Page 26 of Lost the Handle

Damn it, this girl.

Even though I know I’m falling right into her plans, I grab the key fob and the lunch.

Because, like the Bugatti, Emery is wild and hard to contain, but fuck, if I don’t crave the ride.

Chapter

Ten

Emery

I drummy fingers against the desk while I make sure firewalls and other systems are in place to protect the new company I just took on. I didn’t even need to hack in to this one. They came for me and offered me a good amount of money to protect them. There is a chance they’re working with the mob, but once more, that could be my overactive imagination. I really need to read some rom-coms; these mafia romances are making me paranoid.

Though, one thing I’m not imagining is Quinn keeping his distance.

He hardly has spoken to me in the last three days. He comes home from work, eats dinner with me, but he doesn’t say more than three words. I think he turns the TV on just to put up a barrier between us. I almost want to make the TV disappear, but it’s bolted to the wall. I have left my shit scattered around the apartment so he’ll complain. He hasn’t. I left my toiletries all over the bathroom, and he acts like they’re not there. I’ve tried to walk in on him in the bathroom, but he locks the damn door or walks out once I enter. I make him lunch every day with a littlenote and my keys, and every day, they’re gone when I wake up. But he hasn’t said thanks or even mentioned driving my car. If anything, it seems as if he’s pained to be around me.

Some would think he’s not interested.

I’m not some.

I chew on the inside of my lip, a nervous tic of mine, as I finish up my task. While I mindlessly do what needs to be done to protect the company’s sensitive data, I try to piece together what I’ve learned in the last four days.

Quinn has a pretty consistent schedule—he works out, he works, he eats, and he sings. My heart almost burst from my chest last night when I heard him recording a slow, acoustic version of “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter. The way his guitar added to the rough timbre of his voice had me rushing to take a cold shower. It didn’t work. I had to get myself off with the shower head, and I’m not ashamed. Not even a bit.

But there isn’t much I’m ashamed of.

Well, how I pushed him away is a burning regret I don’t think I’ll ever learn to live with, which is why I’m here. I will right my wrongs. Another thing I’ve noticed is that his phone never rings. I know Elli Adler’s ringtone, Boys II Men’s “A Song for Mama,” and I know Shea’s, “Carry on Wayward Son,” for their shared love ofSupernatural, and those are the only tones I’ve heard. Not even a normal tone has rung.

It’s not right.

Now, if I were engaged to Quinn Adler, I would be calling him. Not only to hear his voice, but because I miss him. His fiancée has not set foot in his apartment since I’ve been here, and I get that they’re waiting for the wedding, but I have no illusions that they’re waiting to have sex. Not with how fucking sexy Quinn is and how I know for a fact that he knows how to use what he’s packing.

I taught him how to please a woman.

And now, I fucking want to kill anyone else he’s touched.

I have issues.

But that’s a problem for another day because, for real, aren’t they planning a wedding? I guess they could do it over text, but he doesn’t really get on his phone. It stays on the kitchen counter while he does whatever it is he is doing.

I’m truly perplexed.

So, of course, I looked into hisfiancée.

For the ninth time.

What? Don’t judge me.

Ava Mettison is the only child of two very well-known songwriters here in Nashville. She comes from old money and lives a very privileged life. I mean, she doesn’t drive a Bugatti, but she is well-off. She has more money than I expected in her account, and she even has offshore accounts that, if her accountant said weren’t traceable, then he was a liar, because I found them in seconds.

She should hire me.

Her account isn’t that fat, but it’s a good nest egg, should she need it. She graduated with a 3.8 GPA from high school and a 3.9 from college. She was accepted into medical school in Boston, where I guess she met Quinn. She’s doing her residency at Saint Thomas’s ER and has very high performance reviews, but she does have some complaints on her bedside manner. Saying she lacks empathy and is too direct. Which is odd to me because Quinn is the most empathetic and sweetest guy ever. How do they mesh? I remember he was dating this one girl who cussed at a waitress, and Quinn literally got up and left her.

So, what is their dynamic? Is she nice to him? Does she appreciate him? Does she get heart-eyes when he talks to her?

I hate her.

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