Read Online The Mighty Quinns: Thom by Kate Hoffmann - Free Book Online Page B

haunt him. The drinking and the women and the partying had poisoned the possibility of a happy future.
    Though he knew a relationship with Malin was impossible, he couldn’t make himself stop dreaming that it could be. He imagined the two of them together, living a normal life, finding happiness in the simple things they shared. She was the first woman he’d ever met who seemed to understand and accept him—the good and the bad.
    But if life had taught him anything, it had taught him that wishes and dreams were a waste of time. Happiness was for other people, not him. But Malin was with him now, and he was determined to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.
    He rolled over onto his back and felt something hard pressing into his hip. Thom pulled out Malin’s tablet. Curious, he turned it on. The Twitter page she had made for him came up, and he skimmed the heading. “Two thousand seven hundred and three followers,” he murmured. What did that mean?
    He leaned over and gave Malin a gentle shake. “Malin,” he whispered. “Wake up.”
    She moaned, burrowing deeper into the bedcovers. But when he shook her again, she opened her eyes and gazed up at him. “What time is it?”
    “Early. About four a.m.”
    “Too early,” she murmured.
    He held out the tablet. “Look at this. I have followers. What does that mean?”
    “That’s good,” she said. “People are finding your account and signing up to see what you have to say. Almost three thousand—that’s a lot of people for such a short time. And once we link you to the team page, you’ll probably have a half million within a week.”
    Thom wasn’t sure what that all meant, but as long as Malin was happy, then so was he. He dropped the tablet on the bed and curled up against her. “Are you awake?”
    “I am now,” she said.
    “I was thinking we could still have that date we were talking about.”
    “We discussed that,” Malin said.
    “There’s somewhere I want to take you. For breakfast. And I promise, no one will know we’re there.”
    She turned over to face him. “At four a.m.? You want to have a date right now.”
    “Yeah.”
    She smiled. “All right. I suppose you’re not going to let me get any more sleep.” She sat up and ran her fingers through her tangled hair. “What do I need to wear?”
    “This place is very casual,” he said. “It might be a bit chilly outside, though, so wear a sweater.”
    Malin nodded, watching him from the bed, the covers pulled up around her bare breasts. Though they’d spent an entire day naked, the idea of watching her dress suddenly seemed awkward. Thom grabbed his clothes from the floor and headed to the bathroom.
    He closed the door behind him, then quickly brushed his teeth and ran a comb through his hair. As he tested his jawline with the back of his hand, he decided on a quick shave. Who knew what might transpire later in the day? The last thing he wanted was to hurt her delicate skin with a beard burn.
    When he emerged from the bathroom, she was waiting, sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed with her hands resting in her lap. Thom held his hand out and pulled her to her feet. “You look beautiful.”
    She frowned, shaking her head. “I’m wearing the same clothes I was wearing yesterday.”
    “That doesn’t change the fact that you’re beautiful.”
    He tucked her hand in his, and they walked out of the firehouse and onto the eerily quiet street. “I’ve never been out this late,” Malin said, quickening her pace to keep up with Thom’s stride.
    Though they could have driven, the breakfast place was just four blocks from his home. Thom’s downtown neighborhood was a mix of commercial properties, parking lots and old warehouses and factories that had been turned into residential lofts.
    The streets were dark and silent, so quiet that their footsteps echoed against the brick buildings. “It’s kind of spooky out here,” she said.
    He pulled her hand up to his lips and gave it a kiss.