Hope on the Rocks by Annabeth Albert

Twelve

Quinn

“Maybe this blue is too blue.” I was taking too long, dithering over paint choices. Adam was being kind, but I could tell that he was running out of patience. My first inclination was to choose a blue that was closer to gray. The truer blues seemed too bright.

“There’s such a thing?” Adam held up two of the paint cards I’d selected.

“Well, the article wasn’t entirely specific as to exactly which shades were best for sleep.” Not for the first time, I wished articles in popular magazines used peer-reviewed journal research standards. I wanted to know precisely how to duplicate their results.

“How about you trust your own taste instead of the research?” Adam handed the color cards back to me. “Which one do you like most?”

I held up one that I kept coming back to, a muted bluish purple that would look nice on the rare occasions I let light in, and it would also be pretty late at night with lamps too. “Well, this one is nice, but it’s more purple. It’s sure pretty though.”

“Sold.” Adam plucked the other choices from my hand and replaced them in the display, leaving me holding the lilac one. “I bet you sleep like a baby on Sunday after it dries. Spring for the low-odor eco formula, unless you want to sleep at my place Sunday, let it air out.”

“That’s an option?” I raised an eyebrow at how easily he could discuss things like spending the night that, in my experience, were more emotionally charged for most people. Or maybe only me. My limited sample size was not doing me any favors when it came to navigating whatever this arrangement with Adam was.

“Sleeping over? Yeah, sure. I’m not looking to punch a clock here. If we’re having a good time and we’re both tired, sleeping makes sense wherever it occurs.”

Oh. His logic was so simple that I had to chuckle at my ability to twist my brain in knots. “I guess I tend to overthink things.”

“Yup. But you’re cute.” Squeezing my shoulder, Adam steered me toward the paint department desk. “Have them mix up your paint while we go grab the lightbulb. I’m getting extras to try to avoid a repeat trip.”

After conferring with Adam about how many gallons I needed, I gave the young clerk the paint chip I’d chosen, and they promised it would be ready in a few minutes.

“Do you need to install the lightbulb tonight?” I asked Adam as he loaded the cart with fluorescent tubes and some regular ones too. I was glad they covered up the pillow I was apparently buying. It was soft and pretty and would match the paint, but I still wasn’t used to so easily discussing my kinks with another person.

“I should. Should only take about five minutes if you want to swing by the place on our way back into town.”

“Sure.” I could be flexible since I was off the next day as well. “I still intend to feed you at some point, even if it’s a late dinner. It’s already in the fridge. A chicken and rice salad from a new recipe that looked perfect for June.”

“Sounds good. You do love your veggies, don’t you?” His tone was joking, but I’d already picked up on Adam’s belief that all meals started with the protein and lots of it.

“They’re good for you. And tasty. Eat your broccoli tonight, and I might let you talk me into trying venison.” I teased him right back, but now I was the one making future plans, acting like we were a couple who shared more than bedroom time.

“Deal.” Adam’s ready acceptance of my offer made me want to be as laidback about all of this as he was, simply accept this summer fling for what it was and stop with my incessant overthinking.

“Bring the meat on Sunday?”

“You know I will.” He added a leer that had my skin heating almost as much as it had at the pillow display.

We kept things light and flirty on our drive back, no more serious talk like Adam’s earlier story about high school. I couldn’t imagine being outed like that while I was still in high school. Being the bookish nerd who never quite fit in had been hard enough for me. He’d brushed it off, but he’d showed seriously impressive character by staying in town and channeling an undoubtedly deep wound into a successful business.

Seeing the more vulnerable side to Adam made him even sexier to me. His complexities made him less of a fantasy and more someone real, someone I enjoyed talking to a great deal. For all that I kept balking at growing too close to him, anyone would be lucky to have someone like him as a friend.

“Turn here.” Interrupting my musing, Adam gave me directions to the rental, which was down the street from the B&B and close to the other rental that Adam was living in. The small white house had a beachy feel to it without being cheesy.

“This is a nice place. It has character.” I parked in the driveway, leaving enough room for us to walk around to the garage door. Adam quickly entered a code to raise the garage door.

“Yeah, Mom’s amazing at finding run-down rentals and seeing their potential. She flips them with tourists in mind and is able to turn a profit.” Pride dripped from Adam’s voice. He kept the door open, allowing in enough outside light to work. “She inherited the B&B house initially, but all her properties have a lot of sweat equity. It’s not all me either. She does a lot too. Taught me how to use a drill and how to paint. This one here took gallons of cream paint for the interior. It had birds in the kitchen—literal birds—until we got through with the rehab.”

“That’s awesome. Maybe I should have looked harder before I signed on my condo. I wasn’t up for a big remodeling project, but you can’t beat the personality of these older homes.”

“Or the value.” Adam nodded sagely as he retrieved a small ladder tucked into a corner of the spotless garage. As he set it up under the light fixture, I had to appreciate the flex of his muscles, the way his broad back stretched his shirt and his thick thighs made me want to be between them again.

“Have you ever been tempted to get your own place?” I asked to distract myself from my growing arousal while he opened the lightbulb package. This better be quick. The little peck of a kiss he’d given me earlier had done nothing other than make me more parched for the real deal.

“Eventually, maybe.” He shrugged before handing me the lightbulb so he could climb the ladder. “Saving so much money on rent, I was able to invest in the tavern with Mason and Logan. But I’ve got ideas if I ever find the right property for myself.”

“Oh? Hunting trophy décor?” My gaze was locked on his meaty ass. The combination of how competent he was with the job at hand and his attractiveness made me all warm and loose, like one of his cocktails. It was fun to tease, but it was only too easy to imagine cozy images of house-hunting with Adam and how he’d be amazing at turning a house into an actual home.

“Don’t knock a nice set of antlers. Ambiance.” Reaching down, he accepted the lightbulb from me.

“Ha.” I laughed.

“Yoo-hoo!” a voice called from the driveway.

Breaking away from ogling Adam’s ass, I turned to see his mom walk into the garage. She carried a covered dish and was dressed in a T-shirt advertising her B&B. Her swept-back, faded auburn hair and curvy figure made her look younger than the late fifties she probably was.

Smiling as she approached us, she looked up at Adam. “I thought I saw a car here, but not your truck. Heard your voice though.”

“Yeah. I wanted to get this done before tomorrow for you.” Adam’s tone was conversational as he concentrated on positioning the new lightbulb. “What happened to the East Coast reservation you needed to be here for?”

“Delayed flight.” She made a dismissive gesture with her free hand. “And you left your casserole on the counter. Figured you might want it for breakfast.”

“Thanks. It smelled amazing. I appreciate it.” Finishing with the light, he gave his mom an appreciative grin as he climbed off the ladder.

“There’s enough to share.” Her speculative look made me want to shrink into the shadows. Clearly, she hadn’t missed the way I’d been eating Adam up with my eyes when she’d arrived.

“Mother.” Adam’s tone was fondly exasperated. “And Quinn, you probably know my mom, Patsy.”

“Doctor.” Her eyes flashed before she set the dish on the nearby workbench. She extended a hand. “I’m not sure we’ve had the pleasure of a formal introduction.”

I shook her hand. “Probably means you kept healthy this winter.”

“I try. I’m healthy as a horse, no matter what this one thinks.” She waved a hand in Adam’s direction. “He’s banned me from ladders.”

“What happens when you climb one?” Automatically, my tone became professional.

“Oh, nothing to worry about. I get a little lightheaded. That’s all. Probably just getting older. Happens if I stand up too fast as well, so I just take it a little slower these days.”

I didn’t agree with her assessment that it was nothing worth worrying about. “When was the last time you had your blood pressure taken?”

“Hmm. Fall, maybe? The nurse insisted before I got my flu shot.”

“How about you stop by the clinic some day this week and let our PA do a quick check on your numbers?” I suggested. The physician assistant at our urgent care clinic handled routine preventative-care appointments. “We’re often pretty slow in the afternoons, or you can call for a time if you don’t want to wait as a walk-in. It should be a fast appointment, and you don’t want to ignore those symptoms.”

“I don’t need a checkup.” She wrinkled her nose.

“You’re going.” Returning from stowing the ladder, Adam broke out his stern voice for her. He certainly could be plenty authoritative when he wanted to be. “You can either tell the nice doctor yes, or I’ll take you myself.”

“You don’t need to trouble yourself.” Not cowed by Adam’s command, she patted his cheek. “If it puts your mind to rest, I’ll go in.”

Their strong bond was obvious with every exchange, and I saw why Adam was so ready to help her. In addition to being a pleasant person to be around, she also seemed to utterly adore him.

“Thank you.” Adam and I both spoke at the same time, and Patsy gave a girlish laugh.

“So…” She drew the word out as she looked between us. “Are you doing house calls now, Doctor? Or…”

“Mother,” Adam groaned. “Quinn’s a friend. I’m helping him with a painting project.”

That was technically the truth and a far better explanation than what we were actually up to.

“Oh, how nice.” Her tone was overly bright, the sort of encouraging mom tone that made me more than a little wistful. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you both to it.”

“Thanks for the food, Mom. I’ll bring the dish back later in the week.” Adam gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking her out to the driveway.

“Sorry,” he said as he returned to me. “She means well, even if she is nosy.”

“She’s fine. Make sure she actually follows up with getting her blood pressure checked.”

“You think it’s something to worry about?” His forehead creased.

“Probably not, but dizzy spells aren’t something to ignore. And if it’s high blood pressure, better to catch it early.”

“Yep.” Adam nodded pragmatically. “I’ll make sure she goes in. My own blood pressure is going to be stellar after I eat all the vegetables you’ve got on the menu. You ready for dinner”

“Among other things.” Even after his mother’s interruption, low-level arousal continued to make my body hum with awareness.

“Good boy.” Those two words uttered in his velvety-deep voice turned the dial on my lust up to a full-bodied roar. I couldn’t wait to see what Adam had in store for me.