Page 7 of Steamy Diamond
Then she looked him up and sure enough, he was an actual baseball player, which is why he was wearing those baseball pants. Quinn Thatcher turned out to be a shortshop for the Detroit Sturgeons and had some good stats so far this season. But he was still way out of her league.
It probably didn't matter anyway because she doubted she would ever see him again unless she turned on a baseball game. Even that wasn't the same as having that picture of him.
In the meantime, she had to live her new life in Detroit. Usually she enjoyed finding out new things about the city or getting to know her co-workers. But tonight, Ella had dressed up for an office happy hour to celebrate a new contract for the company that kind of fell flat.
She chose a tight black dress with long sleeves, heels, her hair down and cascading over her shoulders. Hardly her normal work attire, but she wanted to have the bosses notice she made an appearance there. It turned out to be one of those boring corporate nights though where she left with an excuse so she could go home and take her stupid shoes off.
Quinn would've appreciated the work she put in to look good tonight, or at least that's what she was going to tell herself.
Ella trudged up the last set of stairs to her third-floor apartment, feet aching, strapless bra digging into her ribs. She just needed to kick her shoes off, make another boring frozen pizza, and get her ass into bed.
Except there was a man standing in front of her door. His back was to her so she couldn't see his face. All she could see was a black backpack over his shoulder and...
Oh fuck. The baseball pants.
She recognized them immediately with the green pinstripes and the athletic fit that was perfect and delicious.
Ella's steps caused the man to turn around and his piercing blue eyes sparkled when he saw her.
"Ella."
"Quinn."
She walked over to him, a smile spreading across his face as she got closer. She noticed his eyes dip slightly to the low-cut neckline of her dress. Most guys who did that would a sharp tongue lashing from Ella. Quinn wasn't most guys and there were other things Ella wanted to do with her tongue for him.
Quinn smiled at her and seemed happier to see her than last time. Although last time he saw her, he was probably prepared for battle with his ex. Ella's dress tonight probably didn't hurt.
"You look really nice tonight. Date?"
Ella shook her head. "Work thing."
"Sounds like fun."
Ella shrugged. "I left before the food showed up."
"Ah, that kind of work thing." Quinn's smile faltered a bit and he looked her up and down again. "Well, it's a shame that you looked so beautiful but didn't get a proper dinner."
She gave him a small smile for his compliment and started digging through her purse until she found her keys. Quinn politely moved out of the way of her apartment door so she could unlock it. But as she headed in, she paused, trying to decide what to do next. Should she invite him in or leave him in the hallway? And really what the hell was he doing here anyway?
She turned quickly and caught him staring at her ass before his eyes snapped back up to hers. Well, that made her decision easier.
"Would you like to come in?"
"Yeah, that would be great."
She held the door open for him, noticing she wasn't the only one wearing something that made their ass look fine. Because seriously, those baseball pants on Quinn were divine.
She closed the door and watched as Quinn gently put his backpack on her kitchen table and pulled out a white envelope.He turned and smiled at her, and she wasn't sure if she really had hoped he had caught her staring at his pants.
"So I was going through that box I picked up last week and found some photos that didn't belong to me." He held out the envelope for her. "I just thought you would like them back."
Ella stared at the envelope for a moment. Pictures? For her? Oh, right. She put her Polaroids with Nick in the box.
"Thanks," she said as she took the envelope and gave him a tight smile.
He cocked his head to the side and gave her a teasing smile. "You didn't want them?"
Did she want them? Or really, why did she even put them in Quinn's box? Maybe it was her own way of putting them somewhere else and not dealing with them. She didn't even realize that she had given them to Quinn when he picked up the box. She didn't notice they were gone until just now when he handed her the envelope.
