Page 4 of Steamy Diamond
"Which is why she left the furniture behind," Ella muttered.
She stared out at her living room with Quinn, wondering what it must be like for him to be here now and what it was like for him when he was here with Jaclyn.
Wondering how some woman could push away a man like him.
"So do you live around here now?" she tried to ask casually.
"I live a few blocks away, so that made it easy to have Jaclyn stay with me or me stay here, you know, until things went bad." He shrugged and took another sip from his beer. "So are you here by yourself then?"
She turned to see Quinn intently looking at her now. Yep, those blue eyes were damn amazing. "Yeah, it's just me."
"No family nearby?"
Ella shook her head. "Nope."
"Significant other?"
She laughed. "No, I haven't had one of those in a while."
"That's a shame."
She gave him a skeptical look. "Why?"
He smiled, his face becoming a little less guarded and a little more flirtatious. "I just think it's a shame for a woman like you to not have a man who appreciates her."
Ella scoffed. "I appreciate myself plenty. I don't need a man."
Quinn raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Then I think it's a shame for a man like me to not have a woman like you to appreciate."
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at him. Really? Did he think he was a smooth talker with that dumb line? Yet there was something about it that struck a chord with her. She was an attractive woman and she deserved to have someone else appreciate that.
But Ella's judging stare, despite her inner doubts, didn't seem to affect Quinn. He just shrugged his shoulders, gave her another flirtatious smile, and took a drink from his beer.
"So you have my box?"
"Right, your box. One second."
She put her bottle down on the counter and headed for her bedroom, still unsure about how she felt with this whole exchange. Quinn was in her apartment, teasing her, which was weird for her. But giving him his box would mean he would leave, and that thought didn't sit well with her either.
The shoebox was just where she had left it, sitting on the floor of the closet. She quickly grabbed it, too flustered to think about the photos inside or that car keychain. She had tried to convince herself that it belonged to her because it was in her place. But it was never really hers, just like Quinn was never really hers.
Ella headed out of the bedroom with the shoebox in hand. "Is this it?"
Quinn's flirtatious smile faltered. "That's it," he said somewhat bitterly.
Ella reached forward, holding the box up for its owner to take. And while he did take it, she noticed his reluctance. His hand lingered for just a bit before finally pulling it from her grasp. He gave her an uncomfortable smile that he used to try and hide whatever emotions he had underneath. Gone was the flirtatious and fun Quinn that was there a moment ago.
"Thank you," he said quietly. Quinn pulled the box close to him, tucking it under his arm. Then he grabbed the beer he had set down on the kitchen table. "Could I take this with me?"
"Sure. It looks like you may need it."
"I do. Plus, I can't waste a beer given to me by a beautiful woman."
He gave her a look that was similar to the ones in the photos in the box. It was better than she dreamed. Would it be weird to ask him to stay? Or invite him to eat leftover chicken fried rice with her?
But before she could think of anything, he gave her one more quick smile and headed for the door. He had what he wanted so it was time for him to leave.
"Thank you again, Ella." He stepped into the hallway, then turned to look at her -- really look at her -- in a way that made her feel like she was actually seen. "I wish we had been able to meet under different circumstances."
