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indecisive. A serious pet peeve of hers.
    “Nothing about me has changed, Quinn.” Which, yeah, she could have tried to play coy about that, but screw him. She wasn’t going to pretend to be something she wasn’t. It had taken her years to get over her insecurities and okay, she actually hadn’t gotten over them. Not completely. She needed to know where she stood with people. It made her feel grounded, she supposed, in control. And he’d just completely pulled the rug out from under her when she’d trusted him enough to be open with him. “Still a virgin.”
    He shifted in his chair and she couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or something else. “I wasn’t sure, but yeah, I figured.”
    “So what, it doesn’t bother you now? Or you just got jealous when you saw me with Carlito and decided to act all caveman?” Now that he’d thrown down with the honesty, she was going for broke. She wanted to know what had changed for him in the last two months and the truth was, she felt like she deserved the truth. He’d hurt her more than she wanted to admit.
    Sitting back in his chair, he rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. “Shit, not pulling your punches, huh?”
    She shrugged.
    “I haven’t been able to get you out of my head the last two months. I screwed up, and seeing you made me realize how much.” He leaned in closer now. “I…I’ve never been as attracted to someone as I am to you.” His voice dropped an octave as he said the last part, the deep quality of it sending a shiver racing through her.
    She refused to let him affect her. They had a serious physical attraction, something she had no problem admitting. She couldn’t deny it anyway because it was like an electric thing, almost tangible. But he’d freaked out on her once, she wasn’t going to deal with that again. “Look, I…” She struggled for the right words, not wanting to be too harsh. “Our attraction is intense, no denying it. But I’m not interested in pursuing anything with you other than friendship.” And she wasn’t going to give him a reason why either. She didn’t have to and didn’t feel like articulating why. He’d lost his chance, simple as that.
    With his shades it was impossible to read his expression so when he nodded once and said, “Okay,” she was a little taken off guard.
    Maybe she’d expected more of an argument. She should be happy he was agreeing with her, not second guessing herself. But she wasn’t going to sit here dwelling on it. Instead she asked him about his current job and how it was that he had a free lunch today. She knew most of the security people weren’t in the office with much frequency, not with their erratic schedules.
    As they fell into an easy rhythm of conversation she found herself oddly disappointed when their lunch break was over and they headed back to the office. If only she wasn’t so attracted to him, maintaining a friends-only relationship would be a breeze.
    * * *
    Athena shivered as she reached for another eggplant to put in her basket. The local grocery store was colder than outside. After today she was exhausted and ready to kick her feet up at home with a glass of wine. She might not cook well but there were a few staple meals her mom had taught her how to make—that Athena had actually bothered to learn—and eggplant parmesan was one of them. It was so stinking easy to make, too, and she really didn’t feel like takeout. After years of living on the road, there was something to be said about cooking at home.
    Tingles danced across the back of her neck, making her straighten. She glanced over her shoulder to see a blond-haired man staring hard at a bag of apples. As if he couldn’t decide whether to buy them or not. She’d noticed him earlier when she’d been in the aisle with all the pasta and sauce options. And before that when she’d been looking at various cheeses.
    The store was big enough that it wasn’t odd they were in the same sections, but