by Anne Harper
He nodded.
“It’s near Donavon’s house. The Kepling couple are renting it for two weeks while Mr. Kepling finishes his dissertation.” Quinn would have remembered that detail even if it hadn’t been a part of his job. “I’ve never met someone who rented a vacation cabin just to sit inside of it all day long.” By the expression that passed over Nell’s face, Quinn already felt his own sigh getting ready to join her. “Why? What’s going on? Is this another weird quirk where we need to go buy more beer for a neighbor?”
That got a snort from her.
“Not exactly.” A curl fell out of its holder. She pushed it back. Quinn realized with startling curiosity that her cheeks were turning red—she was blushing. Nell shifted her weight from one foot to the other while she chose her words with care. “See, before the Keplings came to town, there were some friends renting the place to celebrate one of their birthdays and, well, uh, it was only after the fact that we found out they were only swinging through town. If you know what I mean.”
Quinn didn’t. He said as much.
“See, they ended up being two couples and then sometimes they became one couple. Then a different couple.”
Lightbulb moment.
“You mean they were swingers?”
Nell nodded. Her cheeks stayed rosy. Quinn raised his eyebrow.
“And how did you find out this info?”
That didn’t take long for her to answer. Though the answer itself was a long one.
“Laura Dean told Arnesha Wright at the library who then told Jones at church that one of the couples tried to pick up Laura and her husband. Then Nathan Keller told his brother James who told Ki at the grocery store who then told Mateo at the bar that the other couple tried to pick up Nathan and his girlfriend.”
Quinn whistled.
“Small towns, am I right?” Nell added on with a smile. Quinn laughed.
“Okay,” he said when done. “So they were swingers. That isn’t a crime.”
Nell held up her hands in defense.
“And not my business or place to judge. I mean, as long as you’re not hurting anyone, then by all means go let your freaky flag fly. But.” She took a small step forward and lowered her voice so if anyone came into the hallway, they wouldn’t hear her. “Katherine, one of the swingers, just called and, well, gave me some concerning news.”
She actually leaned over a little. Quinn made sure to keep focus on those whiskey eyes and not how her shirt shifted so the curve of her breast became more pronounced.
My God, you touch the woman’s bare back and now you suddenly have the hormones of a teenager again.
Nell’s blush had gone nuclear, but she kept his gaze as she continued.
“She said it wasn’t until today that they realized that not all of their items made it home with them. So, after talking with her husband and their friends, they realized that while they took said items to the cabin, they never brought them home.”
Quinn felt his eyes widen.
“And by items, you mean—”
“Sex toys. A whole box of them.”
“A whole box?” Quinn stood. He didn’t know why, but he just felt like he had to. “And they just left it? That’s a pretty unique thing to leave behind.”
Nell made a face.
“Apparently that wasn’t their only box.”
Quinn didn’t know Katherine or her husband and friends, but he still took a moment to chew on that. Nell gave him that time. Then added on to the weirdness. “Normally, leaving anything behind wouldn’t have been an issue, since we have the cleaning service that comes in and Marissa has always been discreet about notifying us of anything the guests have left. But—”
“I’m not going to like this but, am I?”
Nell made another face.
“But apparently Marissa was sick so her daughter was in charge and she just confirmed to me on the phone call right after that there was a box in the master bedroom closet… But she didn’t open it because she thought it was supposed to be there.”
Quinn came around the corner of the desk and made sure to spell out what their situation was before he decided on how much he needed to cuss.
“So let me get this straight. There’s a box of sex toys in the master bedroom closet of the cabin Mr. and Mrs. Kepling, the sweet, God-fearing young couple, are staying at for—what?—another ten days?”
Nell nodded.
“That’s the long and awkward of it.”
“You know, when I came to Arbor Bay, I had the audacity to think it would be boring,” he deadpanned. “Every day since has shown me how wrong I was.”
“Well, there’s still a chance that they could have already found the box and its contents and have decided not to say a word, but I feel like that wouldn’t be their style. If they didn’t report them to us, they’d at least post it online.”
“‘Welcome to Heart in Hand. We hope you enjoy your stay and the complimentary used sex toys.’” Quinn cussed under his breath in the mid-level range. “This could be a PR disaster. One that will surely make Donavon pick someone other than us to get Heart in Hand.”
Nell nodded again. She smelled, oddly enough, like Christmas.
“Agreed. That’s why I thought I’d go over there and lie my ass off.”
“A very professional response.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Listen, unless it’s written on the box that there are adult things inside, then I’m assuming it looks like just a normal box. So I’m going out there to tell them we left some tools in there by accident and need them for another cabin. Then I’ll throw in a free meal at the Silver Slipper for the trouble.” She shrugged. “No harm, no foul, no us waiting for the other awkward box to drop.”
“And what if they’ve already opened it?”
“I’ll think of something on the spot. I’m better off the cuff anyways.”
Quinn narrowed his eyes at her. He’d seen Nell Bennett put on the spot in an awkward situation before. She must have picked up on the thought, because she put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a try me stare.
“Listen, my viral rant doesn’t count. I’m pretty dang charismatic when I haven’t been recently dumped.”
“Well, just in case, I think I’ll come with.” Quinn reached back and scooped up his phone. He sent his text to drafts.
Nell didn’t seem keen on the idea. He didn’t give her the time to rebuff him. Instead he motioned for her to lead them out of the office.
“We’ve done everything else together,” he pointed out. “Why not add to the list: tricking a couple of sheltered Christians to let us interrupt their vacation to get a swinger’s sex box out of their way?”
Chapter Thirteen
They made a plan. Then that plan went out the window.
“They’re not here,” Nell said, finishing another round of knocks. Once again she looked at the driveway. No cars were parked there.
“One of them could have taken the car while the other stayed,” he reasoned. “Let’s give it a few seconds.”
They waited. No one stirred inside. Somewhere around them, birds chirped. It all made Nell even more anxious than she was. She didn’t want to give it a few seconds. She wanted to employ her plan B. The plan she had already decided on that Quinn had not been privy to while they were driving over.
“I don’t hear anyone,” she said finally. “I don’t think they’re home.”
“They’re probably at lunch,” he conceded. “We’ll have to come back later when—”
Nell was off the porch and hurrying around the cabin before he could finish his thought. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a key as a whispered chorus of her name followed behind.
Quinn had run after her, but she wasn’t listening to him. Not even when he caught up to her on the back porch.
“Nell. We cannot go inside.”
There was that voice again. That authoritative tone that made her instantly want to make out with it. A perfectly natural response, she was sure. “If they come back…”
Nell slid the key in the lock and turned until the deadbolt slid free. She eased the door open and listened. Again, no one inside made a sound.
Had she been alone, she would have already been in the master bedroom. But she wasn’t alone.
Nope.
Quinn’s expression was stern. His jaw, ever so alarming, was set. Stormy gray eyes held hers with unwavering focus.
Which made what she said next feel even more ridiculous.
“I’m not letting a box of vibrating things jeopardize Heart in Hand’s reputation or our chances of keeping it out of a stranger’s hands. What about you?”
Quinn looked like he’d solved the quickest math problem. He grumbled, defeated.
“Fine. Let’s hurry.”
Greywater Cabin was two stories with a beautiful view of the water from all back-facing windows. For this reason, the cabin was one of Nell’s favorites to manage through Heart in Hand. When she came to do a walkthrough before and after guests arrived and left, it usually took her a while. She might have grown up in Arbor Bay, but that didn’t mean the beautiful blue of the water didn’t still capture her heart every now and again.
Today, however, was not for staring in awe.
Quinn followed behind as Nell hurried to the master bedroom. It wasn’t as large as some of the other rentals Heart in Hand managed, but it was comfortable and tastefully decorated, if she did say so herself.
But now that she knew about the swingers and their toys, Nell couldn’t help but do a quick reexamine when they entered the room. Apparently Quinn was on the same wavelength.
“I’m all for sexual privacy but, I have to admit, I’m wondering exactly what went on in here now,” he said, eyeing the bed.
He wasn’t alone.
Nell looked across the furniture, trying and trying not to imagine the activities of the last guests.
“I suddenly have a lot of questions about portable sex swings,” she said. “Like, do those exist? Where would you even hook one up? In here? The living area? Maybe the game room? What’s the rules?”
Quinn put his hand on the small of her back. Thoughts of sex swings flew out of the window with the great view.
“This sounds like car conversation. We need to get moving.”
Nell gave him a wry smile for that.
“And what, Mr. Hannigan, kind of car conversations have you been having?”
He rolled his eyes and gave her a little nudge toward the closet.
“Let’s just get on with it.”
Unlike the bedroom itself, the master closet was painfully small. Quinn could maybe fit inside of it if he felt so inclined. So the brown cardboard box sitting beneath several of the Keplings’ hanging outfits was pretty dang noticeable.
“It’s closed,” Nell noted, still keeping her distance like the contents could rally and attack. “That’s a good sign, right?”
Quinn brushed up against her side. Nell was acutely aware of how his body dwarfed hers.
Scratch that, he definitely was too big to fit inside the closet.
“Or they opened it,” he offered. “Saw what was inside and then closed it back.”
Nell put her hands on her hips, resolute.
“If that’s the case, then taking it is our best move now. What are they going to do if they know it’s gone missing? Who the heck is going to report a missing box of sex toys, especially one that wasn’t even theirs?”
“Not many, I’ll give you that.”
He moved around her and scooped up their most recent pain in the tuchus. Then he paused for a moment after straightening his back.
“What’s wrong?”
Quinn cringed.
“It’s alarmingly heavy.”
Nell couldn’t help it. Finally she laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.
“Would it have been better if it wasn’t?”
Quinn hoisted the box higher. He made another face.
“I have no idea.”
They made quick work of leaving the cabin and locking the door behind them.
Mission accomplished.
Easy peasy.
Strangely specific crisis adverted.
Another phrase synonymous with success.
But then Nell had to praise it out loud and jinx the whole thing.
“See? That was easy.”
Not even a second later and several things happened almost at once.
Firstly, as they were walking around the side of the house, Nell tripped on a river rock that she herself had bought to outline the small bed where the water hose connected to the exterior of the house. Aesthetically pleasing and annoyingly painful.
It was a clumsy and dramatic moment. She was all flailing arms and legs and a garbled noise of surprise.
Then came Quinn trying to save her from busting her ass in the grass. The problem with that? He was carrying a somewhat heavy sex box in his arms. To save her, he had to ditch that same sex box.
And when that puppy hit the ground?
Well, the side yard of Greywater Cabin immediately became a lot more scandalous.
Quinn managed to save Nell from herself just as the worn box lost its structural integrity in an instant.
Then Nell was standing there, Quinn holding her steady in his large, warm hands, while both were staring at several neon-colored, leather, and spiky contraptions splayed across the grass.
That might have been worth a story on its own, but fate was still ready to make the situation more awkward for the pair.
Their situation certainly escalated when a familiar sound came from the direction of the front of the house.
“Oh my God,” Nell breathed. “Is that—”
Quinn’s eyes went wide.
“Someone’s driving up.”
What started as an awkward errand turned into a mad dash. They both hit the ground and tried scooping up toys like they were Hungry Hungry Hippos. A feat made harder considering their box was now limp.
No pun intended.
“This is bad,” Quinn stressed. He made the box into more of a wonky bowl and shoved a very blessed flesh-colored dildo into it. “We’ll be lucky if the cops don’t come get us.”
Nell could just read the news stories now.
The woman who went viral about lost love arrested for stealing sex toys from local cabin. With her boss. Just days after she was seen holding a bodacious bra.
The sound of a car going into park around the corner was like a starting gun.
“No,” Nell whispered. “We’re not going out this way.” She did some fast and loose thinking and had no idea if she’d come up with a good plan or not. Still, she gave it her all. “Grab the box and run to the dock.”
Bless him, Quinn didn’t question her.
He grabbed what he could, did his best to keep the rest of the box’s contents from spilling, and took off. Nell wavered behind him and did something she truly never thought she’d have to do during her career.
She grabbed the small whip, pair of handcuffs, and something called a Tube of Yum left on the ground and then stuffed them into her pants and then pockets respectfully.
Then she ran after Quinn until they were both at the start of the dock.
“Okay,” she started, a bit on the huffy side. There was only a few yards between the house and the bay, but Nell’s adrenaline had been spiked since they’d heard the car. “If they didn’t see us running, we can pretend we’ve been here the whole time. Tally is the one who dealt with them in person, so they shouldn’t recognize us. Hopefully.”
Quinn motioned to the madness he was holding against his che
st.
“And if they don’t recognize us, what are we going to say we’re doing here exactly?”
Nell looked around them. The dock was meant for fishing and the smaller of water sports. No boats. Only a patio chair, a rope, and a crab trap.
Oh. This is a bad idea.
Nell grabbed Quinn and pulled him to the very end of the dock.
“No fucking way, Nell. No way.”
She didn’t listen.
Using him as a human shield so no one from the house could see her, Nell took everything from his arms and crammed it into the open crab trap. The holes were wide but not wide enough that anything immediately fell through. Though, there was still no hiding the fact that it was holding something that wasn’t crab.
“We’ve already dug a hole for ourselves,” Nell reasoned. “We might as well keep on digging.”
Quinn opened his mouth to protest, but it was too late. Nell closed the lid and pushed the trap off the dock’s edge.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” he breathed.
Nell stood up and faced the man. As if she’d timed it herself, she saw the back door to the cabin open in the distance over his shoulder.
“Well, this is happening, too.”
…
Nell pushed up on her toes and kissed him before Quinn could even fully process what they’d just done.
He blinked, and a sinking crab trap of sex toys was replaced by the warmth of Nell’s lips. By the scent of her perfume. By the press of her body against his.
Quinn didn’t know why it happened, but who was he to pretend he didn’t want it?
On reflex, he anchored the woman, wrapping his arms around her to keep her steady while she moved hers around his neck. It was a powerful embrace that just so happened to include a kiss.
And what a kiss it was.
Unlike their lip-lock at the restaurant, this one was given more time to continue.
After her lips crashed into Quinn’s, the force behind them changed. Whatever their earlier intention might have been, they quickly became a study of exploration. Nell tilted her head to the side just enough to give Quinn a way to deepen the kiss.
Which he did.