At First Touch

by Tamara Sneed

  “What is going on?” Charlie demanded, her voice rising in frustration.

  Quinn sighed loudly, then explained, “Wyatt refuses to allow me to use his house in the movie, so I bet that…that he could not get Dorrie in a week.”

  Charlie’s brows lowered into a frown. “Get Dorrie? What is that supposed to mean?”

  “This is precisely why I didn’t want to tell you. I knew you would blow it out of proportion,” Quinn muttered.

  “Well, what is it supposed to mean?” Charlie demanded.

  Kendra waved a hand dismissively at Charlie and accused Quinn, “There was more going on between you two than just lunch.”

  “You know, I had the same feeling when I walked in on Quinn and Wyatt in the kitchen yesterday,” Charlie said excitedly. “There were strong undercurrents. I felt like I had interrupted something. I don’t know what, but something was going on.”

  “Wyatt Granger is not my type. Granted, he’s not the unsophisticated country hick that I thought he was. And I’ll even admit that he’s more attractive than I ever noticed. And maybe he has a cute smile and a great body but…but…What was I saying?”

  Charlie giggled, while Kendra smirked and said dryly, “You were telling us how adorable, cute Wyatt with the great body is not your type.”

  “Precisely,” Quinn said firmly. “And, even if he was my type—which he’s not—he’s made it very clear that I’m not his.”

  Kendra shook her head, annoyed. “This is what I don’t understand. I thought Wyatt was in love with you. Every time we’ve seen him during the last year, he can barely keep his eyes off you and becomes tongue-tied. Now he wants to marry someone else?”

  “Wyatt was not in love with me. And even if he was in love with me at some point, he’s not anymore. In fact, he told me in no uncertain terms that I’m not Sibleyville wife material.”

  “You’d make just as good of a wife as any of the other women in this town,” Kendra said defensively.

  “A better wife because I would force Wyatt out of his safety zone and to take chances that he wouldn’t want to take,” Quinn snapped, annoyed all over again. There was no way that Dorrie Diamond would know how to handle a kiss from Wyatt. At least, not the kiss that he had laid on Quinn.

  “You’re forgetting something kind of important,” Charlie pointed out calmly. “You don’t even like Wyatt.”

  “That’s not the point,” Kendra snapped at Charlie.

  “Then what is the point?”

  “The point is that Quinn is just as good as anyone else, and who is Wyatt to tell her that she’s not,” Kendra said, warming to her subject. “In fact, he would be lucky to get Quinn.”

  “Agreed,” Quinn said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “But Quinn doesn’t want to marry Wyatt. She doesn’t even want to date Wyatt, so why would she care one way or the other if he doesn’t consider her wife material?” Charlie pointed out, sounding a little too logical for Quinn’s taste.

  Kendra and Quinn wordlessly stared at Charlie. Quinn narrowed her eyes at Charlie. Sometimes Charlie was too damn logical for her own good. It was decidedly un-Sibley-like. Their grandfather, Max, had believed in living life by his gut, which was precisely how he had become one of the wealthiest and most powerful black men in America.

  “Who is this paragon of Sibleyville feminine virtue who Wyatt has deemed worthy of marriage?” Kendra asked dryly.

  “Her name is Dorrie Diamond. She’s an accountant.”

  “You’re not serious?”

  “I am,” she responded, laughing. “She wears pearls and shirts with bows.”

  “Quinn,” Charlie admonished.

  “She does,” Quinn said defensively.

  “I bet she’s a virgin, too,” Kendra said, with a snort of irritation.

  “Hey,” Charlie protested, waving her hand in the air. “The only man I’ve ever slept with is my husband. Not all of us can be as…experienced as you two.”

  “Experienced, my ass. Just say it, Charlie. We’re sluts. Good old-fashioned American sluts,” Kendra said with a wicked grin.

  “She can be a virgin,” Quinn said, with a smile in Charlie’s direction, then added, “But she can’t be a virgin who wears pearls and has blouses with bows.”

  “If that’s who Wyatt wants, then let him have her,” Kendra said with a shrug. “They can have boring sex for the rest of their lives. It’s too bad because I always thought Wyatt was kind of sexy…for a Sibleyville man. Too bad that he’s a complete waste. He wouldn’t know what to do with a real woman.”

  Quinn’s entire face flushed with heat as she remembered his tongue in her mouth, the confident way that his hands positioned her just so for the taking. She had a feeling that Wyatt knew exactly what to do with a woman. And that woman would be shivering and screaming his name all night.

  “So are you going to be able to rein Wyatt in before the end of the week?” Kendra asked Quinn.

  “One way or another,” Quinn said firmly.

  “Wanna bet?” Kendra asked with a small smirk. Quinn rolled her eyes in response, while Kendra laughed maniacally.

  “This family bets too much,” Charlie muttered, then stood. “I have to check on the cookies, and then we need to start getting ready for tonight.”

  She walked into the house and Quinn waited until she heard Charlie’s footsteps fade toward the front of the house before she asked Kendra, “Did she say we?”

  “I distinctly heard we.”

  “This is going to be a long night.”

  Kendra nodded in agreement, then sat in the spot on the porch swing that Charlie had just vacated. “So when did you realize that you were attracted to Wyatt?”

  Quinn didn’t even question how Kendra knew, it was scary the things Kendra knew. “Sometime over lunch.”

  “That’s the first time?” Kendra asked suspiciously.

  “Maybe it’s been a while, but what does it matter? He lives here, I live in L.A. and never shall the two worlds meet.”

  “Except with Charlie and Graham?”

  “They’re a completely different case. Graham has lived in every major city in the world. He’s sophisticated, completely independent from this town. He probably wouldn’t return now, except to visit his parents occasionally, if Charlie didn’t love it here so much. Wyatt loves Sibleyville. It’s his identity. He lives with his mother, for God’s sake. You know how much mothers don’t like me.”

  Kendra laughed suddenly. “Remember Adam Siddeon’s mother in tenth grade? She walked into the school dance, grabbed Adam off the dance floor while you were in the middle of doing the electric slide with him and dragged him out of the gym, all without one word.”

  “I haven’t had much better luck with mothers since then,” Quinn muttered.

  “But you want Wyatt?”

  Quinn hesitated, then admitted, “I do.”

  “Then what’s stopping you?”

  She hated how pathetic she sounded, but said through clenched teeth, “He doesn’t want me.”

  “Of course he does.”

  “He’s already committed himself to Wonder Accountant.”

  “He’s not married yet, Quinn. He’s not even dating her.”

  “I know.” Quinn groaned and raked a hand through her hair, then automatically pulled her hair back over her ears, which instantly made her think of Wyatt. “I’m just horny. It’s been a while since…In between moving from New York, trying to find a place to live, auditioning and stalking Helmut for a role in this movie, I haven’t had time to deal with men. Not that I’ve had the chance since apparently every man in L.A. has decided that I’m not his type.”

  “I’ve never known you to have problems finding a date since most men seem to like fake breasts and fake hair.”

  “My hair is not fake,” Quinn said, glaring at Kendra.

  “The point is, some men like your type of obvious beauty.”

  Mollified, Quinn said, “All I had to do was breathe in New York, and I would ha
ve to beat the men off with a stick. In L.A…. Forget in L.A., in Sibleyville, I’m having problems. I mean, I have to pull out all the stops just to seduce someone like Wyatt.” Quinn laughed in disbelief and muttered, “The fact that I’m even thinking of seducing Wyatt, to begin with, proves how far I’ve fallen.”

  “But seduce him you will, right?”

  Quinn thought of Wyatt’s dark eyes dropping to study her breasts with an intensity that always made her slightly nervous. “What could it hurt? We’re two adults, and it can be his one last fling before matrimonial hell.”

  “You could do worse.”

  “This is Sibleyville. I could do much worse.”

  “And how will your plans affect your bet?” Kendra asked.

  “Will Wyatt really be able to keep saying no once he’s slept with me?” Quinn said, trying to sound casual. “He’ll feel obligated to give me the house.”

  Kendra narrowed her eyes at Quinn and demanded, “But that’s not the reason you want to sleep with him, is it?”

  “Of course not, but if it helps me get something I want, that’s just an added benefit.”

  “Sometimes I’m really proud to call you my sister,” Kendra said with a sigh of maternal pride.

  “Only you would think sleeping with a man to get something is a good thing.”

  “I’m a realist. It’s one of my best qualities.” Kendra’s smile faded, and she stared at her nails for a moment before she asked, “Quinn, do you think the two of us will ever find what Charlie has?”

  Quinn studied Kendra, surprised by the serious expression on her face. She had never known Kendra to want a man for anything other than sexual Olympics or to stand around while she outshone him in the boardroom. But, suddenly, Kendra looked unsure of herself. Vulnerable, even.

  “Are you all right, Kendra?”

  “Kendra! Quinn!” Charlie called from the kitchen. “I need help icing the cookies!”

  Kendra grinned, seemingly relieved, as she brushed her hands on her skirt. “Duty calls.”

  “Kendra—”

  Kendra ignored Quinn and walked into the house, closing the screen door behind her.

  “How do I look?” Quinn asked Graham as she spun around the kitchen in a sparkling silver minidress that showed off her best assets and hid her flaws.

  She had spent over an hour on her makeup and hair and had washed, scrubbed and polished every inch of her body until she practically glowed. She had made up her mind. She wanted Wyatt. And whether he was ready or not, she was going to have him. Tonight. He was just another man; there was absolutely nothing special about him. Quinn would have slept with him a long time ago if she hadn’t spent so much time being annoyed by his existence. He was gorgeous, had a great smile and was obviously interested in her. It was a wonder that she had held out this long.

  “Great,” he responded, absently. She noticed that he didn’t even look at her as he continued to pour ice into a cooler on the kitchen floor.

  “Do you need any help?” When Graham looked up at her in disbelief, she shrugged and said, “It’s the thought that counts, right?”

  “Sure, Quinn,” he muttered, then began to stick various soda cans into the chest.

  “So who did you invite to this soirée?”

  “Half the town.” Graham paused in his preparations to stare at her for a moment before he said, a tad too casually, “Wyatt left me a message on my cell phone that he’s not coming tonight.”

  Quinn felt as if her entire body had deflated. She hadn’t realized that she had spent the last two hours getting ready just to see Wyatt until that moment. Realizing that Wyatt would not be there made her feel there was no reason for her to go to the party. How pathetic was that.

  “Did you invite Dorrie?” Quinn asked Graham.

  “Of course.”

  “Did you tell Wyatt that you invited Dorrie?”

  “Of course.”

  “And?”

  “And he told me that he had a lot of work to do for the new drain,” Graham said with a shrug, then went back to stocking the cooler. “I’ve known Wyatt a long time and I’ve never known him to pass up a chance for free beer and free food. Something or someone is keeping him away from the party tonight.”

  “Is that a hint?”

  Graham laughed. “I didn’t think I was being subtle enough to call it a hint. What exactly happened between you two this afternoon? He wouldn’t tell me.”

  “That’s because there’s nothing to tell. We just ate lunch.” She rolled her eyes, annoyed as Graham continued to stare at her. “If you want me to drag him to the party, just say so.”

  “He’s my best friend. I don’t get to spend enough time with him. I want him here.”

  “I need the keys to your car. My car is still downtown.”

  Graham grimaced, but dug into his jeans pocket to toss her a set of keys. “Be gentle. I just got this one.”

  Quinn waved a hand in dismissal and then walked out of the house, excitement once more humming through her body.

  Wyatt stepped out the shower and began to towel himself off. He had spent an hour in the greenhouse, another hour in the backyard turning over the hard dirt and still he hadn’t been able to distract himself. Every moment from that afternoon with Quinn continued to play through his head like a slow-motion movie. He couldn’t go to the party, see her and not show how much he wanted her. Dorrie would know, Quinn would know. Damn, the entire town would know.

  His plan was simple. He would let Quinn do whatever she wanted with the house, then ignore her for the rest of the holiday. She’d be gone in another two weeks and his life would return to normal.

  His heart stalled in his chest at the sound of a knock on the front door of his apartment. He knew that knock. It had started this entire nightmare. He thought about ignoring her, but he knew that Quinn would probably figure out a way to pick the lock and barge into his apartment and Wyatt definitely didn’t want her to find him cowering in his closet because he was too chicken to face her. He muttered a curse.

  “Wyatt, I know you’re in there,” Quinn called through the door. “Open the door.”

  Wyatt gripped the towel tighter around his waist, then walked through the small apartment to the front door. He froze in his tracks in the middle of the living room when he saw Quinn standing on the other side of the glass door. Her hair was down and shiny and a mass of loose curls. And her dress…She was killing him in that dress. Every part of her body that he had imagined and caressed in his dreams for so long was on full display.

  His breath caught in his throat, as every second from their kiss that afternoon replayed in his head. He could practically taste her even now on his lips. He had been able to taste her for hours afterwards. How in the world could any man ignore this woman?

  “Open the door, Wyatt,” Quinn commanded since he continued to stand like a gaping idiot in the middle of the living room.

  Wyatt shook his head to clear his thoughts, quickly walked to the door and opened it. Quinn walked inside the house, brushing past him, leaving a lingering scent of…something delicious. It was a mixture of flowers and cookies and cakes and…motor oil for a high performance car. Every scent in the world that made him salivate.

  Quinn pointedly glanced around the small living room. Her gaze lingered on the riot of green indoor plants throughout the living room, then she walked closer to the built-in bookshelves to examine the book titles. His gaze instantly dropped to her ass. The dress stopped just mere inches below that gorgeous, plump ass. He licked his lips and his hands tingled. If he had the time, the things he could do with that….

  She turned to him, and he prayed that she hadn’t seen him examining her ass in minute detail. Or notice that he had loosened the grip on the towel so that it would camouflage parts of him that were growing too hard too fast.

  “You only have gardening books,” she noted, appearing oblivious to his in-depth perusal.

  “A Tale of Two Cities is up there, too,” he said, defensively.
He wouldn’t tell her that he had gotten that book from the library in high school and had never returned it.

  Quinn laughed in disbelief. “A Tale of Two Cities? I never did finish that one. I blame Jerry Buchalter for that.” At the questioning arch of his eyebrow, she explained, “He sat next to me in senior English. He wrote a book report for himself and a book report for me for every book. He was very sweet.”

  “Poor slob. He never had a chance, did he?”

  “No, he didn’t.” She studied his face, and Wyatt grew more and more self-conscious the longer she lingered on him without speaking. Quinn was not exactly known for enjoying silences.

  “What?” he demanded, unable to stand it any longer.

  “Why aren’t you coming to the party tonight?”

  “Because I’m not giving you an opportunity to humiliate Dorrie and sabotage my chances with her,” he said simply. And he also hadn’t wanted to see Quinn again until he could get his emotions under control. With visions of having his mouth on every single part of her body running through his mind every second, he decided it was best to probably stay as far away from her as possible.

  “Is that really the reason?” she asked uncertainly, looking slightly guilty.

  “Yes,” he lied.

  She crossed the living room and stood mere inches from his bare feet. For the first time, Wyatt noticed her stiletto sandals and bright red painted toenails. Whatever composure he had managed to gather in the last few seconds instantly disappeared.

  “How about a truce for tonight?”

  He drowned for a second in her beautiful eyes before he remembered that she had said something. He repeated dumbly, “A truce?”

  “I’ll stay out of your way, and you can use the night to try your charms on Dorrie.”

  “I don’t believe you,” he said suspiciously.

  She frowned, then asked, “Why?”

  “Because you wouldn’t be wearing this dress if you were planning to stay out of any man’s way.”