hear from her eventually, but it looked like she was already moving on. To a future that didn’t include him.
He forced himself downstairs to the garage to work. His other mechanics had been doing a stellar job keeping everything afloat, but there was always more work to do.
At lunchtime when he stopped for a break, he was enough of a glutton for punishment to walk over to the Eagle’s Nest. The plan had been for Quinn to be back to work her shift today, and he was hoping maybe this was all a bad dream, that he’d walk in there and she’d be there.
Of course, she wasn’t.
Lexi was running around waiting tables herself. She spared a minute to glare at him when he walked in.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here.”
“Why? It’s not my fault Harvard had the good sense to beg Quinn to come back. And can you blame her?”
“Really? You’re going to blame this on Harvard after she came back here to tell you how she felt?”
Baby shook his head. “I don’t know exactly what we’re talking about here, Lexi.”
“I’m talking about her face when she got the text that you weren’t interested in the future with her.”
A sick feeling was beginning to pool in Baby’s gut. “What do you mean her face?”
“It’s not rocket science. I mean—”
“She was here?”
Oh God.
Oh God.
It hadn’t been a friend. It had been her. She had been the one waiting for him, the one she thought he could have the future with. And he’d told her that he’d come there and then left because it wouldn’t work.
She thought he’d seen her, then had left and sent her a kiss-off text.
“What the hell have I done?”
Lexi nodded. “Yeah, that was pretty much the face. I’m assuming you didn’t know she was here for some reason.”
“Where is she?”
Lexi shrugged, but took pity on him. “She flew back to Boston last night. Gave me her two weeks’ notice, even though it was more like twelve hours.”
“I’ve got to go.”
“Where?”
“The only place that matters. Boston.”
Baby threw himself on Kendrick’s mercy to get him on the fastest flight back East, as well as tell him at what hotel Quinn was staying at.
He’d been sitting in the lobby so long, he was pretty sure the front desk would call security soon. But what else could he do? He had to talk to her, to explain.
Wherever she was going, he was going there too.
He stared at the sliding glass doors of the hotel lobby until his eyes burned. He didn’t move, wanting to make sure he didn’t accidentally miss her when she came back from her day at Harvard.
He was so intent on watching for her in the front doors, that he was totally taken by surprise when he heard her soft voice beside him.
“Baby?”
He stood and dragged her into his arms at the same time. “Oh, thank God. I’ve been waiting for you. How did you get past me?”
“I’ve been in my room all day. This is the first time I’ve come out.” She stepped back from him, tangling her fingers together and looking around. “What are you doing here?”
“I lied.”
She tried to take another step back, but he yanked her into his arms again. He couldn’t stand even the smallest distance between them.
“Lied about what?”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “I didn’t go to the Eagle’s Nest last night. I know I said I did, but I lied. I honestly thought you were trying to set me up with someone else.”
“It was me.”
He reached up to frame her face in his hands. “I know. Lexi told me. I’m an idiot. Please forgive me.”
The few people in the lobby were starting to stare, but Baby didn’t care. He would get on his knees and beg her forgiveness in front of the whole world if he had to.
“Let me grab my jacket, and we’ll go for a walk.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need privacy to tell you that I love you. I’ll tell everybody in this entire lobby. In this entire city.”
Her smile was sad. “Just let me get my jacket.”
As soon as she disappeared down the hallway, lead filled Baby’s gut. This was the old Quinn—stiff, afraid to be hurt, defensive. Not the loose, giving, passionate woman he’d known for the past few weeks.
He took off down the hall after her. She was coming back out of her hotel room when he reached it. He pushed her gently back inside, crowded her up against the