by Cara Adams
Their meals were served and the conversation moved from topic to topic, both men regularly asking her questions and seeming to be very interested in her answers. Quintana wasn’t sure whether they truly wanted to know, or whether they just had excellent manners, but she had to admit it made her feel special and warm to be the center of attention like this. Although she managed to turn the conversation’s focus back onto them from time to time.
“From what you’ve said, it sounds like neither of you have any siblings.”
“That’s correct. More and more families are discouraged by the gender imbalance and so only have one or two children. But then society as a whole is more in favor of smaller families in most countries,” said Wynn.
“People can define their family the way they want to these days, and often friendships are more important to people than someone they might have a blood link to. As in your case. Seventh cousins is pretty much irrelevant. What you are is friends,” she said.
“What you are is pretty damn perceptive,” replied Keelan.
She wanted to say that, no, she was just interested in them both, but thought that might embarrass them. They were most likely just being polite in taking her out to dinner after asking her to be interviewed for the werewolf family history project. Not interested in her as a person at all. So she’d better not show any interest in them either. After all, she had a business to run. And Wynn was much too young for her. But fucking hell, they were delicious to look at and wonderful company for an evening as well.
No. Not an evening. Just a meal.
* * * *
Keelan had been very pleased with how the meal had gone. She’d been happy to talk to them, and he thought all three of them had gotten along well. As a first date it was a success. Now to move the program along to a second date, and hopefully a kiss good night at the very least.
“May we escort you home?” he asked.
She seemed surprised but smiled as she said, “I know the way, thank you.”
“I don’t doubt that you can find your own way, and you only had one drink so your brain will be as clear as ever. But it’d give us both great pleasure to see you safely to your door.”
Wynn was nodding madly at her, and Keelan watched her gaze go from him to Wynn and back to him again.
“I don’t think so. I need to use my own car so I can get back here tomorrow.”
“I could pick you up in the morning. Just say what time and I’ll be there,” said Wynn.
Keelan appreciated his fast thinking. He hadn’t planned an answer to that one. She was a damn smart woman, her mind always a beat ahead of everyone else’s.
“Very well. But I warn you I like to come in early.”
“Whatever time you say, I’ll be there,” answered Wynn.
“We’ll be there,” said Keelan. If she wanted to get in early that meant he’d be back in plenty of time to open up his own store. Besides, he already knew she arrived at her stores early and went home late. She worked harder than many of the other managers did.
Keelan held her elbow very lightly as he led her through the staff parking lot on the fifth level of the mall, to his SUV. He unlocked it and let Wynn settle her in the passenger seat while he walked around to the driver’s seat. In the morning Wynn would drive so they’d each have the opportunity to sit beside her.
“What made you decide to open a clothing store? Did you adore dressing up as a little girl?” he asked.
“I did like getting new things, but no more than anyone else, I think. I mentioned there were too many people for the farm to provide a good income for them all. That meant there wasn’t any spare money for luxuries, and new everyday children’s clothing was considered a luxury. I wore a lot of hand-me-down T-shirts and sweaters various boys had already worn, and the same with jeans and shorts.”
“So why open a dress shop?” he asked again.
She spoke more slowly this time, but he couldn’t tell if it was because she was thinking about her answer, or if she was censoring the answer she gave him.
“One thing I learned from my father’s lack of success in business, was that there has to be a market for what the business plans to sell. The former Alpha was opening an entire new shopping mall and he had far more men than women to advise him, and to manage the stores. As a woman, I had an edge with a women’s clothing store. I’d always had an eye for style and color, and I was more than willing to learn what would sell and what wouldn’t. Besides, he needed a women’s boutique in his mall. He wanted to attract humans as well as shape-shifters so half the customers would be female.”
Keelan found his mouth turning up into a grin. What she said was correct. “Did you work in your father’s business? What kind of business was it? Did he manage a store, too?”
“He was a small engine mechanic. He fixed things like lawn mowers. Dad was quite good at the mechanical side of the business, but he was hopeless at budgeting and he wasn’t very happy after a while and wasn’t nice to the customers so a lot of them didn’t come back. There were plenty of other businesses just like his around town.”
“I remember. You said earlier that he had a temper. So did you help him with his accounts?” said Wynn.
“Mom tried to remind him about bills like utilities that come regularly, but he never really made a proper budget and he never understood things like annual fees. Every year he was unprepared when they fell due. Besides, he never listened to Mom when she tried to put money aside for the bills or told him to be nicer to customers. So she lost interest in the store as well.”
That’s right. She’d said her mom had returned to the farm right after her dad died.
All too soon for Keelan they arrived at the apartment Quintana shared with Helena. She used to share with Dakota as well, but Dakota had recently mated Lewis and Dylan and she mostly stayed up on the roof with the men. Lewis had been captured before he came to them and seemed to need the wide open spaces of the roof to relax. Besides, he was in the process of building the most amazing garden up there for the wolves to share, and an outdoor running track for them as well. Keelan was looking forward to when it would be finished. He didn’t get to run nearly as often as he’d like, and with a track on the roof that would change.
He parked in a visitor’s space and turned the engine off. Wynn jumped out quickly and ran around to open Quintana’s door. Wynn helped her stand and then asked, “May we kiss you, please?”
Keelan reached them just in time to see her eyes go wide with surprise. He hoped his dick wasn’t as obvious as it felt. The thought of kissing her good night was making him harder than a rock, and he wished he could loosen the fabric of his pants to give his cock more room. But he kept watching her and left his hands by his sides. Her answer was very important to him as well as to Wynn.
“Not in the apartment block parking lot, no. But thank you for the ride. I’ll see you at six tomorrow,” she said.
Keelan watched her walk to the door, then run up the stairs. Her body moved with an easy, lithe grace that had his dick pressing against his zipper even harder. He had to walk back to his seat bandy-legged his cock was so hard, and the first thing he did when he was safely in the SUV was pull the fabric away from his tortured dick.
Wynn slid into the passenger seat beside him. “Yeah. Me, too.”
Keelan saw Wynn tugging on his pants as he sat down.
“Does that mean she’ll kiss us somewhere else though?” asked Wynn.
“Hmm. Good point. Perhaps it does.” Keelan felt a silly grin break out across his face. “Maybe she does like us.”
“We’ll find out at six tomorrow.”
“Oh fuck. Six o’ fucking clock.” But Keelan didn’t really mind. Even getting up before dawn was worth it to spend time with Quintana.
* * * *
Wynn was not naturally a morning person, but several years of working for the wolf pack had taught him how to cope with early morning trips to the airport and breakfast meetings. Both of which he hated but were pa
rt of his job. And he loved the job so he’d taught himself to deal with the early starts. He set one travel alarm clock on the nightstand beside his bed and a second one, set for one minute later, across the room. He might be able to turn the first one off, but being so close to him it was sure to wake him, and by the time he dealt with it, the second one would be ringing and he had to get out of bed to turn it off. This method guaranteed that he was awake and on his feet, so most unlikely to miss his meeting. Sure enough, that morning he found himself in the shower before he was even sufficiently awake to remember he was going to collect Quintana, not to catch an airplane somewhere.
Quintana. She was amazing. Beautiful, intelligent, and caring enough to give up her time to help them with the genealogy project. That meant her nature was as sweet as her body. But best of all was the thought that she was willing to spend time with him, even if it was at a god-awful hour of the day. Now, how he could he ensure she agreed to date them again? And where would they go? Out to dinner again? To a movie? Oh, now that was a possibility. Taliesin, the cinema manager, permitted private screenings for parties and so on in the smallest cinema, Cinema Four.
He got dried and dressed and then took the elevator down to the fourth level. That was the only place the elevator door would open automatically, but he’d agreed to meet Keelan there anyway and go to his car together.
The foyer of the professional suites was long enough that he’d gotten up a nice rhythm to his pacing when Keelan arrived.
“Nothing about you has changed, has it, Wynn?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You couldn’t sit still when you were seven years old and you still can’t stand still for a moment.”
“Oh, that. Listen, what do you think about asking Taliesin if we could hire Cinema Four and take Quintana to a private showing of a movie tonight? Or tomorrow if she’s busy today.”
“What movie though?”
“I don’t know. Taliesin should have several she can choose between. Whatever he’s got running there at the moment I guess.” Wynn walked beside Keelan out of the professional suites, through the mall entry into the parking lot, and up the stairs to the fifth-level staff parking lot.
“I very much like the idea of being alone with Quintana in the theater. Look up what films are showing at the moment so we can ask her what she likes.”
“Do you think it’s too early to ask Taliesin about booking the small cinema?” Wynn knew Taliesin always stayed at the cinema until after the place had been cleaned and the staff had all gone home at night.
“Yeah. He goes home mighty late at night. Send him a text message instead.”
While Keelan drove them to Quintana’s apartment, Wynn texted Taliesin and then looked at the various movies showing.
“I’ll let Quintana choose. Maybe she’d like to watch the trailers first,” he said just as Keelan pulled into the parking lot.
By the time they’d reached the foyer of Quintana’s apartment building, she was just running down the stairs. Wynn hurried to open the door for her, taking the keys to the SUV from Keelan as he passed by him. It was his turn to drive and he was looking forward to sitting beside her. Although being in the movie theater in the dark, where he could hold her hand and maybe even kiss her, would be even better.
“Have you got a busy day today?” he asked her as he slid into the driver’s seat, and Keelan jumped into the backseat after having closed Quintana’s door for her.
“I’ll be placing next week’s orders for both stores today, but I’ve already decided what to get. So busy, yes, but not overwhelming. What about you?”
“I don’t get many people just browsing, as you do, but the store has a steady stream of people asking questions and buying. I enjoy both the time to create and the time to interact with people,” said Keelan.
“That’s right. You have an assistant now, don’t you?”
“Yes. Vaughan’s interested in learning the craft so he’ll be starting school next year. He already has a good background knowledge of jewels and jewelry. When he’s in the store I can sit out back and engrave or alter pieces without being constantly interrupted, so it’s a good system,” said Keelan.
There was silence for a few minutes, so Wynn asked, “Would you like to come to a movie with us, Quintana? Tonight or another night of your choosing?”
He had to keep his gaze on the road as already the traffic was starting to get busy, but he heard the slight intake of her breath at his question. Behind him he could feel Keelan’s tension as well. This was so very important to them both. They both wanted her and right now she was paying attention to them. But was it just her incredible kindness and good nature, or was she interested in them as people?
“Tonight is too soon, but maybe in a few days. What movie were you thinking of?”
Wynn had to restrain himself from grinning. So far so good. Keelan didn’t answer, leaving him to carry the conversation, which was fair, because he’d thought of the idea.
“The movies showing now in the Hanson Mall Cinema are, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Frozen, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and Saving Mr. Banks. I guess one or more of them might change on Thursday. I think it’s Thursday that movies swap over isn’t it?”
“Spiderman 2 starts soon, and the Vatican Tapes will be coming in a little while as well,” said Keelan.
“I enjoyed Tom Clancy’s books and I like the Jack Ryan character. This one is a whole new story, isn’t it?”
Wynn was glad he’d watched the trailer. “Yes it is. It seems to be full of action and adventure, though, so the producers have stayed faithful to Clancy’s character, at least if the trailer is correct.”
Quintana smiled. “I think I’d like to see it. It’s been out for a while and I really don’t go to the movies as often as I ought to. It’s just that there’s always work needing to be done with the stores and they are my top priority.”
Wynn took her statement as a warning. They weren’t to keep her away from her job. But that was fine. As long as she let them share in her free hours he could deal with that.
“What day would suit you?” asked Keelan.
“It’s more which day has an eight or nine p.m. session. That’s the sort of time that would suit me best.”
Wynn wasn’t sure whether to mention hiring the cinema privately until he’d talked to Taliesin. He’d look pretty stupid if Taliesin had already booked the theater to someone else for the rest of the week. “How about I find out and call you later?” he suggested.
“Text me. I might be with a client when you call.”
“All right. I can do that.”
“Won’t you be off traveling again yourself quite soon?” she asked him.
“I might have to make a couple of trips here and there, but it’ll take me a while to interview all the people you’ve led me to, and then I hope they in turn will give me new links. The only way we’ll find out how to prevent werewolves from not breeding girls is to get a big enough sample that we can be sure the data is accurate. If we can map three, four, five generations that will make any trends obvious.”
He pulled into the parking lot as he spoke. It was not even seven yet, but already there were a smattering of cars on the staff level. Of course, some of them would belong to managers who lived in the professional suites, but he suspected likely half of them belonged to wolves who were already at the fitness center. That was somewhere else he ought to go while he was staying here. But not until he’d gotten everything organized for another date with Quintana.
* * * *
Usually Quintana felt a real rush of pleasure as she ordered new stock. The more new stock she had to buy into the store, the more it validated her choices. What she’d picked had been sold to her customers. The colors, the styles, the designs she’d selected had resonated with her clients and that was why she needed to choose more new things. Today the knowledge that she’d gotten it right once again didn’t make her nerve endings tingle and spark as much as usual. T
oday she kept thinking about Keelan and Wynn.
Was it possible that they liked her? As in, wanted to fuck her? Or even more than that? She couldn’t get over the feeling that Keelan was settled in his career and Wynn was too young for her. They’d told her there was a seven-year age gap between them over dinner and she spent time she should have been sending off her orders to her suppliers doing math.
If Keelan is thirty-five then Wynn would be twenty-eight. No, Wynn’s younger than that I’m sure. Well, if Keelan is thirty the same as me, that would make Wynn twenty-three. But that seems too young for Keelan, and would Wynn really be in charge of such an important project for the werewolves if he was only twenty-three?
So when Wynn texted her about the movies, she didn’t read the message but texted him straight back.
How old are you?
25. Why?
You’re too young for me. I’m 30.
Keelan and I together are ideal for you. You fit perfectly between us. Which day should I arrange the movies for?
Oops. She hadn’t even looked at the original message.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit 8.30 Cinema Four tomorrow and the following day.
Quintana itched to accept for tomorrow, but she held back and chose the following day. She needed to put the two men out of her mind and concentrate on her dream, her job, her real life. After she’d replied she switched the cell phone off and forced herself to complete her orders. She was in the boutique at the moment. Once the orders were done she went down to Quintana’s Clothing to give Tori a break and to help hang up more stock and tidy the racks.
But instead of jumping from task to task with her usual unlimited energy and enthusiasm, she found the two men still filling her mind with their presence. She remembered the flash of their eyes, the passion in their voice, their care and concern for her, and the fun they’d had sitting and talking in Sam’s Steakhouse. Whether she wanted to or not she was falling in love with them.