I Can Handle Him
Quinn Corbin’s got nothing to lose – except her life.
She’s finally got the attention of the man she’s always loved, Nick Allen. But Nick has a reputation for trouble. And after a car explosion killed his last girlfriend, many people in San Antonio, Texas think Nick got away with murder.
But Quinn, a 24-year-old elementary school teacher and bubbly optimist, believes Nick is innocent. So does her best friend Tory, a law student and sarcastic realist. Soon Quinn and Nick find their relationship growing when suddenly their world upends. Now Nick is in major trouble again and Quinn may have made the biggest mistake of her life.
With incriminating evidence mounting against Nick, Tory works to prove his innocence. But Nick finds himself in a bigger battle when he must fight to protect, and win, his true love.
My Review
In the beginning, I was not feeling this book. I struggled to find my footing with the characters and the story. Yet, after the first few chapters; I did find that hold. This is a good book. The main characters for me were Quinn, Nick, and Tory. The other characters were kind of a turn off to me. They were judgmental towards Nick; which the more I got to know him, I found that their anger was not warranted. Luckily, Nick had two people on his side in Quinn and Tory.
While, I did like this book and found the three main characters enjoyable; I still felt like something was holding me back from fully embracing them. Thus, I was reading the story but it didn't strike a cord in my heart. The romance in this book is sweet with a dash of mild heat. I would read another book by this author.
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[ THREE ]
A
soft gasp escapes from Quinn’s mouth. “Nick!”
Happiness shines in his eyes and spreads to his
smile. “I’ve been looking for a friendly face. Looks like I hit the jackpot.”
She opens her arms and hugs him; he warmly
returns her squeeze. They pull back and she can barely contain her flutters. Oh, he’s delicious. Chestnut hair,
parted to the side and perfectly messed up. His tan face sports a barely there
mustache and beard. A white, button-down shirt is generously unbuttoned, lying
flat under his crisp, linen blazer. His shoulders are wide but his waist seems
small and she stops herself before she looks lower. If she stares at everything
below his belt, he might think she’s being rude. Plus, she might go dizzy and faint.
She does it anyway.
Slim, dark jeans. Tan, classic suede bucks. Oh my God, he’s perfection.
She looks up into his interested eyes. “I’ve
been looking for you! It seems everywhere I go tonight everyone has something
to say about…”
He timidly nods as if he knows what she’s about
to say next. “A lot has happened since I saw you last. There’s a lot to say.”
“Are you all right? I heard about the accident
but I haven’t seen you post anything since then.”
“Social media is not a good place for me to be
right now.”
“That explains why you haven’t messaged me back.
I’ve been worried about you.”
He runs a hand across his forehead, gently
sweeping back a stray lock of his hair. His hand is discolored with light
spots. She looks down to his other hand, also blotchy with spots. From the accident maybe?
She leans closer. “I mean, not that I expected
you to respond to my messages. I don’t want you to feel badly or anything. I
just wanted you to know I was thinking about you.”
“I would have noticed your message for sure. But
I stopped reading all of them because most were not supportive.”
Her heart aches and she wants to hug him again.
“I just…can’t imagine. I feel helpless. And awkward.”
“It’s a long story,” he mumbles.
She
doesn’t have time! Forget it: make time. “You have my full attention if you want to talk
about it.”
His eyes look as hurt as his heart must be. “I
don’t know what you heard, but it was an accident. We were leaving Greene; we
had just eaten dinner at the Blue Talon on the river. Sienna had been working
in Greene all day, so I met her there. She asked if she could drive my car.”
“I remember your car,” Quinn says. “The
convertible?”
He nods. “Yeah, the ’66 Mustang I bought a few
years ago from Reed’s. Sienna remembered it from the showroom. When she was in
high school, she used to sit behind the wheel and pretend it was hers. Of all
the cars at all the Reed dealerships, she said that Mustang was her favorite
because of the blue color.”
“So that’s why she was driving?” Quinn asks.
“She wanted to drive it on the back roads. I
mean, this was only our second date but I let her drive it because it was so
familiar and special to her.”
Quinn’s shoulder gets bumped from someone
walking past her, reminding her that they’re in the middle of a crowded and
obnoxiously loud room. Somehow, listening to Nick and his story has made
everyone around her disappear. She only has ears for him. And his eyes are only
on her.
“So, she drove my car and I drove hers,
following her. We took the back way, down the 46, because she wanted to drive
with the top down. There was a big curve and the car suddenly…all I saw was
flames.” He swallows hard and looks away.
God, this
is worse than she had heard. And the burn spots on his hands? He must have
tried to save her. She gently rests her hand on his shoulder and leans closer
to be heard above the conversations around them. “Nick, I am so sorry.”
“I didn’t want to come tonight, especially
because of Reed. But I don’t know when I’d ever see Al again and I wanted to
wish him well, even though I know he’s not happy with me either.”
Quinn leans closer with a smile. “So, maybe
there are people here who aren’t your friends, but you have at least two who
are.”
“You?”
“You bet.”
“And where’s your other half?” he says, looking
around.
“Ah, well, I lost Tory a few minutes ago when
Reed walked up. See? You aren’t the only person in this room trying to avoid
him.”
“I was hoping you both would be here. You two
were my brightest memories of this place.”
“Then let’s focus on those memories and not the
present. Like, remember that costume party?”
He grins. “How we Googled ‘two girls and one guy
costume ideas’ and ended up as the cast of Three’s
Company?”
“That was the best! Remember hanging out at my
parents’ house while we binge-watched Three’s
Company because we had never seen the show?”
His eyes crinkle with amusement. “You were
perfect as Chrissy, Tory was an amazing Janet and I was an outstanding Jack
Tripper.”
“Daniel was so mad he didn’t get to be Jack
until he realized Jack’s character really wasn’t gay.”
“Daniel! I forgot about him. Is he still Tory’s
other BFF?”
“Lord, yes. Sometimes I have to fight him to get
any time with Tory. Between her splitting her time with me, Daniel and her new
boyfriend, I’m lucky to ever see her.”
“Tory…she has a boyfriend?”
“I know, right? She hadn’t dated anyone serious
since we all worked together and then this guy comes along.”
“Wow. How about you?”
Quinn breaks eye contact for a quick second and
shrugs. “Not seeing anyone. Although if Al had his way, he’d have Blaine and I
married by now.”
“Al’s been trying to set you up with Blaine for
ages.”
“I love Al, but not enough to date his son.”
Nick’s eyes glass over.
Oh boy;
slow down. Probably
shouldn’t talk about people dating and boyfriend/girlfriend stuff so soon after
his loss. “Hey, I was heading over to the bar to find Tory. Want to join me?”
His glassy look disappears. “Absolutely.”
She turns and begins winding her way through the
crowd again, Nick a breath behind her. People notice Nick, launching lingering
stares and questioning glances. Quinn reaches behind her and grabs Nick’s hand
to lead him through the crowd.
The bar is set against the back of the room with
a few bar stools in front. All of the stools are taken. Perched on one in the
middle is Tory.
Quinn stops, leaning toward Nick’s ear. “She’s
been there long enough to have finished a drink and you know, only one drink
can cause her to surprise-slur.”
“Her surprise-slurs are epic! Remember that time
at the club when a cop came up behind her and she yelled, “I’m gonna be an
astronaut like you!”
Quinn playfully slaps his shoulder. “That was epic.” She wraps her arm around his;
so close; so comfy; so perfect. They plow forward together and approach Tory
from behind. One empty highball glass sits in front of her and there’s another
half-empty one in her hand.
“Hey, look who I found!” Quinn says, elbowing
Tory’s shoulder. “An astronaut!”
Tory turns so fast she almost falls off of the
stool. “Holy shit, you are flippin’ hotter than I remember! Nick!”
He leans over to give her a hug but as he’s
hugging her, her face screws up. “You’re an astronaut now?”
Suddenly what sounds like a spoon clinking
against a glass quiets the crowd.
Nick wraps his arms around Tory in a hug. “I’m
just me and I have missed you, Tory.” He looks at Quinn. “I’ve missed you
both.” Quinn slips her arm around his waist and he drapes his arm over her
shoulders, his other arm over Tory’s.
“Okay, everyone,” Blaine says, standing on a
side of the room where people have cleared an open space. Al stands next to
him, beside a cake that looks as big as half of a car. “Glasses up to toast to
a legend, someone we all have learned from, someone we all want to be. I love
you Dad, and I’m happy to pick up where you left off while you enjoy the next
adventure in your life. To your retirement! Hear, hear!” He raises his glass.
Glasses of all shapes and sizes rise up in the
air and the crowd echoes Blaine, “Hear, hear!”
Quinn and Nick have no glass in hand so they
smile and squeeze each other. “Hear, hear,” Quinn says.
Tory lowers her glass to take a sip but Nick
leans toward her ear. “If you’re driving, you should try the coffee.” Quinn
nods.
Tory shrugs. “Actually, a hot chocolate sounds
pretty damn good but only if Quinn makes it. Plus one to go.”
Hilarious.
“Speaking
of “to go”, my mom texted. The sofa’s on the way. We’ve gotta go.” Quinn pats
Tory’s shoulder, then faces Nick.
“You guys are leaving already?” he asks.
“I’ve got a new, old sofa on the way,” Quinn
says. “I wish I could stay and talk with you longer.”
“Hey, in case you didn’t know, I opened a new
coffee bar and bookstore a few blocks away.”
“Oh, I heard.”
“Why don’t you guys come by on Saturday night.
We’ve got a book signing by Wally B., the soul poet. His poetry book is a best
seller and he’s going to do one of his famous spoken word poetry performances.”
“I’d love to,” Quinn says.
Nick leans down to Tory. “Bring your boyfriend
too.”
Tory winces. “Won’t happen unless he’s got a
coupon.”
“A coupon?”
Quinn squeezes his arm. “Yeah. There’s a super
long story there.”
Nick nods. “Can I walk you guys to your car?”
Tory stands. “Seriously, you are sweet, but I’ll
have my drink shaken off by the time I fall down the stairs. Good to see you,
Nick.” She hugs him, steps back and points a finger in his face. “By the way,
Blaine and Reed are shitheads and we don’t listen to what they say.”
“Good,” he says, pleased.
She lowers her finger and looks to Quinn. “I
really have a super bad case of the munchies so I’m gonna grab me a slab of
cake and I’ll meet you by the door.” She walks away in a perfectly straight
line.
Nick watches her leave, his expression worried.
“Will she be okay?”
“Please. She can handle more than one drink.
It’s her loose lips and cursing that I worry more about in times like this.
Thanks for asking though.”
They stand, toe to toe, under the antique
chandeliers glittering in the soft light. A waiter pauses beside them, offering
a tray of dainty party food that neither of them looks down to. The waiter
moves on, leaving them surrounded by the gentle hum of conversations and the
booming rhythm of the DJ’s pop music.
“I’m glad I could get you to smile,” Quinn says.
A new smile stretches across Nick’s face. “It
felt good to smile again.”
TORY
Tory
falls into line with a few people who are hovering around the cake table. Screw healthy eating. She burned off
enough calories in her morning TRX class to earn this slice. Besides, with Reed
in this room breathing the same air as her, getting a forkful of comfort from
some buttercream icing sounds real good. With any luck, she’ll have her slice
of cake polished off well before Quinn finishes up with Nick. And with super
good luck, this cake will be chocolate.
Tory nods a few polite hellos to others in line
before the waiter hands her a serving. Girl,
play the lottery tonight because you are winning: it’s chocolate! She’s got
a bite of cake heading for her mouth as she turns to look back at Quinn.
Quinn. Seeing her face-to-face
with Nick brings a smile to Tory’s face. And Quinn’s doing her cute,
nervous-energy, rocking back-and-forth on her toes thing. So adorable. She always does that when she’s with a good-looking
guy and Nick surely fits that bill. Quinn’s nervous energy started the minute
they received the invitation to come tonight because she knew Nick might be
here. Quinn is genuinely worried about him, and Tory is too. Then again,
Quinn’s been known to obsessively worry, even over complete strangers. Back
when they were undergrads at UT Austin, they saw one of the campus tour guides
trip on an uneven sidewalk. Quinn worried about that girl for weeks. Tory was
concerned too, but was more curious to know if the girl’s fall was a tort.
Tory takes another bite of cake, still watching
Quinn and Nick. Even from across the room, she can see his relaxed smile. Good. She can’t imagine what he’s been
through. And she’s mad at herself for not reaching out to him sooner. But she’s
back in town now. And her legal mind-in-training is spinning with questions.
Why on earth would Al say that Nick caused
Sienna’s accident? How could Nick make a car explode? Why would he even want to
kill Sienna? It’s ridiculous to think he would have done anything intentionally
malicious. That’s not the Nick who Tory knows. At least, not the Nick she used
to know.
And she used to know him…very well.
Author Q&A for I Can Handle Him
1. Where did you grow up /live now? Tampa,
Florida and now I split my time between Florida and Texas. As the saying goes,
I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!
2. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? For me it was more of what did I NOT want
to be, and that was a doctor, nurse or anything medical. I get dizzy even
thinking of medical questions and even fainted at one of my kid’s doctor’s
appointments. Interesting though, when I write medical scenes, it doesn’t
bother me at all!
3. What is your education/career background? I’m a proud graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa, with
a B.A. in Mass Communications.
4. Do you have kids and/or pets?
I’m the mother to two impressive young men, one in law school and the other a
recent college graduate.
5. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? Or what first
inspired you to write? Writing was
something I had only done for work, writing speeches or press releases, so I
never imagined writing anything like a novel. It happened by accident as a way
to get a story idea out of my head. After much research (and work), I’m now the
author of five novels!
6. Where/When do you best like to write? I’ve written three books in Virginia, and two in Texas, and those two
in Texas were written in two different locations. So apparently it doesn’t
matter to me where I write!
7. Do you have any interesting writing habits or superstitions? After I get a story idea in my head, I
begin a “scribble book.” My scribble books are simple spiral-bound notebooks
where I capture all of my ideas. The scribble books are so handy when you need
to go back to check on something you researched or want to change a character’s
name and need to remember the first names that had come to mind.
8. When you are struggling to write/have writer’s block, what are some
ways that help you find your creative muse again? Flying on an airplane! That is where I do most of my story
conceptualizing.
9. What do you think makes a good story? Characters that make you wish you were them (and characters that make
you thankful you are NOT them too!)
10. What inspired your story? I
wanted to write a story about two best friends at a turning point in their
lives and the decisions they make.
11. How does a new story idea come to you? Is it an event that sparks the
plot or a character speaking to you? Story
ideas come to me when I am flying, or when I’m on the treadmill listening to
music. I let my mind wander and there is a sweet-spot in daydreams where
stories are born.
12. Is there a message/theme in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Believe in your friends, even when others
around you are wanting you to question your friendship. Make your own
decisions.
13. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your
books? How fun the research part would
be! You begin by researching “X” but
during that research you uncover “Y and Z”
14. On a Friday night, what are you most likely to be doing? My husband and I are creatures of habit,
and we started getting barbecue to go from a local barbecue restaurant on
Friday nights. Now, we’d much rather get our to go barbecue than go out to any
restaurant on Friday nights!
15. What do you like to do when you are not writing? Talk to my kids! I have been fortunate to have raised two young men who
are big communicators. They love to tell me about their days (in law school and
college) and I love to listen.
16. Who are some of your favorite authors? Since I’m not a reader, I don’t have any favorites! I’m going to need
to add “reading” as one of my New Year’s Resolutions and ask my fans for
suggestions!
17. Do you have a bucket list? What are some of the things on it? I have travelled from Russia to Italy to
Turkey but I have never been to Australia or the orient. Add that to the list!
18. What person(s) has/have helped you the most in your career? When I first began writing, I had kept it
a secret. But one friend, Jill, pulled it out of me. She’s one of those friends
who probes a little deeper, and then follows up with support and questions.
She’s turned into my number one beta reader and is the first one I’ll tell when
I am writing a new novel. She also sees the first draft. I appreciate her
enthusiasm...it helps me through the not-so-enthusiastic times!
19. What’s the best writing advice you have ever received? Put your best foot forward. That was good
advice from another friend and beta reader, Keri.
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