Sarah bit back a chuckle. Liz seemed not to notice, and she continued. “He respects you. He listens to you. I see it. What you do and say matters to him. And though he acts devil-may-care, it was a charade until you showed up and the real Quinn—the genuine, lighthearted one—re-emerged. I thought it had been lost.”
As she absorbed the details of Quinn’s family, Sarah’s head reeled. No way was she what Liz played her up to be, but still, she was touched.
She swiped at an errant tear on her cheek. “I’m so sorry about what happened, Liz. But at the same time, I’m glad you told me. It explains … Well, that insight helps me understand your family dynamic a little better.”
Liz sighed. “It’s a rather ugly dynamic. And my heart aches for us all. Especially Ronan. He’s turned this tragedy into something even more twisted by being vengeful. Did Quinn tell you about Jennifer?” When Sarah shook her head, Liz followed up with, “No, that doesn’t surprise me. It’s just one more unpleasant memory. Would you like to hear it?”
Did Sarah want to hear it? A surprising tug of jealousy said no. But curiosity, and a desire to understand, won the argument. “Yes, I would.”
“Quinn had just started dating Jennifer, a lovely girl. It wasn’t serious, but Ronan, for reasons known only to Ronan, pursued her behind Quinn’s back. I guess he wanted whatever he thought belonged to Quinn. And he got her.”
“So Ronan’s wife … the kids …”
“Yes. That’s Quinn’s Jen.”
Quinn’s Jen. Sarah realized her mouth had dropped open. “He must have been devastated.” Even as her head spun with everything Liz had stuffed into it, she tried to picture this girl Quinn had dated. It didn’t seem right to ask to see a picture of the happy family just to satisfy her perverse curiosity.
She realized Liz was talking, and she tuned back in. “It wasn’t as though Quinn was ready to marry the girl, but the idea that his brother—who’d once been his best friend—would hate him so much that he’d do such a thing … It was a blow, you know?”
Sarah recoiled. Where in the narrative was the blame to be laid at Jennifer’s feet? Ronan betrayed his brother by going after her in the first place, but it took two to tango, and Jennifer’s betrayal was just as stomach-turning as Ronan’s.
Liz seemed to remember herself. “Oh my gosh, Sarah. You have a date to get to, and I’m holding you up.” She made a pushing motion with her hands. “Go enjoy yourself!”
A bit dazed, Sarah left Liz’s room and wandered to the kitchen, only to face Quinn, who stood like a massive tree, his arms crossed over his chest. As he looked her over—with an expression she couldn’t read—she looked him over. Through yet another entirely different facet of the same crystal she’d been looking through. Who was this man?
Chapter 23
Sparky Blows a Fuse
Quinn tried to hold his jaw in place so it didn’t swing open and smack him in the chest. Because goddamn! Sarah cleaned up really, really well. Not that he’d suspected she wouldn’t clean up or that she wasn’t gorgeous in her natural state. But still, seeing her like this stole the breath from his lungs. And he hadn’t counted on that.
Women who caught his attention were typically either beautiful or hot. Sarah was beautifully hot. Or hotly beautiful. He couldn’t decide because he couldn’t put two words together, let alone muster a coherent string. So he just stared at her. And stared at her.
“What?” she snapped, bringing him out of his fog.
“I just … You’re not wearing one of your goofy T-shirts.”
“No, Sparky. I’m going on a grown-up date.”
“Dressed like that?” Oh Christ, could I sound any stupider?
Glancing downward, she ran her hands over her flat stomach and curvy hips, smoothing her clothes. He covertly made a thorough perusal of his own while her attention was drawn to her self-examination.
Fuck. Me.
He stood rooted in place by indecision. Should he follow her? Not let her leave in the first place? Throw her over his shoulder caveman style and haul her … into his bedroom? Or let her walk away?
She raised her hazel gaze to his, which was when he noticed she’d gone to the trouble of putting on makeup. Not a lot, but enough to brighten her eyes and skin. “What’s wrong with how I’m dressed? I thought the outfit was rather classy.”
Classy. Yeah, that was one way to describe the silky, form-fitting purple top and dark skinny jeans. Though it was modest, as in it covered everything, something about the outfit was also incredibly sexy. Maybe it was the way it made her smoky eyes pop. Or maybe it was because the fabric draped what it covered and put it on display, hinting at the skin beneath without revealing it. Maybe it was the damn stilettos. Really high, really shiny, really black. With a little bow on them.
He was grinding his back teeth so hard his jaw ached. He plastered on a fake smirk. “Isn’t that a little over the top for a guy you don’t know?”
Those beautiful eyes flashed and narrowed. “What are you? My second brother now?”
He tilted his head side to side, faking indifference. “I told Gage I’d look out for you.”
She snorted. “I don’t need him doing that, and I certainly don’t need you taking over for him, Junior.”
Junior? How could such an innocent word sting so badly and reduce him to a squawky-voiced, barely shaving punk?
He’d ponder that later. Right now, he was fixated on Sarah and her date. He’d done his intel on Drew. He knew the guy was a few years older than Sarah—one of those mature men she was so fond of. Not to mention he was some sort of damn consultant in the tech field, which made him smart. Fuck! And
