“Good idea, mom.” Quinn herded Vanessa toward the stairs. “Come with me, babe.”
That was a cringe-worthy moment for Vanessa. Having Quinn call her “babe” was freaking weird. She’d never fantasized about him in a romantic way before that New Year’s Eve party. To her, Quinn was associated with sarcastic remarks, plenty of glaring, and all-out overtime bonanzas. Did he even date?
She shut herself off from the incorrigible speculation of the girls in the office whenever they gossiped about Quinn’s private life: what kind of girl he liked, who he was dating, what was his hobby? On and on… She had better things to do and there was not much time in a day to get stuff done.
Now that she got to see a different side of Quinn, she must admit she was intrigued. Really, what type of girl did he like? Was that man even capable of showing affection? This was Lord Demon she was talking about. He breathed fire and cried acid.
Babe.
All of a sudden, she wanted to laugh so badly. Babe. She felt her face slowly cracking from her attempt to squelch her giggle down too hard.
Quinn took one look at her and was instantly irritated. “What’s wrong?”
“Humph…”
“What’s so funny?”
“Sorry. Is this my room?”
“Our room.”
The second floor of Quinn’s family vacation house boasted a vast living space with a baby grand piano as a focal point. The cream-colored walls and pastel-toned décor brought cheeriness into the room despite it being the middle of a dreary January winter.
There were a few bedrooms available. Vanessa folded her arms across her chest. “Don’t you think—” She looked around and then lowered her voice. “Don’t you think you take this too far? Why on earth do I need to share a room with you?”
Quinn didn’t answer. He only gave her a “duh” look.
Vanessa sobered instantly. “Tell your mom I practice abstinence. No sex before marriage.”
“Quit joking. After that viral video, who would believe you?”
“Drat.” She totally forgot about that.
He pushed the door open and pulled her in with him. The room was also bright and inviting. It was decorated in masculine tones with dark mahogany furniture and monochromatic color combinations. The tall windows boasted a spectacular view of the mountains. The only problem was, it had one bed.
“Seriously. Don’t tell me we have to share a bed, too?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t try anything funny.” He put his leather duffel bag next to the dresser. He then took off his jacket and hung it in the closet.
“This is so not going to happen.” Vanessa padded to the sofa beside a bookshelf. It had plush cushions and comfy pillows. “I’ll take the couch so you can have the bed all to yourself.”
Quinn shook his head, giving up on her stubbornness.
Vanessa refreshed herself in the bathroom and changed her shirt to a plain one before joining in with the rest of the family downstairs. John grilled steaks on the patio even though the temperature was thirty degrees outside. Vanessa helped Quinn’s mom prepare the salad and dessert.
While cooking, Savanna asked Vanessa about her family. She seemed to be interested in hearing how Vanessa’s mom raised three girls under one roof. Vanessa shared a bit about her experiences growing up with her two sisters. Vanessa was the youngest of three. Yolanda, the oldest, was married to a congressman. Zelda, the middle sister, was a swimsuit model and an aspiring actress. She wanted to break into Broadway like their mother. But getting a foot into the industry respectably was quite difficult in this day and age, even with a veteran actress like their mother as a coach.
They ate dinner in the dining room. The steaks John cooked were delicious. He got them from a local butcher who swore the heifer was still mooing three days prior. Vanessa was tempted to shove her food in and pig-out like a slob just to get back at Quinn for blackmailing her, but she couldn’t do it. Quinn’s mom and brothers seemed to genuinely like her. She didn’t have the heart to embarrass Quinn in front of his family. Even though she really wanted to.
“So, Vanessa,” Trent began. “Tell me more about the work you’ve done. What kind of projects are you currently working on?”
“We’re making the sequel to the Northmen. We feature three characters from the original and added tons of new challenges. We believe it’ll be better than the previous version. It is going to be epic. Are you a gamer?”
“John is. Not me, though. I don’t have much patience in front of the TV. I’m an outdoorsy kind of guy.”
“I’m a big fan of Northmen,” said John. “Quinn made me a beta tester before it was released. But he had been mum about the sequel so I’m kind of excited about it. When is the game going to be released? Are you going to run a beta testing program again?” asked John.