Chapter Eleven

A smile played on Quinn'slips as she scrolled through the photos Dre had sent. His penthouse was huge with two walls of windows overlooking Dallas. He'd decorated with sleek modern furniture in black and white. His kitchen had stainless steel appliances and white marble flooring. She thought about all her stuff in storage and laughed. Nothing of his would go with anything of hers. Everything would be mismatched. She liked antiques, and most of her antiques were things she'd found on sale. Some she'd redone, others were in great need of some love.

A text popped up on her phone screen. Since she'd replaced her cell, gotten her old number back, and retrieved her contacts from the cloud, texts continuously blew up her new phone. It seemed everyone in her phonebook heard about the tornado and wanted to check on her. She'd even attended a Zoom call with her girlfriends to reassure them she was okay. She kept the burner phone Dre gave her on her nightstand, loving having a reminder of him and his kindness so close.

She approached her grandparents' room and heard voices. After living at Chasing Time for almost a week, Grandma refused to leave their room except to take trips to the house, becoming quite upset when they tried to convince her to join the other residents for meals or games. She was working on listing the items they'd lost, and it didn't appear to be lifting her mood.

When Quinn knocked, the conversation ceased. Grandpa opened the door, an irritated expression on his face. "Hello, dear. I'm just leaving," he ground out as he passed her.

Once in the room, she found Grandma stretched out on the bed on her back.

"Are you going to join us for dinner?"

"Ivan will bring me a plate."

"Are you certain? He looked pretty upset when he left."

Grandma lifted her hands and looked at her fingernails. "If he doesn't, I can heat a can of soup." The kitchens in the suites were small, with a tiny sink and a microwave.

"Why are you so insistent on staying in this room all the time?"

"I don't want to be here. It's a strange place with strange people."

Not understanding how her grandmother turned into this depressed hermit, Quinn persisted, "Grandpa is making the most of his time here. He even played golf yesterday, and he'd never played before."

"He said he did terrible."

"It doesn't matter, he had fun. Meeting people and enjoying other people's company is uplifting."

"Now you're talking about yourself, and the time you're spending with Andre Biel." Grandmother sat up. "You understand he's only interested in one thing, right?"

Anger simmered inside Quinn. "What's that?"

"A good time."

"I hope you're right." A lie, she'd never slept around. She hated sinking to the older woman's level, except she'd bit her tongue long enough at Grandma's ugliness.

Her grandmother scowled.

"I'm not looking for anything permanent. Having a little fun with him is exactly what I need."

Grandma grunted. "You shouldn't let him use you."

"What if I'm the one using him? Don't I deserve to have some fun?"

"All I'm saying is you might want to be careful."

"Careful about what?" Grandpa reentered the room, a tray of food in his hands.

"Grandma is warning me off Dre."

He glared at his wife. "Quinn is old enough to make up her own mind about men."

"Thank you."

"Don't you remember a couple of years ago he left a woman at the altar? It was in the news," her grandmother insisted.

So that was the media news Quinn remembered about him.

"You might want to ask Mr. Biel about that?" The old woman eased back on the bed and closed her eyes, ending the conversation.

Quinn and her grandfather walked out of the suite and shut the door.

Grandpa let out a loud exhale. "I thought she'd be better by now, but she picks fights constantly."

"It's like she's angry all the time."

"I've loved her most of my life, believe me, I've seen her angry. She's surpassed anger and gone straight to bitchy."

~

Quinn turned over forthe hundredth time. She should've done something to rid herself of the negative energy she retained from talking to her grandmother before getting into bed. She snatched her new phone off the nightstand. Because he had a game tomorrow, Dre would be asleep this late. Even so, she wanted him to see her text first thing in the morning.

I miss you.

Seconds later, her phone buzzed. Miss u2. What are you doing up so late?

I'm technically not up, she answered.

Meaning?

I'm in bed.

Tell me more.

You're such a guy.She laughed. My grandmother tried to warn me off you today.

He sent a GIF of Kermit the frog looking at the camera with a puzzled expression and the caption, What did I do?

She made certain I understood you're only after one thing from me.Before he responded, she continued. I told her I hoped she was right.

His answer took a couple of minutes to come through. I'm not saying I don't want to explore this one thing she believes I'm after, I do, I truly do.

A zing skipped through her veins.

However, I'm not in a rush. I've already told you the one thing I want from you. More.

More it is. I didn't think you'd be up. Shouldn't you be asleep?

Just got off the phone with Jamaal. I'm glad you texted. Want to take a vacation with me?

Excitement skittered through her. Where? When?

Anywhere. We play Thanksgiving Day. How about that weekend after the game?

Damn, he could've picked any other time. Disappointment struck her gut. Can't go then. I'll be in Bloomington. Not wanting him to think she wasn't interested, she texted, How about during my spring break, the second week of March?

Works for me.

Night, Dre. Sweet dreams.

If I dream of you they will be.

~

Huge chandeliers floodedthe ballroom with sparkling lights. Everything glittered, from the glasses people held to the designer dresses the women wore. Athletes and celebrities from around the globe were in attendance. The money collected tonight would benefit four charities.

Exhausted from the game against New York today, Dre only wanted to return to his room and collapse.

He shook hands with people when introduced, and kissed the women he knew on the cheek. A few of the ladies held on to his arm for a while and accompanied him around the room. Cameras clicked everywhere around him. There seemed to be as many reporters as there were attendees.

After making the rounds, he stood next to the wall. Beside him, Jacob murmured. "I'm going to tell you something, but you must keep it a secret. If Flo found out I told you, she'd kill me."

"Don't tell me then," Dre warned.

"I have to tell someone or I'll go insane. Flo's pregnant."

"Congrat—"

"With triplets."

That was a surprise.

"She shouldn't have taken those damn fertility drugs. Triplets, Dre, triplets. Can you believe it?"

"Thrice blessed."

"Don't be a smartass."

"I'm not." Dre chuckled. "Flo's wanted kids for a long time. I'm happy for you both."

"I know. I can't tell her how freaked out I am, but I'm not sure how I'm going to do it. I can't spend five minutes with my niece without her finding something to cry about..." Jacob's shoulders deflated, and he continued to complain, his voice more and more worried.

Dre listened as he scanned the crowd. His eyes caught on Anita. She stood next to Wyatt and looked over her shoulder. She froze when she saw Dre.

Dressed in a shiny silver dress cut so low her entire back showed, her black hair was pulled up in a knot. She whispered something to Wyatt before she started across the room.

The media had blamed Dre for their broken engagement, having heard a convoluted version of what happened from one of Anita's friends. Dre and Anita both declined to discuss their break-up with reporters. Luckily, the media circus around them died down shortly after it started.

He'd never really gone through a wild phase. It was too important his mother and family were not tainted by recklessness on his part. Even so, he'd dated and slept with his share of women. Anita's betrayal had been particularly painful. What she'd tried to do to him and Wyatt was unforgivable, at least for him. Wyatt must feel differently since they were now married.

Jacob stopped talking when he saw her heading their way. He, along with a handful of others, actually knew what Anita did. "What the hell does she want?"

Dre didn't bother answering. Was it his imagination or had everyone stopped what they were doing and now watched her approach him? He didn't want to look around to find out. At hearing the click of cameras, he knew it wasn't his imagination.

"Hi," she sweetly greeted him.

"Anita," he returned.

She asked Jacob, "How's Flo? I expected to see her here."

"She couldn't make this trip."

"Please tell her hello for me." Anita turned to Dre. "We were surprised when Wyatt got the news he'd been traded to the Scorpions."

Dre sipped whiskey from the highball glass in his hand. "He's a great asset to the team."

"He said you welcomed him." She sighed, the awkwardness between the three of them palpable. "I wanted to thank you."

"Wyatt and I have no reason to be at odds. There's no room for it on the field."

Her lips pursed. "Right."

"How's Trudy?" he asked, not able to stop himself.

"Perfect."

"Good to hear," he replied.

"Ever the gentleman," she uttered softly before turning and leaving.

Once Anita stepped out of earshot, the camera clicks died and people resumed partying.

"Was that her way of apologizing to you?" Jacob asked.

"Who knows?"

"Why do you think Wyatt married her after what she did?"

He didn't answer, although he knew why. It was the same reason Dre had been ready to marry Anita. Thankfully, he'd uncovered her lies before that happened. He wondered what would've taken place if—

His phone buzzed in his pocket, distracting him from his thoughts. He pulled it out to see a text from Quinn. He smiled, loving her timing.

A lot of problems in the world would be solved if we talked to each other

instead of about each other. ~ Nickey Gumbel