Page 6 of SEAL's Patience
CHAPTER 3
QUINN
Quinn lasted about another half hour once Patience brought the check. He paid the tab and added a hefty tip. The need to take care of her, protect her, overwhelmed him. He’d do what he could without bringing her into his orbit and putting her in danger.
After he finished his beer, he pushed back from the table. “I’m gonna call it a night. See you knuckleheads at zero six hundred Monday.” His gaze went around the table to make sure they heard him. With their nods, he dipped his chin and stood up. Doc reached out but stopped short of touching him.
“You sure you’re okay, boss?” Doc’s mouth thinned as he squinted at Quinn. His concern was evident.
Quinn might be closest to Josh, but Doc could read any of them better, like he lived inside their heads. But he didn’t need the big man worrying about him.
“I’m good.”
Doc sighed. “If you say so. I’m not doing anything tomorrow if you want to shoot some pool or something.”
“Thanks, but don’t wait for me if something comes up.”
“No problem,” Doc said.
The last thing Quinn wanted was for his team to worry about him. He was their rock. Nothing ever got to him. Seeing him lose his shit had to have shaken their trust in his ability to lead. He’d been the stoic one since day one, the person they all came to when they needed help to work something out. Of course, they had questions after seeing him lose it. Thankfully, they hadn’t asked. One thing was for sure—he needed to get his head out of his ass before PT on Monday or they wouldn’t let him brush them off.
Quinn walked out of the bar and breathed in the frigid December air. A light dusting of snow covered the parking lot, as more of the white stuff fell from the sky. He ran his hand through his hair and rolled his neck. That’s when he noticed Patience bent over under the hood of her car.
That’s what he got for patting himself on the back, for escaping without speaking to her again. Fate apparently wanted to laugh in his face one more time that day. There was no way he’d be able to live with himself if he didn’t at least see if he could help her. He might be a bastard, but he’d never walk away from a woman in distress.
“Car problems?” Quinn tried to make some noise as he approached. The last thing he wanted was to scare her.
“Shit.” Patience startled at the sound of his voice, and her head connected with the hood of the car. Her phone slipped out of her hand and dropped onto the wet pavement. As she rubbed her head, she turned to look at him. “You scared me.”
“Sorry. I thought you heard me.” Quinn rescued her phone from the ground and handed it back to her. “What’s wrong with the car?”
“I’m not sure. Google thinks it’s the battery, alternator, or maybe both.” She avoided meeting his eyes and turned back toward the engine.
Did she really think that her phone could figure out her car problem? Mobile apps had come a long way, but he didn’t know one that could diagnose car issues from holding it over the engine. More proof he wasn’t the right man for her, as if he needed anything else to add to his long list.
“It won’t start. It won’t even turn over. The mechanic checked it last week and said that everything was fine.” Her brows drew together, and she twisted her lips in a grimace.
Fucking adorable, and totally off limits.
“Want me to try jumping you?” As soon as the words left his mouth, her lips tipped up at the corners, and he knew he was in trouble.
“You want to jump me?” Her eyes sparkled in the light from street lamps.
Quinn sighed. He’d walked right into that one. “Yeah, your car. You know better, little girl.”
“I’m not a little girl.”
“Yeah, you are. I’ve got at least ten years on you.”
Patience rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m still not a little girl. And as for your offer, sure. It would be great. I want to get home before it gets much worse out here.”
“Let me get my truck and we’ll give it a shot.”
“Thank you, Quinn. I really appreciate it.”
He nodded, then made his way across the lot to where he’d parked earlier. He shouldn’t have called her a little girl. Patience always looked young. But with her long auburn hair in a high ponytail and snowflakes stuck on her hair and eyelashes, innocence radiated from her. The torn light blue jeans, puffy ski jacket, and black chucks added to her girlish look.
Her hopeless expression, like she’d broken her favorite toy, triggered all his protector instincts. Still, instinct or not, he needed to remember they weren’t friends, just barely acquaintances. It didn’t matter that his cock twitched in hispants when he thought about brushing the snow from her hair and brushing his fingers over her cold-kissed cheek. He needed to shut this shit down before it went any further. After he got her car started, he'd send her on her way, then go back to ignoring her.
