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“No, but I’m not interested in selling you out for an extra ten thousand dollars, Joe. We might not be related, but you’re all the family I have left. I just need to find out why these Aspen developers are so interested in the land. It’s got to mean something.”
“It means their land has gotten too expensive over there and they’re looking to fleece us of ours.”
“Maybe. You’re sure you haven’t heard anything about it?”
“Not a word. But…Listen, Lori. If selling to one of those developers will get you closer to college, you do it, you hear me? Don’t worry about me. You deserve more than this and I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“Joe…” She didn’t know what to say. “Thank you. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“I want what’s best for you, whatever that is.”
“I know.” She was about to ask him more about the land when her cell phone buzzed against her hip. “Yikes!” she yelped and hurried to tug it from her pocket. Things were a little sensitive in that area.
She gave Joe a wave and walked outside to answer it. “Hello?”
“Good morning, Lori Love,” Quinn’s voice purred.
Her tension vanished, and a goofy smile stretched so far across her face that her cheeks ached. “Good morning.”
“I made it to my meeting with a few minutes to spare, so I thought I’d call to see if you’d meet me for dinner tonight.”
“Hmm.” Lori twirled a curl around her fingers and smiled down at the sidewalk. “Didn’t I just see youlastnight, Mr. Jennings?”
“What can I say? It’s a torrid affair. Night after night of…seeingeach other.”
Lori laughed, but her laughter turned into a sigh. “I’m sorry, Quinn, I can’t. I already told Molly I’d meet her at The Bar tonight.”
“Cancel. My sister will understand.”
“No, she won’t. I can’t tell her why, and she’ll be suspicious.”
“Mmm. Let her be suspicious. I want to take you someplace special. It’s okay. I’m her brother. I absolve you of any responsibility to her.”
Grinning, she shook her head. “I don’t think you can do that.”
“Not true,” he countered. “My parents live out of state now. I’m the head of the Colorado branch of the family. She’s totally under my control.”
“Quinn.” She laughed, then quieted down when she heard another voice in the background.
“Oops, I’ve got to get in there.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “Meet me tonight? I have to see you again. Please. I can’t wait.”
Okay, he was just playing into her fantasies now. A red-hot affair. A man desperate to have her. And Lori didn’t mind one bit. “All right,” she whispered back. “But not too late. I’m on call at ten.”
“Six-thirty at my office?”
A shiver raced through her. “Yes,” she answered quickly and hung up.
It was irresponsible to call off her evening with Molly, but irresponsibility felt really good all of a sudden. Naughty and wild. But the call to Molly would have to wait. First, she had to get in touch with some developers who were clearly trying to take advantage of a nice girl. Too bad she wasn’t a nice girl anymore.
* * *
“SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT,” Lori cursed as she roared down the highway. She was late. She hated being late. But she hadn’t realized until about five o’clock that she had absolutely nothing to wear, so she’d had to race through her shower and run out the door to shop.
Still, the sprint to her favorite store had paid off. There’d been three dresses on the clearance rack in her size, and she’d ended up with a cute little black jersey number that clung in all the right places. Luckily it went with the strappy black heels she’d found at the cheap shoe store next door. Perfect. If only she wasn’t ten minutes late. And grumpy.
The phone calls this morning had revealed nothing but the developers’ hope that she’d sell. These people were professionals. They’d used phrases likeinvestment criteriaandbest use,and claimed that sheer beauty made the land valuable. But notthatvaluable, mind you.
Scowling, she pulled her purple truck into the parking lot of Quinn’s office building and screeched to a halt. Quinn’s car wasn’t there, of course. Lori breathed a sigh of relief and hurried in.
