Trust in Me - Quinn Ward Page 0,2

Let everyone see what you’ve created. They’re going to love it as much as we do.”

“Thanks.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the door. I stepped to the side as it swung wide, not wanting to get trampled by the littles who’d been doing their best to wait patiently while I had a nervous breakdown.

William and Corey were right. The room was a big hit. I had to step over littles who had scattered toys all over every surface, every time I wandered through. Maybe I should have listened to Jack when he suggested not putting all of the toys in the playroom at once. I gathered the abandoned toys in my arms, until they were nearly overflowing, muttering the entire time about how messy people were.

“It’s easy to figure out which boys are here on their own.”

I shuddered at the sound of a deep voice behind me. When I stood a bit too fast, I wound up dropping every last stuffie and car I’d collected. Without acknowledging the admittedly gorgeous man, I stooped down and started picking them up again. I nearly fell on my ass when his hand covered mine.

“You shouldn’t have to pick up their messes.” He started gathering the toys in his own arms, which held a lot more than mine would. That wasn’t hard. I was on the small side and, while not anything record setting, he was definitely above average.

My gaze drifted toward the juncture of his legs of its own accord. Yep, definitely more than average.

Quit that. Nothing good comes of ogling the customers.

“It’s okay,” I reassured him. After all, this playroom was my idea, so it stood to reason that I should be the one cleaning up when the other boys got distracted. Besides, it gave me a reason to hang out once William started the exhibition. I wasn’t sure what he had planned. He’d suggested that I leave it up to him, and with everything else going on with the boss deciding to take vacation at the most inopportune time, I’d quickly agreed. William didn’t technically work for The Lodge, but he handled all of the educational events, which was what tonight was.

The older man ignored me and continued picking up the toys strewn around the floor. I left him long enough to get a small tote to carry everything in. I’d deal with sorting it all out later. I’d once seen a meme that read, trying to clean with kids at home was like trying to nail Jell-o to the wall. It was amusing at the time, but now I had to assume it was no different with a room full of excited littles.

At least they get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

“Here, how about if I carry and you collect?” The guy took the tote out of my hands. I had to assume he was one of the single Daddies, otherwise he’d be busy playing with his own boy.

And I bet he wouldn’t let his boy leave messes everywhere.

“Thank you, Sir.” Arguing with him about whether he should be helping me do my job was pointless. And, honestly, I didn’t want to argue with him. Even if only in my mind, I could please him by following his lead. It was probably the closest I’d ever get—

Nope. Don’t think like that.

“You should be really proud of yourself, Sam.”

I loved the way my name sounded as it crossed his lips. He had a faint hint of an accent I couldn’t quite place. “It wasn’t only me.”

Yes, it was my senior project that led to the idea, but it had been a team effort to bring it to life.

“Don’t discount what you’ve done,” he scolded me. “I’d be willing to bet it was difficult for you to approach Jack with the original plans.”

How did he know that? The guy was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place his face as someone who was here on a regular basis.

“You’re easy to read,” he responded.

Yep. I definitely needed to work on keeping that internal monologue in my head where it belonged.

My nerves zinged when he placed a hand on my elbow, guiding me to the edge of the room. “You should take a few minutes to breathe. You’ve been running around non-stop since you opened the playroom.”

“Yeah, because it’s my job.” I shrugged away from him, even though I desperately wanted to stay close. “Jack’s not here, which means it’s on me to keep everything running smoothly. I want