Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers) (11 page)

Not yet. She wasn’t ready to trust anyone just quite yet.

When they found themselves back on the main floor and looking out at the ocean, Anna looked down at her watch. Two hours! They had been walking around and talking for two hours already! Not that she had anything to do, but she just couldn’t believe how fast the time had flown by.

“So…what do you think, Dan?” she finally asked. “Is this one a contender, or do you want to look at a few more properties?”

He took a deep breath and smiled. “I love the smell of the ocean, don’t you?”

Anna smiled. “Absolutely. I can’t imagine living anywhere else but near the coast. I would miss it too much.”

He nodded. “I moved away when I left for college and stayed away all this time. Now that my life has calmed down a bit, I know what I want. If I’m going to invest in a home, I want it to be here. We never lived right on the beach, but I always dreamed of it.” He looked at her with a lopsided grin. “And now I can do it.”

“You’re very lucky.”

They stared at one another for a minute before Dan looked back at the ocean. “This one is definitely a contender, but I’d like to look at maybe a few more properties just to be sure. Do you have anything else available?”

Pulling her tablet out of her purse, Anna pulled up one of the other listings she had considered. “This one here is similar in square footage but has a few more updates. I can see if we can look at it now, if you have the time? It’s only about a mile up the road.”

“That sounds great,” he said and stepped away while Anna made the call. When she was done and told him they were welcome to go and see the house, he added, “I’ll follow in my car. I have a dinner appointment in town I’ll need to get to.”

“If you’d prefer to go another day…?”

He shook his head. “No, today is fine. I’d really like to see it, but I probably won’t linger as long as we did here, if that’s okay.”

It was said with a smile, but Anna made a mental note to stick to business and ease up on the personal chitchat. “Not a problem. I just need to close everything up here.” She wrote down the address on the back of her business card and handed it to him. “Why don’t you head down there and at least get a look at the outside? I’ll be five minutes behind you.”

“Sounds good, Anna. Thanks for understanding.”

She watched him walk out the door and sighed. Here was a perfectly nice man, and if she were a normal woman, she’d be attracted to him and flirting with him. But between Quinn and the Jake incident, the idea of dating wasn’t appealing at the moment.

Walking around and double-checking all the doors and windows, she quickly scooped up her purse and made her way out the front door.

In a perfect world, she would make this sale, get her finances in order, and find the man of her dreams.

Instead, she walked down the front steps, climbed into her old Honda, and faced the reality of having to put her dreams on hold for a little while longer.

* * *

It was another two hours before she watched Dan drive away. After another lengthy house tour, he told her he loved both houses but needed to think about it. Of course she understood—it was a pretty massive purchase.

Still…it would have been nice if he had wanted to sign a contract today.

With the house locked up, Anna climbed back into her car and headed toward home. It was dinnertime, and she was hungry but didn’t feel like cooking. Takeout was looking more and more appealing. Maybe some Chinese food, or maybe she’d stop at the pub and grab a burger, or—

The check engine light came on.

Again.

“Dammit,” she muttered. Quinn had been after her about it for a long time, and Anna had a feeling she couldn’t ignore it much longer. The drive through town to her house would take her right by the new shop, and if she just didn’t let herself worry about getting a lecture about car maintenance or about the incident with Jake, she could actually stop in and ask Quinn to look at her car without feeling like an idiot.

Or maybe she could wait another day.

As if on cue, the car started to sputter a bit, and Anna knew she had pushed her luck as far as she could. The car definitely needed to be looked at.

Another sputter.

There went her hopes of getting takeout.

At this point, she’d be lucky to make it to the shop without having to push the damn car.

Anna turned the corner and pulled into the parking lot of Shaughnessy Automotive and Restoration. The parking lot was empty, and Anna worried that it was after hours. Quinn’s car was there, however, so there was no avoiding him. Taking a deep breath, she climbed from the car and went in search of him.

It didn’t take long—he walked out of the open garage bay as she was approaching. “Hey,” he said and Anna thought his tone was a bit…cautious.

“Hi,” she said, forcing a smile.

He looked her over and frowned. “What are you so dressed up for?”

Anna looked down at herself and then back at him. “Dressed up? Quinn, you’ve seen me in this dress about a dozen times before. I had a house to show.”

He grunted and shrugged. “You never wore it with high heels before.”

Rolling her eyes, she got to the purpose of her visit. “The, um…the engine light came on again. And it’s sputtering.”

Quinn’s eyes never left hers. “And isn’t it a little late in the day for a showing?”

“For crying out loud, can you please look at the car? I really think it’s bad this time. I’m afraid to drive it home!” she said with exasperation.

“I thought you knew all about car maintenance now,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “Isn’t that what you said the other day?”

Doing her best to remain calm, she met his gaze. “I can change a tire, replace an air filter, change a spark plug, and even replace my windshield wipers. Whatever’s going on this time is way beyond that. Can you please just not be a jerk for five minutes and cut me some slack?”

Without a word, Quinn walked over to the car and popped the hood. Anna couldn’t help but stand back and admire his physique from behind. Faded blue jeans hugged him, and his gray T-shirt—even though it was stained—just accented how muscular he was. And then there was the cap. Today it was one of his old baseball caps worn backward. Somehow he managed to even make it look sexy. The man seemed to only get better with age. A small sigh escaped before she forced herself to walk over to the car.

“Jeez, Anna. I told you this piece of junk was gonna crap out on you. I mean, until I get it on the lift, I can’t say for certain, but knowing its history, it could be about a half a dozen different things. You need a new car.”

Her spine stiffened. She hated that superior tone he used. “Oh, really? Gee, Quinn, I didn’t know that,” she retorted. “Tell you what, let me go and rub my magic lamp and see if my genie will grant me a new car.”

Quinn stood and wiped his hands on the rag he had hooked in his back pocket while giving her a sour look. “This isn’t news, Anna. And you have a job. It’s not like you can’t get a new car.”

They’d had this discussion before and it always ended like this—with an argument. “I told you I don’t want a car payment right now. Getting my real estate license wasn’t free, you know!” She huffed and paced away and then back again. “Can’t you just…do something with it? You know, to tide me over?”

“What, again?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

That was it. It was all too much, and she finally hit her limit. Tears were starting to build, and there was no way she was going to let Quinn see her cry. She’d take the risk and drive the damn hunk of junk home and find another mechanic tomorrow. Maybe Bobby could help her with getting around and to and from work for a little while.

Without looking at him, Anna stepped forward and slammed the hood closed before opening the car door.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Leaving.”

“Why? Because I asked you an honest question?”

Anna threw her purse back into the car before facing him again. “No, because you’re a jackass.” She growled with frustration. “If I can convince Dan to buy the house I showed him today, I’ll make enough commission to make a reasonable down payment on a used car. But for now, I just needed a little help, not a lecture. Obviously it was too much to ask!”

Quinn reached out and tugged her away from the car before she could sit. “Dan who?”

“Dan Michaels. From high school. Remember him?”

Quinn thought for a moment. “Pretty boy. Played baseball with me junior year. When did you see him?”

“Today. That’s who I was with earlier. He’s looking at the Stanleys’ place on the beach. The house is like a damn showplace, like something out of a magazine, and if I can convince him to buy it, the commission will go a long way toward giving me some breathing space. With this car thing now, I need it more than ever.”

“So you dressed up for him in hopes of enticing him to buy?”

“What?” she cried with disbelief. This time she shoved at his chest with both hands. “What is the matter with you? What the hell have I ever done to you to make you be such a complete ass to me?” They were both breathing hard as they glared at one another.

Quinn cursed under his breath and stormed back into the shop through the garage. Anna quickly followed. It wasn’t an easy task in the dress and heels—which she cursed the entire time. She found him in his office, throwing the rag down on the desk.

“Hey,” she snapped, slamming the office door closed behind her. “I asked you a question.” Quinn’s blue eyes flashed with fire as he looked at her. Anna had seen that look before, normally directed at other people. It was the first time she had been on the receiving end of it, and she wasn’t sure if it scared her or just served to make her madder.

“Oh yeah? Well, I asked
you
one earlier and you didn’t answer. I guess we’re even.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he waited her out—a smug expression on his face.

“Seriously? Are we really going there? The whole ‘I’m rubber, you’re glue’ thing? Aren’t we getting too old for this crap?” And then the fight started to leave her. This wasn’t getting her anywhere. The man clearly had an issue with her that he wasn’t going to share and she was just tired of the whole thing. “You know what? Never mind. Just…never mind,” she said wearily and turned to open the office door and leave.

“Did you kiss him?” he called after her and waited until she turned around and looked at him. “Did you kiss him too?”

Slowly Anna stepped back into the office and looked at Quinn as if he’d lost his mind. “Are you high or something? Kiss him? Kiss who? Could you please explain to me what the heck you’re talking about?” She was completely confused by the turn in the conversation. Did he think she’d kissed Jake? Other than Jake, she hadn’t even been out on a date in what felt like forever, so what was he even referring to?

He moved in close and kept going until Anna’s back was against the wall. “Is that your new thing? Just kissing guys to pass the time?” Quinn’s breathing was ragged as he looked down into Anna’s wide eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t kissed anyone,” she said shakily as her tongue came out to moisten her suddenly dry lips.

“You kissed me.”

Those brown eyes got impossibly wider as she softly gasped. “No, I didn’t.”

Wait
…
did I? Was that not a dream the other night?

“Yeah, you did,” he said in a low voice. “You fell asleep on the couch, and then I carried you to bed and you kissed me.”

She shook her head, unable to find her voice. But even as she tried to deny it, the image came to her mind that she would have sworn had just been a dream—not that she was going to share that bit of information with Quinn.

He continued to watch her, his eyes never leaving hers. “Yes. You. Did.”

“I…I don’t believe you,” she stammered, wishing like hell she could just escape and die of embarrassment.

“Let me remind you,” he growled fiercely as he closed the distance between them so they were pressed together from head to toe. His hand reached up and anchored itself around her nape as his mouth crashed down on hers.

Shock held Anna still for only a few seconds before she gave in and kissed him back. It was better than the dream! Well, clearly not a dream, but reality. Unable to help herself, she sighed and completely melted against him. His lips were softer than she’d imagined, and when his tongue reached out and teased hers, she thought she’d melt in a puddle at his feet.

Quinn changed the angle of his head and his lips gentled against hers. Suddenly, neither of them was quite so frantic. Now they were sipping at each other and getting acquainted with the feel, the taste of each other. Anna sighed into his mouth as her arms wrapped around him—knowing that she was really doing it and was allowed to touch him was a complete turn-on.

Quinn must have felt the same way because he suddenly crowded her in and then his hands started to wander—first to her shoulders, then slowly downward as he skimmed his hands along her sides to her waist, her hips. They gripped there as they gently kneaded and rocked her against him.

Yes, yes, yes!
her brain cried, and then she got in on more of the touching too. For so many years, she’d thought about it—fantasized about it—about touching Quinn at her leisure and she was finally allowed! Her hands moved up and down his muscled arms first and gently squeezed his biceps.

They were hard and huge, and he flexed them beneath her hands.

Then they wandered up the column of his neck and up into his thick, silky hair—knocking his hat off—and gripped it. It made him growl, and she held on a moment longer just because she could.

Distantly, she realized his hands had continued downward and were now at the hem of her skirt and he was slowly raising it. Should she protest? Help? Hell if she knew. For now she’d go with enjoying it. When he had it up to an obscene height, Anna shamelessly hooked one leg up around Quinn to hold him even closer.

Another masculine growl.

“Damn, Anna,” he panted, kissing and licking his way across her cheek, her throat, her collarbone.