“Can you sing?” Emily asked as she continued to play.

  “No. Not at all. You?”

  “Unfortunately no.” Emily’s hands drifted up and down the keys. “I was hoping we could’ve made it a duet.”

  “We still can,” Quinn said, putting her glass down beside Emily’s, and placing her fingers on the keys.

  “You play?” Emily asked, surprise in her voice.

  “It has been a while but I should be able to manage this one.” Quinn’s fingers moved over the keys, a smile playing across her lips as she surprised herself by how easily it was all coming back.

  Thankfully, the bar was nearly empty, and no one was paying them any attention. Warmth filled Quinn’s chest as she let herself enjoy this moment, even if a part of her wanted it to be more than this.

  Quinn couldn’t ignore the jolt of electricity that ran through her when Emily’s bare arm brushed hers as she moved her fingers across the keys. It was an innocent touch, an accidental one, but it still set Quinn’s skin alight.

  Maybe she did need to take Lucy’s advice and put herself out there. It had been a long time since she’d been with anyone, and clearly, her body couldn’t handle a simple, unintentional touch.

  Emily played the last few notes, a small smile on her lips as she looked up at Quinn. They both slowed their pace together, and they each softly pressed down on their final notes before coming to a gentle end.

  Emily’s lips slid into a smile as she held her gaze. “You’re full of surprises, Quinn.”

  Quinn inhaled a shaky breath. That was the first time, that she could think of anyway, that Emily had used her first name.

  “Ladies,” one of the bartenders said, coming over to them. “That was great and everything, but we’re getting ready to close up.”

  Quinn reached for her wine glass and took a drink. The night had flown by, and she didn’t want it to end.

  “I don’t suppose there are any late bars around here,” Emily said with a half-smile.

  “You’re not in the city anymore.” Quinn finished her drink and stood up, wishing they’d had more time together at the piano.

  “I don’t really feel like that was much of a present. One little Christmas song.”

  “It was lovely. But yeah… I was going to see how much I could remember of some of my old favorites.”

  “You don’t play much anymore?” Emily asked as she put on her red coat.

  “Well, I have a keyboard, but I rarely play it. It’s in my guest bedroom. I guess, I should put it somewhere more prominent if I think I’m ever going to play it.” Quinn slid her arms into her jacket. “Do you… Never mind.” She shook her head, not quite believing that she’d nearly said that out loud.

  “What were you going to say?”

  Quinn held Emily’s gaze, her heart rate increasing. An invitation back to her house hung on the tip of her tongue. It was so tempting.

  Emily smiled as if she could read Quinn’s mind. “I’m not ready to call it a night.”

  Quinn locked eyes with Emily, feeling the attraction like a jolt of electricity between them. She could see in Emily’s eyes that she wanted her, and it sent a rush of heat through her body. There was an unspoken invitation in Emily’s expression; all Quinn had to do was take it. She felt her heart beat faster as they stared into each other’s eyes, both daring themselves to make the first move. The pull between them seemed almost irresistible.

  “Do you want to come back to my place?” Quinn asked finally, barely able to keep her voice steady.

  “I’d love to.”

  15

  When the taxi driver pulled up outside Quinn’s home, the snow had stopped falling, but it still lingered on the driveway and steps untouched by a plow or a shovel. It was only two or three inches, but under the moonlight, the place looked almost magical.

  Emily followed Quinn through the front door of her home and looked around while Quinn turned on a few lights. The room was airy yet cozy, with glossy hardwood floors, and she spotted a few bookshelves in the corner of the room, creating an inviting reading nook near the window lit by a standing lamp beside it. A Christmas tree twinkled by the fireplace and the mantel over it was decorated with garland and white lights.

  “Have a seat,” Quinn said once she’d taken Emily’s coat and hung it up. “Will I open a bottle of wine?”

  Emily suppressed a shiver. Yes, she was cold, but it probably had more to do with the nervous energy running through her now than the temperature.

  “Actually,” Quinn said, “I’ll light the fire first. It’s all set up.”

  “I can do it.” Emily found the matches on the coffee table. “And yes to the wine. Please.” She crouched down to light the fire, striking a match and watching the rolled-up newspaper ignite. The split logs slowly began to catch a flame.

  Quinn opened a bottle of red and poured them both generous glasses. She handed Emily hers and they sat on the sofa.

  “I hope you had a nice birthday,” Emily said by way of a toast, hardly believing that this was really happening. That she was sitting in Quinn’s living room, enjoying some wine, and unless she was really mistaken, that Quinn was looking at her like she might just want Emily to stay.

  “Thanks,” Quinn said with a smile, and they clinked their glasses together. “I did. I had a really nice day.”

  Emily would never have thought that Quinn was fifty. When Emily was in college, she would have guessed that Quinn was around thirty, maybe thirty-two, when she’d actually been thirty-seven. So, there were fourteen years between them.

  “What were you thinking?” Quinn asked.

  “Hm?” Emily blinked.

  “Just now. What were you thinking? You had an interesting look on your face.”

  Emily choked out a laugh. “I was doing math.”

  “What?” Quinn asked, laughing softly with her now.

  “Eh… Yeah.” Emily took a drink, realizing that she couldn’t explain what kind of math without embarrassing herself.

  “Why?”

  Emily bit the inside of her cheek. God, she was beautiful, especially now that she was laughing. There was this glint in her eyes. Quinn was relaxed and maybe even enjoying her company.

  “I was uh…” Emily almost said that she was thinking back to when she was in college, but she stopped herself in time, because that was the last thing she needed right now. Even though Emily had been twenty-three back then, Quinn had been her professor, and for some people, that could still be a problem all these years later, even with both of them being adults who could make their own decisions.

  Quinn propped her elbow up against the back of the couch, sliding her fingers through her hair as she leaned against her hand. “Well, now I have to know. I’ve never seen you struggle for words like this.”

  Emily searched Quinn’s eyes. The chances of this happening were so slim. Worrying about reminding Quinn of their past relationship as student and teacher was ridiculous. Nothing was going to happen. They’d just wanted to continue their night out.

  “When I was in college,” Emily said as she averted her gaze to check on the fire, “I thought you were maybe thirty years old. So, I was just adjusting my math and my memories.”

  Quinn laughed, and that brought Emily’s eyes back to her. “This is going to sound weird, but I have to say it…”

  Emily sucked in a breath, fearing the worst, her heart beating faster. She felt the heat rising to her cheeks as she waited for Quinn to tell her that she knew about Emily’s crush.

  “You know what?” Quinn sipped her wine. “I better not… Never mind.”

  Emily stared at Quinn, curiosity taking over. “What?”

  “It’s too strange to bring up.” Quinn shook her head as she leaned forward to put her glass on the coffee table.

  “Oh, come on.” Emily was really starting to feel that last bottle of wine that they’d shared at the bar. Before then, Emily had let the others top up their glasses while she sipped away, very conscious of the fact that Quinn was sitting across from her, and the more wine Emily had, the less she trusted herself. “It can’t be that bad.”

  “Okay,” Quinn said with a sigh. “But I have warned you. It’s a weird thing to say to someone.”

  “Okay.” Emily’s pulse swished in her ears. Unless she had this wrong and Quinn had something else to say?

  Quinn pressed her lips together. “Speaking of college… I um…” Emily felt her breath hitch as Quinn’s intense gaze met hers. “I could tell you had a thing for me. And that was fine. You were never… You never made me feel uncomfortable, is what I’m trying to say.”

  Emily swallowed. Okay, so Quinn knew. The thing she’d been dreading wasn’t actually that bad. But where was this conversation going?

  “But it’s only now,” Quinn said, her voice a little husky now as the night wore on, “Seeing you again, that’s made me realize how much of a positive effect that had on me.”

  Emily mentally gasped. What?

  “I was going through a breakup,” Quinn said with a bit of a sigh. “Things ended badly. She… Anyway, I had no self-esteem. But I knew that if I glanced in your direction, you’d be looking back at me as if…” Quinn searched for the right words. “I don’t know. I was the only woman you’d ever wanted. And at that point in my life? It saved me.”

  All the air left Emily’s lungs. Her heart pounded in her chest, a thousand questions racing through her mind at once. She felt like everything she thought she knew about Quinn was suddenly thrown out the window and replaced with this new truth: Quinn had dated a woman.

  She knew that Emily had a massive crush on her back then.

  And she didn’t mind it?

  “See?” Quinn said with almost a grimace. “That sounded strange. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

  Emily struggled to calm her racing mind. “No.” She cleared her throat. “No. Not at all. I’m just…” She smiled. “I wasn’t aware of how obvious I was.” She took another drink before leaving her glass on the coffee table. “I would apologize except for what you just said.”

  “Please don’t. I mean it. I don’t know what that says about me though. That I was happy to have a student looking at me like she wanted to undress me,” Quinn said with a wry shake of her head.

  “Was I that obvious?” Emily could feel the heat back in her cheeks again, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. There was an odd sense of relief in having her attraction to this woman out there now.

  “Yes.” Quinn delivered that one word so seriously, that Emily didn’t doubt it.

  “Wow.” Emily wasn’t sure what to say to that. “I had no idea you could feel so embarrassed about something that happened twelve years ago.”

  “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m sure I was like that with a lecturer or a boss when I was younger.”

  “If you don’t remember it, I doubt you were,” Emily challenged her with another shake of her head. “See, by the time I was in your class…”

  “What?”

  Emily exhaled. “I’d seen you around campus in the years before that.”

  “Oh,” Quinn said with a curve of her lips. “Okay. So, it wasn’t my teaching skills that had you intrigued?”

  Emily bit back a smile. “By the time I was listening to your lectures, I was already hopelessly smitten.”

  Quinn’s smile spread across her face. “It’s a good thing my morals were never in question.”

  “You would never have crossed that line?”

  “Never,” Quinn said matter-of-factly. “I’m glad that I never had to turn you down.”

  Emily’s pulse tripped. They were really having this conversation. “And now?” she asked, although it came out barely above a whisper.

  “Now, what?”

  “Would you turn me down?” Emily asked, her throat suddenly tight.

  16

  Quinn’s eyes lowered to Emily’s lips, her words still in the air between them.

  ‘Would you turn me down?’

  Quinn was in a daze. Had it really only been a week since she’d met Emily at the coffee shop?

  Because it felt like so much more time had passed. They’d spent practically the whole day together. Her birthday of all days.

  And more than once Quinn had found her gaze lingering on Emily.

  But it had all been harmless. Her turn to have a crush. Something that wouldn’t be acted on.

  But what if it was?

  Quinn lifted her eyes to find Emily’s gaze locked on her, waiting for her to say something.

  Quinn’s pulse thundered in her ears. This was such a bad idea. For all the reasons she’d been telling Lucy all week, and looking back, Quinn knew she’d been trying to convince herself just as much as she had been her friend.

  “I’d be a fool to,” Quinn said softly, already closing the distance between them on the couch, and Emily met her halfway, her hand on Quinn’s cheek, guiding their lips together.

  Quinn’s lips parted against Emily’s in a soft kiss, the sensation sending a shiver through her entire body. Quinn’s hand slid underneath Emily’s hair, resting on the back of her neck as their lips met again, a gentle, breathless moan leaving her lips as Emily deepened the kiss.

  Emily’s thumb softly traced her jawline as she opened her mouth, and as their tongues met, the sensation sent a wave of warmth surging through her entire body. Quinn felt herself becoming undeniably lost in this kiss, and it might already be too late to stop and think about what they were doing.

  Emily’s other hand was lightly resting on Quinn’s thigh, the warmth of it almost burning her through her thin black pants, and Quinn couldn’t remember ever feeling an intensity like this, not for a first kiss. It didn’t make sense. Her entire body was humming with desire, and she couldn’t stop herself from sitting up and getting even closer to Emily.

  Emily’s hand slid up her thigh and over her hip, barely breaking the kiss as Quinn swung her leg over Emily, pushing her back against the cushions so that she was sitting in Emily’s lap.

  Emily sat back with a seductive smile on her lips, looking up at Quinn, who could hardly believe she’d just done that, taking control like that, when she knew she should be doing the opposite. She should have been slowing things down, not escalating them.

  “You are absolutely stunning,” Emily said with a happy sigh, her eyes raking over her, and Quinn felt like she’d been transported back to those days when Emily’s eyes made her feel that way. Now it was everything. Her words, her hands, her lips.

  Her eyes still told Quinn everything she needed to know, but it was so much more than a lingering look now. This was real. This was happening if Quinn didn’t put a stop to this.

  Except that was the last thing she wanted to do.

  Instead, she dipped her head, her hand on Emily’s cheek, bringing their lips together, and Quinn didn’t hold back this time.

  The cautiousness of that first kiss, the tentativeness of it, was long gone. Emily’s hand slid underneath Quinn’s top, her palm warm against her back as their lips met in a hungry kiss.

  Emily opened her lips, and the moment Quinn’s tongue slid against Emily’s, a fire was ignited within her.

  This couldn’t be considered their first kiss. There was too much history, too much wanting, and Quinn felt it all as their lips met again and again. So much built up attraction led to a kiss so passionate that Quinn didn’t even know it could be like this.

  Heat flooded Quinn’s body, her hand gliding over Emily’s shoulder, desperate to touch her, but trying to show some restraint at the same time. Her hips rocked ever so slightly, the ache in her core growing with every kiss.

  But Quinn pulled away, their noses still touching as she inhaled a shaky breath, her pulse thumping in her ears. She sat back, meeting Emily’s eyes, an almost dazed look in them.

  “Emily,” Quinn started, not even sure what she was trying to say. “I…”

  “Is this you turning me down?” Emily asked with a lop-sided smile.

  “I don’t want to.” Quinn raked a hand through her hair, still in Emily’s lap, her hands still on Quinn.

  “Then don’t.”

  “This is crazy.”

  “We’re not doing anything wrong.” Emily looked up at her, but her voice held no desperation. Only confidence.

  While Quinn might have been worried about the perception of dating a former student when Lucy suggested it last week at the coffee shop, that was the least of her concerns right now.

  What was stopping Quinn was knowing that this would never be more than a few nights together.

  Emily was going back to her life in New York sometime in the New Year. What did that give them? Two, maybe three weeks? With Christmas thrown in the middle of that and Marie’s invitation to join them for dinner?

  It might not be wrong, but it sure as hell would have consequences.

  “Talk to me,” Emily said, her hands on the outside of Quinn’s legs now, her palms gliding over her pants.

  “I don’t do this.” Quinn sucked in a breath, slightly taken aback by the emotion in her own voice.

  “What’s that?”

  Quinn pursed her lips. “Start something that isn’t going anywhere.”

  Emily nodded. “I’m afraid I don’t have a counter-argument to that.”

  Quinn’s stomach flip-flopped. The adrenaline that had been running through her earlier had come to a screeching halt.

  “What I do know,” Emily said, lifting her hand to tuck a piece of hair behind Quinn’s ear, her fingertips brushing along her temple, lingering beneath her ear, “Is that back then, I never thought I could want someone as much as I wanted you. But I had no idea that what I’d been feeling was just the surface. I’ve never wanted someone as much as I want you right now, and I think you feel it too.”

  Quinn swallowed down the lump in her throat. She couldn’t say anything, so Emily continued.

  “But you’re right,” Emily said softly. “I can’t offer you anything more than a few weeks together. If that’s something that you’d want. I don’t even know which is worse,” she said with a wry smile. “Having to say goodbye to you without knowing what it was like to be with you or…” Her voice trailed off.

 

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