Seduced in September (Spring River Valley Book 9) (5 page)

The worst part was, she was old enough to have learned this lesson already. The booze may have given her courage and allowed her to get out of her own way long enough to enjoy a no-regrets evening, but it hadn’t prevented her from actually having those regrets. In truth, as much as she’d tried to convince herself she could handle it, she’d fallen for every drunken word he’d said and secretly hoped for more than either of them had agreed to give. Now she had the audacity to blame him for her own stupidity.

Ricki put a tiny paw on her knee and gave her a sympathetic look that she didn’t deserve. She scooped the little dog up and allowed him to lick her face. Dog slobber was small consolation, but at least he cared.

“Come on, Ricki, do you want to go for a ride?” The dog’s ears pricked up at the question, and he started that infernal yipping again.

Lily set him down and snatched up his leash from the hook next to the back door. She could take him back to her apartment for a while. Hopefully Claudia would be there. Now Lily felt guilty about plotting to skip out this morning on her roommate’s inevitable lecture about the pitfalls of one-night stands. She needed that lecture now, so she’d never be tempted to make this kind of a mistake again.

He’d banished his hangover by Monday, but Quinn’s guilt remained in full force on Tuesday, weighing him down like a brick. He sat in the firehouse kitchen, a bowl of Tanner’s five-alarm chili in front of him, hoping an ambulance call would pull him out of the doldrums. The weather, deteriorating to cold wind and rain as a late summer storm blew in from the north, only served to worsen his dark mood.

“You’re not still hung up on your mysterious blue-eyed blonde, are you?” Tanner asked, taking a seat across from him at the small Formica table to finish his own lunch.

Quinn set his fork down. It was a shame to waste even a drop of Tanner’s chili, but embarrassment had dulled his appetite. “I have to find out who she is. I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“All that thinking and you still can’t remember her name?”

“The only thing I know for sure is it’s not Madelyn Moriarty.”

Tanner’s jaw dropped, his fork poised in mid-air. “Who?”

“That was the name on the Caller ID when she called me back. Bright idea I had, getting her to call me back, but her phone died so she had to use her aunt’s line.”

“Wasn’t Mrs. Moriarty the woman who bought your sorry ass at the Charity Auction?”

Quinn dropped his head into his hands. “Oh, man. That’s why the name was so familiar.” Back in April he and Tanner and a bunch of the single guys from the Ambulance Corps and the Fire Department had loaned themselves out to the Spring River Valley Women’s Auxiliary Club for their Charity Bachelor Auction. It was for a good cause; the event had raised thousands for new medical equipment for Lakeside Hospital’s Children’s Wing, and the sacrifice had been minor for the bachelors involved. They’d escorted their dates to dinner at one of the finer restaurants in town. Tanner had cost Bailey Cole $750, and she’d sneakily given up her date to Evie. Quinn had fetched $1000, even though he’d walked the charity runway with his broken wrist in a sling. Madelyn Moriarty, President of the Women’s Club, had told him she bid so high because she admired his dedication, attending the event even though he’d been so recently injured on a rescue call.

After their “date,” he hadn’t given Mrs. M, as she’d asked him to call her, much thought. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“Well, that’s a clue, then. You could talk to her and find out what her niece’s name is.”

Quinn almost laughed at Tanner’s absurd suggestion. “Oh, yeah. That’s a conversation I want to have. Hi, Mrs. M, I slept with your niece this weekend, but I can’t remember her name because I was really drunk. Could you refresh my memory?”

Laughing, Tanner rose and began clearing their plates. “That’s a conversation I’d pay to listen to. I have a better idea, though. I can ask Evie to find out. She interviewed Mrs. Moriarty before the auction. She can ask her, and it won’t seem weird.”

“How won’t it seem weird if she asks Mrs. M out of the blue what her niece’s name is?”

Tanner grinned and shook his head. “She’s a reporter. She can find out anything about anybody, and it doesn’t seem weird. Trust me.”

“Yeah, it sounds like a plan, but once I have her name, what do I do? She thinks I’m an idiot now.”

“Just now?” Tanner guffawed. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Don’t worry. You’ll figure out some way to make it up to her. After all, this is you we’re talking about.”

* * * *

“How could he not remember my name?” Lily punctuated her question by dropping a heaping scoop of chocolate chip mint ice cream into the empty bowl in front of Claudia. The next giant scoop went into Lily’s own bowl, along with a little extra for good measure.

Claudia manned the spray can of whipped cream, which she applied liberally to both sundaes. “Because he’s obviously brain dead. Like most men. Where are the cherries?”

“In the fridge.” Lily drizzled chocolate syrup over the mounds of whipped cream while Claudia rummaged in the refrigerator for maraschino cherries. Their bad day/bad date ice cream ritual didn’t occur very often, but tonight seemed like the perfect time for the ceremonial drowning of sorrows with frozen dairy products. Not only was Lily still fuming from her conversation with Quinn, Claudia was on the warpath after yet another spectacular argument with Owen DeWitt, the guitar player from the band
Claudia sang with on the weekends. On top of that, a wicked storm was brewing that threatened to completely derail the pleasant early autumn weather for the rest of the week.

“All right, let’s look at this from an analytical standpoint. I know I had quite a bit to drink, and he admitted he did too, but really? He had to trick me into calling him back so he could see the Caller ID. How low is that?” Lily offered up her sundae to Claudia who dropped a couple of brilliant red cherries into the clouds of whipped cream.

Together they settled in at the kitchen table in their shared apartment and dug in while the last rays of sunshine fell victim to the gathering clouds outside. Ricki danced around the table legs, desperately hoping for a treat. “I’m sorry,” Lily told the dog. “No fattening people food for you until your mommy gets back.” She glanced out the kitchen window at the dark gray horizon. “I hope Aunt Madelyn’s flight home isn’t delayed because of the storm.”

“The weather channel said it’s going to be pretty bad. I hope Ricki isn’t afraid of thunder.”

“The only thing he’s afraid of is not getting enough doggy treats.”

“Seriously,” Claudia said between bites, “How does Quinn not know who he was with? He was sober enough to walk and talk and make it to the bedroom.”

“He was sober enough to do quite a bit,” Lily added, but rather than let her mind wander to the sexy details she couldn’t forget about that night, she dug into her ice cream with a singular determination. Clearly she knew Quinn Preston much better than he knew her, and clearly all her predictions about getting involved with someone like him were spot on. Why hadn’t she listened to her own instincts?

“So what did he say when you told him who you were?”

Lily swallowed hard. “I didn’t. I refuse to give him the satisfaction. Let him wonder.”

Claudia raised a brow. “You’re not going to tell him?”

“No. It’s probably better this way. It was just a one-night fantasy. Sure he said all the right things, and he was so sweet and so…” She shivered. He’d been perfect in every way, so therefore it had to have been a fantasy. And of course, she freely admitted she’d been more than a little tipsy herself, so she probably remembered things a little more rosy than they’d actually been.

Claudia leaned in over her bowl, spoon poised above a whipped cream peak. “What things
did
he say?”

Lily’s cheeks heated. “Nothing. Just…nice things. He was very charming and…” He’d told her all the things a woman liked to hear. And she’d fallen for every word. But in her own defense, it had been because she’d wanted to. It was her night to let go, to have a wild fling for once in her life, so how could she be angry that it had turned out exactly as she’d predicted it would?

“And you’re sure he really didn’t mean any of it?”

“I’ll never know, since he probably doesn’t remember it.”

“What if you jogged his memory?” Claudia smirked. “After all, if it was as good as you remember, it might be worth repeating.”

“No, absolutely not.”

“So what happens when he runs into you at the hospital again? Or at the rec center? He may not remember your name, but I bet he’ll remember you when he sees you.”

Lily cringed. She couldn’t decide which scenario would be more embarrassing, if they met face-to-face and he realized who she was or if he didn’t. “I’ll just keep a low profile. I can switch to your morning class on Thursdays, and I’ll never see him at the rec again. And at work, well, he and Tanner are usually in a hurry when they come in. If I see him, I’ll just make myself scarce until he’s gone.”

“How long do you think you can keep that up?”

Until it doesn’t hurt anymore.
She shook off the self-pitying thought. “Long enough. It was what it was, and we both agreed that it was a no-strings-attached thing. He told me he wasn’t looking for anything serious, and I agreed with him.”

Claudia met Lily’s gaze. “But what if he doesn’t remember that part either?”

“Carl, we can’t leave these carts here blocking the hallway.” Lily peered at the orderly through the mesh bars of a six-foot tall rolling storage cart which was currently blocking access to her desk.

He
shrugged. “Sorry, Lil. Gotta leave ‘em here for now. They’re clearing space in the nurses’ lounge for extra supplies for the storm, and they’re going to go in there.”

“How long will that take?” Lily felt like a prisoner at her station. The huge carts, packed with extra blankets, towels, bandages and patient gowns, filled the ER reception area, making it nearly impossible to maneuver. The tropical storm sweeping up from the south was set to collide with the nor’easter coming down from Canada. Unseasonably cold wind and rain was already causing traffic problems and increasing the chaos in the ER. The influx of extra supplies only added to the confusion.

Carl checked his watch. “I’m waiting for someone to sign off on the deliveries. Then I can move all this.”

Lily sighed. There was nothing more difficult in a hospital than trying to get someone’s signature on a form. It could take hours to get authorization. “I’ll see if I can find Audrey. I’m sure she can—” A familiar voice distracted her, and she found herself ducking behind the cart she’d just been hoping to move.

She’d definitely heard Quinn; his laugh was unmistakable.

Damn. This was exactly what she had been hoping to avoid. Cautiously, she angled her gaze through the mesh backing of the cart until she caught sight of him. Quinn and Tanner were heading toward her desk. She hadn’t seen them arrive, and now it appeared they were making their way back out to the ambulance bay. All she had to do was stay out of sight until they were gone.

Careful to keep the metallic cart between her and the two EMTs, she heaved the heavy cart aside a few inches and sidled out of the reception station. Watching the corridor, she backed up, step by step until a body blocked her path.

“Ow!”

She whirled around and came face to face with Audrey Desmond. Just the person she’d been hoping to find. “I’m so sorry. Did I step on your foot?”

The pretty brunette nurse nodded. “I’m fine. What’s going on with these carts?”

“I was just asking the same thing. Carl says they need to be—”

“Why are you whispering?” Audrey asked, one eyebrow rising.

“I’m not. I…well, this
is
a hospital. Quiet is better for the patients, right?”

Audrey eyed her sidelong and nodded slowly. “Sure.”

“If you sign off on the supply delivery, I’ll be happy to help Carl take these to the nurses’ lounge.” There, that was the perfect excuse to disappear for a few minutes until Quinn and Tanner were gone.

“The
where
? Oh, no. Who told Carl these were going to the
nurses’
lounge? Nada. No way.” Audrey’s voice rose, and she set her sights on the hapless orderly. “Hey, Carl, Lily just told me—”

“Oh, no-no-no, don’t get me involved.” Lily cringed at the sound of her name. Not that Quinn knew it anyway, but she didn’t want his attention drawn to her as he passed her station. She mentally kicked herself for not thinking Audrey would freak out about extra supplies being stored in the already too small nurses’ lounge. Mortified, she ducked behind the cart while Audrey confronted Carl.

“Whose idea was it to put this stuff in our lounge?”

Carl
sputtered and his eyes darted from side to side as though he was looking for an easy way to escape from the wrath of the nurse they all called Iron Audrey. “Um…Dr. Cranford said—”

“Oh, he did? Well, I need to have a word with Dr. Cranford. Lily, can we—”