The Christmas Tree Guy by Railyn Stone Page B

words, but under his approving stare, she’d gotten some much-needed confidence in her appearance. She wore a simple short black trapeze dress with cobalt pumps. It was sleeveless and even though it fell loosely around her hips, it still revealed her amazing figure. She wore a cobalt blue wrap over it and the bright jewel-tone contrasted beautifully against her smooth caramel skin. Her long hair had been curled and pulled up in a loose mass of curls, leaving her slender neck exposed.
    Taking a deep breath, she smiled at him and pressed her hands to his chest. “You’re right. I’m worrying for nothing. Did I happen to tell you how great you look tonight by the way?”
    “Hmm, no, you didn’t, but I could tell you were attracted to me by the look in your eyes.” She knew he was joking with her to get her to loosen up and she was appreciative of it.
    “You, sir, are a mess,” she added, smoothing her hands over the lapels of his coat before turning to ring the doorbell. She thought to herself if he only knew how attracted to him she was at the moment, he may run away scared. The man was extraordinary from the tip of his head to the bottom of his shoes. He wore a simple dark grey dress shirt with black slacks and a black wool pea coat. His body was a tailor’s dream and she swallowed hard just thinking about the wide expanse of his shoulders underneath his shirt. He wrapped his hand around hers and she felt the heat from his hand. It was comforting and reassuring, and she started to relax until the door opened and her stomach clenched into a ball of knots.
    “Sydnee, come in, uh, and who is this?” Mina asked, ushering Sydnee and Quinn into the house. It was already full of people and Sydnee waved to Sara and a few others she knew. She noticed a few people stop to stare at the couple as they walked in. She wasn’t sure if it was because most hadn’t seen her with anyone since Matt, or if it was because of how undeniably gorgeous the man really was, or just because of the obvious differences between the two. She hoped it wasn’t the latter.
    “Mina, this is Quinn. Quinn Masters, this is Mina Mercer, one of my dearest friends.” Sydnee turned to introduce the two, waiting on bated breath to see what Mina was going to say.
    “Well, Quinn, it’s nice to meet you. I wasn’t aware Sydnee was bringing a date so this is a surprise. You didn’t tell me you were dating anyone.” Mina coolly raised an eyebrow and reluctantly shook Quinn’s hand while looking in Sydnee’s direction.
    “Oh, that would be my fault.” Quinn winked at Sydnee. “I’ve been selfishly keeping her to myself. She’s just that special you know?”
    “Really?” Mina responded, clearly not interested in his response.
    Before Sydnee could respond, Sara and her date, Gavin, proceeded through the crowd to greet them and they were swept into a conversation leaving Mina to gaze on in disbelief.
    The couple made their rounds and it was clear after an hour or so into the party, Quinn had hit it off with the majority of the crowd, especially the ladies; black and white. She noticed the double takes as they moved from room to room. Sydnee stood back and watched as he mingled. It was scary how reminiscent it was of Matt and his charm. She finally breathed easier when he and Gavin and a few of the other guys started talking about everything from sports to politics and was happy at the ease of how he fit right in.
    “You. Come with me,” Mina whispered in her ear and pulled Sydnee into the kitchen, followed closely by Sara. “What are you doing?”
    “What are you talking about, Mina?” Sydnee asked with a half-smile, shaking free of Mina’s hold on her arm once the door closed behind them.
    “I can’t believe you. First, you bring a date even after I told you I invited Andrew for you to meet tonight. And then you bring one that probably has a curfew and a membership to the NRA. What are you doing, Sydnee?”
    “Mina, first of all, I didn’t