She stood with her back to the wall, arms crossed over her chest defiantly. “No.”
She may have acted like she didn’t care, but her gorgeous black dress and teased curls told me different. “C’mon. Take a guy out there and dance with him. You’ll make his night.”
Her narrowed eyes landed on me. “Would you stop pushing? What’s the matter with you?”
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling. “All right, I’ll leave it alone.”
The emcee, a popular radio host from our local radio station, took to the stage. He was a handsome man in his forties with dark hair cut neatly and smiling brown eyes. He took the microphone and called into it, “Good evening, all, and welcome to this year’s D&D!” The crowd cheered. He went on, “How awesome does this place look tonight?”
The crowd went off again. One guy even wolf-whistled, and my ego inflated my head two sizes.
I peered around the room and smiled. It was exactly as I had pictured it to be. The crew we hired to decorate did an amazing job, sitting this event on the fence of chic and fun. The colors of the evening were white, black, and gold, and I was more than impressed with the venue and its catering services. The deejay was a guy who Ella had hired before for a Christmas party, so we knew he’d be well received, and the radio station was extremely accommodating.
The emcee calmed the crowd and spoke with a smile. “A quick thanks to Ella and Mia from Addison Limited for their time and all the hard work they put into the ball.” He looked over to the both of us, pointing, as a spotlight just about blinded me. “There they are. C’mon. Give them a round of applause.”
I stepped back into Ella, mortified at the sudden attention, and she clutched my arm, chuckling. The crowd did their thing, clapping, cheering, and whistling, before the emcee took the unwanted attention away once more. “Good job, ladies! Now, we’re going to pump up the jams; party like it’s your birthday, and remember: you’re here to mingle, so get out there and do your thing.”
The deejay played Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and the crowd cheered in appreciation.
The night was turning out better than I expected. I’d checked and double-checked that everyone was on top of their designated jobs, and thankfully, there weren’t any screw-ups or double bookings on the day. Having Ella by my side made my confidence boost. She was becoming my security blanket. She had years of experience on me, and her knowledge on all things events was astounding. I was in complete awe of her. She was a great friend too.
Which was exactly why I did what I did.
She turned her back to the dance floor and sighed. “Can I get out of here? This is depressing.”
I watched the man approach from behind. I said a stern, “No,” as he tapped her shoulder.
Without turning, she shook her head. “Beat it, buddy,” then whined, “I’ve been here long enough, Mia. Please, let me leave.”
I almost stomped my foot, but kept my cool. “Someone wants your attention.”
She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t come here to dance.” As the fingers tapped her shoulder again, she repeated louder, “I said I didn’t come here to dance.”
I fought my smile and said softly, “Maybe you should turn around.”
Her shoulders bunched as the fingers lightly tapped her once more. I watched her silently fume. Steeling her shoulders, she turned to face her secret admirer. “Can’t you take a hint?”
Laughter bubbled into my throat, but I stopped it by clamping my hand over my mouth tightly. Ella’s face turned confused as she looked up, then up, then up some more until she looked into his eyes. “Hey. Hi. Hey. Um…”
“Mike,” the bartender from the bar we’d gone to spoke gently, his voice rough. He held out his hand and took Ella’s without permission, not shaking it, just holding it, cradling it, as though she were the most precious thing he’d ever seen.
“Mike,” she repeated dumbly. Snapping out of her stupor, she responded softly, “I’m Ella.”
He smiled then, and it beamed. “I know, sweetheart.” He winked at me and I waved, smiling. “A little bird told me that if I made it tonight, you’d dance with me.”
Ella turned to face me, never pulling her hand from Mike’s tattooed hand. “Oh, is that right?”
My eyes widened and I shook my head at the same time Mike nodded. “Yep.” He must’ve seen the hesitation in her eyes, because his smile gentled. “You’re not gonna make a liar out of your friend now, are you?”
But still, she hesitated. And I knew exactly what she was thinking. I stepped forward and gripped her arm. “Can I speak to Ella alone, Mike? We’ll be just a second.”
He released her, albeit reluctantly, and I pulled her a short distance away. She shook her head, clearly distressed. “No. No, Mia. Why?”
“Because he likes you! And you can hide all you like behind that crazy hair and attitude, but this is me, El. I know you like him.”
She turned her sad eyes up to me. Blinking away tears, she choked out, “He thinks I’m easy. He was there. He saw what happened; that’s the only reason he wants me. Just for a bathroom fuck.”
Then I turned mama bear on her. “Hey!” I nearly yelled. “Do you think I’d let a man hurt you again? I was there too, honey. I saw what happened. I held you in my arms after it happened. Do you think I want to see that again?” She didn’t respond. “Mike is good people. He’s our people. He’s sweet, and funny, and…” I glanced over to him, watching as he stood tall, his muscular arms crossed over his chest, scaring anyone within an arm’s distance away. “…he’s a little rough around the edges, sure, but he’s honest and he likes you. You, Ella.”
I saw jealously flash in her eyes. “How do you know how he is?”
I grinned, glee apparent. “Possessiveness is a good color on you.” She flipped me the bird and I laughed. “I may have gone down to the bar with my brother last week. We caught Mike at the end of his shift and he remembered me; well, he remembered you. He came over to our booth and asked about you. He seemed genuinely concerned.”
Her face softened. “He did?”
I nodded. “Yes. And he was a little overly concerned about whether I gave you his note too. I asked why he didn’t put his number on it, and you know what he said?”
She shook her head, eyes wide. “What did he say?”
My heart melted at the memory. “He said…” I fought a dreamy sigh. “He said, ‘It wasn’t the gentlemanly thing to do.’”
Ella’s hesitation disappeared. She smoothed her hands down her dress and turned on her heel. I followed at a quick jog. For a little woman, she was quick. She stopped toe-to-toe with Mike, reached out, and took his hand. “Would you like to dance with me?”
He looked down at her like she was the only person in the room. His lip lifted in the corners and he entwined his fingers with hers. “Thought you’d never ask.”
They walked onto the dance floor and slow danced to “Mickey” by Toni Basil. In fact, they slow danced all night long, getting closer and closer until I couldn’t tell them apart. And just like that, my night had gone from good to great.
I wasn’t to know it wouldn’t stay that way for very long.
Not until I saw him.
I glanced around the room, mouthing the words to OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” when I spotted him. He was dancing with a pretty, short, petite redhead with thick-rimmed glasses and a killer smile.
He was laughing at something she said then he turned to face me. And he did something horrible. He smiled.
Matt Quinn was working. He was working at my event. With a pretty redhead. And later, he would take her home and fuck her. Because that was what Matt Quinn did.
The very thought turned my insides. He knew all of this, and he had the nerve to smile at me? My stomach clenched painfully as my heart thundered in my chest. I felt faint. Blood roared through my ears and my palms began to sweat. Was this payback for my going on a date?
I didn’t ever remember telling Quinn the name of t
he event I was planning. I would have to rule this a coincidence. A terrible, horrifying coincidence.
My heart hammered in my chest as I watched him dance with his ward. He leaned down to whisper something into her ear, placing a familiar hand at her shoulder.
I couldn’t watch. It was too painful. I spun on my heels, begging my feet to take me away. They took me away at a fast pace, not stopping until I reached the women’s bathroom.
Unshed tears stung my eyes, and just as I reached out to push the ladies’ room door open, a large hand came down on my shoulder. “Mia, wait.” He spun me around, brought his face down to mine, and searched my miserable expression and bright eyes. His voice softened. “Oh, baby. What’s wrong?” He reached down, caressing my wrists gently in a comforting gesture that only made my blood boil.
“What’s wrong?” I repeated on a whisper. I straightened a little and my voice cracked. “What’s wrong?” I leaned forward an inch and hissed, “You’re here. That’s what’s wrong, Matt.”
His brows furrowed at my tone. He rose to his full height and shrugged lightly, weakly. “I didn’t know this was your event until the emcee announced it, I swear. I realize it’s not professional to—”
I barked a laugh, pulling my wrist from his light grip. “You think I give a shit about professionalism right now?”
Quinn watched me a long moment before muttering, “I thought we were getting past what happened. I thought—”
I cut him off, voice heavy with sarcasm. “You thought it would be cool to bring your work right under my goddamn nose? You thought I’d want to see you with some floozy you’re going to take home at the end of the night and f—”
Something changed in Quinn’s eyes then, and I knew I’d spoken harshly out of anger. He lowered his voice, thinking hard before speaking. “Michelle is a nice lady.” He looked over at his date, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from following. “She’s about as much of a floozy as you are, Mia.” The woman, Michelle, stood at the opposite side of the room, against the wall, looking around uncomfortably, rubbing her arms in a soothing way.
Quinn spoke even softer. “She’s having a hard time dealing with something that happened to her when she was just a girl, something bad. She’s an intelligent, sweet woman deserving of a night out without feeling threatened.”
My stomach lurched violently. I was a horrible person. My jealousy had turned me into a shrieking banshee. A spoiled brat. A mean girl.
I hated those girls.
Placing his hands in his pockets, he rocked back on his heels. “She actually reminds me a little of you.”
I swiped angrily at the tear that had dared to escape. Tonight was a good night, goddamn it! What the hell happened?
Suddenly beat, I stated tiredly, “Get back to your date, Quinn.”
He stood silently a moment before stating, “I miss you.”
I miss you too.
Fuck my fucking life!
Fingers at my elbow made me suddenly realize I was standing in front of the ladies’ room, looking out into nothingness. He asked quietly, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I forced a smile. “I’m fine. I’ll be off duty soon enough.” My act of calm failed miserably when nice-lady-Michelle began making her way toward us. “But you’re not. Have fun tonight, Quinn. Give your date her money’s worth.”
Pushing open the ladies’ room door, my heavy feet shuffled in. As soon as the door swung closed, I rubbed at the ache of my racing heart.
So…that’s what being in love feels like.
It was horrible. Dreadful. Then…
Why did I want it more than anything?
Quinn was gone.
It was a little past midnight and I hadn’t seen him—or Michelle—for over an hour, which meant I’d spent the good part of that hour wondering—in graphic detail—what he was doing with kind, sweet Michelle.
I found myself blanching at the thought. Simultaneously, my chest ached. It was something to know the man you loved was an escort. It was a whole other thing seeing him in action with another woman. It hurt. Bad.
Ella had only left the dance floor the one time to make a dash to the ladies’ room. On her way, she rushed past me and pulled me into a sneak-attack hug. I chuckled lightly at her outward enthusiasm then resumed watching from my place beside the stage.
Mike made his way from the dance floor to wait for Ella by the ladies’ room door. And the small gesture made my heart ache. He was clearly a good guy, and I was glad they had this second chance. Sure, I may have had a bit to do with that, but hey, sometimes a person needed a slight nudge.
The second she stepped out of the bathroom, he took her small hand in his enormous one and pulled her into him. She smiled up at him. His eyes smiled down at her then he lead her back out to their place on the dance floor, completely oblivious to anything or anyone, apart from each other. The way Mike wrapped Ella up in his strong arms and held her close made me jealous.
I wanted that. I would never have that with the one person I wanted it with. God, that sucked.
I made myself busy, checking in with staff who was almost done for the night, going over my checklist again and again up until the event was minutes away from ending. I walked around the outskirts of the ball, taking in the smiling faces, laughter, and dancing couples that would likely leave together—Ella and Mike included, from the stolen kisses I witnessed.
Just then, the emcee returned to the stage. He groaned dramatically, “Oh, what? Is that the time?” He grinned, and I swear his gleaming white teeth sparkled. “From the bodies grooving away out here, I’m going to go ahead and deem the D&D Ball of 2015 a success! Let’s hear it for everyone out on the dance floor!” The crowd went wild, clearly letting loose from alcohol consumption. “The time has come, ladies and gents, to make like a tree and leave. Thank you all so much for attending Desperate and Dateless, and as you know, you don’t need to be either of those things to attend this rocking shindig. Tell your friends about us and consider next year’s ball. Goodnight, all!”
The deejay switched from easy listening to soft background music, the lights came up all the way, and the dance floor disbursed, leaving behind a mess of streamers, balloons, plastic cups, and napkins all over.
Once the hall was empty, excluding cleaning staff, Ella and Mike made their way over. Ella let go of Mike’s hand long enough to give me a long hug. “You did it. You officially popped your event cherry.”
I pulled back, smiling. “And I was so glad you got to share in said cherry-popping.”
She sighed lovingly. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way, Cheech.”
Mike was looking over at us, amusement clear in his eyes. I looked up at him and teased, “You stealing my girl away?”
He paused to look Ella in the eye. “Only for as long as she lets me,” he rumbled, and I went all squishy inside. I knew Ella did too from the way her face softened.
She turned quickly and pulled me into another hug. “Thank you,” she whispered into my ear.
I responded on a squeeze, “You’re welcome, honey.”
Mike took hold of Ella’s outstretched hand and asked, “You need a ride, Mia?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ll just catch a cab.”
His brows rose. “Why? I’m here, I got a car, and I’m not offering more than I’m telling you that I’m taking you home.”
My brows rose to match his and I turned to Ella, who whispered, “Oh, my God, he’s hot.”
I was not about to disagree. He kind of was when he got all bossy. A soft smile spread across my cheeks and I turned back to Mike. “I would love a ride. Thank you, Mike.”
Mike’s lip twitched. “Y’welcome, babe.”
Ella walked me through the last stage of the night, seeing to the cleaning crew and returning equipment to the hotel storage for pick up on Monday morning, then we were out of there. The second I got into Mike’s car, I removed my shoes and groaned.
Ella confirmed from the front seat, amused, “Are y
our feet finally free?”
I laughed softly, “God, yes. Why are shoes so hurty?”
Ella chuckled. “Beauty is pain, chica.”
When we arrived outside my apartment building, Mike got out and walked me to my door. He made sure I got in safely and closed the security door behind me before making his way back to the car. I waved them off and made my way up to my floor.
The time was 1:49 a.m. I was officially drained, both physically and emotionally. I told myself not to think about Quinn, but it was easier in theory. I wondered where he was and what he was doing.
As I turned the corner of the hall that lead to my apartment, I walked slowly, shoes in hand, fishing into my bag in search of my keys. I shuffled down the hallway, hand in purse, looking for those pesky little critters. Once I had my hands on them, I pulled them out and straightened.
My body stilled in shock.
It seemed I didn’t need to think about where Quinn was or what he was doing. He sat with his back to my door, knees bent. His head was slumped to the side, mouth parted slightly, breathing deeply as he slept out in my hall.
Chapter Forty-One
Mia
Once my shock subsided, I carefully made my way over to the man who had become my world in such a short time. Kneeling by his side, I placed my bag on the ground and lifted my hand to his cheek. The moment the backs of my fingers brushed his stubbled cheek, he leaned into my touch, groaning softly.
“Quinn?” I spoke quietly, silently loving the way he reacted to my touch. “Wake up, honey.”
He came back to the land of the living, blinking away sleep, his hair adorably rumpled. He looked at me then blinked while looking around the hall before his eyes landed back on me. His voice sleep roughened, he muttered, “Hey, baby.”
I hated him right then. Or, I wanted to. I was upset with him. He could not win me over with a simple, ‘Hey, baby.’ No. I wouldn’t allow it.
But somehow, my anger faded into the background. I ignored the way his fingers ran down the length of my arm to reach my hand. I tried to ignore the way he took my hand, his thumb caressing my palm. I couldn’t ignore the way my body thrummed. “How long have you been out here?”