by Anne Harper
“What a damn cluster.”
…
It took more than an hour for Nell and Jones Belleview to come back through the front door of Heart in Hand. In that time, Quinn had done a few things and hadn’t done a few more.
Sitting in the first category was him doing his research to get more familiar with his job as head of operations, a title that was different from his last job but only so in name. What he did in his former job and what he was expected to do now was to run the day-to-day operations of the business while also thinking about the big picture, in this case expansion and bringing in new business.
Also there was overseeing the staff, something that had just gotten complicated in his mind, considering he had a former connection with one of those members. Still, he tried to push that aside and dig in to what he needed to know as soon as possible. That meant first getting a good idea of what rentals were booked, currently occupied, and ready to be rented. Tallahassee, who said everyone called her Tally, had found all of the paperwork on the properties he wanted to see and then fallen into a bit of a quiet lull. A stretched-out moment that she’d then broken by reiterating the fact that usually no male callers, or female for that matter, swung into the office.
“It’s because she went viral and now everyone either wants to date poor Nell or get advice from her,” she’d said. “We run a very tight ship otherwise.”
Quinn had stopped his current browsing of a waterfront property on the bay and made Tally repeat and then explain what she meant about going viral. When she was done, Quinn didn’t know exactly how to proceed.
He wanted to look up the video, a move that would normally make his anti-internet self grimace, but Tally was still hovering, so he made a comment about how people online needed to mind their own business and went on with work.
His phone rang after that. When Quinn answered the voice who responded paused the weird anxiousness that was ping-ponging through him.
“Dad! Happy first day!”
Owen, in all of his preteen glory, was a welcomed sound at his ear.
“Hey, buddy,” he exclaimed with sincere joy. “Thanks so much!”
Quinn checked the clock.
“Is your dentist appointment over already? Did I get the time wrong?”
Owen, thankfully, was a rock star when it came to his teeth cleanings and check-ups and had never shown fear at either. It made the distance between them now, and the fact that Quinn wasn’t there with him, a little bit easier to swallow.
“We’re in the waiting room,” Owen responded. “I wanted to make sure I talked to you before you got too busy.”
Quinn shook his head and smiled.
“I’ll never be too busy for you, bud. You call me anytime, from anywhere, and for any reason and I’ll answer. Got it?”
He imagined his son doing his small, shy smile he sometimes donned when he became the center of attention.
“Got it, Dad.”
“Good. Now, if it’s okay with your mom, how about we talk while you wait? I’d like to hear how that book you’re reading before bed is going.” Quinn did some quick mental math. “The other night Harry had just gotten the new magic broom? Do you know who sent it yet?”
Quinn heard his son’s excitement before it flowed through his answer. It was a welcomed sound that carried him through the next twenty minutes and, even after their call ended, Quinn still was smiling from it.
However, soon he was back to his surroundings.
Which led into the things he didn’t do by the time the woman of the hour came back into the office.
Chief among that list?
Wrap his head around the fact that he’d not only landed in the same small town as the woman he’d impulsively kissed but that he’d moved into the position of being her boss. If Quinn was the romantic type, he would have called it kismet. But he wasn’t, so he tried instead to look at it as a coincidence. One he needed to get around before it messed up his fresh start…before the start actually ever started.
When Nell appeared in the doorway, however, he realized today would not be the day he made peace with it.
“We’re back,” she greeted. Her smile didn’t meet her eyes, but she didn’t look like she was fully faking her cheer, either. Quinn sat up straighter and smoothed out the chest of his button-up.
“Good. And how was the project?”
“Great. Just some landscaping things, but we’re all set now.” Nell moved in a bit closer and glanced at the desktop. Sympathy pure and true moved across her olive cheeks. “Ron always said he had a rhythm with his office. Since he left, I’ve steered clear of trying to make sense of it. I’m guessing nothing is where you would think you’d normally find it?”
Quinn snorted. “No. In fact, I think the man must have had some serious issues with filing cabinets.”
She laughed. “Which is why I made sure to make copies of anything I ever gave him. That way I could work from my desk and never come in here.” She moved to the desk and readjusted her stance at the ready. “What do you need from me?”
It was a professional question, which was what Quinn wanted, but his body seemed to be on a different page. He didn’t need anything from her, but there he was thinking about her lips, twisted up in a small smile.
Quinn had to clear his throat and readjust his focus to the papers scattered across the desk. He plucked a listing from a stack and handed it over.
“I’m trying to familiarize myself with all of the current listings but this one, and a few others, have red Sharpie stars drawn at the top corners,” he said. “And I can’t find anything to explain why.”
Nell more or less glanced at the listing. He could tell she knew what they meant by her body language, but when she answered, there was a bit of a pause. Like she was choosing her words carefully.
“Some of our properties have…quirks. They need to be handled a little differently than the others.”
Quinn felt his eyebrow rise.
“Quirks?”
Movement pulled his attention to the doorway before Nell could explain. A tall, thin Black man with rounded glasses and a slightly wrinkled shirt gave him a nod in greeting.
Nell clapped her hands and motioned to him.
“Quinn—” She stopped mid-introduction. Her eyes flew around the desk until he realized she was looking for a nameplate.
Because he’d never given her his last name.
“Hannigan,” he supplied, suppressing a smile.
Nell’s face took on a slightly rosier hue but she powered on.
“Right. Quinn Hannigan, this is Jones Belleview. He’s been at Heart in Hand with Tally and me since it opened. He’s a math genius and the best numbers guy a business could ask for.”
Quinn stood and outstretched his hand. Jones shook. He looked younger than Nell and Tally yet his file had said he was twenty-six.
“Nice to meet you, Jones. Can’t claim that I’m a math genius, so I’m glad you’re here.”
Jones shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it genius, but I’ll take the compliment.”
Nell put her hand on his shoulder.
“Well, now that the family is all here, do you need us to do anything right now?”
Quinn could tell he’d ticked the woman off not more than an hour ago, but now she had some bounce to her step. And that damn smile was hard to ignore. So he motioned to his desk.
“I need to focus on this for now,” he said, gruff to his own ears. “But my door is open if you need anything before I’m finished. I’m assuming you all have things to do?”
Nell was beaming.
“We sure do!” She angled Jones toward the door. “We’ll talk to you later, Boss man.”
They left and Quinn dove back into the listings, new, old, and pending. When he lifted his head again, it was at the sound of Nell clearing her throat.
The clo
ck read noon.
“Wow. When you get into it, you really get into it,” she said after a short whistle. “Have you even moved since we left your office earlier?”
“I should say yes but no, I haven’t.” Quinn cracked his neck. “What’s up?”
“Well, on Mondays we always go out for lunch, and I thought it would be good for you to join? You know, a way to get to know each other.” She winked. “Without worrying about spit in the mashed potatoes.”
Quinn wanted to say yes but found himself shaking his head.
“Thanks, but I can’t. Since I just got here, I’m behind.” He waved over to her like someone else was controlling his body. “Plus, I don’t think it’s smart to mix business with pleasure.”
Nell tilted her head a little. “Well, Mr. Hannigan, I had no idea I was included in pleasure.”
Quinn felt his eyes widen.
“That’s not what I meant,” he floundered. “It’s just since we had a good time the other day at the restaurant, I don’t want you to think that’s me.” That sounded as wrong as what he’d just said so he tried again. “What I mean is I’m not normally that person. The chatty, social guy.” And he failed…again.
A look he couldn’t pinpoint moved across the woman’s face.
Thoughtful? Judgmental? Wondering if he was joking?
It moved on quickly, whatever it was.
Then Nell Bennett was all smiles again.
“And here I was under the impression that the Quinn I met was a grouchy man who hated the youngsters and their woo-hoo Tweets and posts.” It was less like a smile and more like a sharpened knife, he decided. One that turned and aimed right at him. “Honestly, it’s okay if you don’t want to come with us today but word of advice for not-so-old-times’ sake?”
She took a step closer to the desk and leaned over a bit. The movement made the cloud of curls around her head shift.
“Arbor Bay isn’t just a small town, it’s more like one extremely dysfunctional family. You can be that man who doesn’t talk to anyone outside of work in the city, but here? Well, let’s just say not making friends is the fastest way to making enemies, and enemies in small towns? A pain in the backside.” She shook her head a little, again moving her curls. “But I guarantee if you let the man I met last week out of his cage once in a while, you’d hate it a little less than you think and it would help this place, and us with it, grow.”
Then Nell was standing straight and shrugging.
“That’s just my two cents, though, and, as my purchases from Amazon might show, I’m not always smart with my money.” If she was wearing a cowboy hat, Quinn was sure she would have tipped it to him. “I’ll come help with some of the files after lunch.”
Quinn responded with a grunt and listened as the other three left the building in a cloud of chatter. He took the moment to stretch his legs and walk around to explore.
Then he was staring at a bouquet of roses next to a nameplate that read Antonella Bennett.
Quinn rubbed his jaw, clean-shaven and set. The urge to watch the video of Nell that had gone viral pricked at his skin, but he wasn’t the kind of man who nosed into other people’s business. Especially since Tally said Nell hadn’t been the one to post it in the first place.
He’d already seen what was on the video—he’d been there in person after all—but to look it up online and watch it felt wrong somehow. Like he was prying, even though he already knew what he’d see.
So there was really no point to doing just that.
And that’s what he told himself as he hurried back to his office and shut the door. He repeated the sentiment as he booted up his computer. He even shook his head at the browser when he double clicked the icon and typed “woman ranting against Valentine’s Day in Alabama restaurant” in the search bar.
It was important for the job, he started to reason.
He needed to know what exactly was out there, considering part of his job was keeping the business drama-free.
Yeah. That was it.
When the video showed up in the results, the thumbnail next to the link was all Nell. Wet, upset, and opposite a restaurant host who’d had no idea what to do when the wild woman had blown in.
Man, she sure was beautiful.
Quinn pressed play, no more hesitation.
Fresh start, beginning tomorrow.
Chapter Four
It wasn’t until Wednesday that Nell started to feel the first real dose of annoyance at going viral.
She was standing in front of the mirror in the Cherry Blossom Boutique dressing room and citing her new mental mantra of “treat yo self” while staring at the frilliest black bra she ever did see.
“This is what we call a budget buster.”
Tally laughed from her spot in the only other dressing room next door. “I was thinking I might have to take out a loan for this dress,” she said about her own big budget item. “It’s beautiful but the cost is making me itch. Can you get hives from a price tag?”
Nell did the whole turn slowly in the mirror and hate the lighting dance a few more times. Her been with her before the war faded beige bra looked defeated on the chair in the corner. But the price gouger strapped to her chest? It wasn’t a replacement. It wasn’t a necessity. It was a statement.
One she reiterated to Tally.
“There are two ways you can act after a breakup. You can either try to work through your issues and move on or you can be petty. Greg dropped me like I was a water wing filled with cement and, let me tell you, I’m not skipping the petty stage just because he doesn’t live in this zip code.” Nell motioned to her bra even though Tally couldn’t see it. “Buying a sexy-as-hell bra that he would have loved me to buy when we were together now that I’m stone-cold single? That’s how I can set sail on my new petty ship.” She gave the wall a severe look. “And that dress you have in there? Chris is going to spit his damn beer out. He’s going to realize he was no-holds-barred wrong for breaking up.”
“He always was telling me he’d love to see me in something sexier.” Tally sighed. “When in doubt, be petty?”
“When in doubt, be petty.”
Nell finished trying on some of the other in the name of pettiness garments but couldn’t help but stick to the fancy-schmancy bra. She took it out of the dressing room like an actress holding an Oscar statue when she was through, ready to make another rousing we don’t need no man speech when Tally emerged. But, instead of seeing red hair and freckles, Nell turned and locked eyes with Keith McHaulty.
The scourge of the damn Earth.
“Oh, hey there, Antonella. How are yah?”
Nell knew her darker complexion allowed for small blushes to be hidden but big ole red-faced surprise, embarrassment, or anger? Even her half-Mexican heritage couldn’t hide the red-hot anger that went up her neck and lit her cheeks.
“What in the devil’s name are you doing back here, Keith? This is a ladies’ store!”
Keith, a balding man of thirty-something who had fallen into poor favor with the community because of the online tabloid he ran, gave Nell a cheeky grin and motioned behind him to the main room of Cherry Blossom. His girlfriend, Patricia, could be seen browsing a display.
“Patricia talked me into joining her for a quick browse before we went for lunch.”
“And she also asked you to try something on in the dressing room?”
Keith snorted. And not a somewhat charming snort. Nothing about the man had ever sat right with Nell. He harassed Arbor Bay, and the county at large, all in the name of getting more views on his poorly executed website. Since she’d gone viral, he’d been circling her and her family. Nell’s brothers, Mateo and Leon, had already dished out several threats to the man to leave their little sister alone.
Now, here he was, leering at her while she was holding the one bra you didn’t throw into oblivion during s
ex.
“The bathroom is two steps thataway.” He pointed to her left. “It’s just fate that you walked out as I was walking to it.”
Nell wanted to scoff, but that was something that drove her bonkers, so she shut her mouth and narrowed her eyes at him. She didn’t believe in fate but, if she did, he wasn’t the man she pictured when she thought of it. Instead it was weirdly Ryan Reynolds and he was mostly, always shirtless and getting out of a random body of water.
Again, not at all Keith McHaulty.
“Well, you can get on with it, then. No need to stop and chat.”
Keith shrugged.
“Just trying to be polite, Miss Bennett. No need to get cross.”
Nell was about to show him what cross was, but the man decided to play it safe and walk away. She headed around the corner to make sure he went to his destination. Tally, ever the ninja, walked up to her shoulder, dress in hand, as the bathroom door closed behind the man.
“How we’re single and he has someone, I’ll never know.”
They hurried to the checkout and did the unthinkable in the south by rejecting all small-talk advances by the cashier—Anne Donager, a Chatty Kathy if there ever was one—before keeping their pace out to Main and across its sidewalk toward the café.
“What are the chances he’s coming here to eat when Patricia is done browsing?” Nell asked with a groan waiting to escape at the answer she already knew Tally was going to give.
“You know they are. The café’s incredible coffee is the one thing in this town that connects us all.”
Nell said some words she’d learned from her sister Olena when she was a preteen and walked right on past the café’s plate-glass windows with the smallest of glances.
If she hadn’t been in a hurry, she would have looked closer at the man sitting inside who looked suspiciously like Quinn. But, then again, that was silly.
Bossman Hannigan had proved in the last three days to be a man of his many words.
He was a consummate professional and treated Nell like the employee she was.
He’d made a good system already to circumvent the internet and his computer as much as possible.