“What’s up?” Quinn asked.
Chloe brushed a hand over the crisp white cuff of Quinn’s shirt. “Don’t look now, but we’ve been spotted by Monique Hightower. Did you know she works here?” They’d gone to school with Monique. The woman never met a secret she wouldn’t share with the whole town.
“Uh-oh.” He pretended to look worried. “Like I said the other night, it’s Justice Creek. You go out with me, everyone in town is bound to know.”
Now she brushed the back of his hand, which was warm and tan and dusted lightly with brown hair. It felt so good to touch him. She had to watch herself or she’d be all over the poor guy. “I hope you don’t mind that the gossip mill will be churning.”
“Me?” He gave a low chuckle. “I think I can deal with it.”
“Such a brave man...”
They shared one of those looks. Long. Intimate. Wonderful. Finally, he said, “Read your menu, Chloe.”
She closed the blue folder. “I did.”
“You know what you want?”
“Oh, yes, I do.” She said it slowly, with a lazy smile.
He warned low, “Keep looking at me like that and we won’t make it through the appetizer.”
But they did. They had it all. Appetizers, a nice bottle of cabernet, salad, hammer steaks with cheesy potatoes and a decadent chocolate dessert. And they took their sweet time about it.
Monique dropped by their table around nine, just after they’d been served their coffee and dessert. “Chloe. Quinn. What a surprise.”
Quinn asked, “So, how’s life treating you, Monique?”
“I’m getting by.” Monique tossed her topknot of curly blond hair and stuck her hands in the pockets of her black service apron. “When did you two start spending time together?”
Chloe sipped her coffee. “This is our first date. I’m having a fabulous time.”
Quinn said, “Chloe always had a thing for me, since way back in high school.”
Monique blinked three times in rapid succession. “Really?”
Chloe stifled a silly giggle and said with great seriousness. “I finally got up the nerve to tell him.” And to show him, as a matter of fact. “And then he asked me out. The rest could be history. I mean, if I play my cards right.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “But, Monique...”
Monique leaned a little closer. “What?”
“Don’t say a word to anyone.”
“Oh. Never. I would never tell a soul...” Translation: she couldn’t wait to tell the world. Monique asked about Prime Sports, and Quinn gave her a card good for a free visit and one class of her choice. And then she turned to Chloe again, her dark eyes sharply gleaming. “I was so surprised when you moved back to town. I mean, we all knew you were headed for great things. No one ever would have guessed you’d end up running back home to Justice Creek. I’m just so sorry that things didn’t work out for you.”
Six months ago, Chloe would have been shamed and infuriated by Monique’s barbed words and pretended concern. Or at the very least, embarrassed. At the moment, though, all she felt was amused. “Thanks, Monique. You’re all heart.”
Monique sighed heavily. Across the room, the manager who’d greeted them when they arrived had his eye on her. “Well, good to see you two. Gotta go.” She scuttled off.
Chloe took a bite of her delicious dessert. “Everything we told her will be all over town. Twenty-four hours—thirty-six, max.”
Quinn leaned closer and spoke low. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that you had a thing for me in high school.”
She met his eyes directly and she couldn’t keep from grinning. “Are you kidding? I loved it. Not to mention it was the truth. If Monique Hightower’s going to be spreading rumors about us, they might as well be true.”
* * *
After their slow, wonderful meal, they returned to Chloe’s house.
Quinn eased the gorgeous old car into the space beside the garage and turned off the engine. “Are you up for a walk around the block?”
“Sure.” It was a nice night. “A walk would be great. We’ll work off some of that amazing dessert.”
He followed her inside and waited while she changed into flats. Then off they went, down the front steps and out to the street, where they strolled beneath the silver crescent of the moon.
Their development, Haltersham Heights, had no sidewalks. The houses were set back from the street, among the trees. Quinn stopped at a lot three doors down and across the street from Chloe’s. It had a For Sale sign at the curb with a big SOLD plate stuck on it. The large contemporary log and natural stone house could be seen, windows gleaming, through the trees.
“The sold sign went up a few weeks ago,” she said. “About time. This one’s been on the market for months.”
“I know. I bought it. Got a great price, too.”
She laughed—and then she realized he wasn’t kidding. “Wait a minute. You’re serious?”
“I am.” He put his hand over her fingers, where they curled around his arm. She’d barely had time to enjoy the flare of pleasure at how good his touch felt, when he said, “I bought it before I knew you would be fixing up my house. But it should work out great. We’re closing on this one Monday, so we can move in here next week. We’ll stay here while you renovate the other one—and not to get ahead of myself or anything, but once we move back to our house, you can start on this one. It’s the same story as the other one. Solid construction, but it’s begging to be brought into the twenty-first century. When you’re finished, I’ll sell it.”
She only stared.
“Chloe, your mouth’s hanging open.”
“And why wouldn’t it be? You’re too much.”
“Too much of what, exactly?”
“Well, let’s see. Quinn Bravo, world-champion cage fighter, fitness empire builder, real estate mogul...”
“That all sounds pretty good to me.”
“You must have made a fortune as a fighter, huh?”
“I did all right. The payout for winning a championship fight is a hefty one. And I landed some big-time endorsements, too.”
“I think I’m speechless, Quinn.”
He gave her his high school bad-boy smirk. “You’ll get over it. And the truth is, Prime Sports will never make much money unless my franchise plan pays off. The housing market’s rebounding nicely, though. I can make money in real estate.”
She admitted softly, “Start-ups aren’t easy, and I say that from experience. If you hire me for both of your houses, it will make a big difference for me. I really do need the business.”
“So you’ve got it. Everybody wins.”
She made a low, disbelieving sound. “As simple as that?”
His eyebrows drew together. “Why not?”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you just because you, um, like me...”
He framed her face in his big, calloused hands. “Look at me.”
“Oh, I am.” She stared straight up into those soft aquamarine eyes and never wanted to look away. “I really am.”
“Are you telling me you can’t do the job?”
She stiffened