Page 8

Eight

Roman

T he morning started differently than I had anticipated.

First off, I woke up with a stiff neck from sleeping on the couch.

Second, I was overly exhausted from the lack of sleep because my mind was going a mile a minute.

And third, I couldn’t shake the excitement that I felt when Quinn walked in on me in the bathroom.

Thankfully, I had already showered and was covered when she burst in, but that didn’t stop my dick from stirring at the sight of her skin blushing as she tried to look away. Had Rosie not been there, I probably would have entertained dirtier thoughts than I already had.

While Quinn showered and got ready, I started a pot of coffee and searched through my cabinets to find something suitable to make for them for breakfast. I couldn’t imagine that many five-year-olds began their day with protein shakes, and I definitely didn’t have any sugary cereal or Pop Tarts lying around.

Rosie woke up right before Quinn came out and stumbled into the living room, rubbing her eyes as she tried to wake up.

“What time is it?” she asked sleepily.

“Just after six-thirty,” I answered and poured myself a cup of coffee.

“Do I have to go to school today?”

“I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t.”

“I don’t want to.” She sat down on the barstool beneath the counter and pouted.

“Why not?”

“It’s boring, and we don’t do anything fun. I would rather stay here with you.”

“Well, I don’t get to stay home today. I have to go to work.”

Speaking of which, I still needed to text Trevor and let him know that I would be late this morning.

I hadn’t talked to Quinn about it yet, but I was also planning to escort her to work after we dropped Rosie off at school.

I knew that Quinn wasn’t worried about herself right now because Rosie felt like the only threat, but I wasn’t willing to take any chances.

“Will I have to work when I’m an adult?” Rosie asked as I finished my text message and pressed send.

I set my phone down on the counter and smiled as Quinn walked into the room.

“We all have to work,” Quinn answered, sliding past me to snatch the other cup of coffee from the counter. “And you need to go brush your teeth so we can get going. I’ll grab you breakfast on the way.”

“But Mom,” she whined.

“But nothing.” Quinn brought the mug to her lips, the steam billowing over the top. Her eyes narrowed as her brows raised. Rosie plopped off the barstool with a loud sigh and shuffled down the hall to the bathroom.

“They say it’s supposed to get easier the older they get,” Quinn sighed before taking a sip. “I find that hard to believe.”

“I can imagine,” I laughed. “She’s a great kid, just a whole lot of her mama’s sass in that little, tiny body.”

“Hey,” Quinn protested with a chuckle. “That’s not all me. Justin contributed some too.”

“Yeah, the good stuff. Like doing well in school and listening to anyone but her mom. It reminds me of someone I knew who was an unruly and rebellious teenager.”

She groaned and closed her eyes, holding the cup between both hands.

“Oh, God. It’s only going to get worse, isn’t it?”

We both knew that she was joking, but the realness of her words was enough to shut both of us up.

“Sorry, I was going to make breakfast, but I didn’t think she would be on board with a protein shake.”

“She probably would have been all for it. I, on the other hand...”

“I can treat this morning,” I offered with a smile. “I know this great bakery that’s on the way to her school. We should have plenty of time to stop if we get going soon.”

“ We? ”

“We talked about this when you agreed to the conditions, Quinn. I’m not budging.”

“Sorry,” she sighed with resignation. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to have more eyes on her and the school.”

“Exactly why I came up with the idea, to begin with,” I winked.

I turned to put my empty cup in the sink at the same time she turned to walk into the living room.

“Sorry,” she said as our chests collided, the hot liquid in her cup almost sloshing over.

My hand darted out to grab the cup before it could spill and burn her, but her grip only got tighter and left me holding her hand. Our bodies were touching, the heat between them almost electrifying.

“You okay?” I asked gruffly.

“Mmmhmm,” she mumbled, refusing to look up at me but also refusing to pull her hand away.

We stood there for a few seconds, waiting for the other to make the next move when Rosie suddenly returned.

“What are you guys doing?” she asked, pulling her backpack on over the clean t-shirt she had changed into.

“Nothing,” Quinn answered, her voice a higher pitch and shakier than normal. She set her cup down on the counter and wiped her hands on her dress slacks. “Let’s finish getting ready so we can go.”

They went back to the bedroom to gather their stuff while I tried to focus on what I needed before we left. My mind had never been as scattered as when Quinn was around.

The drop-off at school was uneventful, which we had assumed it would be. Quinn fought me on making sure she got to work safely but finally gave in and let me. By the time I got to work, Trevor was studying me like I was some sort of alien, given how late I had gotten there.

“Sorry, I’ll make up the hours,” I said as I slid into my chair and sat down to get started.

“Don’t worry about it. I was late this morning too.”

“Everything okay?”

I turned on my computer and waited for it to start so I could check my schedule for the day. Typically I would know my schedule for the entire week, but today, I barely knew my name.

“Yeah, Elena wasn’t feeling well.”

“Again?” I raised a brow.

“I think she has what Hannah had.”

I scrunched my face, remembering how sick he had mentioned she had been.

“I hope she feels better soon,” I offered, while also praying that he didn’t catch it and bring it to the office with him. The last thing that I wanted or needed right now was to get sick.

I checked my phone a few times, relieved when there weren’t any calls or texts that Rosie was in danger, and then got to work. Maybe today could be a productive day after all.