A Broken Soul(31)

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hey. You okay?"

With a sigh, I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear. "Yeah, I'm good. Just ready for this day to be over, I guess." 

"I know the feeling." It was then that I noticed the tension around his eyes and mouth. Something was on his mind.

"I get the feeling I should be asking you the same question. What's up?"

"What? Nothing. I'm good." It was clearly a lie. He'd been a good enough friend to ask how I was doing, but I could tell he was holding something back. It was written all over his face.

One of my brows quirked up in skepticism, and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah? Well, for someone who's good, you're looking rather constipated."

By the way his eyes bugged out and a rumble of bewildered laughter broke from his throat, I knew my comment had shocked him. "Constipated?" His eyes sparkled with humor that made my heart leap just a little bit. "Wow. Colorful analogy, Lil."

Lil. It was the first time he'd ever used any type of nickname with me, and I was suddenly ridiculously giddy at the thought that our friendship had evolved to that level of comfort. "You're welcome." I smiled. "Now tell me what's up, because I know you're not as fine as you're claiming to be. We have a truce, remember? We're supposed to be trying this whole friendship thing out. Grumpy Quinn is only allowed to come out once a month."

His eyes brightened just a bit more, but despite all my effort, I still couldn't pull a genuine smile from the man. It was almost infuriating. "I'm not grumpy," he stated softly, "I'm just … "

"Just what?" I pushed.

He let out a sigh and ran his long fingers through his sandy blond hair. "Stressed, I guess. Tony asked if I could work half his shift for him so he could take his wife out for his anniversary. I said yes before checking with my parents. They're going to Yellowstone for the weekend. Now I'm committed to working tonight and don't have anyone to watch Soph."

Sympathy washed over me as I took in his concerned expression. I couldn't imagine how hard it was for him, trying to be a single father to a little girl, especially to one as rambunctious and lively as Sophia. Without thinking, my mouth opened and the words came out. "I'll watch her for you."

His surprise registered for a brief second before he replied, "I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't." I shrugged. "I offered. I don't mind. Really. I like Sophia, and we're friends, right? Let me help you."

Just then, the girl in question came scurrying over. "Daddy! Did you see me? Did you see?" She jumped up and down excitedly and, at her enthusiasm, coupled with the genuine, happy smile on Quinn's face, my belly swooped.

"I did, Angel. You were terrific."

"Miss Lilly said Imma fast learner," she rambled.

Quinn's eyes quickly met mine and he gave me a wink that made my knees tremble just a bit. "I can see that. You'll be spinning around in circles in no time."

She rolled her eyes dramatically, like only a little girl can do. "I can already do that, Daddy." She proceeded to spin around over and over, wobbling around until she finally lost balance and fell on her behind. Without batting an eye, she jumped back to her feet and grinned triumphantly. "See?"

"I stand corrected." Quinn chuckled. "You sure you can handle all this energy over night?" he asked, looking back at me.

I scoffed. "Pfft. Totally."

Sophia's gasp drew both our attention to her. "Is Miss Lilly coming for a sleepover?" She clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "Oh please, please, please, please!"

Quinn eyed me questioningly, leaving the ball in my court. I leaned down, running my hand over Sophia's soft ponytail. "If you want me to, yeah. Your daddy has to work so I told him I'd come over and keep you company for the night. You can cook, right? Because I'm horrible in the kitchen. If we don't want to starve, it's up to you to feed us."



       
         
       
        

"Yeah!" she shouted, throwing her hands in the air. "I can make you Daddy's pancakes! They're the best in the whole world!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the fear written across Quinn's face. "I don't think your dad's too fond of that idea, Little Miss."

"I think I might be more comfortable if the two of you stay out of the kitchen. How about I leave some cash for pizza?"

I took no offense to that. Besides, it wasn't too long ago the fire department was at my apartment. But still, I couldn't help but tease. "It was only a teeny-tiny kitchen fire. No big deal."