More Than This

by Shannyn Schroeder

  She nodded. “That’s the plan. Ryan said I should tap you for good places to go.”

  “Give me a call. I love New Orleans.”

  “Actually, I have another question for you. What’s a great, expensive restaurant?”

  “Why ask me?”

  She cocked her head to the side and whispered, “Because you’re rich.”

  “How expensive?”

  “The best.” She quickly added, “Without making me mortgage my house.”

  “Foreign cuisine?”

  She shook her head. “I’m simple.”

  He leaned forward on the table so they were nearly nose-to-nose. “There’s nothing simple about you.”

  What had Ryan told him? Her entire life was simple, but she didn’t think arguing would be a good use of time. He inched away and began naming restaurants.

  Quinn scribbled notes frantically even as the bell rang. Griffin stood.

  “See ya later, Quinn.”

  “Uh-huh.” She didn’t look up from the pad of paper.

  As the men shifted, the brunette sitting to Quinn’s right leaned over and tapped her shoulder. Quinn looked at her.

  “That guy is so hot and you didn’t give him the time of day.”

  Quinn shrugged. “I know him. There’s no love connection for us. He’s a friend.”

  She thought about how quickly she tossed the comment out, but then she realized that she did consider Griffin a friend. They didn’t know each other all that well, but he was someone she never felt the need to duck away from. She enjoyed his company. Odd. For someone so used to having few friends, her circle was suddenly growing.

  The woman shook her head in disbelief and refocused her attention on the man in front of her. Quinn did the same.

  A little more than half an hour and eight men later, Mary called for a quick break. They had ten minutes to run to the bathroom and get a fresh drink. Quinn chose to take her break with Indy. She stood beside Indy’s table to stretch her legs.

  “So how’s it going?”

  “Long.” Quinn slapped business cards on the table and stretched her arms over her head. “The cards are in the order I met the guys. The first guy didn’t give me a card or his number. Not that I asked. The second guy was Griffin. The rest were all too old. Would it be too much to ask to have guys in their thirties? Some of them look near retirement. I took their cards to be polite. I can call them if I’m interested.”

  Indy stacked the cards neatly again. “But you’re not, are you?”

  “Not what?”

  “Interested. I don’t think any of those guys earned a smile from you. Except Griffin.”

  “I’m so overwhelmed. How am I supposed to make a judgment about someone in less than three minutes? I need to digest the information. It’s like bam-bam-bam. I can’t catch a breath.”

  Indy stood and threw an arm around Quinn’s shoulder. “It’s speed dating. You’re not supposed to think and digest. Feel and enjoy.” She squeezed Quinn’s shoulder and gave her a little shove back to her table.

  “Feel and enjoy. Feel and enjoy,” Quinn mumbled on her way back to her seat. “Some of us need to think and digest. We can’t just feel and enjoy.”

  She took her seat and realized she was mumbling loud enough to earn glances from other women who had already returned. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. A great guy might be here. I’ll miss him if I don’t relax. I could actually find someone for the rest of the summer if I give this a chance.

  She reopened her eyes and felt at ease. The worst that would happen was she’d have a pile of phone numbers to toss out. The best would be a date with someone decent.

  Mary rang the bell and men shuffled to find their spots.

  The man standing in front of Quinn was the familiar-looking one. At least he was young. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” Quinn answered, still desperate to place him.

  He took his seat, his eyes never leaving hers. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

  Quinn narrowed her eyes, searching her memory. “I’ve been trying to figure out where I know you from since you walked in.”

  He extended his hand. “Joe Cardena, Ms. Adams.”

  Her hand had barely touched his when it hit her and she dropped her hand. Her face flashed hot. “What are you doing here?”

  “Same thing as everyone else. Looking for a date.”

  “Are you even old enough to be in a bar?”

  “I’m twenty-four. Want to card me?” His smile was boyish and playful.

  Quinn shook her head. She remembered Joe. He’d been in her English class seven years ago. Her mortification must’ve been plain on her face.

  “Hey, we’re all adults here. Tell me about yourself. Are you still teaching at Jones?”

  She nodded. “I can’t do this. You know we can’t do this.”

  Joe leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Why not?” “You were my student.”

  “Was. I’m all grown up now. I’m out of college. I’m an ad man working at Burnet and Smith. I don’t live at home with Mom. I even have a car.”

  “It’s weird.” Her stomach churned.

  “I’m not feeling weird. If we never met before today, you’d talk to me, right? Maybe even give me your number.” His head tilted in question and his smile was disarming.

  In her mind, he was still a kid. “I doubt it, Joe. I’m still a lot older than you.”

  “Age shouldn’t be a factor.”

  Ding.

  Joe stood. He leaned close and slid a business card in front of her. “It was good to see you, Quinn. Maybe we can have a drink later.”

  Another man took Joe’s place. She could hardly focus. Only Indy would detect her plastered-on smile as fake. It was the same one she used at parent–teacher conferences.

  Her brain buzzed. She had a student hit on her. Correction, former student. And he was serious, unlike a student who had a crush. He was grown and old enough to drink legally. The thought had never crossed her mind that she’d ever run into a student in a social situation.

  Ding.

  She’d see a student occasionally at the grocery store or the mall. They usually smiled awkwardly and mumbled a hello. Sometimes one of the more gregarious girls might run up to her, squealing in excitement to see her as a real person.

  None had ever tried to strike up a personal conversation with her. Never had she been hit on by one.

  Ding.

  Three more men had appeared in front of her and she couldn’t recall a single detail about any of them. Quinn looked over at Indy, whose eyes were wide with concern.

  Quinn gave herself a mental shake. She offered a genuine smile and a wink to Indy. A man entered her vision. She turned her eyes from Indy.

  He extended his hand. “Hi, I’m—”

  “Colin.” The name slipped from her lips as truth even though she had never laid eyes on the man.

  He sat. One eyebrow rose. “Have we met?”

  “No, I’ve heard about you.”

  “That can’t be good.”

  Ryan was tired of hiding in his office. He’d told Mary he’d stay, but he had no desire to watch Quinn flirt with other men.

  They should be almost finished. He left his office and walked the perimeter of the dance floor, looking for Quinn. Sudden, loud laughter drew his attention. He immediately recognized the sound. He rounded the tables to confirm his suspicion.

  Colin was sitting with Quinn, making her laugh. Ryan’s fingers tightened into a fist. It was one thing for her to flirt with other men, but not his brother. He took two more steps before his path was blocked.

  Indy touched his arm. “Hi, Ryan. I didn’t know you were here.” She kissed his cheek. She didn’t need to reach up far because her heels added a good three inches to her height.

  “Hi.” His fingers loosened.

  She tugged his arm. “Come sit with me. We can make fun of all these people.”

  He looked at her from the corner of his eye.

&n
bsp; “Come on. How successful will any of this really be? Sure, you might get a few dates out of it, but the whole thing reeks of desperation.”

  They were already moving toward her table. She’d effectively maneuvered him away from Quinn. She was slick.

  “I’m Quinn’s scout. You can help me weed out the bad ones.”

  Ding.

  Ryan turned in time to watch Colin kiss Quinn’s cheek before moving to the next table. “Bad one,” Ryan said quietly, his eyes locked on the back of Colin’s head.

  “He made her laugh. He was the first guy to get more than a phony smile out of her since Griffin left her table.”

  “Griffin’s here too?”

  “Yeah.” She kept her eyes trained on Quinn’s table. “That’s Colin, right? Wow. A lot of competition.”

  “It’s no competition.” Indy quieted, sensing his mood. He scanned the rest of the crowd and shook off some of his irritation. He should’ve guessed Colin would be a fill-in for Mary. He’d always take a chance to meet more women.

  Ryan let another moment of silence tick by. “Is she having any luck?”

  Indy fanned out business cards on the table. “She got these before the break. The first half was rough. She felt overwhelmed. It didn’t help that most of the men are too old for her.”

  Ryan smiled.

  “There was a guy she thought she recognized. He came to her after the break and upset her. She blushed, paled, and then plastered on the phony smile. Until your brother, that is.”

  Ryan turned back to study Quinn. She wore her cool, polite exterior as always. He leaned to the side but couldn’t see under the table. If she was upset, he’d see her tapping, almost imperceptibly.

  Ding.

  The man sitting with her stood and in the brief moment before another took his place, their eyes met. Hers pleaded for escape. He forced a smile and she returned it stiffly.

  Another “date” blocked his view. This was like watching a disaster movie. You kept watching to see how bad it would get. Part of him felt bad for putting her through this.

  Indy touched his arm, drawing his attention. “I tried to talk her out of this.”

  “Hmmm?”

  “I tried to get Quinn to blow this off. I don’t know what she thinks she’s looking for.”

  “A romance that will end by the fall.”

  Indy grunted. “She needs to learn how to walk away from a plan when something better comes along.”

  Ryan shook his head. “She wants a baby.”

  “It’s crazy, right?”

  “Yeah, but what are we supposed to do? Walk away from her?”

  “I’m her sister. I can’t.”

  “Neither can I.” The words slipped passed without thought. It wasn’t an admission he planned to make. Certainly not to Indy.

  “Oh my God.” Indy hopped off her seat and stood in front of him.

  “You love her.”

  Her words startled him. “What? I didn’t say that.” He tried to look around Indy, but she shifted to block his evasion.

  “You said you can’t walk away.”

  His brain flipped, searching for a reason for the slip. “I care about her. She’s a good friend.”

  Indy’s eyes burned on his face. “That’s it? You’re friends?”

  “Yes.” He hoped he sounded convincing.

  Indy returned to her seat. “You both need a huge dose of reality.”

  Jenna stopped by and cleared Indy’s empty beer bottles. Indy ordered another, and Ryan asked for a glass of water.

  “We’re both grounded in reality. Quinn more so than anyone else I know.”

  “She told me she asked you to be her sperm donor.”

  He swallowed hard, grateful to see Jenna return with their drinks. He took a gulp of the ice water. “Yeah, she did.”

  “And?”

  He didn’t have an answer. He’d barely had a chance to digest the question. “I don’t know. I want her to be happy. Last week she didn’t want to take a chance on me getting her pregnant because I wouldn’t be able to walk away. The thing is, she’s right. I can’t walk away from my family. How would I walk away from a baby?”

  Indy’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in exasperation. “So tell her no.”

  “But then who knows what she’ll end up with. I wish she wouldn’t be in such a hurry for a baby.”

  “Convince her to wait. Make your move.”

  He scrambled to find the words to explain to her. “A relationship would . . . our friendship . . . It would get messy. Quinn’s afraid of messy.”

  She contemplated as she drank her beer. He’d never have pegged her as a beer drinker.

  “I hate to admit it, but you have a point. She needs to get used to messy, though. Life is messy. She misses out on so much.” She took a small drink and added, “She always has.”

  Indy tugged at the label of the beer bottle. She peeled carefully as Ryan absorbed her words. Maybe Indy wasn’t as flighty as she seemed. She removed the label in one piece and smoothed it onto the table.

  Ryan just watched.

  “What?”

  He pointed to the label. “Looking to get laid?”

  Suddenly Quinn stood between them. She lightly slapped his arm. “Stop flirting with my sister. You’re not her type.”

  “Done already?”

  “Yeah.”

  Indy slid the label over to Quinn. “Maybe you can use this.”

  “For what?”

  Indy shook her head pityingly. She looked at him. “She never was much of a drinker. Not even in college.” She turned back to Quinn. “If you can peel the label off in one piece, it’s good for a free lay.”

  Quinn’s forehead crinkled. “That’s ridiculous. First, I’m not going to sleep with any of these guys tonight. Second, peeling off the label is no big deal for you. You’ve had lots of practice.” Quinn stomped her feet as if she’d lost circulation.

  Ryan barked out a laugh. “Did you just call your sister a slut?”

  Quinn’s cheeks reddened. “No, I meant she had practice because she’s worked at a lot of bars.”

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m tired of sitting. Ready to go?” she asked Indy.

  Indy held up her bottle, showing it was more than half full. “Tell me about the second half.”

  “Worse than the first. I don’t remember much.”

  “What was with the guy you recognized?”

  Quinn shifted again.

  Indy took a drink, waiting for Quinn to elaborate.

  Quinn leaned forward between Indy and Ryan, and whispered, “He’s a former student.”

  Indy began to sputter and pressed her hand to her mouth to stop from spewing beer. Ryan handed her a napkin.

  Once she finished choking, Indy began a full-on laugh.

  Quinn stiffened. “This is not funny.”

  Unfortunately, Indy’s laughter was contagious and Ryan chuckled.

  Quinn turned to him. “Et tu, Brute?”

  Laughter burst from his chest. He couldn’t prevent it even if he tried. Right now, she looked so offended, he didn’t attempt to stop laughing.

  As Indy dabbed the tears from the corners of her eyes, his laughter abated. Quinn stood with her arms crossed. “How can you think this is funny?”

  He took a deep breath. “It’s not, but as soon as you said it, all I could think of was ‘Hot for Teacher.’ ” His comment caused another round of laughs.

  Griffin walked up to the table. “This looks like a fun table. What’s the joke?”

  “There is no joke.” Quinn glared at Ryan.

  Griffin waited while Ryan and Indy regained their composure. Ryan couldn’t remove the smile, but he touched Quinn’s arm. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

  Indy looked up at Griffin. “One of the speed daters is Quinn’s former student.”

  “Oh shit.”

  Quinn’s head tilted. “See? That is an appropriate response. Not laughing at the situati
on like a couple of kids sharing bodily function jokes.”

  Ryan clamped his mouth shut and Indy bit her lip. They glanced at each other briefly but realized it would quickly result in more laughter. They looked away, allowing Quinn to think her reprimand worked.

  Griffin pulled two stools around the edge of the table, gestured for Quinn to sit, and waved Jenna over.

  They quietly placed their order and Ryan drained the rest of his water.

  Mary tapped the microphone at the front of the room. “Excuse me. I wanted to thank everyone for coming out tonight to make O’Leary’s first singles event a success. Please drop me a line if you’ve met a love match tonight.”

  Quinn snorted.

  Mary continued, “And keep an eye out for information on our next event.” Her eyes locked on Ryan’s as the crowd applauded. She swept her arm out to draw his attention to her success.

  The smaller groups began to mingle and talk with drinks in hand. No one seemed to be in a hurry to leave, so it seemed like it would be profitable night after all. Unlike Colin’s debacle last night.

  With a straight face, Indy asked again, “What about the rest of the guys?”

  Quinn shrugged. “I was so upset after Joe appeared, I couldn’t focus. I think a couple gave me their cards out of pity.”

  Colin strode up behind Quinn. “I thought you were fine.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped.

  Ryan’s hand tightened on his empty glass.

  Colin nodded to Griffin, placed his beer on the table, and reached across him to Indy. “Hi. I’m Colin, Ryan’s brother.”

  She shook his hand coolly and evaluated him as she spoke. “We met years ago when I worked here. I’m Quinn’s sister, Indy.”

  Colin leaned his arms on the table and focused on Indy. “I think I remember you. You used to sing during closing while cleaning the tables.”

  “Good memory.” She took a drink from her bottle.

  “We should catch up.”

  Indy ignored Colin’s offer to catch up. “What about you, Griffin? Any sparks?”

  Jenna returned with drinks for everyone, including Colin, who hadn’t been there when they ordered.

  “The women were nice enough. I might make a call or two.” He took a drink from his bottle of beer, the same brand Indy was drinking. Intense gazes flashed between Indy and Griffin.