crowd, not to mention probably shouldn’t be left here overnight. But he couldn’t see one anywhere.
“Where are your keys, Cupcake? What kind of car do you have—Mercedes or BMW?”
She pulled her keys out of her purse and handed them to him. “1996 Ford Fiesta.”
She raised an eyebrow at him as if daring him to mock her or demand why she was driving that vehicle.
And he had to admit, a Ford Fiesta was not what he would’ve pegged as little miss I-drink-Cabernet-Sauvignon-even-though-I-don’t-like-it’s vehicle. And she knew it.
She was one of those puzzle boxes with lots of false clues and mysteries at every twist. Never simple to figure out, but worth the challenge.
He couldn’t help himself; he reached down and grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her head up so he could kiss her.
He knew he couldn’t possibly taste the sweetness of the icing on her lips after all the dancing and drinks she’d had. But damned if he could convince his brain of that.
He wanted to keep kissing her. Wanted to scoot her up against the truck and kiss her until neither of them could remember their names.
And that was the reason he forced himself to stop. Because he wanted it so badly, and because it wouldn’t take much to forget her name, considering he didn’t know it in its entirety.
He leaned his forehead against hers. “You going to tell me your last name, Quinn?”
She smiled, but it was a little stiff. “And what if I don’t have a last name?”
He stepped back and grinned. “Like Rihanna or Prince? You’re just Quinn?”
She smiled up at him. “That’s right. I’m mysterious.”
He opened and held the door for her and helped her climb into the high cab of his truck, lifting her at the waist, loving the way her soft body felt in his hands.
“Okay, mysterious birthday girl, you get a last name pass for today, but don’t think I’m going to be letting it go.”
He closed the door and walked around the truck to his side. The fact that she wouldn’t tell him her name could mean a couple of things—either that he would recognize it or that she wanted to make sure no one could provide too much information about her. He honestly had no idea which. He wasn’t going to overthink it tonight; he was just going to get the birthday girl home all in one piece.
He glanced over at her as he started the engine. She had pulled on her seatbelt, but then had tucked herself into the corner where the seat met the door, shifting her hips so she was almost facing him. Her fist tucked up next to her cheek as she rested her head against it and studied him.
The thing he’d always loved most about this truck was the wide bench seat. In high school, he’d been able to cram three or four of his friends on it, as long as Sheriff Nelson hadn’t seen. And it was definitely large enough that he could keep her propped against that door, stretching one of her legs back along the seat, keep the other on the floor, and crawl right there in between them. Of course, he’d have to get her safety belt off first.
There was nothing much more in the world he wanted more then to get this woman’s safety belt off.
And now another inappropriate hard-on. He should be getting used to them by now. Quinn seemed to cause this reaction no matter what she did. He shifted, trying to adjust himself without making it obvious that was what he was doing.
Way to make her first ride in a truck memorable, asshole.
“Thank you for being so nice to me. This has been a great birthday. The best one I can remember for a long time.”
Aw, hell. He was all for cupcakes and tequila, and he was glad for the dancing, but that shouldn’t make someone’s top ten birthdays list, much less the best in recent memory.
But he smiled as he put the truck in reverse. “I’m glad.”
She told him where she was staying.
“Is that Mrs. Mazille’s place?”
She nodded. “I’m paying by the week right now.”
“Do you plan to stay for a while?”
“Maybe. I don’t really have anywhere else to go.” She tucked her chin deeper into the fist against her cheek.
He didn’t want her to end her birthday night sad, so he told her the story of some trouble he and Cade O’Conner had gotten into in high school, leaving out his best