With Every Heartbeat(15)

I couldn’t help it. I grinned back.

He flopped down on the couch and made himself at home, flipping up the middle cushion to reveal a center console nook hiding a handful of remote controls. Taking one out, he turned on the television and pushed another series of buttons to get into the show and the very episode he wanted. When he clicked on an option that said “resume playing,” I realized how much more he was familiar with my new apartment than I was.

It must’ve been incredibly strange for him to wait in the hallway until I’d given him permission to enter. And then he’d even had to ask to sit down. My face heated; I felt like a moron. He was Cora’s boyfriend; of course he knew his way around. He’d demonstrated that last night when he’d told me where everything was.

Once again, I felt completely out of my element.

The show popped on, and the two guys on the screen instantly captured my attention as they argued about something completely inconsequential over the body of some dead guy.

Captivated, I inched further into the room and slid tentatively down into a side chair. Within seconds, I was giggling. I slapped my hand over my mouth just as Quinn grinned at me as if happy to see me enjoying his show.

Two more people arrived at the scene. They looked like detectives. “That’s Jules and Lassiter,” Quinn explained. “Shawn, the main guy there, has had a major crush on Jules since the beginning. I think they’re going to get together.” Then he sent me a rueful grin. “At least they better get together.”

I smiled back, completely charmed. But, aww, he was a romantic. I loved that.

We kept watching, totally engrossed in the show. I asked question after question. Quinn was currently working his way through season four, but seemed happy to explain everything he knew and catch me up to speed.

We were both laughing over something Gus was saying to Shawn’s dad when Cora strolled into the room, wearing a tiny pair of shorts that were unbelievably shorter than my own, and no shirt over her skimpy bikini top. She looked suntanned and flawless—not at all like she was suffering from kidney failure—as she artfully tossed a beach towel over her shoulder.

“Everybody ready?” she asked before focusing on the television and making a face. “Oh God. Please don’t tell me you’re pushing that dumb show on Zoey now?”

Quinn just grinned at her. “She’s laughing,” he argued, still smiling up at Cora as she sauntered across the living room to crawl into his lap.

My face heated at her bold move, and I shifted, uncomfortable to watch such intimacy. Facing him and straddling his lap, Cora grabbed onto the back of the couch on either side of him, caging him in. Quinn set his hands on her hips and gazed into her eyes as she tsked and shook her head.

“If you weren’t so cute, I’d have to reevaluate our relationship. Because dating someone who actually likes this show...” She sighed as if he was hopeless.

Still grinning, Quinn framed her face in his hands. “You look really pretty today.”

Cora threw back her head and laughed, her gorgeous blonde hair spilling down her spine. “Of course, your being a total sweetheart helps your case considerably.” Then she leaned in to kiss him.

My skin buzzed with awareness as I quickly glanced away to give them a measure of privacy. But I’d already seen enough for my core temperature to skyrocket. The way Quinn had closed his eyes, his too long lashes resting against the tops of his cheeks, was like art. His hands continued to cup Cora’s face as if he treasured her. And his mouth. The way it moved against hers compelled me to cop another peek.

I glanced over again just as he pulled away. But the adoration in his eyes as he simply gazed at Cora seemed just as, if not more, intimate than the kiss they’d shared. He really liked her. It was a shock to the system to see such affection between two people. My father had certainly never looked at any of the women he dated this way.

I was held captive as Quinn teasingly scolded, “You finally ready to go now?”

I loved the easy playfulness between them. They seemed to click together. And yet it made a painful regret clench deep in my stomach. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t dreamt of coming to Ellamore this year and finding someone to fall in love with and adore the same way Cora had blathered on about Quinn in all her emails to me. But sharing this kind of connection with another human being seemed out of my scope of reality. Someone as shy, reserved and closed off as I was could never manage to open herself to that kind of intimacy.

As if he could feel my jealousy over the bond they shared oozing out through my pores like a noxious gas, Quinn glanced over. He immediately shifted under Cora and set his hands on her hips to lift her off his lap. “We should get going before we’re late.”