Page 102 of Delayed Penalty

I laugh. “That’s what I thought. Just one more question…”

“Yes?”

“What are they?”

She definitely smiles this time. She always does when I ask about her earrings. “Sushi rolls.”

“But you don’t even like sushi.”

“So? They’re still cute.”

I shake my head.Quinn logic.

“Good night, Adam,” she whispers.

“Night, honey.”

When I finally crawl into bed, I don’t even spend the time falling asleep thinking about my horrible game. I think about Quinn and her sushi earrings and all the other things about her that make me smile. What we’re doing might technically be wrong, but I can’t help but think it feels so, so right.

And I have no idea what to do about it.

CHAPTER 20

QUINN

“You cannot be serious right now.”

Hayes shrugs like it’s no big deal. “It’s fixed.”

“I can see that. I just…” I put my hands on my hips. “How the hell did you do this?”

“I went to the shop and paid for it and the guy handed me the keys and then I drove it here last night.”

I thought his SUV sounded a little loud coming up the driveway, but I was so excited to see him that I didn’t even give it a second thought. Now I’m thinking I should have.

I glare at him. “You know exactly what I mean. They’ve been running me around for the last two months. How did you get them to actually work on it?”

He points to himself. “Big scary hockey player.” Heturns his finger to me. “Pint-sized grown woman wearing fish-stick earrings.”

I finger the jewelry hanging from my ear—the top half is a fish, the bottom is a tree branch. “How dare you insult these beauties!”

“They’re hideous.”

“I like them,” Flora says as she runs her hands over Pickles’s back. The two are so attached to one another that Flora can bring her outside and the cat doesn’t even try to run. She’s too busy being in love with the kid.

I give Hayes a look that says,See? She gets it.He rolls his eyes.

“This is too much,” I tell him. “At least let me pay you back.”

“No.”

“Hayes.”

“No,” he repeats.

I stomp my foot. “Fine. Then take it out of my salary.”

“I’ll get right on that.”

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