Letting Go (Holding On Book 2)

by Jolie, Meg

  “Soon,” Quinn said. “I do need to shower first.”

  “What a coincidence,” Luke said as he stood up. “So do I.” He reached for her hands, tugging her to her feet. “You know where I’m going with this, right?”

  Color spilled into her cheeks as Luke walked backward, slowly leading her to the bathroom.

  “I’ve never…you know…” she said, as she wrinkled up her nose in embarrassment, “in the shower before.”

  “Never?” Luke asked as his lips twitched into a grin.

  She shook her head. “It seems kind of complicated. Or at the very least…slippery.”

  “If you want,” Luke said teasingly, “I’m sure I could help you figure it out.”

  “I do,” Quinn said as she grabbed onto the hem of his shirt. She tugged him toward her. “I definitely want you to help me figure it out.”

  ~*~*~

  “Hey little buddy, how are ya doin’?” Luke asked. He paused, presumably listening as he gazed out of the window in their room. “Oh, yeah? Huh, you don’t say…”

  Quinn smiled as she tiptoed out of the bathroom the next afternoon. She knew that Carter was filling Luke’s ear with nonsense on the other end of the line. But listening to him, the floodgates that had been holding back every feeling she’d ever had for Luke were blasted open. Those emotions crashed to the surface, crushing her with the certainty that she loved Luke wholly and completely. The feeling went far deeper than the crush she’d had on him when they were younger. She knew she loved him in a way that left her wanting to be with him for the rest of their lives.

  “Well, I’ll bring mommy home to you real soon. Uhhuh, okay…sure…We miss you too…See you soon little man!”

  Quinn laughed when Luke finally disconnected.

  He turned to face her, a sheepish smile on his face.

  “I didn’t realize you were done getting ready. I would’ve let you talk to him.”

  “That’s okay. Did you have a nice conversation?” she asked, still smiling. She loved the way Luke interacted with Carter. What she loved most were the moments she caught Luke when he was unaware.

  He smiled back. “Oh, heck yeah. He told me thank you for taking his mommy away. He had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. They let him stay up late, watch raunchy movies and eat ice-cream. He said I could steal you away any time I want. Oh, but he does miss you, of course.”

  “He said all of that, did he?” Quinn asked, playing along.

  “Well,” Luke said, “if I understood what he was saying, I’m sure that’s what he would’ve said. Actually,” he admitted with a shrug, “I just wanted to check in with Mom to see how he was doing. He’s been great, by the way. She said he wanted the phone. So, we had a little chat.”

  The chat had been adorable. Quinn pulled Luke into a hug, surprising him.

  “Hey, are you okay?” he asked as he hugged her back.

  She nodded as she released him. “Thank you for being so sweet to him.”

  “Well, yeah, of course,” he said.

  “I really miss Carter but I’m kind of bummed the weekend is over.” Two days away had gone by quickly.

  “Me too,” he admitted. “So you had a good time?”

  She nodded. “I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. You could not have come up with a more perfect idea for a weekend away.”

  “I’m not looking forward to going back to separate houses.”

  “I know,” Quinn agreed. She glanced at their luggage. It was packed, sitting by the door. They’d skied all day Saturday and then spent the evening in bed, watching movies, eating dinner and enjoying a repeat of the night before. That morning, they’d spent a few hours on the slopes but now, they were getting ready to head back home. She was anxious to see her son but grateful for the time with Luke. The weekend had been exactly what they both needed.

  “I meant what I said,” Luke softly told her. “I want you to pick out a ring. I want to spend every night with you.”

  She nodded as she gazed up at him. “I want that too.”

  “Alright,” he said seriously, “next weekend? You and me? We’re going to hit every jewelry store in town until you find exactly what you want. And if there’s nothing in town, we’ll head out of town. Is it a date?”

  Quinn’s heart took off, racing happily in her chest. “Yes, absolutely. It’s a date.”

  15

  “It’s gorgeous!” Quinn cried. “Luke, isn’t this ring absolutely gorgeous?”

  Luke nodded. “Sure. Yeah, it’s great,” he said. It was big. That’s all he knew for sure.

  Carly blushed as she knelt down to squeeze Carter into a hug. “I know. I was so surprised!”

  Quinn glanced at Luke again. They were all surprised. It was the weekend after their ski trip. Carly had shown up at Quinn’s, before noon on a Saturday. She’d arrived unannounced and completely unexpected.

  Luke had come by not much earlier than Carly so he could have breakfast with Quinn and Carter. They had planned on dropping Carter off with Margo and Pete for the afternoon while they went to, finally, look at rings.

  Carly’s ironically timed visit may have put a kink in those plans.

  “So…? Now do we get to meet him?” Quinn asked.

  Carly nodded as she settled onto the floor next to Carter. He handed her some wooden blocks and then went about stacking his own. “Yes. Next weekend. I just wanted to come home this weekend to tell everyone. I wanted Mom to be as prepared as possible.”

  “How did she take the news?” Quinn asked.

  Carly’s expression become apologetic. “Actually, that’s why I’m here. I haven’t talked to Mom and Dad yet. I wanted to tell you first. And…I was wondering if you’d come with me when I told them?”

  Quinn glanced at Luke. This definitely put a kink in their plans. He gave her a small smile and a discrete nod to let her know it was okay.

  “Sure, I’ll go with,” Quinn said.

  Carly sighed. “I know it’s ridiculous but I could really use the moral support. I know Mom’s going to grumble because we’re both still in school. And because she isn’t happy with his major. And mostly she’ll grumble just because she’s Mom and that’s what she does. And I know none of that should bother me as long as I’m happy. But it gets to me. I can’t help it.”

  “I know,” Quinn said sympathetically. “I get it. She makes everything ten times harder than it should be.” She could vividly remember how scared she’d been to tell her parents about her pregnancy. Carly had been right there, by her side supporting her. She would do the same without hesitation.

  “I thought if I came home to break it to her before she meets Nolan, it’ll give her a week to get used to the idea.” Carly was fidgeting with the fringe on the throw pillow.

  “When’s the wedding?” Luke asked.

  Carly’s expression softened again. She held up her hand, admiring the carat sized rock that glimmered on it. “Not for awhile. We plan on a long engagement. We’re thinking the summer after this one. After we graduate.”

  Quinn contained her sigh of relief. Carly had been with Nolan for awhile but somehow, it all seemed too soon. She kept that opinion to herself because she realized how hypocritical that sounded. She and Luke hadn’t been dating nearly as long as Carly and Nolan. She was more than ready to marry Luke. Especially after their weekend away. Telling him she loved him seemed to solidify everything.

  This was huge news for her sister. The last thing Quinn wanted to do was barge in with similar news of her own.

  “Do you want to go over there right now?” she asked.

  “Can we just hang out here for a bit so I can mentally prepare?” Carly wondered.

  “You mean so you can procrastinate,” Quinn corrected.

  Carly shrugged.

  “You know, I have an idea,” Luke said. “Why don’t I take Carter with me for the day? That will give you two some girl time.”

  “Is Jesse’s house childproofed?” Carly asked with a frown.<
br />
  “No,” Luke said as he laughed. “Not at all. But I thought I could just take Carter over to my parents’ house.”

  “They’re not home,” Quinn said.

  “I know,” Luke agreed. “But their house is childproofed. They won’t care if we show up while they’re gone. That’ll give you and Carly time to talk. And it’ll give me some time with my favorite little buddy. We both win.”

  Quinn hesitated because Luke had never spent time alone with Carter before. She couldn’t miss the hopeful way he was looking at her. As if he really wanted this. She gave him a small nod and he visibly relaxed. “If you’re sure?”

  “Think you can handle it?” Carly teased.

  “I know I’ve never watched him on my own before but I’ve been at Mom’s plenty of times when he’s there. I know his extra diapers, clothes and bibs are all in the dresser in Jake’s old room. The food that’s okay for him to eat is in the little cupboard by the stove. I know he hates being belted into the highchair but I have to do it anyway. Once his food is in front of him, he forgets all about it. Am I forgetting anything?”

  “You’ve never changed a diaper before,” Quinn said, her tone light. “Do you think you can handle that?”

  Luke’s smile was smug. “I have actually changed a diaper before. I told you, I’ve helped out when he’s been at Mom’s.”

  Quinn was pleasantly startled with his answer. “I didn’t know that.”

  He shrugged. “I’m not as incompetent as you might think.”

  “I never said—”

  He cut Quinn off. “I was kidding. We’ll have fun. I’ll take good care of him. I promise.”

  Minutes later, Carter was tucked into his snowsuit. Luke had a diaper bag slung over one shoulder and Carter propped up in his other arm. “What time do you want us back?”

  “Would you mind bringing him over to Mom’s sometime later this afternoon? She was planning on having him today. If she doesn’t get him at some point, she’s going to be upset,” Quinn said.

  “Sure, I can do that.” He leaned over and kissed Quinn’s cheek. “See you later. Carter, say bye to Mommy.”

  “Bye Mommy!” Carter obediently replied. He was grinning as he waved.

  “Wow,” Carly said after the door closed behind Carter and Luke. “Luke really rocks the daddy look. I can see why some women go for the buff guys with babies and diaper bags. It’s a good look.”

  Quinn laughed. “Okay, if you say so.”

  “Things are obviously going well with the two of you!” Carly said as they made their way back into the living room.

  Quinn smiled and nodded. “They are.”

  “So…?” Carly asked as she leaned forward expectantly. “How was last weekend? Please tell me you two finally did the deed after all of these years.”

  A blush slammed into Quinn’s cheeks. “Yes,” she admitted. “We did the deed,” she grimaced at Carly’s wording. “Several times, in fact.”

  “Well, well, well,” Carly said smugly. “You have officially slept with more guys than I have.”

  Quinn stopped…sure she had heard Carly wrong.

  “I never had sex with a single person in high school. Other than Jesse, I mean. I was with him freshman year and then not again until I was a senior. The night I ran into him at a party.”

  “But…You seem to like…you know…that…so much,” Quinn stammered.

  “It’s called sex Quinn. You can say it. I do like that,” Carly teased. “A lot. But only with Jesse. I never slept with all of those guys. Everyone always assumed I did. No one, not even you ever asked me if it was the truth.” She looked hurt by this statement.

  Quinn sat there in stunned embarrassment. She’d never asked because she’d just assumed, as did everyone else. Unlike Carly, Quinn never wanted the details of her sister’s sexcapades. An errant thought occurred to her. Maybe all of these years Carly had been so nosy about Quinn’s sex life because she wanted Quinn to ask her. Just once, maybe she wanted Quinn to ask and not just assume.

  Carly shrugged. “I just let guys say what they wanted.”

  “Because you knew eventually the gossip would get back to Jesse and drive the poor man crazy,” Quinn realized.

  Carly didn’t confirm or deny.

  “I haven’t slept with a lot of guys,” she finally clarified. “I have slept with one guy a lot of times.”

  “Wow.”

  “I’m not pretending I’m a good girl because I’m not. I’m just not bad in the way that everyone thinks I am. And I’m not saying that I’m totally innocent when it comes to other guys. I’ve done things I’ve wished I could take back. But I’d never been with anyone but Jesse. Not until Nolan.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Quinn admitted.

  Carly gave her a sheepish shrug. “I know. I should’ve corrected you. I just got used to having a reputation.”

  “Well, I’m glad you finally cleared that up,” Quinn said. She was still shocked, realizing she didn’t know her sister nearly as well as she thought she did.

  “I’m getting married. I felt like I needed to clear it up. It was time,” Carly explained. “Enough about me. Fill me in on your life. A weekend away. And Luke bought a house? Why don’t you have a ring on your finger yet?” Carly demanded.

  “I just…I don’t…Well…” Quinn stammered.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Quinn shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

  Carly rolled her eyes. “Liar. Don’t start holding back on me now. What is it?”

  “Alright,” Quinn relented. “Last weekend Luke brought it up. He wants me to help him pick out a ring.”

  Carly squealed in excitement. “Why didn’t you tell me that when I walked in?”

  Quinn pointed at her sister’s hand and laughed. “Because of that! This is huge news for you Carly! I didn’t want to take away from it.”

  “I know you’d never do that,” Carly assured her. “So when are you looking at rings?”

  “Um…” Quinn said. Her face was scrunched up in hesitation.

  “What?” Carly demanded.

  “Well,” Quinn admitted, “we were going to go today. But you’re here! So I’d rather spend the afternoon with you. Luke and I can go look anytime.”

  Carly’s face broke into a huge grin. She bounced happily in her chair, causing Quinn to laugh. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her sister so excited.

  “Do you know what this means?!” Carly asked.

  “That you’re getting married?” Quinn tossed back.

  Carly pelted her with a throw pillow. “No! It means we can have a double wedding! How fun would that be?”

  “No,” Quinn said. She was already shaking her head. “That’s not a good idea.”

  “Why not?” Carly pouted.

  “Because, you need your own wedding. Your own wedding day.”

  “No, I don’t,” Carly scoffed.

  “I don’t think I want another big wedding,” Quinn admitted.

  “Think about it, okay?”

  Quinn agreed just because she knew Carly wouldn’t let it go until she did. She also knew that a double wedding was not in their future. Quinn had already had her big wedding day. Carly deserved the same. Her dream wedding, a day that belonged only to her and the man she loves.

  ~*~*~

  “It couldn’t have been that bad,” Luke said with a laugh.

  “It was,” Carly took a big gulp of her beer. “She turned green. Quinn, she turned green, didn’t she? Tell Luke. You saw it too.”

  They were at Shady’s. Luke had kept Carter for most of the afternoon, showing up at dinnertime at Quinn’s request. To his surprise, Carly had plucked Carter out of his arms and then handed him to Margo. Then she had pushed Luke right back out the front door. Quinn had followed. Carly had decided she needed a drink. Or possibly many drinks. So they’d gone to Shady’s for a burger basket and some beer.

  It was early enough in the evening that the place wasn’
t crowded yet.

  “Tell him,” Carly prompted.

  “Well,” Quinn said as she made an apologetic face, “it didn’t go all that well. I don’t think she actually turned green. She may have turned a pasty gray.”

  “See!” Carly said as she slammed her bottle down.

  “You do realize this is your mom you’re talking about, right?” Luke asked. “She just needs some time. She’ll get over it.”

  “I just wish I didn’t let her get to me. But I can’t help it. She does. Why can’t she just be like a normal mom? Why can’t she just say, ‘congratulations’? Or “What a beautiful ring’?” Carly demanded. “Why does she have to be the kind of mom that says ‘Carly, this is going to be a huge mistake’?”

  She shifted in her seat, as if getting ready for another round of venting. She froze when a hand firmly gripped her shoulder.

  Quinn’s eyes widened in surprise when she looked up.

  “Cricket?”

  Carly’s head snapped around and then traveled up the all too familiar chest.

  “Jesse.”

  “Hey,” he said as he pulled her out of her seat. He tugged her up, into his arms for an encompassing hug. “I haven’t seen you in ages. I didn’t know you were in town.”

  Quinn and Luke shared a concerned look.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” Carly said. She quickly disentangled herself from Jesse’s embrace. “How have you been?”

  His hands slid down her arms as he looked her over. “I’ve been good. You?”

  “Um, great, I guess.”

  He shook his head. “It’s been a long time.”

  Quinn couldn’t think of a single time that she’d seen Jesse look at Betsy the way he looked at Carly. She squirmed under his scrutiny.

  “Yeah,” Carly said with frown. “I haven’t seen you since last summer. Not since the night you walked right past me at the county fair.” Jesse started to say something but Carly cut him off. “You know the night. When you walked past me? Like I wasn’t even there?”

  “Carly—”

  “No, I get it. You were with Betsy. So you couldn’t even be bothered with a hello.” She tugged her hands from his and the expression on his face changed.