Quinn walked to the elevator and pressed the button. Being alone with Ryan made her
nervous. Friends or not, they’d shared a memorable kiss. Every time she looked at
his face, she thought of his mouth on hers. She reminded herself he probably kissed
a different woman every night.
“We could take the stairs,” Ryan said.
“Are you claustrophobic?” The elevator dinged and Quinn stepped in.
“No. I don’t trust this particular elevator. It’s so old it might collapse at any
moment.”
“I take it all the time. It’s fine.” She pressed one and the elevator lurched. As
they rattled past the third floor, she added, “It only gets stuck on three a couple
of times a month.”
“Are you serious?”
Quinn laughed. “Unfortunately, yes. But it doesn’t last long.”
They exited the elevator and the building. Quinn looked up and down the street for
Ryan’s SUV. “Are you driving or am I?”
“Neither. We’ll walk; take the bus if we need to.”
“To where?”
“Today, we’re tourists.” He paused. “I know, you’ve lived here for years and you know
everything the city has to offer.”
He laid his hand on the small of her back to guide her down the street. It didn’t
make her flinch or cringe. She didn’t even want to step away. His warmth crept pleasantly
up her spine, and she hated that she enjoyed it.
He continued, “But when was the last time you looked at the city? Really looked.”
When had she? Ten, twelve years ago when she moved here? She’d always thought she’d
re-explore with her husband and kids. Day trips into the city from their quiet suburban
home. How had she lost so many years?
“See?” Ryan broke her thoughts. “You don’t even remember, do you? The city is always
changing, evolving. Every time I do this, I discover something new.”
She stopped. She slid her sunglasses off her face. “Do you pretend to be a tourist
often?”
“Not often. I used to once a year. It’s been a few since I did it last.”
He too seemed lost in thought for a moment. She wondered if he had regrets as well.
“So where did you get the idea to play tourist?”
“My dad. I think he came up with it as a way for us to hang out together. When I was
a teenager, we’d do it three or four times a year. I got to play hooky to hang out.”
“Sounds like fun.” She heard the pleasure in his voice and part of her envied the
relationship he’d had with his father.
“What about you?” he asked over the rumble of a bus and the traffic they encountered
as they arrived at the busy intersection.
She wrinkled her nose at the black exhaust. “What about me?” “What fun stuff did you
do with your dad? Or mom?”
“We were never the kind of family who did stuff together.” She paused. “But one of
my favorite childhood memories was when my dad took me to Wrigley Field.”
Ryan’s hand closed gently over her elbow as they crossed another street, dodging cabs.
Quinn enjoyed the warmth of his touch. His sunglasses obscured his eyes, and she wanted
to see the shade of blue they’d be out here in the sun.
“Tell me about Wrigley.”
“It was spur of the moment, which made it extra special because Dad planned everything.
The Cubs were having a phenomenal season. Ryne Sandberg played second. Rick Sutcliffe
with his walrus mustache pitched. And Mark Grace played first base. I had a crush
on him.”
“You remember the players?”
“Not all of them, but I watched a lot of baseball that year. Everyone thought they’d
go to the World Series.” It was long before the drinking started. Mom was still alive,
keeping Dad happy. It felt like a lifetime ago.
Ryan snickered.
“What?”
“I’ve never been much of a baseball fan, but everyone knows the Cubs won’t ever go
to the World Series.”
“Nonbeliever.” She took a deep breath and felt the sun warm her face. “My dad was
sure they’d go all the way. He wanted to be part of it. So we drove up here and went
to the game. I’d hoped it was going to be a night game since it was so new back then.
Unfortunately, those tickets were harder to get.”
They walked in silence for the next block. She didn’t know why she’d shared one of
her most treasured memories with Ryan. She rarely spoke of her childhood. So much
of it was overshadowed by the mess her family had become.
“Where do you want to go?”
She shrugged. “You’re the expert. You pick.”
“You’re probably a museum girl. So let’s do something different. Have you been to
the bean?”
“The bean?”
“The big silver sculpture thing shaped like a bean.”
“You mean Cloud Gate. No, I haven’t been there. I’ve seen pictures of it.”
“Let’s start there. It’s a beautiful day.”
Her phone rang. She stopped to dig through her purse. When she produced the phone,
Ryan grabbed it. “Hey.”
He opened the phone. “Hi, Indy. Yes, we’re fine. She won’t have access to her phone
until later. Uh-huh. You too.” He closed the phone and slid it into his back pocket.
“Give me my phone.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no? What if school calls?” The thought sent nervous flutters through
her stomach.
“That’s why you can’t have it. Today is about having fun. If you let your job interrupt,
it won’t be fun.”
“If I’m worried about missing a call, I won’t have fun either.”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t turn it off. Think of me as your personal screener.” That grin
again. The one that promised fun.
Quinn huffed but continued walking. Taking a day off required a lot of effort. Looking
at Ryan, though, she decided there were worse people to spend a day with.
When they got to Cloud Gate, quite a few people were milling around. As she skirted
the edges of the small crowd to get closer to the hunk of metal, Ryan brushed past
her to hurry her along. She touched the cool metal and Ryan put his face close and
stuck his tongue out. His reflection, distorted in the curved metal, made her smile.
“Come on. Make a face.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Fine. Go spin in a circle under it. I’ve heard it’s like being drunk.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Maybe, but it’ll be fun.” He tugged her under the arch and they spun.
He was right. It was fun. She laughed so hard at her dizziness, her sides ached.
CHAPTER 5
A
fter wandering around the bean, they walked through the gardens and made their way
over to Crown Fountain. Quinn’s face lit up when she saw the fountain spouting water
over the backdrop of faces.
“Wow. I’ve never seen this either. How cool.” The faces on the backdrop changed and
shifted. Quinn walked closer. She giggled as a little girl, maybe four years old,
scurried past and ran under the flowing water.
The girl squealed in delight. Quinn’s head tilted back and she laughed loud. The sound
was exactly what Ryan had been waiting to hear. Without thinking, he grabbed her hand
and pulled Quinn under the stream of water. Her shriek was every bit as loud as the
girl’s.
“I can’t believe you just did that.” She pushed her wet hair off her forehead and
narrowed her eyes at his dry body. He’d managed to swing her under the water while
keeping himself out of it.
“I thought you’d like it.” His eyes wandered down the front of her shirt, which was
half wet. Her nipples protruded from the shirt, and he realized the water was colder
than he thought it’d be.
She had a sudden gleam in her eye and he knew she wanted revenge. He backed away from
the fountain. She didn’t have the strength to pull him, but he didn’t want to be tackled
either. Her footsteps were slow and deliberate as she stalked him.
“Come on now, Quinn. You don’t want to do this.”
“Oh, yes, I do.”
He grinned, hoping to distract her. “Let’s make a deal.”
“For what?”
“What do you want?”
“A dry shirt.”
He considered his options. “You got it.” He whipped his shirt off and held it out.
Her mouth gaped. “You’re nuts. What am I supposed to do with that?”
“Put it on.”
“Then your shirt will be as wet as mine. And you’ll still be walking around . . .”
Her voice trailed off as she studied him. She didn’t hide her appraisal of him and
he didn’t hide his smirk. “We’ll find a place for you to change.”
Hours later, they’d finished their walk through Millennium Park, consumed a completely
unsatisfying lunch from a hot dog vendor on the street, and toured around Buckingham
Fountain. After waiting for Quinn to put on her now-dry Cubs shirt, Ryan had a thought.
“Let’s go to Wrigley Field.”
“Why?”
“Why not? We can walk over to Clark and hop the bus. We’ll be there in no time.”
“We don’t know if there’s a game. Even if there is, the chances of getting tickets
are slim.”
“So what? Let’s go.” He tugged her hand to turn her toward Clark. Her hand was smooth
and he interlocked his fingers with hers. Her fingers stiffened momentarily, but she
didn’t pull away. His thumb rubbed the back of her hand. The tension melted. She was
warming to his touch.
The afternoon bus was empty and they both slid into the graffiti-ridden, orange plastic
molded seats. Quinn sat next to the window and he stretched his arm along the seat
behind her head. He leaned over to make a remark about something outside, all of which
disappeared like smoke when he smelled her hair. It wasn’t flowery and overpowering,
but slightly fruity and sweet. He wanted to bury his face in it. Instead, he allowed
his fingers to brush over the silky strands.
Her back stiffened at the touch. She shifted to turn to him.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
She smiled at the apology. “You said you had self-control issues.”
“If I didn’t have those issues, you wouldn’t be having fun today.” He straightened
a bit. “You are having fun, right?”
“Are you kidding? This is the most fun I’ve had in years.”
He released the breath he’d held. She was so reserved, he’d half-expected a polite,
“I’m having a nice day.” There was something sweet in her that she tried to hide,
so he wasn’t quite sure how to read her.
“We’re almost at our stop.” He stood and pulled the cord to signal they were getting
off.
Quinn stood and the bus jolted to a stop. She pushed into him and he grabbed her hips
to steady her. She shook her head. “Sorry. I’m out of practice. I haven’t taken the
CTA since college.”
“No problem.” Except his hands didn’t want to leave her curvy hips. They longed to
stay and explore.
“Hey, you gettin’ off?”
Ryan turned to the driver. “Yeah, have a good day.”
Quinn stepped off behind him, seemingly oblivious to his desire. They crossed the
street and found all the ticket windows closed. No game.
“Well, it was worth a shot.” He shrugged. “What do you want to do now?”
Quinn looked at her watch. He placed his hand on her wrist. “For today, time is irrelevant.”
She tilted her head. “Don’t you have a business to run?”
“I’m so good, it runs itself.” Her raised eyebrows made him continue. “I have a great
manager who can handle everything without me.” As if to defy him, his cell phone rang.
He pulled it from his back pocket. Moira, whom he’d already ignored twice. “I need
to take this.”
He left Quinn staring at the stadium while he answered. “Hi, Moira. What do you want?”
“Mom wants to know if you’ve talked to Colin.”
“We all had dinner together on Saturday. We spoke.” He shoved his hand into his pocket.
Quinn stood three feet away, arms crossed.
“Not stupid reminiscent crap.”
“I talked to him. I didn’t throw him out of the house.”
“Like Mom would let you.” She sighed into the phone. “Look, I’m calling because it’s
breaking her heart to watch the two of you. You used to be so close.”
That was before
.
“Come by next weekend. We’ll try dinner again.”
“I’ll stop by, but I don’t know if I’ll stay for dinner.” He closed his phone and
realized he just offered to give up yet another weekend for his family. He turned
back to Quinn. “Where were we?”
“I was saying you’ve adequately fulfilled your babysitting duties. We can go home.
I don’t expect you to give up your whole day.” She tapped the face of her watch.
He covered the watch again and then slid his hand from her wrist to her palm. She
looked at their interlocked fingers like it was the first time she noticed his touch.
“I’ve enjoyed spending my day with you. I gave up a day in my stuffy office shuffling
paperwork.”
“I’ve had fun too. Thank you.”
He pulled her arm to bring her closer. “If you want to thank me, let me take you out
to dinner. For a real meal, not a hot dog on a corner.” He saw the debate behind her
narrowed eyes.
“Fine. You win.”
“Good. We’ll go back to your place so you can change and then we’ll drive to my place.
I’ll make reservations on the way.” They began walking to the bus stop.
“Tonight? You want to go out now?”
“Sure, why not?”
“We spent the whole day together. I’d think you’d need a break from me.”
“Then you’d have time to change your mind. Do you have any preference for dinner?”
“No.”
Her phone bleeped in his pocket. He pulled it out. A text message from Nick. Indy
had warned him about the ex.
She released his hand and held out hers for the phone. “Who is it?”
“Nick.” Ryan tucked it back in his pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“Screening your calls like I told you I would. He doesn’t seem important enough to
warrant the interruption.”
She crossed her arms and stood silently until a garbage truck rumbled and clattered
past. When the traffic noise returned to normal, she said, “I think I should decide
who’s important.”
“You did. If he was important, he wouldn’t be your ex.”
She pressed her lips together.
The southbound bus squealed as it stopped and the doors thunked open. Quinn stepped
up and fumbled with her wallet. Ryan reached around and slid money in for both their
fares.
“Thanks.” She took a seat near the back and he followed.
They rode in silence for a while. Ryan wondered how to lighten her mood again. He
didn’t want to have their dinner date ruined.
She didn’t turn to look at him, but said, “I’m sorry. You’re right. Nick’s not important.
It’s not that it was Nick. I would’ve been pissed over any call. It should be my choice
whether to take a call.”
Ryan didn’t respond immediately. The thought of her wanting to talk to her ex while
with him gnawed at his gut, though. “No, I’m sorry. Do you want your phone?”
Her eyes met his. “No, if I have it, I’ll call him.”
The uneasy silence poked at Ryan. He thought of the one thing she was most at ease
with. “Why did you become a teacher?”
Her stance immediately relaxed. “I needed a career and I love books. When I started
college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I spent a semester tutoring and I knew.
How about you? Why own a bar?”
“Family business. It was my dad’s dream long before it became mine. I grew up in the
bar. It was a natural progression for me to take over.” He paused and squashed the
urge to tell her about Colin and how the bar was supposed to be his. He stood. “Let’s
get off here and walk. It’ll be faster than catching a crowded bus during rush hour.”
Quinn threw open the door to her loft. “I am so done with walking today. I hope you
parked close, or you’ll have to carry me to your car.” She dropped her keys on the
side table and bent to untie her sneakers.
Ryan strolled in behind her and went straight to the couch. “Okay, so I misjudged
how far you live from Clark. It was still a nice walk.”
“How dressy is this place we’re going?”
“Casual is fine. It’s a steakhouse. By the time we get there, I’ll be ready to eat
a side of beef.”
“After all the exercise, they better have a great dessert menu too,” she commented
as she plodded up the stairs. From the top, she called, “Help yourself to anything
in the fridge. I’ll be ready soon.”
She sat on her bed and mentally ran through wardrobe options. Exhaustion dragged her
down, but it had been well worth it. She’d had a great time with Ryan. Maybe she’d
been too quick to brush aside his offer of friendship. She couldn’t recall the last
time she had so much fun with anyone but Kate or Indy.
This is what dating is supposed to be. Having fun while getting to know each other.
Why doesn’t this happen on a real date?
This felt like a date. The notion nagged at her. After a quick shower, she tugged
on her favorite black dress and found sandals to match. Expectations. That was the
problem. She and Ryan held no expectations for each other or their relationship. They
enjoyed their time because it was just today.
She suddenly realized she’d been gone much longer than planned and hurried downstairs.
Ryan had sprawled across her couch with his eyes closed. “Are you sleeping?”
“Just dozing.” He pushed against his elbows to sit and rubbed his hands over his face.
He looked her up and down. “Wow. If that’s your idea of casual, I’d love to see dressed
up.”
Despite how her nerves tingled over his examination, her response was light. “It never
hurts to look good. You never know who you might meet.”
“Are you trying to find Mr. Right tonight?”
“I won’t be actively seeking him, but you’re my wingman. You can teach me what to
look for.”
A thump sounded at her door. She swung it open and Nick almost fell on her. “Nick?”
“Hey, babe,” he slurred.
Ryan was at her back as Nick stumbled to lean on the doorjamb. His dark, shaggy hair
hung almost to his deep-set brown eyes. Ryan’s warmth radiated through her clothes.
“How did you get up here?” she asked.
“The old lady downstairs let me in when she left.”
“I’ll have to remind Mrs. Cannon you don’t live here anymore.”
Nick pushed away from the wall to stand semistraight and ran a finger along the scalloped
neckline of her dress. “I guess this explains why you didn’t call me back.”
Before she even had the thought to step away from Nick’s touch, Ryan had Nick pinned
against the wall. He held him with his forearm against Nick’s chest. “Did she say
you could touch her?”
Nick put his hands up in surrender. “Hey, man, relax. Quinn and me go way back.”
The movement startled Quinn. Ryan was always so laid-back, she never would have guessed
he had a violent streak.
“Ryan, let him go. It’s fine.” She laid a hand on Ryan’s shoulder.
He released Nick and took a cautious step back, offering no apology. Quinn took a
step to stand beside Ryan.