Under the Boardwalk

can get more pleasant around here?”

Maria nodded. “And since I’ve been such a bitch, the least I can do is give you one piece of information.”

“I thought you didn’t see or hear anything about Zoe that night.”

“It’s just that what I heard and what I trust are two different things. And since I saw you kissing Quinn, I didn’t know if I should tell you.”

Ariana’s fingers clutched her purse tightly, her knuckles turning white and her nerves prickling with anticipation. “I want to know anything about Zoe. Even if it involves Quinn.” Especially if it involved Quinn.

“You haven’t been here long but I’m sure you realize Quinn’s considered a prime catch.”

Ariana raised an eyebrow. “I hadn’t heard.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Come on. He’s single, he’s gorgeous, and he’s Damon’s right-hand man. Who wouldn’t want a piece of that?”

“I don’t know,” Ariana murmured. She didn’t want to think of other women ogling Quinn or his interest in them. Not when her interest in Quinn was growing with each passing day. “What does this have to do with my sister?”

“Well, he’s also a prime topic for gossip and speculation, especially since unlike Damon, he keeps to himself instead of choosing from his pick of women.”

Do tell, Ariana thought.

“Anyway, when Zoe disappeared and then the police came around, people here wondered if he had something to do with it.” Maria shook her head. “But it never sat right with me, you know? Quinn can be cold and disinterested. It’s the strong, silent quality that attracts women, but…” She shook her head.

“But what?” Ariana pushed harder. Maria had come so far in confiding in Ariana. She couldn’t stop now.

“Look.” Maria waved a hand through the air. “I’ve been in a bad relationship and I like to think I’d recognize a guy who’d do wrong by a woman. Quinn just isn’t one of them.” She pulled the door open. “I just thought you should know,” she said before slamming the door behind her.

Ariana let out a long stream of air. She wanted to agree with Maria and in her heart she did. But if she was here to investigate, she had no choice but to pursue leads, no matter where they led.

And so far her only tip pointed to Quinn. A man Ariana had already decided to get to know better.

• • •

Connor wiped down the bar and poured himself a beer. They were closed for the night and all his waitresses were long gone. Except for Maria. Though she was normally the first one in and the first one out, tonight she stuck around even longer, helping him clean. He watched the sway of her hips and the determination she put into everything she did. Man, he had it bad.

Returning to business, he recalled the brief conversation he’d had with the “customer” who was actually working along with himself and Quinn. He’d signaled her to follow Ariana to the ladies’ room and make sure she stayed out of trouble. The woman had been able to eavesdrop on Ariana’s conversation with Maria. The two waitresses still hadn’t hit it off, but Maria had come around and given Ari some vague information, the woman had told him.

Maria hadn’t done anything more than supplied the realities and the rumors as she’d heard them. At least Ariana hadn’t gone snooping around any of the offices, which was what he and Quinn were afraid of and was the reason he’d had her followed. The same way he’d had her tailed after her shift ended since Quinn hadn’t shown up to take her home. Damn Damon anyway, Connor thought. The man was a pain in the ass. Both Connor and Quinn would be happy to see the last of him.

A low tune interrupted his thoughts and the happy humming settled inside him, warm and comforting. Maria. She was still cleaning, happy in her work despite the late hour and the grueling time on her feet.

He admired her. “You’ve cleaned enough. I can already see your reflection in the tables. Care to tell me why you’re still hanging around?”

She seated herself on a barstool and met his gaze, propping her chin in her hand. “I’ve been asking myself that same question.”

“Are you reconsidering my invitation?” He’d been asking her on a date nightly since they’d met. Of course only an idiot put up with so much rejection, but there was something about this woman that wouldn’t let him shelve his desire and forget about her.

Perhaps it was because she gave him a glimpse of himself. A solitary person needing a break from the daily grind. They’d have hot sex, that much he knew for sure, and the desire thrumming through him backed up his hunch. The fact that sometimes he wanted to know her secrets wasn’t something he liked to contemplate. He was a man used to being alone. He didn’t know how to open up and he didn’t care to try.

Flirting, however, was another story. “Well, sweetstuff?”

“I might be thinking about changing my mind.” She studied him closely as she chewed on a piece of bubble gum. She blew a bubble that he tried in vain to pop before she sucked it back between those lips he was dying to kiss.

“Dare I ask why the sudden shift?”

She shrugged. “Sometimes the harder you try to avoid something, the more it crowds you.” She stood and slid her hand into her apron pocket. “If you’re serious, you can pick me up at noon on my next day off.” She handed him a scrap of paper.

He glanced down and saw her handwritten address. He was completely taken off guard, and for a split second, his stomach churned with all the excitement and anticipation of an adolescent who’d just gotten a yes to his first date. “I’ll be there.”

She started to walk away, then turned, uncertainty in her eyes. “Remember what they say.”

“What’s that?”

“What you get may be much more than you bargained for.”

He laughed, but once again his gut tightened. He had the distinct impression this date could change his life forever.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Damn Quinn. If he was going to insist on being her chauffeur, the least he could do was show up to drive her home. At two A.M., Ariana had no desire to hunt around the casino looking for him. She started with the small bar where she’d seen him the first time, but he wasn’t there. Now she headed for his office, her thoughts in turmoil.

Nothing she’d learned about Quinn or Zoe made any sense. She recounted the facts that worked against Quinn: She didn’t know much about him and he’d been less than forthcoming about who he was and what his relationship had been to her sister. People at Damon’s wondered if he’d had anything to do with Zoe’s disappearance, and though he claimed to know for a fact her twin was alive, he refused to divulge more information. Until tonight he’d kept close tabs on Ariana during her time in the casino-because he was afraid she’d discover he was somehow involved? All the circumstantial evidence didn’t place Quinn in the best light.

But she wasn’t ready to count him out. Wasn’t it possible that Maria, who’d been a bitch since day one, had intended to cause problems for her and Quinn? Ariana shook her head. That theory didn’t work, because it served Maria’s interest to have Ariana involved with any man other than Connor.

But ironically also working in Quinn’s favor was the fact that he claimed her sister was alive. Added to that, her crazy family seemed to like and trust him. His deep caring for Sam proved he was a decent human being. And Ariana was falling hard for the man.

Her last relationship had been with a fellow professor who’d been as excited about Freud as he was about her. Sadly, that passion hadn’t translated physically for either of them. They’d agreed to be friends, went to university events together, but there’d been no real romance in her life for way too long.

Quinn gave her excitement. He made her feel desired and sexy and completely feminine even when he was in one of his darker, not-speaking moods. While she was in town, she wanted to get to know him better. Her search