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“But you really are a mystery.”
She arched an eyebrow, irritated by the scrutiny. “An exotic taste of the underclass, Quinn?”
His faint smile faded. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” Nothing except there wasn’t anything mysterious about her. Just another girl stuck in her hometown, going nowhere. Maybe she could sell the movie rights.
“Since this is our first date, I’ll let that slide. But don’t think I’m not paying attention. We’ll talk about your issues later.”
Lori shook her head. “There are no issues during a meaningless affair. I’m an empty shell.”
“Mmm.” His smile returned, as did the spark of sexual interest in his eyes. “You look particularly soft and warm for an empty shell.”
She resisted the urge to tug her neckline up again.
“Now back to your nonissues,” he pressed. “I’ve been thinking about you, Lori Love. What’s with the heels and dresses?”
“I’m a girl.” The wine pushed warmth deep into her muscles, forcing out some of the tension. She was a girl. And shewassoft and warm.
“Does this have something to do with those books Molly writes?”
The wine receded a little, traitorous and unreliable as far as courage went. Lori swallowed more to keep herself from choking on panic. “You told her about us? What else did she say? She shouldn’t have told you anything.”
“No, I didn’t tell her. She just happened to mention that you were a fan.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
Lori took her turn to study him, look him over. He was handsome and so sexy in his bookish way. His hands so elegant that she wanted to pick one up and stroke it. Suck a finger deep into her mouth, just to get them both hot and wondering. But she couldn’t do that kind of thing if she was always thinking of Quinn as Molly’s big brother. He was her sex object now, pure and simple. And he was waiting for an answer.
“It’s hotter this way,” she forced out, and watched his eyebrows head for his hairline. “A secret affair. Discreet. And naughty.”
“Naughty,” he repeated, though his mouth hardly moved.
“Yes.”
God bless the wine that had loosened her tongue, because the spark of interest in Quinn’s eyes exploded into fireworks of lust. “I have absolutely no interest in telling my sister a damn thing.”
“What sister?” Lori countered.
Quinn threw back his head and laughed, while Lori thought about licking her way up that strong, tanned neck.
A passing man interrupted her daydream. “Quinn,” he said in surprise, reaching out his hand. “How you doing?” His deep Texas drawl rumbled from a barrel chest.
“Great! Lori, this is Bill Adkinson. He owns one of the big title companies in town.”
Lori shook his hand and tried hard to listen politely to the men’s conversation, but her mind had gotten stuck on a sudden thought.
Maybe she could use Quinn formorethan sex. Maybe she could use him to figure out why her land was so interesting to so many people.
“Sorry about that,” Quinn said, clueing Lori in to the fact that his friend was walking away.
“Oh, no problem. I thought it was interesting.”
He smiled. “Really? Because you looked a little glazed over there.”
As she laughed, she decided on her approach. “Hey, do you know Chris Tipton? He was in my class in high school and I hear he’s a big developer now.”
