image I see of you, sitting at the table, trying to figure out what that flash of electricity was between us. Just like I was.” He brushed a feathery kiss over her lips and closed the door, his eyes sweeping over her off-white living room couch with light-pink and lavender accent pillows, the glass coffee and end tables, and her secondhand teal-and-oak settee. “I like your place,” he said as he walked over to her bookshelf by the settee, eyeballing her fiction novels, books on dance, and photographs of her with her grandmother, Angela, and fellow dancers.
“Thanks. There’s not much to it.” She’d never had a guy in her apartment, and it had never felt overly girlie. But Quincy was so potently male, the way he strode across the room, big and broad in his leather jacket and black boots, it was a stark contrast.
“I disagree,” he said. “Your home says a lot about you. It’s feminine and organized, and all these pictures tell me who and what is important to you. Maybe one day we’ll end up in a frame on this shelf, too.”
She hoped they would, too.
He picked up a picture of Roni and her grandmother and said, “I assume this is Gram, the famous apple-pie-making tough cookie?”
“You really do remember everything.”
“When it comes to you, I do. How old were you in this? Fourteen? Fifteen?”
“Fifteen. That was taken after the Summer Showcase. Contemporary dance is my absolute favorite, and I performed solo to ‘My Immortal’ by Evanescence. Gram said she cried during my performance.” Her throat thickened with emotion as she took in her grandmother’s proud smile.
“I wish I could go back in time and watch all of your performances.” He set the picture down and said, “Is Angela coming to the scavenger hunt?”
She was still stuck on him wishing he could have seen her dance, and it took a second for her to tuck that sweet sentiment away and respond. “No. She had other plans.”
“That’s too bad. I would have liked to officially meet her,” he said as he looked at more pictures.
“We stopped by the bookstore to say hi on our way to pick up lunch today, but you were busy reading to the kids. You were really good with them.”
“I love kids. They get so excited over everything.” He picked up another picture as if he didn’t want to miss a single one. “Why didn’t you stick around? I would have loved to see you.”
“We had to pick up lunch and get back to the studio for our classes.”
He showed her the picture he was holding, a wolfish grin lifting his cheeks. “You look hot in this leotard. You’re probably going to have to model that for me one day.”
Heat darted through her core, and she felt it spread up her neck and cheeks.
“You’re damn cute, Roni.” He chuckled softly. “Your grandmother looks proud in every one of these pictures. How long ago was this one taken?”
“That was my first performance after I went away to school, about six years ago. It was the only time she came out to visit, and we had the best weekend together, even though she hated the city. She said it was too busy and too loud. But the truth is, it wasn’t home. She loved being home.”
“I get that. Most people want to travel, but I’m with Gram. I prefer my life to be chaos free. I’m perfectly happy here in the Harbor, around family and friends.” He set the frame on the shelf and said, “We should probably get going so we’re not late.”
She grabbed her short suede jacket from the hook on the wall. Angela had given it to her last Christmas and said it made her look hot. Quincy took it from her, holding it up for her to put on.
“Aren’t you a gentleman?” she said as she slipped her arms into it.
“Apparently with you I am.” He raised his brows, his eyes taking a slow stroll down her body. “That’s a killer jacket. You look incredible.”
“Thank you.” She put her keys in her pocket, and as they headed down to his truck, she thought about how much she liked that dating was new to him, too. It was nice knowing they were both exploring it for the first time.
He helped her into his truck, and when he settled into his seat, he said, “Are you ready to enter my world?”
“I thought we were going to the scavenger hunt.”
He started the truck, but he