he can handle.”
“That’s exactly what he said, too.” She sighed. “I’m just petrified I’m going to do something that will mess all this up. The last thing I want to do is hurt him. I mean...” A smile spread across her face, and she knew it was a sappy one. “Roxie, he is... absolutely wonderful. I didn’t know it could be like this,feellike this. That I could honestly enjoy and really want and look forward to—” She slammed her mouth shut, and a blush spread from her chest to her face.
“Sex?” Roxie finished, her green eyes dancing with mirth.
She hadn’t thought it possible for her face to get redder, but there the evidence was, staring right back at her in the mirror.
“Yeah,” she mumbled.
“Well, good!” Roxie laughed. “You’resupposedto enjoy it, you nut!”
“Yeah, but I haven’t in a long time.” She shrugged, and Roxie’s expression sobered. “It started fine with Preston, but the longer we were married, it became... not good.”
“Oh, Alex...”
She shrugged again. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but Preston is one of those guys who only cares about himself. So long as he got off, that’s all that mattered. At first, it was just not enjoyable for me. Then, toward the end, it was... painful. Literally.”
“I’m so sorry,” Roxie said. Glowering, she added, “And there’s yet another reason to hate that fucker.”
“I agree.” Alex squared her shoulders and attempted to brush off her mood. No more talk of Preston. He was in her past. And he needed to stay firmly there. “But now, it’s different.Quinn’sdifferent. He’s gentle and passionate and the perfect amount of rough.” Her smile dimmed. “I worry it’s too good to be true, and I’m scared he’s going to walk away from me. Then, at the same time, I’m so afraid that I’m going to hurt him.”
Roxie shook her head. “The only way you’ll hurt Quinn is if you really do care about him, yet you push him away because it’s whatyouthink is best. Don’t insult his intelligence or his need to protect you. That’s what makes Quinn who he is. Really, Alex, don’t dwell on the what-ifs and over-analyze everything. You’ll drive yourself batty. I know you’re going to do it anyway because, well, you’re a female and frankly, that’s what we do. But seriously, try not to. Take the time you have with Quinn and enjoy it. Besides, for all we know, the world will be annihilated tomorrow.”
Roxie slicked a final swipe of gloss onto her lips and turned to Alex. “I know three things that are absolute facts. First, you guys care about each other and will face—together—whatever issues come up. Because that’s what people who care about each other do. Second, I know that if we don’t get out of here in the next fifteen minutes, we willofficiallybe behind schedule.” Tossing the lip gloss into a tiny clutch, she rose.
“And third?” Alex asked.
The grin Roxie sent her was positively wicked. “Third, I know that Quinn’s going todiewhen he sees how freaking hot you look tonight.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
