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He finally glanced her way, eyes glittering with anger. “I can’t believe the shit you gave me about dating ‘sophisticated’ women, when you were dating a European playboy who’s nearly twice your age.” Despite his anger, Lori noticed that Quinn slowed the car to a crawl when they passed a driveway full of skateboarding kids.
“I was shocked, all right?” he said into the silence. “I didn’t think you normally went out with Aspen guys.”
Lori’s mouth fell open. “Oh, my God. Are you upset because you thought you were the first successful guy I’d ever dated?”
“No,” Quinn scoffed.
“Then what?”
“It’s just…” His eyebrows fell even lower. “He’s just…Jesus, he’s such a typical rich guy.”
Her snort of laughter probably didn’t do much for his ego, but she couldn’t help it. “By rich, you mean he has an expensive car and he’s building a gorgeous house and he travels the world? Boy, that sounds familiar.”
“Yeah, you left out the personal jet and the three homes and the younger women and the whole stable of sports cars!”
“Okay, so he’s a little richer than you. Isthatthe problem?”
Quinn swung the car into the steep driveway of a pretty group of condos designed to look like individual cottages. He very calmly set the brake and killed the ignition before turning toward her. Then he just glared for a long moment, mouth a flat, tight line of simmering anger.
After drawing in a long, steady breath, he sighed and relaxed a fraction of an inch. “Okay,” he muttered. “It’s possible I was a little jealous. It was strange to stand next to some other guy, knowing you’d had sex with him. I was…shocked.”
Relief bubbled up in her blood. She knew that look already. He’d lost his temper but he was past it now. He wasn’t going to be an ass…and this date wasn’t over.
Lori raised one eyebrow. “Imightbe able to understand your reaction. I had a similar response to your absurdly tall ex-girlfriend, if I remember correctly.”
“Right. So we’re both crazy. Perfect.”
“Perfect,” Lori agreed, grinning just a little. “But you might be a little crazier. I can’t believe you were jealous of a man old enough to be my father.”
His eyes narrowed. “Very funny. But you did sleep with him, didn’t you?”
“Mmm.” She cleared her throat, loudly.
“Exactly,” Quinn muttered. When he reached for her hand, shocks sizzled through her palm. “I’m sorry. Will you accept my apology even though I’m still a little pissed?”
“I guess I’d better. I assume this is your place?”
He finally smiled. “Dare I invite you in?”
“I’m not sure. Did you buy any of that Málaga wine?”
His smile turned wicked. “I did.”
“Then let’s go, Mr. Jennings.”
Quinn was out and coming around to open her door before she could blink. She took his hand and followed him into his home. It was beautiful, of course. Woodsy and bright and amazing. Lori looked over the hand-hewn railings of the stairway and the stained-wood doors and windows, all of it polished to a sheen. The walls were painted a pale sage that set off the warm brown leather furniture perfectly.
“Wow,” she breathed. “What a great place.”
“Thanks. I credit my housekeeper. She keeps the rustic look fashionable. I’ve noticed that when rustic gets dusty it heads straight into ‘old barnyard.’”
“What happens when you add flocked wallpaper to dusty old barnyard?”
“Ahhh…very retro shabby chic?”
“Shabby. Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Quinn disappeared into the kitchen, so Lori wandered over to a black-and-white photo she recognized as one of Ben’s. He was good enough to work professionally, in Lori’s opinion, and this picture was no exception. Black towers of pine trees silhouetted against perfect white clouds. She could almost see the limbs swaying.
