by Sharon Sala
“I’d like a card, please,” Nick said. “We might need to get in touch with you.”
“Of course,” Gleason said. “Here’s mine.”
“And mine,” Lou said, handing over one of his cards, as well. Nick put both of them in his pocket and walked them to the front door.
“Will she be staying here with you?” Gleason asked.
“Yes,” Nick said.
They looked back at Quinn.
“Thank you, again, Miss O’Meara. Rest and heal. You’ll hear from us soon.”
She nodded.
And then they were gone.
Nick closed the door and turned to say something to Quinn, but she was no longer in the room. He headed for the kitchen and caught her with the pizza box open, picking a pepperoni slice off the pie.
“Caught you,” he said.
She grinned and pulled one off for him.
“Open wide,” she said and popped it in his mouth.
“I’ll get the plates,” Nick said. “What do you want to drink? Sweet tea or a soda?”
“Sweet tea, please,” she said and tore off a couple of sheets from the roll of paper towels near the sink. “Napkins,” she added and took them to the table.
“Uncle Tonio picked up your meds from the pharmacy for me. They’re on the sideboard behind you. You need the antibiotic now and again tonight, and you can have a pain pill now and then once every six hours.”
She shook out the dosages onto the table, then took them with the sweet tea he brought her while he took the lids off of the salads.
“You okay with Italian dressing?”
“Yes, it’s my favorite with pizza,” she said.
He grinned.
“Mine, too. That settles it, then. We like pizza and the same salad dressing. We were definitely made for each other.”
Quinn laughed.
“You are such a nut.”
Nick slid a couple of slices of pizza onto her plate and handed her a fork for her salad, then leaned over her shoulder, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek.
Her heart was pounding. She didn’t know what he was about to do, but it excited her to think about the possibilities.
“Do you want to heat it up?” he asked.
Her ears began to roar.
“Heat what up?” she asked.
He dangled little packets of red pepper flakes in front of her face.
“Your pizza...with pepper flakes. What else did you think I meant?”
She turned and glared.
Now his heart was pounding. Her lips were only inches from his mouth. He watched her pupils dilate and her nostrils flare.
“Quinn?”
“Cheese,” she said.
He blinked.
“What?”
“Parmesan. For the pizza.”
Now the corners of her lips were twitching. She was playing with him, and it was no more than he deserved.
“You are a glorious redheaded witch, aren’t you?” he whispered.
He watched her green eyes blink—once in innocence, then in instant lust, which, thank God, she chose to ignore or he would have taken her there on the table with the pizza box for a pillow.
“Not stirring up any potions today. Take a seat.”
He sat. For once he had no comeback for her and took a bite of pizza instead.
“I love pizza,” Quinn said.
“Me too,” Nick said. “What toppings do you like best?”
“Everything.”
He laughed.
“Man, you are easy to please.”
Quinn pulled a string of hot cheese off the side of her plate and ate it like a piece of spaghetti.
“I’m easy to please with food, but I’m damn picky about everything and everyone else. Pass me another packet of Parmesan cheese, please.”
He shoved all of it within her reach, still thinking about what she’d said.
“You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but...have you ever been in love?”
She shrugged. “What does that mean? Did I ever have a relationship with a man I wanted to marry? No. Have I had a relationship with a man who treated me good, in and out of bed...yes.”
Her answer took him aback. Now he was thinking about making love to her—again. It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it, but it was the first time he’d thought about her with other men and realized he didn’t like it.
“So what happened to that guy? The one who treated you well?” Nick asked.
“He wanted to marry me, but I said no.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t love him,” Quinn said, finishing off her first piece of pizza. “So to answer your question,” she added, reaching for a second slice, “no. I guess I haven’t been in love.”
There was something in the tone of her voice that made Nick stop asking her questions. He’d been a cop long enough to realize she didn’t want to talk about herself anymore.
“I didn’t mean to pry.”
Quinn looked up.
“No, it’s okay. It’s just that people never ask me about myself. I always take that as they don’t care enough to ask.”
“I care.”
She grinned.
“I can see that.”
“You can ask me anything you want...assuming you care enough to ask,” Nick said.
“Really? Anything?”
Nick nodded.
She took a bite of pizza and chewed, considering what she might want to know. She thought of Juana and Tonio, and the way Nick talked about his cousins.
“There’s one thing I’ve always wanted to know, and you’re the perfect person to ask.”
Nick leaned forward, curious as to what it might be.
“Ask away,” he said.
“What is it like to belong somewhere?”
Sideswiped. His vision blurred. He looked down at the pizza in his hand and dropped it back onto his plate. His throat was tightening so fast he wouldn’t have been able to get it down. He stood up, circled the table and took her in his arms.
Quinn wasn’t expecting that reaction, but the moment his arms encircled her something happened. She’d lived her whole life with uncertainty, afraid to be happy for fear it would be taken away. After losing her Nicks, she’d refused to make any new friends...until now. For the first time in her entire life she felt safe. And then she heard Nick’s voice in her ear.
“You break my heart.”
And just like that, she was back on her own. That wasn’t love. It was pity. She wanted to cry. Instead, she twisted out of his embrace.
“Don’t feel sorry for me. I don’t need that from you,” she said and walked out of the kitchen without looking back.
Nick was taken aback. He started to go after her, but he wasn’t sure how that explanation would go. How could he explain the regret and guilt he felt? Just because life took them in two different directions didn’t mean anyone was at fault. The tragedy was that one of them thrived and the other had suffered. But sometimes life gave people a second chance. He wanted this to be theirs. What she wanted was still the unknown.
Eleven
Quinn was hurt and pissed at herself for thinking there could be some kind of special spark between them. He’d said it himself. She broke his heart. He felt sorry for her. She should have known better. Children didn’t keep the same friends or the same heroes forever. It was blatantly obvious their lifestyles were vastly different, and the best thing she could do for herself was step back and let that brief dream of happy-ever-after die.
But as the day wore on, it was obvious Nick wasn’t on the same page. He was being too nice. Ignoring her angry outburst as if
it never happened. Was he just being a congenial host, or was there more? Used to keeping her feelings to herself, the whole thing was confusing to her, while on the flip side, Nick Saldano was completely comfortable with emotion and man enough not to give a shit what anyone thought about it. She wanted to be like him, but she didn’t know how.
And, despite the headache Nick had yet to get rid of from the gunshot wound, he hadn’t slowed down. She’d been watching him cleaning the pool for over an hour, admiring his lean muscular body and the warm cast to his olive complexion. The blue tank top he wore clung to his chest in the heat, as did the white swim trunks he was wearing. His wet hair gleamed coal black in the sunshine. He could have been a model. But he was a cop, trying to keep her safe.
The water looked so inviting, but she had the bandage on her shoulder, and he had already explained that keeping her out of sight was the safest thing for her until Anton Baba was arrested. She couldn’t argue with that.
While she was daydreaming about his body, he had finished and was heading back inside. Embarrassed that he would catch her watching him, she jumped away from the window and headed for the kitchen counter and grabbed a glass from the cabinet.
But she missed the ultimate denouement, because as soon as Nick finished, he hung up the pool strainer, turned on the pump and then dived headfirst into the pool.
The cool water was a welcome blast against the heat of his skin, and he swam a couple of lengths of the pool for the heck of it before heading indoors, dripping water with every step.
Quinn was putting ice in a glass when he walked in.
“Hey, honey, would you make me one of whatever you’re having? Oh, and... I forgot a towel, so if you don’t want to be flashed, close your eyes until I get through the kitchen. I’m coming out of these wet clothes so I don’t drip all through the house.”
She froze, then immediately shut her eyes. The door to the freezer was still open because she could feel the cold air on her face, which was just as well because her cheeks were getting hot as she imagined what was going on behind her.
Then she heard his footsteps on the kitchen tile, and as he passed behind her he flicked the backs of her legs with the wet tank top and then laughed out loud when it popped.
She yelped and turned around before she realized what she was doing, catching the brief sight of a tight bare butt and long legs before he disappeared. He was still laughing.
She sighed.
Wow.
Now what was it she’d been doing? Oh yes, making something cold to drink. After that little show, she needed something stiffer, but pain pills denied her anything stronger than a cold soda.
She tossed a few ice cubes in a second glass and filled both of them with Pepsi, then put their glasses on the table and was digging through the pantry for a snack when Nick came back and saw her poking about.
“Cookies at your ten o’clock,” he said.
She found them and carried the whole container to the table.
“I hope you don’t mind that I made myself at home,” she said as she took out a couple of oatmeal and raisin cookies.
“I don’t mind a bit,” Nick said.
There was something in the tone of his voice that made her look up, and then she didn’t know what to do about what she saw on his face.
It was like watching a lit fuse and wondering how much longer it would burn before something detonated.
And then there was a knock at the door.
Nick grimaced.
“Damn it to hell,” he muttered.
Her heart was pounding. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or feel regret that the moment was passing.
Curious, she followed a distance behind and watched Nick open the door. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was obviously someone he knew because the first thing they did was punch each other on the arm.
Quinn stifled a laugh. Men had the strangest ways of showing their affection for each other. And then the man came in, saw her standing in the doorway to the kitchen and grinned.
“So, Nick, introduce me to your girl,” he said.
Nick looked over his shoulder, smiling at Quinn as she moved toward them, hand extended.
“I’m Quinn O’Meara.”
He shook her hand and smiled sincerely. “Santino Chavez, Nick’s cousin. It’s very nice to meet you, Miss O’Meara. I’ve never met a real heroine before.” He pointed at her shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?”
She was a little startled by the heroine tag, but let it slide.
“Yes, I’ll be fine, and just call me Quinn, okay?”
Nick thumped Santino on the shoulder again and pointed at the laptop he was carrying.
“So, cousin...did you bring that laptop over here for a reason or just taking it for the ride?”
“Oh. Right. There’s a virus on it that I can’t get off. Would you fix it for me?”
“If you’d stay off those porn sites this wouldn’t keep happening,” Nick muttered.
“I do not look at dirty pictures and you know it!” Santino snapped.
“Only because Lara would break your neck if you did,” Nick said, laughing. “Let’s go to the kitchen table and I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’ll get out of your way,” Quinn said.
“You will never be in my way,” Nick said softly.
Quinn’s heart skipped, and when he held out his hand, she took it and followed them into the kitchen.
Santino saw the cookies and drinks on the table and clapped his hands.
“I’ll make myself a drink and join you, but I’m going for chips and dip,” he said and headed for the pantry.
Nick rolled his eyes.
“This is what he does. He screws up his laptop, brings it over here for me to fix and makes a party out of it for himself.”
Quinn knew Nick wasn’t really angry. In fact, he looked happy. She needed to clear the air between them while Santino was distracted, so she leaned a little closer.
“I’m sorry I flipped out earlier,” she whispered.
Nick looked at her then. His voice was soft, keeping the conversation between them.
“About that. What did I say that upset you?” he asked.
She shrugged. “It was nothing. I’m blaming it on the pain meds—they make me an emotional wreck.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Nick said. He wasn’t upset, but she could tell he needed more from her than a weak brush-off.
Quinn shoved a shaky hand through her hair, blinking rapidly to keep away the tears.
“I just... I don’t want you to pity me,” she whispered, then looked away.
“Look at me,” he said.
She sighed and then turned her head toward him.
“You don’t want my pity, but what do you want from me?” he asked.
“Hey, Nick! You don’t have any ranch dip.”
Nick frowned as Quinn quickly looked away. Santino’s timing sucked.
“Because I don’t like ranch dip and this is my house,” Nick said. “There’s French onion dip on the top shelf.”
He ran a finger down the side of Quinn’s face.
“I will ask you that question again, when we don’t have anyone to interrupt us, so you better be thinking of an answer.”
Unaware of the ongoing conversation between them, Santino set a bag of potato chips in the middle of the table and popped the top off a carton of French onion dip, then went back for his drink.
“He’s really turning this into a party?” Quinn asked.
“Every time,” Nick said. “So, let’s see what crap he’s picked up this go-round.”
Quinn watched Nick’s fingers flying over the keyboard, clicking on one program, then another, and another, his gaze narrowed and fixed on the s
creen.
Santino set his drink as far away from the laptop as he could get and then smiled at Quinn.
“I spilled a whole beer on the laptop I had before this one,” he said. “Fried it royally. I’m addicted to YouTube. There’s some awesome stuff on there if you know where to look.”
“If you stuck to YouTube, you’d be safe, but you don’t. That’s why you get viruses,” Nick muttered. “You’re clicking on every weird link known to man.”
Santino shrugged and went for a chip, dragged it through the dip and popped it in his mouth.
Quinn was happy just listening and seeing another facet of what Nick was all about. Besides being a cop and having this wonderful, loving family, he appeared to be really tech smart. She couldn’t help but think of what he’d accomplished in his life, while all she’d been doing was living from hand to mouth, day by day.
However, Santino’s arrival brought her out of the doldrums. He was funny and adorable, and his presence took the tension away from the two of them being alone.
It took Nick a little over two hours to locate and scrub the virus from the laptop.
“Finally,” Nick said, as he logged off the computer and shoved it across the table. “It’s clean again, so don’t click on any more sites that have anything to do with women with big boobs.”
Quinn laughed out loud at the look on Santino’s face.
“Are you serious? I was not looking at such sites,” Santino said.
Nick grinned.
“No, I’m not serious about that. The virus was actually attached to an innocent site, and it wasn’t a malicious one.”
Santino shrugged.
“Anything that messes me up with the worldwide web is malicious to me, and thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome,” Nick said, as he got up from the table and stretched, then gave Quinn a hand up and a quick hug before seeing Santino out.
Quinn was cleaning up the party mess when Nick came back. He loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher after she carried them from the table to the counter.
“Your cousin is funny,” Quinn said, wiping off the table.
“He thinks so,” Nick said.
She paused on the far side of the table, watching the play of muscles beneath Nick’s T-shirt as he worked. She couldn’t get over the way fate had played into their lives. She would not have recognized him if she’d passed him on a street, and yet here they were, under the same roof again. Even if this was only temporary, she would be forever grateful that life had put them together again.