A Broken Soul(21)

"Lilly?"

Well, shit. I squinted one eye open and chanced a brief glance over my shoulder. "Quinn …  hey. How are you?" It would have been ideal if the ground beneath me had opened up and swallowed me whole. Unfortunately, no such luck.

He gave me a bewildered look as he studied my face, and I was acutely aware that he was still holding onto me tightly, my back pinned to his firm chest. "You okay?"

I took a step away, putting pressure on his arms so he'd let go. It took him a few seconds to break the connection, but once he did, I was finally able to take a full breath. "Yeah," I answered, as I worked to prop the heavy basket on my hip. "Just tripped carrying this damn thing."



       
         
       
        

He blinked, as if only just noticing the abundance of pastries. Reaching out, he tagged the handle and lifted it away from me like it weighed as much as a feather. "Thanks," I offered sheepishly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Those are from Chloe. She got busy and asked if I could drop them off."

"Yo, Mallick!" a man called out, his voice getting closer. "Move your ass before Carpenter peeks at your hand - Hell yeah! It's Delivery Day from the bakery? Score!"

The guy with a one-track mind for food rushed Quinn, pulling the cellophane wrapping from the basket then stuffing nearly an entire muffin in his mouth at once before realizing there was a woman present.

As soon as he did, he stopped chewing and gave me a very slow once-over. He was a handsome guy, in spite of the puffed out, chipmunk cheeks due to the muffin he had crammed in his mouth. He was about the same height and build as Quinn, but with darker features. He looked to be a few years older than Quinn, but the age didn't detract from his good looks one bit. And he had one of those faces that you just knew he could charm his way out of anything.

His gaze went from me to Quinn, back to me, back to Quinn. "Well, hello." He might have been going for a flirty smirk, but it was hard to tell with the mouthful of food. Either way, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hello."

The guy swallowed hard, his throat bobbing in an attempt to get the muffin down. I silently waited and prayed it didn't get lodged in his throat. The last thing I needed was to be blamed for bearing the pastries that choked a firefighter to death.

Once he was finally able to speak clearly, he asked, "You the one that brought the basket of Heaven from Sinful Sweets?"

My grin widened. Yep, a total charmer. "I am. I'm on errand duty for Chloe."

"Delivery Day is like Christmas every month. Every shift hopes they're the ones working on that day. If I weren't a happily married man, I'd kiss you right on the mouth."

I giggled as Quinn glared. Extending my hand, I took a step toward Mr. Charmer. "I'm Lilly. It's nice to meet you."

"Tony." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles as he gave side-eyes to Quinn. "And believe me, the pleasure's all mine."

I thought I might have heard Quinn growl low in his throat, but it was probably just my imagination. I pulled my hand free and gave them both an awkward wave.

"Well, it was good seeing you. I better go." I turned toward my car only to have Tony's voice stop me in my tracks.

"Oh, you can't go! We're in the middle of a poker game right now. You should stay and join us. After all, you did just guarantee we'd be well fed the rest of the shift." 

Why was Quinn watching me like he was waiting for my reaction? And why was the fact that I could feel his eyes on me making my skin burn red?

"I couldn't." I started to back away, needing to get out of there, away from Quinn and my unpredictable reaction to him. "I don't even know how to play poker. I'd just be in the way." A lie. I knew how to play pretty damn well. On top of insisting I learn to change my own tire when I started driving, my dad also taught me how to hold my own at cards. But these guys didn't need to know that.

Tony snorted and waved me off. "We'll teach you. Don't even worry about that."

I opened my mouth to argue when Quinn finally spoke, and what he said floored me. "You should stay."

My mouth dropped open a bit as I stared. He wanted me to stay …  after a week and a half of acting like I didn't exist. What was this guy's deal?

"Perfect!" Tony declared, throwing his arm over my shoulders and leading me into the station through the open bay door, and squashing any hope I had of escaping. "Just stick with me, gorgeous. I'll teach you everything you need to know."