She only had to raise one eyebrow before he laughed. “Yes, she stopped by earlier to bring me a pie and to pretend she was picking up her plate from the cookies she’d brought earlier in the week. I suspect she knew we had a date tonight and wanted to see what I had planned. The pie was just her excuse for coming over.”
“That doesn’t sound like something Grams would do at all.” They both broke out in laughter at the same time.
After he was finished his pie, he set the plate beside him and wiped his mouth with the paper napkin. “And, yes, I do know you need to move in here soon. That’s why I’ve made the guys stay over the weekend to work. We’ll get it all finished. I’ve already got the cabinets started so it will just be a matter of installing them once the flooring is done. And the upstairs bathroom will be getting the new tub put in next week, so that will be ready to put back together.”
She watched him as he spoke, taking in everything about him. He was so easy to just relax and be herself around, and that was something she’d never found with any of her boyfriends in the past. Simply sitting here and talking about mundane things like fixing up her run-down house was romantic with Ben.
Well, that and the fact that he’d spent the time putting little solar lights around where they were sitting under the tree and made sure they’d had the evening all to themselves. Most guys wouldn’t be bothered with any of the smaller details like that.
“I’m sorry our first date isn’t anywhere more extravagant. But, in Quinn Valley, I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s almost impossible to go anywhere without a Quinn showing up. I thought this was probably the only chance I had to have you all to myself. Plus, the Quinn Valley nightlife isn’t exactly booming.”
She crossed her arms in front of her and relaxed into the tree. “It’s perfect. If we’d gone anywhere else, I have no doubt we’d have run into someone. This tree, in this yard, is just perfect.”
It really was. She loved this house so much and this yard held so many memories for her. One of the most special ones involved the man who was sitting here beside her. The fact that he must be thinking the same way as her, warmed her heart. The last boyfriend she’d had considered going to a basketball game romantic, so this was definitely a step up.
Ben reached out and took her hand, pulling her over beside him. He tucked her under his arm and held her in close to him. Her own arm automatically wrapped around his stomach as she rested her head on his chest. How come this felt so natural already?
They sat there quietly, with the sounds of the evening around them. The birds were still chirping in the trees surrounding the yard and in the distance a car horn blared angrily.
Ben’s chest moved evenly as he breathed, lifting her head and lulling her almost to sleep with the gentle rhythm.
“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you hadn’t moved away? Would we have stayed friends?” Her voice sounded sleepy, she was so relaxed.
His chest vibrated as he laughed under his breath. “Nope.”
She sat up and glared at him as she smacked him on the shoulder. “What? Why don’t you think we’d have stayed friends?”
He laughed again and pulled her back beside him. “Because by the time I moved, I was starting to see you differently and wasn’t really wanting to just be your friend. And I think you were already getting a glimpse into what a horrible teenage boy I was becoming. So I have no doubt, I’d have royally messed things up between us, and you’d have ended up hating me.”
“Well, you were starting to act a bit strange. But I doubt I could have ever hated you.” She let her mind wander back to the scrawny boy she remembered. He had become a bit more moody and difficult by the time he moved, but she’d just blamed it on his hormones. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that you were starting to have feelings for me?”
He scoffed loudly. “Right! And have you laugh in my face. I was too afraid you wouldn’t feel the same way and then it would all just be too awkward. Then when my parents told me we were moving, I knew there wasn’t any point anyway.”
“I wouldn’t have laughed in your face. I likely would have pushed you down into a giant pothole, but I’m sure I wouldn’t have laughed.” The truth was, Robyn didn’t know what she’d have done. But she knew he was right and that it was probably better they hadn’t tried dating back then and ended up destroying their friendship.
“And you probably would have whacked me with your shoe again like you did at that dance.”
She pulled up and looked at him again. “Okay, you deserved getting hit with my shoe. You were being a grump and moping around like I’d made you take me to visit the Queen. All I wanted to do was dance and you were hanging out with the boys and being a jerk.”
He nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I was a jerk. But your shoe had a really high heel, and I still have a scar.”
He laughed and tried to pull away as she hit him again.
“You’re lying. There’s no scar.”
But he was already rolling his sleeve up to show her the small mark that was visible on his upper arm where she’d smacked him hard with her shoe at the end of the night.
She cringed and crinkled her nose up as she met his eyes. “Oh, well I didn’t realize I’d hit you that hard.”
He shrugged as he rolled his sleeve back down. “It’s okay. It was a constant reminder whenever I looked in the mirror over the years of my best friend who tried to kill me.”
She rolled her eyes and let him pull her back close to him. “I wasn’t trying to kill you. Just make you see my side of things.”
“Well, it worked. And it also scared me off dating for a very long time.”
She refrained from hitting him again, but she could remember now how annoying he could be and why she had to hit him sometimes. Although now she was a grown woman, she had to refrain from following through on those urges.
“So, since we’re getting to know each other all over again, why don’t you tell me about your dating life after you got over my painful scarring of you?” He’d never really talked much about his personal life after he’d moved away. If she was going to be serious with him, it was a good idea to know what baggage might be coming with him.
Although that would mean she’d have to tell him about hers too. Which really wouldn’t take very long considering she’d only had two serious boyfriends—Andy in high school, and then the last guy she’d dated who had quickly proven he was nowhere near ready to grow up and be in a relationship.
“There’s not much to tell. I’ve dated a bit, had my heart broken and never found anyone ready to settle down with.”
His fingers were slowly moving over the skin around her ear, and behind her neck, circling around to her jaw. She was having a hard time concentrating on what he was saying and only vaguely noticed he really hadn’t given her much of an answer. But as he brought his fingers under her chin and lifted her lips to his, she decided it was something she’d ask him about later.
Right now, she just wanted to enjoy this moment with him under this tree and pretend there was no one else in the world.
Chapter Fourteen
“I haven’t played whist for twenty years, and when my grandma used to make me play, I was never any good. I didn’t think people still played games like this.” Ben stood waiting beside Robyn to see who he would be partnered with for the first round.
He’d been invited to the family game night when Joel had stopped by the house earlier. Robyn had tried to talk him out of coming, saying that her family might be a bit difficult to manage all at once. Especially since they all knew they were “dating,” even though she was quick to point out that wasn’t exactly true either.
He smiled as he remembered how flustered she’d become when she’d tried to figure out exactly what it was they were doing. She seemed to think that since he was insisting they get married after only a couple of dates, they were almost skipping right over the whole dating part.
“Ben, you used to come play games at the hous
e with us all the time. I’m certain you even played whist a few times while you were here too. So I’m sure you’ll remember how to play.” Robyn’s mom ignored his protests about the game and reached into the hat to take out the next name who would be his partner.
“Travis!” Everyone started to laugh loudly, except Travis who grinned and came over to slap him on the back.
“You’re the lucky one who gets to start with me. Don’t worry, I’ll show you some tricks.”
Ben wasn’t feeling confident at how everyone was still laughing while they continued drawing the names for teams. Obviously, there was something they weren’t telling him.
He tugged on Robyn’s arm to whisper in her ear, “What’s going on? What exactly is so funny about this?”
Robyn giggled; a sound he was sure elevated his pulse rate higher than what would be considered healthy.
“Travis is awful at games. Awful. And the worst part is, he doesn’t even realize it…even though he never wins anything. You don’t stand a chance for your first round being with him. And I would suggest completely forgetting any of the tips he’s about to share with you.”
Ben groaned quietly as he looked over to the table where Travis was taking his spot. “Great. Well, it’s just for one round. Then maybe I’ll be lucky enough to get put with someone better.” He gently squeezed her hand and smiled at her upturned face. “Like you. I’d far rather we’d played a game that would have let me be partners with you all night.”
She wiggled her eyebrows and shrugged. “You’re the one who insisted on coming, even knowing my family is chaotic and crazy. And likely going to be even worse tonight, trying to get information out of you about us.”
The smile dropped from his face as he realized he probably was about to face the third degree of questions from all family members as he made his way around the tables for this mini-whist drive Robyn’s family had set up.
He’d come over to their house many times as a kid to join in the games, and now that he thought about it, he remembered that Travis really was bad, even back then. But they’d always had so much fun and he’d actually been excited to hear that the Quinn’s still got together at their parent’s house every week to play games like this. Even though Robyn tried to make it sound like her family drove her nuts, he could tell that every sibling was completely behind the other, no matter what happened in their lives. And from the looks of it, that devotion extended to everyone who became a part of the family through dating, engagement or marriage.
So Ben was looking forward to being included in this family soon.
“Come on, Ben. I’ll give you a quick lesson before the game starts.” Travis was waving him over to their table. Ben looked down at Robyn and pretended to be terrified.
“Wish me luck. I hope you won’t think badly of me if I don’t come out of this looking like much of a winner.”
She laughed as he walked over to sit across from Travis. The first partners they were paired with were Brooke and Haylee, Joel’s fiancé. Since neither of them seemed inclined to offer to trade places with him, he sat down and waited for his “lessons.”
By the time the first hand was dealt, Ben was more confused than he ever remembered being with the game of whist. And by the looks on Brooke and Haylee’s faces, they knew perfectly well the instructions he’d received were less than adequate.
“So, do you have another date with Robyn planned?” Travis was acting nonchalant about the question, but Ben wasn’t fooled. Travis might be terrible at playing games, but it was obvious he intended to make sure Robyn wasn’t going to be hurt.
“I’ve been trying to think of something we can do that would be romantic, and she’d enjoy. But I’m stumped. We’ve already had a picnic in the front yard, so I can’t do that again.”
Travis raised an eyebrow and crinkled his nose. “A picnic in her yard?”
Brooke reached over and slapped her younger brother’s arm. “Stop it, Travis. Just because you don’t know how to be romantic, doesn’t mean you get to question anyone else. A picnic in the yard is actually a very romantic date. Maybe you should try getting a date once in a while and you’d learn these things.”
Travis rolled his eyes as he placed his card on the table. “I’ll have you know I just haven’t had much time for dating.”
“Well, now that hockey season is over, maybe you’ll leave your house once in a while in the evenings.”
“Playoffs are still going, Brooke. Even though my team didn’t make it, doesn’t mean I’m not watching. There are a few teams I don’t like, so I need to make sure to watch and cheer against them.”
Ben smiled over at Haylee who just rolled her eyes. “These two always bicker. You’ll get used to it.” She set her card down and took the trick for her team. “Is it true you get one more date to win her over before she will marry you?”
Ben’s eyes flew to Travis as the other man’s mouth fell open. “She’s agreed to marry you after just two dates?”
“Not exactly. We’d already agreed to marry each other when we were thirteen.” He knew he should explain it properly for the poor guy, but he was getting some enjoyment out of the expressions that were moving across Travis’s face as he tried to understand what he was talking about.
Finally, Brooke must have taken pity on her brother and explained about the time capsule and the marriage contract.
“It still doesn’t make sense. Who gets married just because of some piece of paper they wrote on when they were thirteen? I mean, if I followed through on all the things I’d said when I was that age, I’d likely be sitting in the International Space Station and playing NHL hockey in my downtime.”
Ben cringed as Travis played his next card. Even he knew that was the wrong one to play, and he hadn’t played this game in years. Of course, Brooke beat that card and took the trick, leaving them with only two for this round.
“She hasn’t agreed completely. I still have to convince her. I get one more date to do it.”
Haylee was dealing the cards for the next hand, then stopped suddenly. “Why don’t you take her to the paint night we’re putting on to raise money for the local animal rescue? We’re doing it out at the vet clinic on Wednesday evening. Robyn would love that! She loves doing crafty things.”
Travis laughed as he sorted his cards in his hand. “A paint night. Sounds real romantic.”
Brooke hit him again. “It actually is, Travis. It’s called finding something to do that the other person enjoys.” Robyn’s older sister looked at him and smiled. “Robyn had mentioned wanting to go but didn’t think she should since there was so much still to do around the house.”
Ben looked at Travis and crinkled his face. “I don’t know. I think this is one thing I have to agree with Travis on. I can’t paint a picture. Unless it’s finger painting, I’m going to come out of there looking like a complete failure.”
The women looked at each other and rolled their eyes dramatically. “Seriously, you guys just don’t get it, do you? It doesn’t matter how well you do something like that, it’s the fact that you would put yourself in a place that might make you a bit uncomfortable for the other person. You’re doing it for her, because it’s something she would enjoy.” Haylee sighed loudly. “Honestly, even Joel understands how to be romantic sometimes.”
“I heard that. And I take offense. I’m romantic all the time.” Joel’s voice from the next table let Ben know that everyone was listening to their conversation. He looked at Robyn who was across the table from Joel.
“Well, Robyn. What do you say? Would you be horribly embarrassed to go to a paint night with a man who can’t even draw an abstract stick figure?”
She was laughing as she nodded. “I can’t think of anything more romantic.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Well so much for having a date where there were no other Quinns around. I guess I’ll have to get used to it since I’m going to be part of the family soon anyway.”
Robyn looked over to Ben w
ho was standing there concentrating hard on following the next step they’d been given. She had to laugh at how serious his face was. “You’re pretty confident that you’ve wooed me sufficiently to agree to marry you.”
He lifted his eyes and grinned, immediately letting the stress of his masterpiece creation fall away. “Hey, not many men would take their lady to a paint night with a bunch of other women, and where his lack of artistic ability was about to be discovered.”
“Trust me, I remember you in art class. This isn’t anything I’m just going to be finding out about tonight.” She looked across the table to where Joel was looking like a deer caught in the headlights as he tried to move the paintbrush the way the instructor had shown them. “And besides, you’re not the only guy here.”
After Ben had asked Robyn to go to the paint night, Haylee had told Joel it would be a nice idea for him to come too since it was a fundraiser being put on by his clinic. Vicki had wanted to come too, and she was sitting on the other side of Robyn.
When they’d arrived, more Quinn cousins—Riley, Ivy, Alyssa, and Jess—were all here too. Ben hadn’t been thrilled about the room full of Quinns watching their every move, but he was handling it like a gentleman. Well, a gentleman who was whispering his annoyance to her every five minutes.
Vicki looked over Robyn’s painting toward Ben’s canvas. “That’s actually not that bad, Ben. I mean, you have the colors right at least, so that’s something.” Her sister was having fun teasing him, and it made Robyn glad watching how Ben got along so well with her family. Vicki had been one of her strongest supporters all her life and had spent the past two weeks listening to Robyn try to sort out what she was feeling for Ben. She was the only one who knew how deeply Robyn was falling for him.
“Well, this is supposed to be the bird but I’m thinking now it’s just going to end up being turned into a cloud. I thought these paint things were supposed to make things so easy for everyone to follow along with, even people with no experience painting at all. I’m pretty sure Stanley could have painted a better picture than this.”
Remembering Romance: Quinn Valley Ranch Book 17 Page 6
