Twenty-Two

 

The knock on the door jolted Phoebe from her current telephone conversation. With the cord from the retriever stretching as she glanced over at the wooden barrier, Phoebe shuffled it to the side and turned on her heels, motioning for her visitor to come in.

The man stepped inside with a bouquet of roses in his hands. The flower arrangement was so big it covered the top half of the deliverer. Phoebe held a finger out at him as she finished the call she was on.

“It’s no problem, thank you very much.” She dropped the phone in the cradle and glanced back at the guy.

“Phoebe Alexandria Rose?” he prompted.

“Yes,” she said, coming around the desk to stand in front of him.

“These are for you.” He handed the big arrangement over to her, and Phoebe smiled delightfully.

“They’re beautiful…” she sang, slipping her nose in to smell them.

“Have a good day, ma’am.”

“Wait!”

The deliverer turned back.

“Who are they from?”

“Oh sorry.” The man stepped back in the room and pulled a card out of his back pocket. “They fell over twice on the way over here, so I carried them while I drove the rest of the way, and I didn’t want to destroy your card. I hope that’s okay.”

The man looked uneasy.

“It’s fine,” she said, accepting the card. Phoebe sat the flowers down and ripped the envelope.

My lady love, being with you has given me a lifetime of joy. Please accept these roses as a symbol of my love for you. – Quentin

The smile that stretched across Phoebe’s face was clandestine. She shivered all over and had a reckless thought that she’d had to put in check quickly. Quentin made her want to drop everything she was doing and go to him. Just to feel his lips against hers and his tongue down her mouth.

“Chill out, girl, you’ve got work to do.”

Sometimes a girl had to give herself a little pep talk. It was the end of the day, and from the moment they’d touched down, Phoebe had been enthralled in one crisis to the next. Why people decided New Year’s Eve was the best time to get reckless was beyond her. But she had a job to do. Leaning into the flowers once again, Phoebe sniffed then sauntered around to her desk and dialed his number.

It rang twice when he answered. “How was your day?”

The groove of his deep voice comforted Phoebe, and she found herself leaning into the phone. “Busy, but no different than last year after new year’s.”

“Hmm, I have a massage waiting for you when you’re done.”

“Really,” she crooned. “I am so looking forward to that.”

“Full body, too.”

Phoebe whistled. “Why don’t I just call in right now and tell Jordan I won’t be here tomorrow.”

Quentin laughed. “You won’t hear me disagreeing.”

“If only it were that easy,” she moaned. “Thank you, babe, for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” he said.

Phoebe blushed and flipped a piece of hair behind her ear, then glanced at her wristwatch. “I’ll tell you what, how about I’ll leave in thirty minutes and make my way to your place?”

“Are you calling in first because you know an all-nighter is in order?”

Phoebe giggled. “I’ve got the feeling being with you, there will be many of those.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t steer you wrong.”

Phoebe laughed again. “I might have to set schedules for us. I can’t be off my game walking into the courtroom because my boyfriend rocked my world all night.”

“Schedules?” Quentin said. “Nah, we won’t be one of those couples. If anything, that all-nighter will put a spring in your step, girl.”

Phoebe giggled again.

“I’ll let you finish up. See you soon, sweetheart.”

“Okay.”

“I… love you,” he finished.

Phoebe’s heart rocked against her chest, and her entire body was covered with warm chills. Her eyes faltered and she responded, “I love you, too, Quentin.” They both remained quiet, taking in the severity of their confession before Phoebe ended the call.

So it had been true. Quentin hadn’t said it on a whim just for the sake of their coupling. He meant it. He really loved her. A smile stretched across her face that reached her eyes. Her body was buzzing with a euphoric warmth that she couldn’t contain. Phoebe inhaled a deep breath, completely astonished that she was in love with Quentin Davidson out loud and vice versa. If it was the last thing she did, she would leave this office and get to him. Fast.

Unfortunately, that blissful moment dispersed the minute an email hit her inbox. An emergency meeting had been called with the politician who’d been caught with his pants down, and all of the lead defense attorneys on the case were mandated to attend. Shit. Phoebe loved her career at Rose and Garnett, but she needed to balance the heavy workload and her growing love life. For her career to be fulfilling to her, she couldn’t let it take over her existence, or she would grow to hate it. Phoebe shot Quentin a quick text message apologizing for not being able to leave, then left her jacket, phone, and purse in her office when the meeting began in conference room C.

 

The text message from Phoebe had dashed the excitement Quentin had. He’d set up a full body massage, fruit, wine, cheese, and a light dinner. Now as he stood staring at the table of food he’d prepared, Quentin blew out a sigh and strolled to the refrigerator for an ice-cold Corona. He was halfway to the living room when the doorbell rang. It sounded through the house as whomever was on the other side was determined to get his attention. Quentin opened the door swiftly with a frown on his face.

“It’s so cold out here, please let me in,” Cindy said, practically running him over to get inside.”

“Well come on in,” he said dryly, closing the door behind her.

“It’s amazing how the temperature gets colder in January,” Cindy said shimmying as she walked down the hall into the kitchen.

Quentin followed her, taking another swig of his Corona. When Cindy saw the layout of food and the wine bottle that sat on ice, she turned back to him swiftly as he entered the kitchen.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“No,” he said, taking another swig of his Corona. “Plans changed.”

“Hmm,” Cindy uttered. “Well, I don’t mean to barge in here on you, but my car broke down, and I can’t get it to my mechanic until tomorrow. Your house was closer, so I Ubered here.” She smiled softly.

“What,” he said, “I don’t pay you enough to pay for an Uber home?”

Cindy’s eyes roamed side to side. “Of course, I just thought I’d stop by, I haven’t heard from you since the new year besides our back and forth emails.” She paused. “How was your new year by the way?”

“One of the best so far.”

“Sounds good,” she said. “Oh, and that kiss, right?” Cindy nodded slowly as a smile spread across her lips. “How could anyone miss that kiss you shared with Phoebe at the game. That was something, huh?”

Quentin watched her carefully. “It was better than it appeared,” he said.

“It appeared as if you wanted to filet her for the world to see, how could it have possibly been better than that?”

A sexy grin trekked across his lips. “Trust me, it was better.”

Cindy’s jaw locked, then she quickly released it. It was meant to be invisible, but Quentin hadn’t missed it. Not too long ago, he’d asked himself if firing Cindy was the thing to do. But because they had what he felt was a solid history and a complete understanding of their situation, he’d let up. They were past; Phoebe was present. But gauging her reaction just now led him to believe that maybe she didn’t understand at all.

She pivoted and traipsed over to the coffee maker. “You don’t mind if I make some coffee, do you? It would really warm me up.”

“Where’s your car?” Quentin asked.

Cindy slowly turned back to him with a brow quirked upward. “It’s downtown at the job.”

Quentin nodded. “Okay, where are your keys?”

Cindy fished out her keys, moving her hand around inside her pockets. Quentin held out his hand, and she tossed them over.

“I’m going to meet my mechanic at the job and have him transport it to his shop,” he said. “The company card will pay for the labor, and when I get back, we should talk.”

They eyed each other for several moments before Cindy nodded.

“Okay,” she said.

Quentin tossed his Corona in the garbage and went for his coat.

“How long do you think it will take?” Cindy asked.

“Maybe an hour, no longer than two.”

“Okay,” she said, watching him slip his muscled arms into a trench coat.

It had been a long time since Cindy had those thick arms wrapped around her, and Cindy’s body shuddered just thinking of it. She watched Quentin until he disappeared and wondered if he’d also missed her. It had been a few months since they’d been intimate, and the longing she held had reached its peak. Strolling to the cheese samples sitting on the counter, Cindy picked one up and tossed it in her mouth. Since Quentin hadn’t made a move on her since he’d been playing house with Phoebe, Cindy figured it would be up to her to make the move.

Cindy thought of Phoebe for a moment. She was gorgeous, successful, and young, but there was no way she could keep up with a man like Quentin. And either way, Cindy wasn’t ready to be done with him yet. Cindy went to the cabinet and pulled out a wine glass and poured the sweet liquor halfway. She taste tested it while she pondered on what needed to be done to regain Quentin’s affections. A rueful smile crossed her lips as she sipped her wine.