I wasn't going to ruin it by falling for someone who was so clearly unobtainable, no matter how much I was growing to like him.
I squatted down in front of Sophia and took the invitation from her extended hand. "A birthday party, huh? Will there be cake?"
I hadn't thought it was possible for her to look any more excited than she already had, but clearly I was wrong. "Yep! Ms. Chloe's makin' me a humongous princess cake! It's gonna be as big as our house!" She held her hands high in the air in an attempt to show how big it was going to be.
"Wow! That's really big."
"Uh huh. And I'll even let you have two pieces!"
I forced my eyes to go wide, mimicking her exuberance. "Two pieces? Well, then I have to come. I wouldn't miss your birthday for the world, Little Miss. Even if I was only getting one piece of cake."
She squealed loud enough to burst my ear drum before launching herself into me and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Yay! It's gonna be so fun! I can't wait!"
I looped my arms around her and stood up, keeping her tiny body propped on my hip for support. In the weeks Sophia had been in my class, I'd grown to adore the little girl. Her exuberance was infectious. She was so generous with her affection that it was impossible not to fall for her. "I can't wait either, sweetie."
She offered me up a smile that would have made her look exactly like her dad if his own smiles ever reached his eyes. I could almost picture Quinn's full-fledged grin in my head, and it caused a pain to shoot through my chest. I would kill to see a smile like that from him.
"Great," Quinn spoke up, pulling my and Sophia's attention in his direction. "Then we'll see you this weekend?"
"Absolutely."
He smiled … and it came so close to reaching his eyes that I was suddenly determined to make it happen one day soon. "All right, Angel. It's time for school." He reached his arms out and Sophia all but threw herself at him. Man, seeing him with her really was dangerous to the female population.
"Bye, Ms. Lilly!" Sophia shouted, as Quinn carried her toward the door.
"By, honey." I waved, as Quinn turned to look over his shoulder, shooting me a wink before disappearing outside and out of sight.
A wink. It was quick, there and gone in the blink of an eye. But damn if that one simple wink wasn't potent as hell.
Friends. You're just friends, my brain screamed.
If only my body would get on board.
AS I MADE my way to Quinn's front door, my palms grew clammy. My fingers tightened around Sophia's present, the wrapping paper crinkling under my touch as I held tighter to not drop it. I wasn't sure why I was nervous, but there was no denying I was. I told myself that it was because of all the cars lining the street in front of his house; the loud sounds of the party coming from his back yard. I told myself it was because I wasn't a huge fan of crowds since I'd always been somewhat of a loner. But I knew that wasn't it.
For some reason the thought of seeing Quinn totally in his element, surrounded by family and friends, left me feeling off-balance. Normally our interactions took place in or around my dance school. That was my territory. Today, right now, I was firmly in his. And without Eliza, or even Ethan, here the only friend in attendance was Quinn.
Sure, I knew the people of this town pretty well, but, with the exception of maybe Kyle, one of my dance teachers at the school, most of them were acquaintances at best.
Pulling in a fortifying breath, I steeled my spine, shoved my nerves aside, and rang the doorbell. It took several seconds before I heard the familiar sound of the deadbolt twisting, and a moment later, the door swung open, revealing a very attractive, somewhat familiar-looking, blonde woman who appeared to be in her early-to-mid fifties.
"Hello," she said with a kind smile. "Are you here for the party?"
I shifted the present in my arms to free up a hand to shake the one she offered. "Yeah, hi. I'm-"
"Lilly," she finished for me. "Sophia's dance teacher. I know all about you. I'm Eve Mallick, her grandmother."
Well that explained the recognition. Not only did she look just like Quinn and Sophia, but I'd seen her in passing a time or two getting Sophia to and from class on the days Quinn was working at the station.
"Nice to officially meet you." I smiled and released her hand, allowing her to move to the side and let me in.
"Nice to meet you too. Sophia can't stop talking about how much she loves your class." She led me down a hallway that extended from the front of the house to the back. I caught glimpses of the other rooms off the hall; the living room, a study, what looked like a little girl's playroom. They were just cursory glances, but from what I could see, Quinn had done a fantastic job of making a comfortable home for himself and Sophia.