Quinn's Hart Read Free Page A

only wanted him because he was big. Maybe Clay hadn't been serious with the invitation and intended it to mock Quinn somehow. Either way, the end result was the same. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for his reaction, and he hated it.
    One of the other men laughed. "I think you scared him, Clay."
    Clay laughed, too, tossing his head again. "Not a big, strong thing like him." He turned back to Quinn, a sultry expression on his face. "What do you say?"
    His voice, when he finally got it to work, was hardly more than a whisper. "N-no. I'm sorry." He stood and got the hell out of there.
    The laughter of his tablemates followed him from the room.

    * * * *
    Why couldn't I have made a joke? Or done anything but run like a scared kid?
    Quinn flopped onto the bed and put an arm over his face. Any other guy would have put Clay off with a joke or witty comeback, said no without getting upset, or even taken him up on the offer. Quinn had panicked and acted like an idiot.
    He had to toughen up and start talking to people, or this whole trip would end up a colossal waste of time. It was time he remembered that he wasn't a scared little kid being taunted by his father for being weak, or a shy, rapidly growing adolescent trying to fit into a succession of foster families and new schools. He was an adult. He couldn't let his shyness and other peoples' misconceptions keep him from trying.
    Tomorrow they were headed to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe there he'd meet someone a little more his speed.

Chapter 3
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    By the time he stepped off the shuttle at the Magic Kingdom Park, Josh Hart was a lot more excited than any man over thirty had a right to be. For years, he'd wanted to visit Disney World. After putting it off for way too long, he wasn't about to let anything stop him this time, not even getting dumped a few weeks before the trip. Over the answering machine. He hadn't even rated a "Dear John" letter. He was never going to live that one down.
    At least he didn't have to go by himself, thanks to his travel agent, a helpful young woman named Stephanie. Fortunately, she'd been able to find a large singles group scheduled for the same week as Josh had planned to go with his ex. By the time she got finished rearranging his reservations, Josh was signed on for the singles trip, booked in a much nicer hotel than he had been before, and had gotten several hundred dollars back. Not a bad deal. He couldn't believe how lucky it was that somebody, and a gay somebody at that, had canceled so close to the departure date. If a straight guy had canceled he would have been out of luck.
    At first he'd been a little hesitant about the whole singles thing, but the travel agent had promised him that while it wasn't an all-gay trip, there would be other gay men there. She'd also told him that any guy who would dump him before a trip he was paying for wasn't worth moping over, which made him laugh. She was right. His ex wasn't worth another second of his time.
    So far, everything about the trip had been great. He'd met some interesting people at the dinner last night, and today promised to be even better.
    Clay, who'd sat beside him on the shuttle bus, had been astonished to learn Josh had never been to a theme park. He'd waxed poetic about how much fun they were for kids, but cautioned Josh that he might not like them as much now. Josh shook off the caution, determined to enjoy the day.
    Elaine herded the twenty men together like a mama duck with her ducklings. She handed out tickets and name tags, and told them they'd be paired off for the first few rides so they could get a chance to talk to as many people as possible. After lunch, they'd be free to roam around on their own.
    The trip through the gate was efficient, thanks to Elaine's direction. They entered the park, and Josh gaped. Looking around at the quaint buildings in front of him, he felt as if he'd stepped back in time. Straight ahead was the iconic castle, giving him an even greater sense of