Free The Christmas Tree Guy by Railyn Stone Page A

she rubbed her finger across the embossing. “This could be interesting,” she murmured, placing the card in her purse.
     
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    “So, how’d it go?” Sara asked as she and Sydnee sat on the sofa. Sydnee had barely had time to settle in at home before Sara stopped by to interrogate her about her lunch date. She laughed at how Sara nearly split in half anxiously waiting for Sydnee to give her the scoop about her lunch with Quinn. Once she fed the boys and helped them with their reading and got them into bed, she and Sara sat down to talk.
    “It was nice.” Thinking of her lunch date with Quinn, Sydnee nonchalantly folded clothes on the sofa. “What the heck are they doing to these socks?” She held up a third pair of socks with holes in them. “I just bought these.”
    “They’re little boys. They are probably doing puppet shows or something every night after you go to bed. Never mind that, tell me everything.”
    Sara’s overexuberance made Sydnee laugh. It was as if it was her personal challenge to get Sydnee back in the dating game, and now that she had had lunch with Quinn, Sara wanted to know every juicy detail. “Okay, he’s a personal trainer at Fahrenheit.”
    “That’s where I know him from. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to remember where I’ve seen him.” Sara said, throwing her head back on the cushions.       
    “Well, his name is Quinn Masters. He has a master’s degree in kinesiology, and he’s working at the tree lot to help his uncle out like he always does this time of year,” she continued, throwing the socks she was able to salvage and match into the basket.
    “So that’s how he stays so yummy. And?”
    “And what? He’s twenty-six. He’s an only child. His family owns Deuce-22. He likes sports and…he asked me out again.” Sydnee shrugged, trying to act as if it wasn’t a big deal, but knowing she was failing miserably.
    “What? Hunky, trainer, and a rich family? You struck gold girl. So, when are you two going out again?” At this point, Sara was practically foaming at the mouth and Sydnee could only shake her head at her friend’s overexuberance at her recent lunch date and the possibility of another with the young man.
    “Well, actually, he gave me his card and told me I had to call him.” Sydnee replayed her last interaction with Quinn over in her head. She wanted to believe he was some cocky, arrogant muscle-head, but it just wasn’t the case. He was confident, funny and undeniably sexy.
    “Oh my gosh, he put the ball in your court. I think I like this guy.”
    “Anyway, I’m not so sure about this anymore.” Sydnee stopped folding clothes and looked over at Sara. She’d thought about nothing else since she got back to work from her lunch date. Quinn was more than she bargained for. He was like a breath of fresh air. He had a great sense of humor, and his youth and enthusiasm was a pick-me-up she’d enjoyed while they talked. She decided before the lunch date that it would be a one-time thing, but the more she talked to him, the more she was starting to like him.
    “Oh come on, what’s to think about? Look, it’s not like he’s asking you to marry him. He just wants to go out with you. Can’t you just loosen up and go with the flow for a change?”
    “Sara, that’s easy for you to say. You don’t have two little boys to raise and an ex to deal with. I just don’t have the time for a fling, you know? The boys need stability. Someone I can depend on. This little young guy has a whole life in front of him.” It was true. The boys did need stability. Their father leaving the way he did, had thrown their lives into a tailspin and Sydnee was working to make things as normal as she could for them. It was a big reason none of the previous blind dates she’d been on had gone anywhere. Yeah, it was nice to go out with guys, but a lot of times, they either didn’t want children or they didn’t seem like men she’d really want around her