Page 118 of Darling Obsession

When I look up, Quinn is staring at her phone, and her face has gone pale.

Her wide blue eyes meet mine across the room, and she looks panicked.

“It’s my neighbor. She’s driving Mom to the hospital.”

Chapter 20

Quinn

I’m decorating a forest-themed kid’s birthday cake in Harlan’s kitchen, while watching a movie starring Geneviève Blaise. It’s playing on my iPad, on a stand next to the cake.

It is extremely difficult trying to mix all the different colors of buttercream that are required when I’m barely looking at what I’m doing.

She is terrifically, uncomfortably beautiful. And a good actress, too.

I’m almost convinced that she’s actually fucking that guy on-screen. But it’s a pretty big-budget Hollywood movie, not a porn, so I’m guessing not.

She’s playing the seductive mistress who lures a wealthy married man into a steamy affair, and then very bad things happen. It’s a thriller. There are many murders.

And many, many sex scenes.

In which she wears very little clothing.

I’d probably stop watching, to protect my mental health, if she weren’t so mesmerizing. It’s both fascinating andmaddening picturing her with Harlan. Which is remarkably easy, since I’ve now seen them both undressed.

I make excuses to myself about why I’m doing this. The movie is new on Netflix, so why not? I need the movie to keep me company; I’m not used to working completely alone. Usually when I’m baking, there are other employees coming in and out, or I’m with Mom.

I could put music on, which is what I usually do.

But instead, this.

When it ends, I put on another movie starring Harlan’s gorgeous ex-lover. Now she’s playing a hot college professor who seduces her hot jock student. Then bad things happen.

I’m noticing a pattern here. They definitely typecast this woman, but when you look that good in garters and stilettos, I guess it’s an occupational hazard.

I can’t believe Harlan fucked her.

I can’t believe he hasn’t fuckedmein almost two weeks.

That’s how long it’s been since the night he drove me to the hospital, after we messed up his kitchen. When I was finally able to get back here five days later, it was pristine.

The staff cleaned up our mess.

Well, mostly my mess. I started that cupcake fight.

Though Harlan really finished it…

I wonder if he was more bothered by the mess than he let on. But I really don’t know for sure why he’s been so withdrawn.

When he stepped up to drive me immediately to the emergency room—with buttercream down his pants, no less—it made me want to draw closer to him. But it seems to have had the opposite affect on him.

The man’s mood swings are dizzying.

I’ve been trying to decode his mystifying behavior, but he really hasn’t given me a whole lot to go on. It’s like every timeI lean in, he tells me I shouldn’t, but then he leans in, too, and harder. Then he pulls back.

And now he’s pulled way, way back.

When I haven’t been at home helping Mom, I’ve been working at Champagne a lot, and the few times since that night that I’ve come over to work in his kitchen, he’s been at work. And I’ve barely heard from him.

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