Carly Phillips - Under the Boardwalk

“Slacking off on the job, Quinn?” Damon asked, his chuckle low and deep.

Quinn shook his head. “I’m just resting up before the long weekend.”

“That’s what I wanted to discuss with you.” Damon slung his jacket over the desk and began a methodic unbuttoning and rolling up of his sleeves. His gold Rolex gleamed under the fluorescent lighting. “I’ve had to rearrange my plans.”

Quinn’s gut warned him he wasn’t going to like the change. “I’m flexible,” he said. He rocked back and forth in the chair as if years of planning weren’t on the line.

“Roxanne can’t get away, so we’ll hit Palm Springs next weekend instead.” Damon took a seat on the corner of the desk, unconcerned. “I’ll just spend this weekend here.” His arm made a sweeping motion in the direction of the monitors, which flickered behind him, showing his domain in all its full-Technicolored glory.

“Whatever works for you, boss. You know that.”

Damon reached for the remote control and pulled the bar up onto the main television screen. “How’s our newest employee?” he asked, bringing Ari into full view.

“She’s settling in.”

“And you’re keeping an eye on her. I think that’s a good idea, considering.” Damon tapped his fingers on the desk, watching Ari as she worked. “She doesn’t suspect you in her sister’s disappearance?”

Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Hell no. I’m a charming guy and she likes me.”

“From the videos I’ve seen, I’d say she likes you a lot.” Damon tipped his head back and laughed aloud.

He’d obviously seen the kiss. Probably both of them, Quinn thought, and his skin crawled at the notion of Ari being watched.

“I don’t want to find her going through my books. Her sister came too damn close. I don’t intend a repeat performance.” Damon’s voice sobered. “Keep her busy,” he ordered.

“Sure thing. It’s not like being with her is a hardship,” Quinn joked.

Damon inclined his head. “Good. Do whatever you have to. Even at the expense of being in the hotel. If I know she’s occupied and in your capable hands, I have no problem covering for you here.”

Quinn forced a nod. “You got it, boss.” He didn’t ask what these new orders meant for Damon’s trip next weekend. Whether Quinn would still be in charge.

Seven days from now was a long way off. He had another seven days to live out of a hotel, on edge, and undercover. He had seven more days of keeping Ariana as close as his shadow.

Ready to face a new day, Ariana walked into the kitchen. She had a full agenda, including filling her parents in on her plans to stay here for awhile, though as soon as her sister came home safe, Ari would be on her way. In the meantime, she was adapting to living with her family again. The carafe in the coffeemaker was full, but having learned her lesson, she sniffed before pouring herself a steaming hot cup.

She sat down at the table and immediately saw a note propped on the centerpiece. Her aunt and uncle had gone out for the day, her father was at the diner, and her mother, the note said, was outside gardening. Without warning, memories assaulted her. Of the hectic breakfasts before the rush to school, when Ari would choose yogurt and Zoe would pick Froot Loops. Their differences were apparent even in such a trivial decision, she thought, smiling at the memory.

The peace and quiet she felt now was an unusual phenomenon, one that emphasized Zoe’s absence. But this being her parents’ home, of course it didn’t last. Before Ariana could settle in, she heard the sound of voices and the subsequent slam of the front door.

“Ari?” her mother called out.

“In the kitchen.” Ariana cupped her hands around her coffee mug and waited.

“You have company,” Elena’s voice came closer. “But you were in the shower so I had your friend wait with me.” She walked into the room, holding hands with Spank on one side and, to Ariana’s shock, the young girl she’d met yesterday on the other.

Ariana jumped up from her seat. “What are you doing here?” She started toward the girl. “Better yet, how did you know where to find me?”

Her mother prodded Sam into one of the kitchen chairs. “Relax, Ari. Let her have a drink first.” As Elena got busy pouring Sam a glass of juice, she continued to speak. “She’s wonderful company-”

“Sam, you need to tell me what’s going on.”

Elena placed the glass in Sam’s hands, then gestured toward Ariana. “Go on,” she prodded the girl. “Tell her the truth.” Apparently her mother had formed a fast bond with Sam if she’d already uncovered answers.

The teen met Ariana’s gaze briefly, guilt etching her features as her eyes darted away. “I got your address from here.” She pulled Ariana’s day planner from the plastic bag she was carrying.

“You took this?” Ariana grabbed the leather-bound planner, which also acted as her wallet, out of Sam’s hands.

Sam nodded. “Yesterday, when you were arguing with Quinn. I bumped into you and snagged it.”

“See? That wasn’t so hard.” Elena praised Sam’s truth-telling. “But stealing from people is wrong, young lady.” Elena stroked the girl’s long blonde hair at the same time she reprimanded her.

The con artist chiding the little thief. Ariana shook her head and wondered if her mother realized what a contradiction she presented. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and wondered what to do with the runaway teen.

While Sam stared at her hands, Elena walked over to Ariana and whispered in her ear. “Her technique must be good if you didn’t notice your wallet was missing,” Elena said in awe.

Oh, she’d noticed earlier this morning. She’d just assumed the planner had fallen out on the floor of the car, as often happened back home.

“But still, she’s too young to be doing such a thing,” Elena said softly.

Ariana agreed. She glanced at Sam. “You took my wallet but you came to return it. What gives?”

Sam shrugged. “I took it ’cause I liked you,” she said, mumbling, her voice filled with embarrassment.

A headache had begun to develop and Ariana pressed her fingers against her temples. “You wanted a reason to see me?” she guessed.

Sam nodded and once again the lump of emotion inside Ariana grew. Though she had problems with her relatives, at least she had a family of her own. “I bet people are looking for you.”

“They think I’m at school.”

“And won’t school call home when you don’t show up?”

Sam kicked at the kitchen tile with her sneakered feet. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Unfortunately it does. I’m going to have to call Quinn.” Ariana glanced at Sam. “Unless you want to call your foster parents yourself and let them know you’re okay?”

Sam shook her head. “I don’t want to talk to them. But Quinn’s gonna kill me.”

“Nothing that drastic, I’m sure.” Ariana stood and reached for the portable phone. Leaving her mother alone with the runaway, Ariana dialed Damon’s and asked to be connected with Quinn.

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.” Ariana left Sam and her mother in the kitchen and opened the door for Quinn.

As if she hadn’t even seen him last night, she devoured him with her gaze, surprised at how good it was to see him. He hadn’t shaved yet today and a darkened shadow covered his cheeks. His eyes were glassy and he looked tired. Like her, he probably hadn’t completely recovered from his late night. If this was how he looked in the morning, she definitely wouldn’t mind waking up beside him. Her body tingled at the seductive, heady thought.

And when he spoke, his severe tone sent shivers of another kind through her. “Where is she?”

“In the kitchen. But before you see her, I think you need to take a deep breath first.”

“Easy for you to say. Her foster parents called me two hours ago. I’ve been making phone calls and driving around looking for her. I’d finally given up and gone back to the hotel. Then you called.”

She placed a hand on his arm to calm him. “I’m sorry. I called you as soon as I knew she was here. Unfortunately I don’t know how long she was outside with my mother. They bonded,” Ariana said wryly.

“At least she’s safe.” He glanced at Ariana, a flicker of warmth and appreciation in his gaze.

Ariana smiled. “Now that you’ve collected yourself, let’s go talk to her and see why she pulled a disappearing act.”

“I know why. She’d been led to believe if things worked out with Aaron and Felice, they’d consider adoption. The way things were going, there was no reason to think anything would mess with that. I mean, they couldn’t have kids, and Felice wanted a girl. Despite the few times the little pickpocket tested them, Aaron and Felice understood. Hell, I thought they’d adopt her.” He ran a hand through his hair, his frustration evident.

“And then Felice got pregnant,” Ariana said. He’d told her as much yesterday.

“Yeah. It shouldn’t make a difference to them. But it does. And I’ve seen it time and again. I should know better than to hope. Damn, I should have known better than to let Sam hope.”

Ariana’s heart twisted with emotion, for Sam and for Quinn. The fact that he’d given her insight into his feelings was shocking. So too was the depth of his caring. For as much as Ariana didn’t know about him, she liked everything she’d already learned. He had a good heart despite his secrets. “You’re doing your best for Sam.”

“Yeah, and I hate it that my best isn’t enough. I was so sure that this perfect looking couple with their perfect little house would make room in their hearts and home for a beautiful young girl.”

She was shocked by how much she wanted to help him, not just with Sam, but with his feelings and his pain.

Without warning, Quinn pulled away from her touch as if realizing how much he’d revealed. “I need to talk to Sam.”

Ariana nodded. “Just remember she’s hurting, too.”

She led him toward the kitchen, and as they entered the room, Quinn bellowed, “Samantha!”

“So much for taking my advice,” Ariana muttered.

Sam winced at his yell, and Spank the monkey, who’d been sitting at the table letting Sam paint her nails, dove underneath the table and covered her head with her hands.

“You scared her,” Sam said accusingly to Quinn. She obviously wasn’t intimidated by his bluster.

Then again the kid lived in foster homes and never knew where she’d be next. She wouldn’t fear much, Ariana thought sadly.

“Spank doesn’t like loud noises.” Elena held a hand out to the monkey.

Spank let Elena pull her out from her hiding place. She turned to Quinn, gave him a raspberry with her tongue, then climbed into Sam’s lap.

The young girl giggled and Quinn stopped himself from yelling and demanding an explanation for her behavior. He hadn’t seem Sam laugh. Ever.

He was furious at the scare she’d given him, but he didn’t know what made him angrier, that Sam had run away or that she’d come here instead of calling him when she was upset. But as he’d told Ari, at least she was safe.

“Let’s leave Sam and Quinn alone, Mom,” Ari said.

He stopped himself from asking her not to leave. He could have used her support about now, and that shocked the hell out of him. For a man who’d always lived life on his own to need a woman who wanted nothing more than to find her sister and disappear from this town, well, it wasn’t a smart move.

Elena looked at her daughter and nodded. “You’re right. Come, Spank.”

Sam shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around the damn monkey. “I want you all to stay.”

“We’ve imposed on them enough, Sam,” Quinn said.

“Nonsense,” Elena said. “She’s welcome here any-”

Ariana interrupted her mother by pulling her out of the room, dragging the monkey she took from Sam along. As Spank reached the doorway, she lifted her skirt. Damned if the monkey hadn’t mooned him on purpose. But what marked this meeting for Quinn was Ariana and her obvious insight and understanding of him and what he needed.

He still couldn’t allow himself to get too close or too attached to the woman, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t developing feelings for her anyway. Damn him. He turned his attention to Sam instead.

“You gonna yell at me for stealing Ari’s wallet?” Sam asked.

He blinked. “You what?”

“Oops.” Sam blushed a furious red. “She didn’t tell you?”

He shook his head. “Obviously she protected you. But at least now I know how you found Ari,” he said, solving the mystery he hadn’t been able to figure out. He already knew why Sam had taken off. “Running away isn’t smart,” he told her.

“Why the hell not?”

“Watch your mouth, Samantha,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Well, tell me why not. It’s not like Aaron and Felice give a sh- I mean, it’s not like they care.”