Page 46 of Quinton's Quest

“Told you what? That your ex-husband turned up at my party? I didn’t say anything to him, Leo. I mean, if they become part of my circle of friends, word might get back to them that we know each other. Lucia’s never going to say anything about that night. I haven’t. I doubt very much you will—”

“I won’t.”

“Then we have nothing to worry about. French fry?”

I eyed the plate. Ham was unhealthy enough—fried food? As someone who worked with diseased hearts, I did my best not to wind up like my patients. “I’ll pass.”

“It’s not something I do often.” He picked up his hot dog. “Well, too often.” He took a bite.

And I remembered what it felt like to have that mouth around my cock that night in our hotel room during our one-night stand. Before I’d made a jackass of myself. Completely inappropriate, but there it was.

He waggled his eyebrows—almost like he knew what I was thinking.

“I need to get going.”

For just a moment, his face fell, and his brow knitted.

“Charts.”

He swallowed. “Yeah, of course.” He wiped ketchup off the corner of his mouth. “How was your weekend with the kids?”

He remembered.

Of course he remembered—Gideon and Archer were at his house. Which I was still struggling to reconcile. “Fine. Lovely. Melodie is excited about the snow today. Apparently Gideon’s dog loves playing in it.”

“And Trevor?”

“He’s more like me—not a fan of the cold.”

Quinton rolled his eyes. “It’s hardly cold—it’s barely below zero.”

“If it’s cold enough to snow, then it’s cold enough to stay inside where it’s toasty warm.”

“Curling up by the fire?” Again, he waggled his eyebrows.

“Fires are bad for the environment. Gas means fracking and using clean water. Wood puts particulates in the environment.”

Now, he arched one of his eyebrows.

I did my best not to squirm. “I want to leave the best world possible for my children. That means being aware of environmental issues. I drive an electric SUV and can do that because power in British Columbia is powered by water. Hydroelectric is the cleanest form of energy. Well, except wind and solar. My house has solar panels. Ugliest things I’ve ever seen, but at least they’re on the back side of the house. And because I’m never home, I’m often feeding power back into the grid. Which saves me money.”

“Is money an issue?” He held up his hand. “Sorry—very personal question.”

I shrugged. “My student loans and my SUV are paid off. I have a huge mortgage and want to save for the kids’ education.” I laughed ruefully. “Their future stepfather is, well, very well-off.” I was a doctor and making a good salary, but I could never match Archer’s wealth.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. By my standards, at least, he’s rich. He can definitely pay for my kids to go to any school they want. But I don’t want that. They’re my kids—I should be responsible for paying their way in the world.”

Quinton held my gaze. “I’m going to say something that’s out of line.”

I pursed my lips.

“Archer loves those kids. It’s so clear in the way he talks about them. The way he smiles. Not all stepparents—”

“Future stepparents.”

“—future stepparents. Not all are as enthusiastic.”