A Reunion of Rivals

by Reese Ryan

  * * *

  Max watched his mother practically float through the room after the big surprise reveal. The presentation had begun with all of the siblings sharing some of their parents’ history as a couple. Then they’d shared some of their favorite parenting stories. But then his brother Parker’s fiancée came out to deliver the big surprise. King’s Finest had purchased Kayleigh Jemison’s building as a gift to their mother, Iris.

  The building, home to Kayleigh’s jewelry design business and consignment shop, was once owned by his mother’s family. They’d run a small, family-style restaurant there until it had gone out of business when Max’s maternal grandfather had been swindled out of a bundle of cash and he lost the place.

  Their mother had mused about opening a family restaurant in memory of her father’s legacy. As a surprise to her on her wedding anniversary, the Abbotts had decided to fulfill their mother’s dream by buying the building and turning it into a family restaurant associated with the distillery.

  The unexpected bonus was that Kayleigh and Parker had resolved a decades-long feud and become engaged during the course of the negotiations.

  It had been surreal to see how moved Parker—who rarely exhibited emotion—was over Kayleigh’s speech. And how tenderly he’d hugged and kissed his fiancée when she was done.

  Max would’ve bet the house that Parker would end up as that crotchety old uncle who never married and yelled at the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn. But now he and Kayleigh were engaged, and Kayleigh had moved into Parker’s house with her golden retriever—whom Parker doted on.

  It was a shocking turn of events no one in their family had seen coming.

  Cole would clearly be the old player who chose not to marry. He’d still be dating half the women at the nursing home at ninety.

  So maybe Max had been demoted to eternal, grouchy bachelor status. Standing alone in the corner, scowling, he was off to a great start.

  From where he stood, he could easily see Quinn.

  “You okay, big brother?” Zora handed him a glass of punch.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked after thanking her for the drink.

  “Because you evidently feel something for Quinn and now... Well, she’s here with Cole instead. Which wouldn’t have happened had you asked her yourself, like I suggested.”

  Max gritted his teeth, wishing he’d taken his sister’s advice. Still, he wouldn’t admit as much to Zora. It would only further encourage her to stick her nose where it didn’t belong.

  “Quinn and I are coworkers, just like we were the summer I interned at the farm,” he said. True. “And she has every right to be here with her grandfather, Cole, or anyone else on the guest list.” Max shrugged. “It’s none of my business, or yours, who Quinn is seeing.”

  “Then why are you standing here lightweight stalking her?” Zora shook a finger to head off his objection. “Not up for debate. I saw you watching them just now.”

  Shit. Had he become that guy? The one who didn’t know when to let go and move on?

  Zora carefully sipped the red punch so she wouldn’t get it on her white jumpsuit. “Are you buying this story about Cole and Quinn just being friends?”

  Max sucked in a quiet breath, then sighed. “I hope so. Because if there’s more to it and Cole screws up and upsets her, he could throw a wrench into this whole operation. There’s a lot at stake here for all of us.”

  “I know,” Zora agreed. “But if they are together, I’m happy for them. I just hate that it’ll make you unhappy.”

  Max draped an arm over his sister’s shoulder and sighed. He appreciated her support, even if it would be wiser not to say so. He glanced over to where Cole and Quinn had been sitting, but they were gone. Where they’d gone was none of his business.

  “C’mon, Brat. We should check in with Mom and Dad.”

  “Mom and Dad are fine. They’re showing off out on the dance floor. We should join them.” She put down her punch and his, then tugged him onto the dance floor without waiting for his response.

  Max followed his sister. This was a celebration of his mother and father’s forty amazing years of marriage and the incredible family that had resulted from it, for which he was grateful.

  Time to stop pouting and at least make a show of having a good time.

  Today was about his parents, not him and his regrets.

  Seven

  Quinn had danced with Cole, her grandfather and his stable of widowed or divorced friends. The sparkly four-inch, open-toe sandals she was wearing were killing her feet and she was pretty sure there would be indentions from the straps across her instep. But it had been an amazing night.

  She’d worried that she would feel like an intruder during this momentous occasion. Instead, the Abbotts made everyone in the room feel like they were family. It’d been a lovely evening filled with love. But what had stayed with her most was Kayleigh’s speech.

  I am so grateful to have my best friend and the love of my life back. I’m thankful that we were able to break down the wall we’d erected between us. That we didn’t allow our misguided pride to keep us from the thing we needed most: each other.

  When Kayleigh said the words, tears had filled Quinn’s eyes and her focus had shifted involuntarily to Max, who met her gaze.

  Had Kayleigh’s words made him think of her, too?

  “Lost in thought?” Cole, her dance partner, leaned in to be heard over the music.

  “I was thinking about Kayleigh’s speech.”

  “It was beautiful, huh? I’ll admit, she almost got me.” He chuckled, nodding toward Parker and his fiancée dancing together. “I’m thrilled for them.”

  “They seem happy and incredibly in love.” Quinn stole one more glance at the couple. Kayleigh’s curly red hair was twisted up in a bun with a few curls hanging free.

  “Switch partners?” Zora asked. She was dancing beside them.

  Quinn studied Max’s face. He looked as mortified by the prospect as she felt. This obviously wasn’t his idea.

  “If Quinn doesn’t mind.” Cole looked to her.

  She took a step backward and her heel caught in the hem of her dress. Before she could fall and make a scene, Max was there, his arms encircling her waist.

  “I’ve got it from here.” Max’s gaze locked with hers.

  Quinn nodded to let Cole know she was okay with the switch. She and Max danced together in silence for a few moments before she finally spoke.

  “Thank you. My shoe got caught in the back of my dress.”

  “I noticed.” Max’s tone was flat and unreadable. “You didn’t twist your ankle, did you?”

  “No. Just battered my pride.” Her face still stung with embarrassment over the near miss.

  “Have I told you how amazing you look tonight?” he asked after a beat of silence between them.

  “You have.” Quinn couldn’t help the slow smile that tightened her cheeks. “But it’s just as nice hearing it the second time.”

  Max leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Good. Because it bears repeating. You look sensational.”

  Quinn’s cheeks and chest warmed. She gave silent thanks for the melanin that masked the flush of her skin. Especially in a dimly lit room like this one. But she had no mechanism to disguise the erratic beating of her heart, which Max could no doubt feel through his fingertips pressed to her back.

  “Thank you.” One of her hands rested on his upper arm. Even through the fabric of his tailored tux, she could feel the impressive bicep. “But why do I feel like I’m not going to like whatever you’re about to say next?”

  Max halted momentarily. Tilting his head, he studied her. He lowered their joined hands and resumed their movement. His posture stiffened.

  “This thing with you and Cole...”

  “You mean my friendship with Cole,” she corrected him. Now h
er body tensed. “What of it?”

  “Seems odd that neither of you have mentioned it before.”

  Tension trailed up her shoulders and into her jaw. “And when exactly would I have shared that with you, Max? Before this week, we haven’t seen or talked to each other in years.”

  “I realize that, Quinn, and you may not want to hear it, but I regret that. I regret how things ended,” he clarified.

  “So you don’t regret unceremoniously dumping me, just that you were a jerk about it.” She met his gaze. “Got it.”

  “It’s not that simple, Quinn.” He frowned. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he said, “We met twice this week. You didn’t mention your friendship with Cole either time.”

  “I didn’t mention any of my other friends, my parents or my siblings, either,” she noted calmly. “Because those weren’t social meetings. They were business meetings, so we discussed business. Because despite this dance, that’s the extent of our relationship.”

  She stopped, extracting herself from his grip. “Thank you for the dance, but it’s been a long night and I have a long drive ahead of me. It’s time I say good-night to everyone.”

  “Quinn, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He lightly gripped her wrist, pinning her in place. “Wouldn’t you be suspicious if I’d showed up at your office in Atlanta and claimed to have a four-year-long friendship with your younger sister?” His pleading tone begged her to be reasonable. “Wouldn’t you find that odd?”

  “Why is it so hard for you to believe that my relationship with Cole is purely platonic? Do you sleep with every woman you meet?” She yanked her arm from his grip.

  “No, but my brother does.” He folded his arms over his broad chest. “Or didn’t Cole mention that?”

  “Maybe your brother isn’t prepared to get involved in a long-term monogamous relationship. But at least he communicates openly and honestly with the women he’s involved with. Call me old-fashioned, but I admire that in a man, whether he’s a friend or a lover.”

  Max cringed when she used the word lover. It seemed that the very thought of her and Cole together evoked a physical reaction.

  If she were a better person, perhaps she wouldn’t have taken the slightest bit of delight in the discomfort the thought evidently caused him.

  “You don’t know my brother the way I do, Quinn. He doesn’t do relationships. Whatever this is between you two...he’s only going to hurt you.”

  “Maybe you don’t know your brother as well as you think you do.” She poked a finger in his chest and did her best not to react to the firm muscles she encountered. Instead, she focused on being indignant on her friend’s behalf. “Cole’s right. You underestimate him and you don’t respect his choices. That’s a shame. Because despite everything, he still looks up to his big brothers, including you.”

  “I’m sure Cole has made me the bad guy in all this, but—”

  “Do you honestly think we spend our time together discussing you?” Quinn asked with a humorless laugh. “Spoiler alert—we don’t. Get over yourself, Max.”

  Quinn made her way across the crowded dance floor and returned to the table where her grandfather and most of the Abbott family were assembled.

  She forced a smile and slid into the seat beside her grandfather. Leaning in closer so that only he could hear her, she asked, “Ready to head out? We have a long drive home.”

  “Actually, there’s been a change of plans.” He smiled. “The celebration continues tomorrow with brunch at Duke and Iris’s place. You and I are invited. Then Joe and I are going fishing tomorrow afternoon with a few friends.”

  “You’re driving all the way back here tomorrow morning?” Looking at her wrist, she checked the thin, delicate antique watch that had once belonged to her grandmother. “It’s already so late.”

  “Which is why I’m staying in one of Joe’s spare rooms at the cabin. Don’t worry, he’s got an extra room for you.”

  Spend the night with Gramps at his buddy’s bachelor pad? Hard pass.

  “That’s generous of Grandpa Joe,” Quinn said. “But I don’t want to encroach on your buddy time. I’ll just drive back to Knoxville tonight and come back and get you tomorrow afternoon, after you guys have gone fishing. I’ll bring the cooler.”

  “You’re not coming to brunch?” Cole slid into the empty seat on the other side of Quinn. He set a small mason jar of peach cobbler and a sculpted glass bowl filled with vanilla ice cream in front of her. “You should definitely come to brunch. The spread is going to be amazing.”

  Warm peach cobbler and homemade vanilla ice cream?

  Cole knew her weakness and was prepared to play dirty. She stared at the cobbler but didn’t touch either dish.

  “Listen to Cole, sweetheart.” Her grandfather got up from his chair and patted Cole on the shoulder before sauntering back onto the dance floor at the invitation of an insistent older woman Quinn didn’t recognize.

  “Your grandad is right.” Cole nudged her with his shoulder. “You should come to brunch tomorrow.”

  “It sounds nice,” Quinn admitted. He handed her a spoon, and she broke down and tried a little of the miniature cobbler with a spoonful of the ice cream. “That’s really good.”

  Not quite as good as hers, but still delicious.

  “I’m pretty sure there’ll be more at brunch tomorrow,” he teased in a singsong voice as he dug into a small mason jar of apple crisp.

  “By the time I get back to Knoxville tonight, it’ll be really late. Then I’ll have turn around and come right back here.”

  “So stay here,” he said, as if the solution should be evident.

  “I’m not up for a sleepover with our grandfathers at Grandpa Joe’s cabin,” she muttered through another spoonful of food.

  “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Give those two a bottle of top-shelf bourbon and they’ll tell you anything you want to know. Actually, way more than you ever wanted to know or can mentally unsee.” Cole chuckled.

  “That’s gross and it proves my point.” She nearly choked on her cobbler, laughing. “I’ll pass.”

  Savannah, Blake, Parker and Kayleigh, who’d all evidently tuned into her and Cole’s conversation, burst into laughter, too.

  “Sounds like Gramps and Mr. B,” Blake said.

  “So don’t stay with the notorious GPs.” Cole shrugged, using his and Quinn’s shared nickname for their grandfathers. He took another bite of apple crisp. “Stay at my place instead.”

  There was a collective gasp at the table, which Cole was either oblivious to or chose to ignore.

  Maybe she misunderstood him.

  “Do you have a rental place in town?” Quinn knew that Cole owned property at the beach in Charleston, but he’d never mentioned having local property aside from his home.

  “No. But I do have a guest room, and you’re welcome to it.” He shoved another spoonful of apple crisp into his mouth, blissfully ignorant that everyone at the table was staring.

  “Or you could stay with me. I have a spare guest room, too,” Zora offered.

  Cole finally seemed to notice he had everyone’s attention. He shrugged. “My place is closer.”

  “She’s not staying at your place, Cole.” The entire table turned toward the source of the gruff voice. Max stood behind them, his hands clenched at his sides.

  “As long as she’s safe—and she will be—why the hell do you care where Quinn sleeps tonight?” Cole glanced over his shoulder at Max. His expression was neutral, despite the tension evident in his tone. “Who died and made you either of our fathers?”

  “No one thinks they’re anyone’s daddy.” Zora glanced cautiously between her brothers. “I think maybe Max just feels Quinn might be more comfortable staying with someone—”

  “She barely knows?” Cole raised an eyebrow.

  Everyone at the t
able turned to look at her. Quinn’s face was heated as she glanced around. Max was fit to be tied. Cole seemed to straddle the line between being mildly annoyed and gleefully irking his brother. Zora seemed desperate to play peacemaker. Savannah, Blake, Kayleigh and Parker were all riveted by the conversation, as if they were watching a messy reality TV drama.

  Quinn stood suddenly, careful not to trip on her dress this time. “Thank you both for the invitation. I don’t want to inconvenience either of you. It would probably be best if I just headed home.”

  “I have a suggestion,” Kayleigh spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention. “I do have a rental unit in town. Now that the building officially belongs to King’s Finest, I won’t be renting out the unit anymore. Construction doesn’t begin for at least another month, right, Cole?” She looked at her future brother-in-law for confirmation. He nodded begrudgingly. “So why don’t you stay there tonight, Quinn?”

  “That’s a great idea, babe.” Parker squeezed her hand. “In fact, the place is just going to be sitting empty for the next month. So you’re welcome to use the place rather than commuting back and forth to Knoxville every day.”

  “That’s an excellent idea, Parker,” Zora said. Blake and Savannah agreed.

  “You’re sure?” Quinn was still on the fence about spending the night in Magnolia Lake. However, using the place as a crash pad for the next month would be ideal. The drive back and forth each day was exhausting. “I’d have to pay you, of course.”

  “No, you don’t,” Blake insisted. “Like Kayleigh said, it would just be sitting empty.”

  “But not the entire building,” Kayleigh clarified. “My shop is on the first floor, and we won’t be moving it for a few weeks.” Parker’s fiancée pulled a pen out of her crystal-studded Alexander McQueen clutch with its signature skull and knuckle-duster clasp. She scribbled on a napkin, then folded it and passed it to Parker, who handed it to Quinn.

  There was an address and two six-number codes.

  “The building and the apartment have key code locks. That’s all you’ll need to get in. I can walk you through the place if you’d like,” Kayleigh said.