Page 38 of Toxic Obsession

“You didn’t mention your mom. Is she an off-limits topic?”

“Not really. She died when I was young, and my brother was just a baby. Car accident.”

“Oh, Quinn …”

Goose bumps broke out over my arms at the gentleness of her voice. She sounded almost as heartbroken as I was when Mom passed away.

“I was young. Lena, our housekeeper and chef, became mine and Brody’s mother figure. It wasn’t as though we were left to our own devices.”

Liar. Adam beat your ass almost daily, and no one was there to protect you.

“I know it’s not the same, but when my father took off, my mother fell apart. I lost both parents the same day. It might sound cold, but I love and hate both of them.”

My head buzzed with her words. I had never considered what had happened to her after that terrible day. I had lost Bell, but had she suffered far worse?

I ground my molars, struggling to stay focused on my original mission and why I was here instead of being taken by surprise by her pitiful little story. She wasn’t the only one who had grieved. I had lost my twin, and nothing could ever replace the damage that had been done. Nothing.

“Sorry, that was probably too much information. I just understand what losing a parent is like.” She picked at the edge of her rolled cloth napkin. “Seems like we did a deep dive on the conversation front.”

“It’s all right. I expect people to want to hear more when I tell them about Mom.”

“Well, I don’t feel like being sad tonight. Not tonight. Tell me about football. I’m not a big fan, but I can follow the game.”

I slapped my hand over my heart and gave her puppy-dog eyes, pretending that her words had hurt my soul.

Her laugh reached my ears, and my dick waved at her. I would be the first to admit I loved sex, but that wasn’t what was happening. I was responding to her because there was something different about Wynter, and it was rattling my cage.

“Do you want to go pro?”

I shifted in my seat, rubbing her leg with mine again. “That’s the plan. Kane and I both registered for the draft and completed all the requirements. Now, I play my ass off and hope I’m selected.”

“That sounds intense.”

The server interrupted and set our plates on the table. “Thank you,” I said. “This looks great.” I glanced at Wynter, laughing while she cut into her steak and shoved a piece in her mouth. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head.

The server stared at her, his hard-on obvious through his black slacks as he watched her.

Wynter chewed slowly, appearing to savor every moment. “My God, that’s the best steak I’ve ever had.” She peeked at the server’s name tag. “Mic, thank you.”

Shit, she used his name. The guy would be rubbing one out in the fucking bathroom as soon as he got a break. My red-hot anger simmered below the surface as he smiled at her. “If there’sanythingelse I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.”

What the fuck? The asshole was hitting on her right in front of me.

“She doesn’t need anything else. We’re good, man.” There was no room in my tone for him to misunderstand that he’d been dismissed.

To my dismay, he winked at Wynter before he turned and walked away.

“Quinn? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Shit.Apparently, I hadn’t hid my feelings very well.

I leaned into the table and said, “Mic was hitting on you.” I paused to see if what I’d said registered with her. “In front of me. Yourdate.”

Confusion flashed in her eyes. “He probably thought you were my brother.” As soon as the words spilled off her pretty lips, her entire body stiffened and pain flashed across her expression, but she recovered quickly.

“I mean, we look alike, right?”

Fuck. Me. No, Bell and I didn’t even look alike, and we were twins.

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