The Beck Brothers 3 : Quinn Read online

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, businesses, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2013 by Andria Large. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, distributed, or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2013

  ASIN:

  Kindle Direct Publishing

  kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing

  Acknowledgements

  First, I want to say thank you to my husband and my girls, who have been nothing but supportive of me. Second, I want to give a shout out to my friend, Jessica Carroll, who started me on this crazy journey; without her and her blog, no one would have ever heard about the Beck Brothers. And last but not least, to my editor, Megan Hershenson, who worked tirelessly, to make my work sound better and more professional. And of course, thanks to all my fans, I love you all!!!

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Quinn sighed heavily as he stared down at the invitation in front of him. He hoped Sebastian forgot about their little conversation a few months ago, but no, of course he didn’t. He even put her damn name on the invitation. Fucker. Quinn read the envelope again.

  Mr. Quinn Beck & Ms. Margot Leclair

  Dammit! He was so freaking screwed. Quinn took a deep breath and got up from his drafting table. Margot was sitting at her desk designing a hotel room on her computer. He walked over and stopped in front of her. She had her chin resting in her palm as she clicked away on her mouse. He tapped the invitation against his leg nervously. He really didn’t want to do this.

  “Margot?” Quinn murmured quietly.

  Margot clicked a few more times before looking up at him, a small smile on her pretty face.

  “Oui?” she replied. ‘Oui’ was one of the few French words that Quinn actually knew.

  Quinn cleared his throat. “I...uh...my brother’s wedding is coming up and...uh...well...” he stammered, like a fool. Quinn sighed heavily and held out the envelope with the invitation in it toward her.

  Margot gave him a quizzical look and took the envelope. She looked at it in confusion at first, before smiling wide. She covered her mouth with her hand as she started giggling. Quinn scowled down at her, as her amused gaze lifted to meet his.

  “Your brother is...how do you say? Messing with you, non?” Margot grinned.

  Quinn nodded. “He told me the night that he met you that I better bring you or I wasn’t invited.”

  Margot laughed and bit her bottom lip, trying to stop herself. “I am sorry. I do not mean to laugh. It is very comical, though,” she said.

  Quinn rolled his eyes. He was going to kill Sebastian for this.

  She looked at the invitation then back up at him, her smile fading. “You do not want to take me,” she said, sounding more like a statement rather than a question.

  Quinn watched her for a moment. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking. She had closed off her face, impassive even. It was so unlike her, that he knew it was an act. Could she possibly be upset? Did she seriously want to go with him?

  “Do not worry, Quinn. I will decline to attend,” Margot said quietly. She handed back the invitation and went back to her work.

  Great! Now he felt like a dickhead. “I don’t have anyone else to go with,” he found himself blurting out. He was so going to regret this.

  Margot’s hazel eyes lifted again to meet his. He caught the flash of hurt in her eyes before she covered it up. “It is okay, Quinn. I am sure you would much rather go by yourself, rather than bring me with you. I understand,” she said neutrally.

  Dammit! She was really going to make him say it, wasn’t she? Quinn had just opened his mouth to say that he did want her to go, but Peter’s voice interrupted him.

  “Oh good! You’re both here!” Peter said cheerfully as he walked into the office.

  Quinn spun to look at Peter. His boss and good friend strolled in with his hands in his gray pants pockets. His shirt was white, and he was wearing his signature bow tie and black framed glasses. He was super skinny and was a good five or so inches shorter than Quinn, who was six feet three inches. Peter was an okay-looking guy, very nondescript. If it wasn’t for his bow tie and glasses, he’d be practically invisible.

  “Bonjour, Peter,” Margot said. The pep was back in her voice.

  Quinn glanced back at her, but she avoided looking at him. He sighed in irritation and turned back toward Peter. “Hey, Peter. What’s up?” Quinn grumbled.

  “Well, I just registered you two to attend the World Architectural Seminar in London.” Peter smiled proudly.

  Quinn gaped at him. “You did what?” he asked dryly.

  “The two of you are going to London on Monday so that you can attend the World Architectural Seminar,” Peter repeated himself.

  “How long will we be gone for?” Margot asked.

  “Five days. It’s a three day seminar - you’ll fly in on Monday, the seminar is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and you’ll come home on Friday,” Peter explained, “All expenses are paid for. The only problem is that the hotel was book up tight, so you will have to share a room.”

  Quinn closed his eyes. He needed to block out Peter’s face before he punched him in it. What the fuck was going on here? Why the hell did it seem like everyone was trying to force Margot on him? First, Sebastian, and now, Peter. It was most likely all in his head, but he still felt that way.

  “You guys will have the weekend to pack. Stop by my office before leaving and I should have your plane tickets printed out and ready to go, along with your itineraries,” Peter said before walking out of the office.

  Quinn took a few deep breaths to try to calm himself down. He was practically vibrating with anger. He could not believe Peter did this without even asking him first. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he had to spend five full days with Margot, but he had to share a room with her, too? That was insane! Did Peter want him to go crazy? Not only from Margot’s fidgeting, but also with lust. His body didn’t care that she was annoying; all it cared about was how sexy she was. He was seriously going to reconsider his friendship with Peter for this stunt.

  ~~~~~

  Margot sat quietly as she absorbed the news that Peter just gave them. She could tell that Quinn was livid. His face was blank but his body was wound up tight. She did not mind going; in fact, she thought it would be a great opportunity to learn something new possibly. Her only hesitation was Quinn - he did not care for her. She knew she irritated him with her fidgeting, but she just was not the type of person to sit still. Quinn was a quirky guy, and he had many pet peeves that she apparently touched on.

  Margot considered herself a complete fool because she liked him anyway. He was complex, like a puzzle she needed to figure out. It definitely did not hurt that he was extremely handsome with his medium-brown hair and chocolate eyes that were framed with long dark lashes. His lips were full and firm looking, making her wonder what they would feel like against hers. She caught herself many times just staring at him.


  From what Margot could see, considering he always wore a shirt and tie, was that he had an amazing body. His shirts were fairly form fitting and showed off his broad chest and back. He would sometimes roll his sleeves up to reveal his muscled forearms. He had a delicious derrière, too. Every pair of pants he owned hugged his firm tush, making Margot want to drool. She could only imagine what he looked like underneath his clothes.

  “I have never been to London, have you?” Margot asked Quinn, who was still standing in front of her desk.

  Quinn opened his eyes and looked down at her. “No,” he said shortly.

  “Maybe we can do some sightseeing if we have time, yes?” Margot asked hopefully. She would love to get the chance to look around London. Go see some of the sights.

  Quinn gave her a sharp nod before moving back over to his drafting table. Margot had hopes of possibly getting on his good side on this trip. Maybe if he got to know her outside of work, he would come to like her better. Margot was not used to people not liking her. Usually everyone liked her bubbly attitude and openness. She normally did not care about what people thought of her, she was who she was and she would change for no one. Something about Quinn not liking her rubbed her the wrong way, though. It was her new mission in life to get him to like her, even if it was only as a friend.

  “You’re going with me to my brother’s wedding,” Quinn told her as he sat down.

  Margot blinked at him. “I do not want to go if you do not want me there, Quinn.”

  Quinn lifted his eyes to meet hers. She could see that there was going to be no arguing with him. “You’re going,” he said with finality.

  Margot pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. “Fine,” she said after a moment.

  Margot was sure there was something wrong with her. Was she really going to let him tell her what to do? There was something extremely sexy about him when he was being domineering though. Oui, there was definitely something wrong with her.

  “When is the wedding?” Margot asked.

  “The first Saturday in March,” Quinn replied.

  Margot nodded and added it to the calendar on her computer. She really did want to go. His brothers seemed really friendly and charming when she met them a few months ago. She could not remember ever being in the presence of such a handsome group of men. Every one of them was good-looking and built. They were all tall and broad, and were all blonde, except for Quinn, who had brown hair. There was no mistaking that they were brothers since the resemblance between the four of them was apparent.

  Even in the short amount of time that she spent with them, she realized that Quinn was very different from his brothers. The rest of them seemed fairly outgoing, while he was quiet and reserved. His one brother, Christian, seemed a little shy. There was a difference between being mildly shy and being intentionally reticent though. Margot has worked with Quinn for close to a year now, and he never said one word about having brothers. Really, she knew nothing about him. He never talked about himself. Maybe this little trip will open him up a bit.

  ~~~~~

  Quinn was not a morning person, so getting up at 5:00 am to catch a plane made him extraordinarily cranky. It definitely didn’t help that Margot was her bright chirpy self. She was wide-eyed and full of smiles. Jesus Christ. Quinn could barely keep his eyes open and they had only gotten to the check-in desk.

  They checked their bags, making their way through Philadelphia International Airport to their gate. First stop was the security check. Quinn was only carrying on his laptop. Margot had her purse and one other small bag. They both checked in a suitcase and garment bag that carried their dress clothes. Quinn was glad she wasn’t one of those women who needed to bring their whole closet when they went on a trip. He had an ex-girlfriend once who brought four bags on a three-day trip to New York. Four. Bags. That’s insane! Shortly after they got home from New York, he dumped her. He didn’t do high-maintenance women.

  Margot went through the metal detector first. She cleared it and went to the end of the conveyor belt to grab her stuff. Quinn walked through next without a problem. He was just grabbing his laptop bag when a TSA member approached him.

  “Sir, we need you to step aside for a random pat down,” said the man who looked like freaking Stone Cold Steve Austin.

  Quinn stared at him. At least they were about the same height. Stone Cold had probably about fifty more pounds of muscle over Quinn, though, and Quinn wasn’t a small guy by any means. He was a bit of a fitness and health nut and liked to keep his body in shape.

  “Seriously? Do I look like a terrorist to you?” Quinn snapped before he could think better of it.

  Stone Cold’s eyes narrowed threateningly. “Sir, come with me please,” he said firmly.

  “Man, I’m not going anywhere. I have a plane to catch, I don’t need this shit,” Quinn grumbled, slipping back on his shoes.

  Margot came over and touched his arm. “Quinn, just do as the man says,” she pleaded, her hazel eyes darting cautiously between him and Stone Cold.

  “Sir, if you don’t follow me, I will make sure you miss your flight,” Stone Cold threatened.

  Quinn gritted his teeth and glared at the man for a minute. “Fine,” he ground out. The only reason he gave in so easily was that Margot was with him. If he had been by himself, he would have argued more.

  “Ma’am, please grab your bags and follow us,” Stone Cold said to Margot then took Quinn’s elbow in his beefy grasp.

  Quinn glared down at the hand holding his elbow. “You better get your damn hand off me,” he growled.

  Quinn could not believe this was happening. He was blaming Peter for this. Stone Cold tugged Quinn forward, obviously not giving a shit about his threat. Beefy-beeferson led Margot and him through a coded door and down a short hallway. He opened a door on the right and led them inside. The room was small with bright overhead lights. There was a metal table pushed up against the back wall, with a plastic folding chair against the wall, next to the table.

  “Ma’am, have a seat please,” said Beefcake.

  Margot did as she was told. Just as she sat, another male agent entered the room and shut the door behind him.

  “Sir, please place your bag on the table, empty your pockets and step back,” the new guy said. This one was older and had an air of superiority about him. He must be a supervisor or something.

  Quinn did as he was told. When he was finished, he stepped back and let them search his things. He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked a hip while he waited. He glanced at Margot who was looking anxiously between him and the agents. This pissed Quinn off even more. Neither of them should have to be subjected to this. After the agents finished tearing his shit apart, they moved to stand in front of him.

  “Sir, we’re going to ask you to remove your clothing,” the new guy said.

  Quinn heard Margot gasp while his jaw dropped. “What? You’re fucking kidding me, right? I thought you were just doing a pat down!” he choked in disbelief.

  “We have reason to believe you’re hiding something on your person,” Stone Cold said seriously.

  “Excuse me?” Quinn blinked in utter shock.

  “Sir, you might want to just comply if you want to make your flight,” the older man added.

  Quinn laughed bitterly and shook his head. “Un-fucking-believable,” he muttered. He took off his coat and dropped it to the floor, and yanked his red and black striped polo shirt over his head.

  ~~~~~

  Margot’s eyes widened as Quinn angrily yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. One of the agents picked up his coat and shirt and started feeling through them. She stared at Quinn’s broad back. She could see his muscles rippling under his lightly bronzed skin. He had a tattoo on his back in between his shoulder blades at the base of his neck. It looked like a Chinese symbol of some sort. She would have to ask him about it later.