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Delaney
Shit. What was I doing?I just slept with Quinn McCauliffe—had himin my bed, in fact, for the entire night—and the first words out of my mouth this morning were, ‘We shouldn’t tell anyone.’
Seriously, WTF? Quinn was the hottest, sexiest guy I’d ever been with and I’d managed to blow it in less than twenty-four hours. That had to be some perverse sort of record I didn’t want to hold.
What in the actual fuck was my deal? Taking a shaky breath, I exhaled long and loud into my silent room. I hated to admit it, even to myself, but deep-down I recognized this swirly, insecure feeling and I didn’t like it one little bit.
I was scared. Scared because I always picked the wrong guys. Like, one hundred percent of the time. And multiple signs pointed to Quinn fitting that exact profile. As Mars had noted: tall, dark, and unavailable.
Scared because the last time I’d let my guard down was with Holden and he’d ghosted me. Even worse, he was my teacher at the time and I still had to show up to his class for the rest of the semester.#awkward.
Scared because I felt something again and every time that happened, I ended up alone, nursing a broken heart. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I was up for that again. I’d heard the rumors about Quinn and even though he seemed great on the surface, who was to say he wouldn’t bolt at the first sign of a real relationship?
I wanted to believe he’d stay, but he’d just proven otherwise, hadn’t he?
* * *
“Girl, what are you doing?” Mars asked as he embraced me in a fierce hug. “Seriously, have you lost your damn mind? The man is beautiful, likes you, could be perfect for you—maybe even The One—and did I mention he’s gorgeous? And you tell him you have to keep it on the DL because of your BROTHERS? What are you, like, twelve?” He shot me an incredulous look, shaking his head.
“I know,” I said, my voice coming out a strangled moan. “I really, really blew it, Mars. Like, totally choked under pressure.”
“Girl, you more than blew it. The Michelin judges were in the house, your soufflé fell flat, and you went and served it anyway. I’m not sure you can recover.”
“Well, thanks, Mars, for that vote of confidence,” I said, sighing as I sank, deflated, against the counter.
“Sorry. Just speaking my truth. But, hey, I wasn’t there. Maybe it’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be.”
I shook my head sadly. “No. That’s pretty much how it went down. He got dressed and walked out.”
Mars let out a low, soft whistle. “Damn.”
“I know. So what should I do?” I asked, throwing my hands up in the air. “I didn’t mean to upset him.”
“You hurt his ego, Lane. That’s a big deal, especially to a guy like Quinn. You’re going to have to do something dramatic to earn his trust back.”
“Like what?” I asked, head cocked. I was pretty sure Quinn was worth doing something dramatic for.
“Give me your phone.” In one swift move, Mars had my cell and was scrolling through numbers, then typing away.
“What? No, wait!” I grabbed for the phone, but Mars pulled it out of my reach as I heard the familiarwhooshof a sent message.
“Oh no!” I groaned. “What did you say?”
Snatching my phone back, I held my breath as I read.
Quinn—Sorry about this AM. I really blew it. Please forgive me. Can we talk?D
I shook my head, sitting down hard on the nearest chair.
“Lanie, you don’t have too many options here,” Mars said, joining me at the table.
“I know. That was just really...”
“Honest?” Mars said, his dark eyebrows raised.
I nodded.
“Sweetie, sometimes that’s what it takes.” He patted my thigh like the wise old soul he was.
