Page 34 of Timeless

“Nope. Don’t even know where it is,” Quinn replied. “Oh, shit. Here. Let me help you with that.” She hurried over and took the drink carrier out of Abby’s hand.

This was now the closest they had been without the counter between them, which felt important somehow. It was like they were moving beyond needing the counter betweenthem, which was how Abby had viewed it her first two times in the shop. She breathed Quinn in, and despite the smell of food at her nose, she could swear that Quinn smelled like flowers.

“Honeysuckle,” she let out softly before she could stop herself.

Quinn stopped in her tracks and said, “Sorry. What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing,” she replied quickly. “Where do you want to set all this up?”

“Did you just sayhoneysuckle? Like the flower?”

“Um… Yeah. Your shampoo or lotion?”

Quinn shook her head and said, “I thought it was you.”

“You smell it, too?”

Quinn nodded slowly, as if trying to process, and set the drink carrier with their two sweet teas on the counter.

“Maybe it’s something in here,” Abby suggested.

“It’s never smelled like that before,” Quinn replied. “I smelled it when you were here yesterday and again now.”

“Well, I also smell bacon and fried food, so not sure I can be trusted,” Abby said, feeling strange about them both smelling something that was very clearly nowhere near them.

“Yeah,” Quinn echoed, appearing unconvinced, but she still moved over to the carrier and removed the drinks. “So, we can eat in the back. When you called, I moved stuff off the desk and pulled up a couple of chairs.”

“Are either of those chairs worth a lot of money? I don’t know that you should give me that kind of responsibility.”

“They’re folding chairs,” Quinn said with a little laugh. “I got them for about ten bucks apiece years ago, so I think you’re okay. If you break one, it’ll just pay you back for the lunch you bought me.”

“No,” she replied quickly, and Quinn lifted a confused, sexy eyebrow at her. “I just… I mean, I still want to reserve my repayment for another lunch or coffee. Coffee is good, too.”

Quinn smiled and said, “Unless it comes from the new place down the street.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “It’s like they added twenty pounds of coffee for every two cups of water.”

“And reallybadcoffee on top of that,” Quinn noted.

“How long do you think they’ll be in business? If you had to guess or were taking bets.”

Quinn carried their two drinks, and Abby followed her to the back of the shop. She smiled when she looked around because it was clear that Quinn had at least cleaned up a little bit based on how she’d described the back room of the shop to Abby just the previous day. Boxes no longer lined the wall or were in the way. Instead, they were all stacked in a back corner. Packing and shipping materials were neatly organized on the wall that separated the front from the back, and the small shipping counter by the same wall looked like it had been organized and wiped down. There was a door on the opposite wall, that probably led to the bathroom, but it was closed, so she couldn’t see inside. Other than that, there were a few filing cabinets and a desk that had nothing on it. Two chairs, one on each side, had been put in place, and Quinn walked over to the desk, setting down the drinks.

“Did you clean up back here?” Abby teased.

“Uh… Yeah. A little. I don’t usually have people in the back of the shop, and I didn’t think you’d want to eat with the mess that was here before.”

“I would have,” she replied, knowing it was the truth. Then, she placed the plastic bag with their food containers on the desk and added, “But do you mind if I wash my hands before we eat?”

“No, go for it.” Quinn pointed to the bathroom door.

Abby headed that way, and when she pushed open the door, she couldn’t help but smirk because Quinn had cleanedthisroom, too. There was a small sink against the wall opposite the door, and on it was a new bottle of cucumber-mint soap and a candle that was lit, smelling like oranges and cinnamon. Even with all those scents, though, Abby could still smell honeysuckle.

CHAPTER 14

“So, you still need an ending?” she asked before she took a sip of her tea through the straw.

“Strangely, I have not come up with one in the less than twenty-four hours it’s been since I’ve seen you last,” Abby replied sarcastically.

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