Kiera flushed and sat back on her heels. “It wasn’t that funny,” she huffed.
He moved to stand, but his legs gave way and he fell back into the water with a loud splash. He winced, missing the soothing peace he’d felt only moments earlier. Pain vibrated up and down his legs, and he exhaled slowly in an attempt to breathe through it.
“Quinn!” she gasped, reaching for his arm to steady him.
His skin heated under her fingers, and he turned to see the worry on her face. “I might need a little help here, Keeks. Looks like I’m all loosened up from the water.”
“No one’s called me that in years,” she mused, a small smile on her face.
“I’d hope not,” he mused. “That’s mine.”
Her tongue slid across her bottom lip as her long lashes fluttered. “Yeah, I guess it was.”
She was truly as beautiful as he remembered, except she was an adult now. He’d first fallen in love with her when they were children—she’d punched his younger brother, Jimmy, in the face when he’d stolen her ball and then told their parents he’d punched her instead. Jimmy had gotten grounded, and Kiera had gotten ice cream.
And Quinn had fallen in love.
She was three years younger than him, so he had refused to act on his feelings, but he’d become her best friend and bodyguard. When Jenny Thompson had called Kiera fat in fifth grade, he’d convinced his younger cousin, Casey, to scare some sense into Jenny. When Manny Allen had tried to kiss her at the freshman homecoming, despite her many objections, Manny had spent the rest of the dance locked in a broom closet. When actor Chad Michael Murray never responded to Kiera’s fan-girl letters after she’d plastered his picture all over her walls, Quinn had sent the actor his own letter telling him to go fuck himself. He liked to think the decline in the man’s career since leaving One Tree Hill was a direct result of karma for hurting his Keeks.
It was the nickname he’d given her when they were toddlers, never having been able to pronounce her name much differently than his brother Kieran’s name. Their mothers were close friends, so she’d been around his siblings all the time and it was just confusing. So his brother was Kieran, and she was Keeks.
Memories slammed into him all at once—especially what happened on their last night together.
“Are there any towels in here?” she asked. “I can help you up, but we should probably cover up all…” She made sweeping motions with her hands, indicating his chest and lower body. “All of…well…the, uh, goods…I mean, the man parts.”
“I left the towel in the shower,” he told her, enjoying every moment of this exchange. He wasn’t shy—never had been. He’d worked hard on his physique, and he was damn proud of everything he was sporting below the metaphorical belt.
Kiera nibbled her bottom lip, purposefully avoiding looking at him, but taking quick peeks that were unbelievably obvious. “I should go grab that then.”
“Don’t be shy, Keeks.” Quinn chuckled. “You’ve seen me naked before.”
This made the blush on her cheeks go so dark it extended down her neck and flamed to her chest—the Irish in her blood like an easy red flag. “You remember that night, huh?”
She reached a hand down and helped steady him as he got to his feet and sat on the tank’s edge. The pain in his legs swelled at first, but then slowly dissipated as he breathed through it. When he was finally standing, his hands on both of her shoulders so he wouldn’t tip over, he found himself pausing for a moment to stare at her.
She looked down to avoid his eyes, but that meant she was staring directly at his fully erect manhood instead.
He couldn’t help it, being this close to her. He was still a man after all, and his injuries had in no way impacted that department thankfully.
Her eyes widened and she quickly looked up at the ceiling instead. “Oh, goodness, so much naked.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he teased, hobbling toward the shower with an arm over her shoulder for help. Despite the fact that his body wanted her, there wasn’t a chance in hell he was about to make a move on her or anything like that.
Burn him once, shame on her. Burn him twice? He wasn’t about to take that risk.
“What are you even doing here, Keeks?” It finally dawned on him that it was more than a little strange she was here.
In his floatation tank chamber.
After years apart.
While he was naked. So much naked, as she’d specified.
“I just started my residency here. I’m a doctor—physical therapy.”
Quinn’s brows lifted and he stared down at her. “No shit? You’re a doctor now?”
He wasn’t surprised. She’d always been so much smarter than him, and she’d had big dreams of helping people. Meanwhile, he’d been chasing money for the last ten years of his life as a manager to big name MMA talents, only helping them make their careers.
It wasn’t all he did, of course, but no one knew about his secret hobby and he planned on keeping it that way.
Kiera nodded, pride evident on her face. Then the blush crept back in. “I think I’m your doctor now, actually.”
Quinn chuckled as they reached the shower and he gripped the railings provided. “That’s going to be interesting.”
An understatement, for sure.
She didn’t move, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she stared at him. Seriously, the woman couldn’t take her eyes off him. It was doing all sorts of things for his ego…until he saw her eyes meet his legs and pity flickered over her face.
He fucking hated pity. He’d seen enough of it the last few months to know it immediately, and to know he wanted none of it. “Keeks, unless doctors help patients shower now—which I’d be all for—maybe you should go.”
She blinked in surprise, her piercingly light eyes meeting his. The blush in her cheeks returned, or maybe at this point it had never left. “Oh, right. Sorry. I’ll be out there if you need me.” She pointed toward the door. “We’ll be doing some exercises together today after an initial exam.”
He nodded, turning on the water overhead and grabbing a small bottle of shampoo provided on a shelf cut into the tile. “Hey, Keeks?”
Her hand was on the door when she paused, but she didn’t turn to look at him.
“I’d never forget that night.”
The tremble that slid through her body was obvious, even though they were a few feet apart. She continued staring straight ahead at the door, but finally nodded her head. And then she was gone. Slipping out quickly and quietly, saying nothing.
Just like she’d done six years ago when she’d broken his heart.
Love stories you’ll never forget
By authors you’ll always remember
eOriginal Romance from Random House
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Sarah Robinson, Becoming a Legend
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