Page 23 of Temptation

“Yeah. We're good.” He grumbled as he folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, glaring at the screen. He didn't know if he would ever be able to be in the same room with Joel without punching him in the face.

“Stop being mad.” Quinn chuckled. “I'm doing really well now.”

“Quinn, he deliberately made you sick so you would be what he wanted.” Tenn reached out and cupped her face. “When he should love you for who you are. All of you. Every fucking gorgeous inch of you.” He watched as her cheeks turned red and fought the urge to crush her lips beneath his, instead opting to pull her in for a tight hug. “And every inch is fucking gorgeous.”

“I'm gonna have to keep you around.” She chuckled as she leaned into him. “You're just a constant boost of confidence.” He heard her swallow as he rubbed her back gently. “Viki doesn't deserve you.”

“And she'll lose me.” Tenn pulled back. “Come on, let's send the proposal, and I'll let you go do what you have to do for tonight and get there as soon as I can.”

“Take your time; I'll be cooking. The company is always welcome, but don't feel like you have to be there.”

“I want to be.” When she left, Tenn picked up his phone and called his sister-in-law. “Hey Trisha, I need a favour.”

Chapter Eleven: Moving, Tires & Cheesecake

Tenn pulled up to Quinn’s place at twenty-after-six. He had gotten off at five but had to make a quick stop before coming here. He grabbed a bag from the backseat, bounded onto the platform that served as her house's front porch, and rang the bell. A few seconds later, he heard the lock click, and Quinn's voice came over the speaker, telling him she was in the kitchen. He smiled and let himself in, finding her standing at the island chopping garlic as ground beef cooked on the stove behind her. She looked up and smiled at him as he came in and laid the bag on the counter. “Hey! How was the rest of your afternoon?”

“Boring. Sorry, I took longer than expected; I have a good reason.” Tenn smiled at her.

“Don't worry about it. I told you not to rush. Quill won't be here until close to seven, and my new bed arrives between seven and eight.” She finished chopping the garlic and turned to dump it in the pan with the ground beef as she spoke and started to stir.

“Maybe I wanted more time alone with you.” Tenn watched red stain her cheeks, and she ducked her head with a smile.

“So, what's the good reason?”

“I had to pick up dessert.” He pulled a casserole dish out of the bag. “Can I put it in your fridge?”

“You brought dessert?” Abandoning the ground beef, she came over to look. Tenn grinned as she got a look of childlike joy on her face. “Is that... blueberry lemon cheesecake?” She whispered.

“It is.”

“You made me a blueberry lemon cheesecake?” She looked up at him, her green eyes shining.

“Well, no.” Tenn admitted as he shook his head, not wanting her to think he was capable in the kitchen and only to let her down later. “I called my sister-in-law after you left and asked her to make you a blueberry lemon cheesecake. I wouldn't have had the time, never mind the skills. I'm a terrible cook.”

“You asked your sister-in-law to make me a cheesecake?” Her voice was a mixture of wonder and disbelief, and Tenn started to laugh.

“Yeah, she was very curious and asked a lot of questions when I went to pick it up. Took me a little while to get out of there.”

Quinn held out her hands, and he gave it to her, grinning when she put it in the fridge almost reverently. “What did you tell her?”

“That I was helping a friend out, and you had already cooked for me once before, so if she would make her famous no-bake cheesecake for me with blueberry and lemon flavours, I would take the boys to the waterpark for an afternoon to give her a break. She asked me how many I needed.” He chuckled. She would have made him a dozen if it meant a whole afternoon to herself without having to worry about the kids.

Quinn laughed and stirred the sauce she was making into the ground beef, lowering the temperature so it would simmer and reduce. “Well, thank her profusely for me.”

“Taking six boys between the ages of eight and twelve to the waterpark isn't thanks enough?” Tenn raised an eyebrow as he sat down on the other side of the island.

“She has six boys between the ages of eight and twelve?” Quinn looked up in horror.

“No, she has an eight-year-old, a ten-year-old, and a twelve-year-old that all want to take a friend because they're at the ages where the twelve-year-old is too cool to be seen with younger kids, the ten-year-old doesn't want to be left alone with the eight-year-old and the eight-year-old just wants to be included.”

“Right.” Quinn shook her head. “Well, since you agreed to do it so I could have cheesecake, if you'd like company, I'll go with you. I love kids.” She added the chopped potatoes she had been blanching to the air fryer, turned it on, and pulled out the ingredients to make the honey butter sauce.

“Really?” Tenn's eyes lit up. He’d have to introduce her to Del and Trisha first, but he was pretty sure they’d be okay with her coming just so there was an extra pair of eyes on the boys. “I'd be happy to have you join us. So, Joel's claims of you not wanting children were a lie?”

“I started getting my period at nine, and I have a genetic predisposition to going into early menopause, plus my anorexia fucked things up. I had a narrow window to get pregnant, and Joel never told me he had a vasectomy until it was too late.” She focused on mixing the sauce. “My doctor said I have less than a two percent chance of getting pregnant now. I wanted kids.” She shrugged. “I've made my peace with the idea that I won't get them.”

“What about adoption?” Tenn watched her sadly. Joel had taken a lot from her.

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