Page 4 of Temptation
“Oh. I wish you had told me earlier; it's poker night with the guys.” Joel smiled apologetically.
“Don't worry about it. I'll text Tenn and tell him he doesn't have to bring his wife now.”
“Who's Tenn?” Joel's smile immediately disappeared; to her surprise, she saw jealousy cross his features.
“He is an Art Historian at the Museum of Fine Arts who is helping me with my visual arts series. I originally just wanted him as a speaker, but after I met him for a drink yesterday, he offered to help me with it.” She smiled happily. A cute Art Historian, she amended in her head, who I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time with.
“Why wouldn't he bring his wife?” Joel asked, looking a little upset.
“Well, if you're not gonna be here, then we'll just turn it into a meeting for the two of us. We're going to be working very closely and outside of our regular hours for the next six months, and we wanted you guys to know who we're going to be spending our time with.” She shrugged. “You know, keep everything transparent.”
“Right. Well, I guess I can skip poker night then.”
“No, I insist. Go.” She patted his arm as she walked by. “It'll be boring for you.” She smiled faintly as he sputtered.
“No. I'm supposed to show you I'm serious about the relationship, remember? This is important to you, so I'll stay home. Just let me text Harry to let him know.” Joel pulled out his phone and began to type.
“Okay, Joel, thank you.” Quinn's phone chimed a few minutes later, and she picked it up quickly, grinning when she saw Tenn's text.
Viki was going out for a girl's night until a few minutes ago. She said her friend cancelled
Funny, Joel just cancelled his poker night when I said you'd be coming over alone.
“Who are you texting?” Joel interrupted. Quinn looked up to see him frowning as he watched her.
“Tenn.” She clicked the button to lock her phone and put it in her pocket. “He was just confirming the address.”
“What time will they be here?”
“Six. Could you run to the liquor store and pick up a couple of bottles of wine, please?” Quinn turned her back and rolled her eyes. He was such a hypocrite, jealous about Tenn but was fucking another woman. It was going to take a lot of willpower to do this, but she needed to make sure she had her ducks in a row before she blew everything up.
Chapter Three: The Dinner Party
When Tenn pulled up to the house and parked in Quinn's driveway, Viki got out of the car slowly, looking apprehensive. “What are we doing here?”
“This is Quinn's house. Why?”
“Oh...” She looked more than a little flustered now. “I must be confused. I thought my co-worker lived here, but it must be another house.”
“Huh.” Tenn smiled to himself; they were in an area of Brookline where the houses were a little older, and Quinn's house had a more updated look to it; there was no way she was confused. “This is the address she gave me.” He walked up to the door and rang the bell. A minute later, Quinn opened the door, wearing an adorable, knee-length green sundress with a pink floral pattern, empire waist, and bell sleeves that perfectly showed off her gorgeous figure. She smiled at him warmly, looking absolutely delighted to see him.
“Tenn. Hi!” She stepped back so they could come in.
“Hey, Quinn. This is my wife, Viki.” Tenn introduced them, watching closely to see if Viki showed any sign of recognition. She might have slightly widened her eyes, but he couldn't be sure. She was definitely very nervous though.
“Lovely to meet you.” Quinn smiled politely and gestured for them to come in. “My husband is in the living room. Right through here.” She strategically stepped back, so Viki went through the arch first, following with Tenn behind her.
“Joel?” She spoke, and they both watched as he looked over from the baseball game on TV, saw Viki, and the colour drained from his face. “This is Tenn and his wife, Viki.” Joel and Viki just stared at each other, dumbfounded and Quinn made a show of looking surprised and a little concerned. “Do you two know each other?”
“Yeah. We work together.” Joel recovered fairly quickly and stood up. “Viki is the new receptionist at the dealership.”
“Yes,” Viki said faintly, nodding.
“Oh, excellent! This makes things so much better.” Quinn said brightly as she walked over and took Joel's arm. He looked down at her and smiled nervously. “This is Tenn, Tenn, my husband, Joel.” They shook hands and said hello. “I just have a few things to take care of in the kitchen, so come through, and we'll have a glass of wine before we eat.” She gestured for them to follow her and led the way to the kitchen. The atmosphere was tense and awkward, but Tenn had to hand it to her and her acting abilities because she sounded like she was in the middle of a great dinner party. “I made homemade spaghetti and meatballs with a garlic cheese loaf and Caesar salad. I hope that's okay with everyone.”
“Sounds and smells wonderful, Quinn,” Tenn said brightly, emulating her attitude, but being very honest, it did sound wonderful, and the smells of garlic and tomato sauce were making his stomach growl in anticipation. “You didn't have to go through so much trouble.” The kitchen was warm, bright, and cheerful, with creamsicle orange walls and terracotta floor tiles. The cupboards were dark teal, and the counters were dark wood grain with resin. It was clearly set up for large, informal gatherings, with a sizable round table in an oversized glass breakfast nook.
“No trouble at all. I love to cook. I make a monthly dinner for the staff at the library; most of them are students working part-time and living away from home, so getting a home-cooked meal every now and then makes them feel less homesick.” She smiled as she took the lid off the spaghetti sauce and quickly stirred it. “Just have to put the loaf in the oven to melt the cheese and cook the pasta, and we can eat. Joel, would you mind handling the drinks, please?”