Page 95 of Playboy For Hire

“What? No, no. He wanted to keep things casual. And I told him I was okay with that. But it turns out, I wasn’t.”

I leaned forward, putting my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands. Auntie Thea patted my back gently.

“I’m sorry, baby.”

I looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. “What, no lectures about falling for someone I knew was unavailable? About what else could I expect if I indulged in meaningless hookups?”

She rubbed my back. “You don’t need a lecture. You need love.”

Her words took me by surprise. I closed my eyes against a sudden rush of tears. “Yeah,” I mumbled into my hands. “Yeah, maybe.”

“You have so much love to give,” she continued. “And you’ll find the right man to give it to, I know you will.”

“I’m just so sick of picking the wrong ones.”

“I know, honey.”

She was sweet. But the fact was, she didn’t know. She didn’t know about Brandon, for one thing. No one did, except Ryder. I’d kept Brandon’s secret, no matter how hurt I was. And she might know about Ryder, but she didn’tknowhim. Not like I did. She didn’t know how great he was.

I just wished he felt the same.

“I still think I ought to call him up and give him a piece of my mind,” Thea said. “I got his number, you know, at Julie and Brandon’s brunch. I could tell him what I really think.”

“What? No, Auntie Thea, you can’t do that.”

“Why not? Any idiot can see you’re a catch, and that boy didn’t strike me as an idiot. Besides, someone needs to tell him he can’t be running around being careless with people’s hearts like this. It’ll only get him into trouble.”

“Please,” I said, absolutely mortified at the idea. “Whatever you do, don’t do that.” She just tutted, and I straightened and took her hands in mine. “Please, Auntie Thea, promise me you won’t do that.”

She sighed. “Alright. I promise I won’t call him and tell him what a cad he is for using you this way. If it makes you feel any better.”

“It does,” I said fervently. “I appreciate the thought. But really, I just want to move forward now. Not keep dwelling on the past.”

“Well, good. Because you deserve that.”

“Miss Thea?” said a voice a few feet away. We looked up to see Thea’s stylist, Sara. “I’m ready when you are.”

“You’ll be okay,” Thea said, patting my hand before following Sara to her station.

I smiled at her back, hoping to god she was right.

It was an incredibly pretty afternoon after I drove Auntie Thea’s car back to Swannvale and left her at her apartment. I decided to walk home. I was still annoyed the weather was being so lovely when I felt so shitty, but I figured I should at least try to appreciate the sunshine.

I turned the corner onto my street. If there were any justice in the world, it would have been raining non-stop since Ryder broke up with me. If there were any justice, I’d be walking in the middle of a thunderstorm right now, with cracks of lightning shooting—

“Hey, Quinn.”

I blinked, actually taking in my surroundings for the first time. I was ten feet away from my building, and Brandon was sitting on the front stoop.

“Brandon?” I stared in confusion.

He was wearing a suit, holding his cell phone in one hand and tapping his foot as if in impatience. But his features smoothed as I came closer, then softened into a smile.

“I’m so glad I ran into you,” he said, standing up.

“You’re sitting on my stoop. What did you think was going to happen?”

“Well, I didn’t know how long you’d be gone. I rang your buzzer a bunch, but you didn’t answer.”

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