because of Ava Grace Landy. Her boots had been works of art, and he was sure she would be able to come up with some kick-ass accessories for the company.
But he was less sure he’d be able to keep his hands to himself, especially when he thought about her round ass, shiny hair, and pink lips. His extreme reaction to her was worrisomesince he shied away from any personal relationships that might jeopardize Riley O’Brien & Co.
“When will Amelia be back?” Teagan asked.
“Didn’t you two discuss that during lunch?”
“No.”
Apparently, Amelia had left it to him to explain their agreement to his sister. She wasn’t going to like what he had to say, and Amelia owed him for taking fire for this. He had a vision of her showing her appreciation on her knees with his hand fisted in her fiery red hair and her plump lips wrapped around his cock.
“When will she be back?” Teagan repeated, rudely interrupting his fantasy.
“In two weeks. But she’s only going to be here for a month. She’s going to do most of the design work in Nashville.”
He expected a verbal explosion from Teagan, and he didn’t have to wait long.
“Are you serious, Quinn?” she burst out furiously. “She needs to be here!”
He cut her off. “Look, Amelia was ready to call off the deal if I didn’t agree,” he explained, wondering why he bothered to defend himself when he hadn’t done anything wrong. “Since the accessories are your bright idea, I thought you’d be happy I saved them. Instead, you’re bitching at me.”
Reaching his driveway, he pushed the button to open the garage doors situated below his trilevel Victorian and drove in. Teagan had been silent for so long he wondered if the call had dropped.
“Are you still there, T?”
“Yes, I was just thinking. Maybe we should throw a party to announce the partnership with Amelia. It would generate some buzz for the new accessories.”
“Why don’t you talk to Cal and see what he thinks?”
“I will.”
He shifted the Audi into park. “Are we done?”
“We should offer the penthouse to Amelia. That might entice her to do more of the design work here.”
Quinn sighed. He doubted anything would convince Amelia to spend more time in San Francisco than she had to. He was pretty sure she wanted to avoid him.
Despite his efforts to hide it, his desire for her had been obvious. He was just glad his jeans had concealed his erection. He had no doubt she would have ended the meeting if she had seen it. Riley O’Brien & Co. would have been forced to find another designer, and now that he’d met her, he definitely wanted Amelia.
In more ways than one
, a little voice inside him whispered.
He scowled, annoyed by his surprising and inconvenient attraction to Amelia. He needed to get his shit together and focus on what she could do for Riley O’Brien & Co. She was an extremely talented designer. He needed to give her the same level of respect he would give any other professional.
With that in mind, he said, “I don’t see a problem letting Amelia use the penthouse as long as it’s not booked for someone else.”
“I’ll double-check, and if it’s open, I’ll go ahead and reserve it for the next few weeks.” She cleared her throat. “Quinn, is there something I should know? Did something happen during the meeting?”
Leaning his head against the headrest, he closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t in the habit of lying, especially to his sister, and he wasn’t going to start now.
“Working with Amelia is going to be interesting,” he finally said. “I’m home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He disconnected the call before she could say anything else.
Chapter 5
The buzz of Quinn’s alarm clock pulled him from a deep sleep the next morning. Covering his eyes with his forearm, he debated whether to lounge in bed an extra hour or get up and go for his regular morning run.
He’d gone to bed way too late after spending several