Escaping Circumstances by Gloria Joynt-Lang

Author:Gloria Joynt-Lang [Joynt-Lang, Gloria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC027020 FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2023-09-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Quinn pulled the quilt over her head, hoping Hudson would stop whining. No such luck. She sat up. Eliot tugged her back to the mattress. She snuggled into Eliot’s chest, ignoring her impatient canine. After all the special treats she had given Hudson over the years, she deserved five more minutes. Her dog howled, sounding like a sea lion caught in a net.

“Argh,” Quinn grumbled, detangling her feet from the covers.

Hudson’s bark continued incessantly. His agitation was at a whole new level.

She nudged Eliot. “Someone’s at the door.”

“They’ll go away,” he mumbled, pulling her back toward him.

She freed herself from his grasp.

Eliot’s eyes popped open. “What’s wrong?”

“Raine’s here.” She scanned the room for her clothes.

“She’s with Paula and Malcolm,” he mumbled.

“And now they are all at the door. I can’t stay.”

“But I like you here,” he replied, patting the mattress.

She spotted a blanket across an armchair and hurried over.

Eliot sat, resting his elbows on his knees. “You don’t like my bed?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she chided, lifting the blanket. “But Raine shouldn’t see us like this.”

“I don’t plan to open the door naked.”

“I realize that, but Raine will need an explanation.”

He climbed out of bed. “I certainly won’t explain last night to a five-year-old.”

Quinn gawked at Eliot’s body. Hot and chiseled didn’t do him justice.

“Did you hear me, Sprinkles?”

“You know that’s not what I meant. Where are my clothes,” she mumbled.

“Then what do you mean?”

She stood and stared at him. How could he be so clueless? “Before introducing me as your new bedmate, you must tell Raine we’re dating. Let her get used to me as…as a woman. We are dating, aren’t we?”

He walked to the door and opened it. Hudson barreled out.

“What are you doing?” she yelled.

He tossed her one of his flannel shirts. “I’m answering the door. And yeah, of course, we’re dating.”

“No, don’t.”

He walked towards her. “Relax, it’s fine.”

“Oh my God, what will Paula and Malcolm think?”

“Malcolm will high-five me, and Paula will call you a tart.”

“What?” she croaked.

He chuckled. “I’m teasing. Paula says you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. She’s right.”

Eliot was now fully dressed. Meanwhile, she hobbled around the bedroom, searching for her clothes. She lowered onto all fours and glanced under the bed. “Argh,” she mumbled, coming up empty. “Do they have a key?”

“Who?”

“Does Paula and Malcolm have an apartment key?”

“Yeah. I gave them—”

“Eliot,” she shouted, remembering the details of last night. “My clothes are in the living room.”

“Oh,” he responded with an annoying smirk.

“Sputtering oh won’t make my clothes magically appear. Go get them.”

****

Laughing wouldn’t earn any points with Quinn, but the situation was comical. Malcolm and Paula had come across far worse than women’s clothing in his apartment, but he wouldn’t tell Quinn that. She expected—no, she demanded—that he leap into action and retrieve her clothes. He snuck a kiss and sprinted to the living room. “There,” he mumbled, seeing her lace bra and panties by the coffee table. He picked them up and tucked them under his arm.

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