Free Quinn's Hart by Cassandra Gold

to keep that in mind and not read too much into anything. Josh wanted to have dinner with him, which was wonderful in and of itself. He would take anything else as icing on the cake.
    "We are Family" blared from the nightstand, but Quinn didn't answer the summons. If he answered, Stephanie would pump him for information about his day, and Josh. A childish fear of jinxing himself made him not want to discuss anything just yet. He'd learned not to count his chickens before they hatched, so to speak. He also didn't want to be late, and Stephanie was notorious for being difficult to end a conversation with. She let people off the phone if and when she felt like it, and not a moment before.
    The phone rang a few more times before it fell silent. The chime for a new voice message went off a couple of minutes later. He threw an apologetic look toward the nightstand. "Sorry, Stephie. I promise I'll fill you in later."
    He needed to get moving. He pulled on a pair of boxers and the nicest khakis he'd brought. Deciding what shirt to wear took more time than he wanted to spend, but he wanted to look good. The deep blue polo shirt he selected brought out his eyes, or so Stephanie claimed.
    A quick search revealed his wallet, which he stuffed into his pocket. He didn't bother looking for his watch. He was on vacation.
    Satisfied, he stepped into the hallway. The sound of a nearby door closing drew his attention to the room next door, where Josh had just come out of his room. Josh wore khakis, too, and a brown long-sleeved dress shirt with lighter pinstripes, managing to be casual and pulled-together at the same time. Quinn smiled. "Good timing."
    Josh grinned, looking genuinely pleased to see him. "Yeah. I'd like to say I planned it, but I'm not that smooth."
    "I don't know, you got me to go to dinner with you." Were those words coming out of his mouth? Quinn was astonished at both the words, and his flirtatious tone. He had never been good at flirting.
    Josh pretended to buff his fingernails on his shirt. "And that took some doing, too. You're right. I am that smooth."
    Quinn laughed. "And so modest, too. I'm impressed."
    "You haven't seen anything yet." Josh's sexy smile and hot stare promised much more to come.
    Quinn's heart raced. He could hardly wait.

    * * * *
    They arrived at the restaurant early enough to get seated right away. The hostess led them to a small, secluded table off in a corner by itself. After handing them menus and promising their server would be with them soon, she left.
    Quinn glanced around at the simple décor of cream and green, with dark wood trim and some nice paintings in gold frames. Well, Quinn liked them, but he wasn't an art connoisseur. For all he knew they could be terrible quality.
    Each table had a forest green tablecloth and an unlit candle in a hurricane holder. The place was nice, but not fancy or intimidating. The menu proved to be the same way, full of food Quinn could identify rather than overpriced, unpronounceable items.
    A nice-looking young man wearing the traditional waiter's uniform of a white shirt and black pants appeared at their table. "Hi, I'm Miguel. I'll be your server tonight. Can I get you something to drink?"
    Quinn ordered an iced tea.
    Josh gave Miguel a charming grin. "That sounds good. I'll have one, too."
    The waiter nodded. "I'll have those for you in a few minutes." He smiled and left.
    Quinn considered Josh's drink order. Had Josh wanted something alcoholic, and been too considerate to order it? Worries like that were one reason Quinn rarely told anyone about his past. He also didn't want to deal with pity, or too many questions. His childhood wasn't something he enjoyed discussing.
    There wasn't any point in stressing over Josh's drink choice. He had enough other things to stress himself over. Like what to say.
    Fortunately Josh saved him from that particular worry. The other man leaned forward. "So, you're an engineer? What kind?"
    His job was safe and familiar ground.