Page 30 of Sin for You

The pride I saw on Cassy’s face, in her voice when she spoke about his work to anyone who asked, and the way Cal watched her as she moved around the room, it was obvious he loved watching her in her element. Whenever they were together, it was plain to see.

That’s not for you. It was never meant for you.

I moved to the next painting, on my own now since Cassy and Ted, her friend and store manager, were busy looking after everything, but I didn’t mind.

Someone bumped into me.

“Sorry.” I stepped to the side as a guy in a navy suit and eyes to match turned to me.

“No, forgive me. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” His eyes were kind as he smiled and held out his hand.

I took it.

“Robert.”

“Quinn.”

“I don’t think I know any other Quinns.”

“I don’t think I know any other Roberts,” I said, smiling, because he was handsome and seemed nice. “So do you know Cal and Cassy?”

His brows went up in question.

“The artist, Joel Calero.”

“Ah no, I was actually just desperate to get out of my hotel room. I travel a lot for work and spend a couple of nights a week here. It can get lonely, so I thought I’d come check it out.”

“What do you do?” I asked, making small talk because, yeah, there was something about him that was…interesting.

“I’m an area manager for a mid-level finance company. I cover Springhaven and the surrounding towns all the way to Black Stone.”

“That must be tough, traveling all the time,” I said.

He turned more, body angling toward me. “Definitely lonely.”

There was a glint in his eyes that I hadn’t noticed before. It was sexy and definitely wicked. The guy was charming—I’d give him that—and I’d bet he had a woman in every town he stayed at.

“So what happened to Miss Springhaven?” I asked, going with my gut.

He frowned, and even that was charming. “Excuse me?”

“A woman in every port? There’s a Miss Black Stone, right?”

He smiled again, looking stupidly handsome but with a big dose of you got me that was plain to see. He shrugged. “Like I said, I get lonely. I’m young, not looking for anything serious just yet.” He turned that wicked grin on me. “You’re a beautiful woman, Quinn. If you’re ever at a loose end, looking for someone to have dinner with, some fun…” He pulled a card from his pocket and slid it into my hand, and for some insane reason I took it from him. “Give me a call. I think we could have a good time.”

I stared up at him. He wasn’t sleazy, just straightforward, honest about what he wanted, and also extremely good-looking.

I wasn’t seriously looking for someone.

But I wasn’t not looking either.

The whole moving-on thing had been in the forefront of my mind lately, and I planned to take every opportunity to do just that. He was exactly what I was looking for. A good time, nothing serious. No messy feelings involved. Something easy, uncomplicated. Just another human I could connect with when I got lonely. I smiled back. Dinner wouldn’t hurt, to see if there was something there, if we had chemistry. “I might just do that.”

A hand landed on the back of my neck and I jumped, startled by the contact.

I didn’t need to turn around to see who those rough-skinned fingers holding me belonged to, though. They were big and hot, the hold possessive. Goddammit.

Robert was looking behind me, eyes wide.