Page 3 of Stolen Hearts (WaterColor Romance #7)
Quinn fought her growing anxiety. The interior designer was coming over to the bar today, and she wanted everything to be perfect. From what Madison mentioned this interior designer wanted to make sure that they were a good fit. Quinn knew she wouldn’t get a second chance at a first impression.
Quinn had spent several minutes sweeping and cleaning up the old tables as best as she could.
She loved this old bar and felt almost a kinship with it.
More than anything she hoped that she’d be able to express that accurately to this woman.
The front doors opened, and Quinn snapped her head to the side.
Madison stood at the door; arms folded over her chest. She watched Quinn with a twinge of bemusement in her expression.
“What do we have going on here?”
“I wanted to make sure that the place gave a good first impression.”
“Is that why there are balloons tied to the tables?” Madison asked in obvious confusion.
“Yes,” Quinn announced proudly.
Madison smiled sweetly and came to give her a hug.
“Are the balloons a good touch?” Quinn asked.
Quinn glanced around the bar. When Madison had told her that she’d found an interior designer that might be interested in her bar project Quinn had gotten to work immediately.
There were brightly colored balloons tied with ribbon to every single table.
Madison glanced around the room and smiled. She cupped Quinn’s face in her hands.
“I think that if Autumn can’t appreciate your unique charm, then this isn’t meant to be,” Madison announced.
“Is that the designer’s name?”
“It is. And don’t get excited but I can confirm that she’s a lesbian,” Madison laughed.
Quinn supposed there was a benefit to hiring an interior designer who was also queer to help her decorate her lesbian bar.
“That’s great news. How did you manage to find an interior designer in the local queer community?”
“We volunteered at the rescue together.”
“Oh, that is serendipitous.”
Quinn smiled at the thought. Her best friend casually running into the exact right person for the task at hand. She couldn’t keep a smile from spreading across her face. Quinn was feeling better and better about this Autumn person.
“What’s she like?” Quinn asked.
“I’ve only met her the once. She seems nice though.”
As if on cue the doors to the bar opened and an elegant blonde woman stepped through the doors.
Time stopped as Quinn took the woman in.
She was classy from her perfectly styled blonde hair all the way down to her perfect blush pink heels.
Autumn had worn dusty pink pants that fit her perfectly along with a white blouse.
Quinn glanced down at her own t-shirt and athletic pants.
She fought the urge to sigh. So much for good first impressions.
Autumn paused just inside the door looking down at the bar.
The sun illuminating every detail of the place from the worn-down bar to the old tables.
In the bright sun she felt a little silly about trying to liven the place up with balloons of all things.
Though the idea had certainly seemed sound at the time.
To her credit, Autumn didn’t balk at the scene in front of her.
Autumn smiled at Madison and then glanced towards Quinn. Madison glanced between them and smiled.
“Hi, Autumn. This is my friend, Quinn. She’s the one opening this bar.”
Autumn stretched out her hand to shake Quinn’s hand.
Quinn wrapped her hand around Autumn’s. Her skin was unbelievably soft.
Quinn lifted her eyes to meet Autumn’s and was stunned once again.
Autumn had the softest yet brightest blue eyes that Quinn had ever seen.
A cloudy blue that looked like mist over the ocean.
“Hi, I’m Autumn.”
“Quinn. My name is Quinn. Welcome to my place. I’m excited to have you here.”
The words came out in a stammering mess. Quinn tried to avoid her feelings of embarrassment. There was no time for that. Quinn stepped further inside the bar, motioning Autumn forward.
“Do you mind if I take some measurements and walk around to get a feel for the space?” Autumn asked.
“Of course. Feel free to make yourself at home.”
They watched as Autumn walked casually around the bar.
The woman had a neutral expression on her face, Quinn wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
Quinn had always been good at reading people.
It was a skill she’d honed during her time in Vegas.
It hadn’t helped when her girlfriend was sleeping with someone else. Then again, everyone lost sometimes.
Autumn carried a red notebook around with her. Occasionally, she’d pull out a pen and write down some notes. After about ten minutes of note-taking Autumn glanced up from her notebook and smiled.
“Do you have a favorite table to sit at?” Autumn asked.
Quinn’s mouth quirked upwards as she considered Autumn’s question.
“How about this table right here?” Quinn pulled out a few chairs for them to sit on at a nearby table.
Autumn gave her smirk but sat down in one of the chairs.
Quinn was pretty sure she’d seen the woman blush at her.
Quinn purposefully didn’t pay the moment much mind.
She wasn’t here to fall in love. All she needed was a new interior designer.
“I actually love your space,” Autumn announced.
“I was wondering if you have any kind of loose idea for what you wanted to do with this place. You have a vibe or a theme in mind?”
Quinn leaned back in her chair considering the question for a moment. She had lots of ideas. She just wasn’t sure if any of them were good ideas.
“I see that you have a look of contemplation. Anything you want to share?” Autumn asked the question not unkindly.
“I have lots of ideas. I’m just not sure which ones work together,” Quinn answered honestly.
“That’s totally understandable. Tell me some of what you have on your mind.”
“I’d like for it to be loungy but boho. Classy but in a Miami kind of way.”
Autumn nodded her head, seemingly impressed.
“I think I can make that work. We could keep some of the wood finishes that are already here. Add some new seating and lighting. It could really change a lot about the place.”
Quinn had to hand it to Autumn, when she said it, the idea sounded amazing. When she said it, Quinn couldn’t picture it in her mind.
“Let me do some mockups. Then we can get together in a couple of days. Would that work for you?” Autumn flipped her perfectly fixed blonde hair over her shoulder. It was a move straight from a 90’s teen movie.
Madison kicked her under the table and Quinn fought the urge to say ow. Madison and Autumn both looked at her expectantly. Quinn realized too late that she was late answering Autumn’s question.
“That absolutely works for me.”
Quinn offered a wide smile and hoped it made up for her lack of social graces. If the move had bothered Autumn, she didn’t let on. Autumn offered her a smile and rose from her seat.
“Fantastic. I’m very excited to possibly get the chance to work with you.”
Autumn’s tone showed genuine interest. Quinn reached out her hand and Autumn shook it.
Her hand was so soft Quinn didn’t want to let go.
Autumn’s fingers curved perfectly around her hand.
Everything about Autumn was perfectly maintained from her hair to her ruby red fingernails.
Quinn fought the urge to feel instantly inferior.
“I’m looking forward to it, too.”
Quinn turned to Madison as Autumn left and smiled.
“I think that went really well,” Quinn smiled.
“You like her,” Madison laughed.
“Of course I like her. Autumn is exactly what I need.”
“No, I mean you’re attracted to her,” Madison corrected.
“I mean of course I am. I have eyes. She’s objectively gorgeous. Aren’t you attracted to her?” Quinn flipped the question on Madison knowing it would frazzle the woman.
“Of course. That’s not the point.”
“What’s the point then?”
“The point is I think she might be attracted to you, too.”
Madison allowed a long sigh to come out.
“Why do you say that?” Quinn asked.
“I don’t know. I just got a vibe.”
“That’s not a vibe. It’s wishful thinking. You’ve been trying to set me up since I got here. You’d set me up with any lesbian within a hundred-mile radius.”
“Okay. But you also find Autumn attractive.”
“Sure. But I’m not ready for a woman like Autumn.”
“What could you possibly mean?” Madison groaned.
“I just found out the love of my life was cheating on me. I need a while before I hop back on the market.”
Madison rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement.
“I’ve got to get to work. But I’m glad today went well,” Madison offered.
“Me, too. Thanks again for the introduction.”
“Anything for you,” Madison laughed. She blew Quinn a kiss as she walked out the door.
Quinn sat down at the table. Her mind immediately wanted to think about Autumn.
On a scale from one to ten, Autumn was in the hundreds.
One thing was certain, Quinn was not ready to develop feelings for someone like Autumn.
Someone so mind meltingly gorgeous that it was like looking into the sun.
Nope. Hard pass. Quinn needed to stay focused on the task at hand.
She didn’t have time to think about beautiful women, or fate, or stars.