Harlequin Special Edition October 2015, Box Set 1 of 2 by Christine Rimmer Read Free Book Online Page B

again?”
    â€œNot yet.” He met her eyes through the shadows. “I know, I know. Wait until she asks. And then don’t load her up with more information than she’s ready for.”
    â€œThat’s the way.” She thought of the flowers she’d crushed in the compactor—and then pushed them out of her mind. Why ruin a lovely moment by bringing Ted into it?
    Instead, she asked him how he had met Manny. He explained that the old ex-fighter had been his first professional trainer. “I met him at the first gym I walked into after leaving home. Downtown Gym, it was called, in Albuquerque. Manny ran the place and worked with the fighters who trained there. We got along. When I moved on, he went with me. I had a lot of trainers. And over time, Manny became more like my manager, I guess you could say. And kind of a cross between a best friend and a dad.” He shot her a warning look. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
    She grinned. “Why not?”
    â€œHe already thinks he knows what’s best for me. If he ever heard I said I thought of him as a father, he’d never shut up with the advice and instructions.”
    She softly advised, “But I’ll bet it would mean the world to him to know how you really feel.”
    â€œHe knows. Hearing it out loud would only make him more impossible to live with.” Quinn faked a dangerous scowl. “So keep your mouth shut.”
    She laughed and held up both hands. “I swear I’ll never say a word.”
    â€œGood.”
    â€œSo, how did he end up back here in Justice Creek with you and Annabelle?”
    â€œI don’t think either of us really considered a different option. He moved in with me when Annabelle was a baby, to help out.”
    When Annabelle was a baby
...
    So the little girl had been with her dad from the first? What had happened to the mother, the one Quinn said Annabelle would most likely never meet?
    So many questions.
    But Chloe had such a good feeling about the man beside her. She trusted him to tell her everything in his own good time.
    He said, “When I decided to retire from the Octagon last year, Manny was already taking care of Annabelle full-time.” Chloe knew what the Octagon was: the eight-sided ring in which Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed-martial-arts fighters competed. During the rough years when she was still married to Ted, she’d watched more than one of Quinn’s televised UFC fights. It had lifted her spirits to see how far the wild, angry boy from her hometown had come. He continued, “I asked Manny to stick with me when I moved back home. He agreed right off, said he supposed it was about time he settled down. Annabelle’s a handful, but so far he’s managing.”
    â€œFrom what I’ve seen, he’s great with her. He’s patient, encourages her to express herself and make some of her own decisions—but he stays in charge, too.”
    â€œYeah. He’s a champ with her, all right...” Quinn’s voice kind of trailed off and there was another silence, one somehow not as comfortable as the first.
    She glanced over at him again and found him watching her. “Whatever it is, you might as well just say it.”
    â€œI got a question, but I don’t want to freak you out.”
    An unpleasant shiver traveled down the backs of her arms and she thought of Ted again. Because if her freaking out could be involved, it probably had to do with Ted.
    Then again, how would Quinn know that? She’d mentioned her ex once, on the night that Quinn came to her bed. What she’d told him had been far from flattering to Ted, but she’d said nothing about how thinking of him made her want to crush flowers and break expensive vases.
    â€œAsk me,” she said. “I can take it.” The words came out sounding so confident. She was proud of them.
    â€œAll right, then. Does your mama know you’re