by S. Nelson
“Liar,” she teased, flashing him a half-smile. Her eyes bounced from him to her fiancé to me. At first glance, she seemed nice enough. Then again, she’d only uttered one word, so my judgment was based more on her body language.
“This must be Quinn.” When Will extended his hand toward me, I started to rise from my seat, but he stopped me by saying, “Don’t stand on my account.” His smile was genuine, friendly, and I liked him instantly. I only hoped he reciprocated. Having someone’s family not like you was stressful. I should know. Todd’s mother didn’t take to me right away, but her dislike for me had everything to do with my job as a social worker and not necessarily toward me as a person. When I stopped trying to get her to see me as a good partner for her son, that was when she began to come around. Sometimes trying too hard had the opposite effect.
“Hi,” I greeted. His grasp was warm. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
“Hopefully, all good things.”
“Great things.” He released me, his smile never wavering. “Have you two been here long? I had to wait until this one,” he said, motioning toward Molly, “tried on three different outfits before we could leave the house.”
“I like to look nice. Sue me,” she responded, smoothing down the skirt of her navy-blue dress.
“You look very nice,” I complimented.
“Thank you. So do you.”
“I’ll get the first round.” Will motioned for his fiancée to take a seat. “What does everyone want?” Rattling off our orders, he headed toward the bar, leaving the three of us alone. I was aware of Nolan’s feelings toward Molly, and she seemed to be as well, which was apparent when she mock called him out when he greeted her. When she spoke, she tended to look at me and not her future brother-in-law.
“How long have you two been together?” She flicked her hair behind her shoulders, pursing her lips in interest. Only I couldn’t determine if it was genuine or forced.
“Not long.”
“But it’s serious,” Nolan added, squeezing my hand beneath the table. Instead of keeping the focus on us, he switched it to her and his brother. “I hear you want to redecorate the house. Didn’t you guys just do that not long ago?”
The bounce of her shoulders was quick. “I like to switch things up.”
He looked like he wanted to say something but kept quiet instead. The only sign he was irritated was the tightening of his hold on my hand. Only when I managed to flex my fingers did he ease up.
A brief silence descended over the table as we waited for Will to return with our drinks. Thankfully, we didn’t have to stew too long in our brief uncomfortableness.
“Here we go,” he announced, sliding his fiancée her glass of red, me my glass of white, his brother a scotch, and placing a bottled beer in front of himself. “What are you three talking about?”
“Not much. Just waiting for you,” Nolan answered, tipping his glass toward his lips.
Over the next hour, our conversation was kept casual, briefly talking about our jobs, to which I learned Molly had been a nurse but didn’t want to continue with the long hours, quitting when she and Will became engaged last year. Her new interest was interior design, which was why she appeared so eager to redo their home. She whipped out her phone and scrolled through pictures of rooms she’d done for some of her friends, as well as showing me the ideas she had for her house.
The nervousness I felt walking in here earlier dissipated. After my second glass of wine, I cuddled closer to Nolan, the softness of his shirt mixed with his heady scent making me want to wrap my entire body around his, but I kept a respectable distance since we were in public. I returned his brief kisses without reservation, not a care in the world that Will and Molly were sitting across from us, witnessing our public displays. Whenever I caught his brother’s eye, he smiled. Will is going to love you simply because you make me happy. That’s all he cares about. Those were Nolan’s own words, and I slowly started to believe I’d been apprehensive for no reason.
“My turn to get the next round,” I announced, sliding my chair back so I could stand.
“No, I got it.” Nolan was quick to hop up, but I sidestepped him before he could make a beeline for the bar.
“I got it.” I smiled, walking backward and dodging his hands, trying to pull me back to the table.
“I’ll go with you.” He ventured several feet from where we sat but didn’t quite reach me.
“I’ll be right back. Besides, I want to know what they say about me.” Giving him a flirty wink, I turned around and made the short journey to the bar, finding an open area near the far-right corner to wait until the bartender made his way over.
I couldn’t stop smiling, glancing back at Nolan every few seconds. How did I get so lucky? After Todd, I didn’t think I’d ever meet someone again, believing my one chance had come and gone, at least for the foreseeable future. But then Nolan came into my life and shifted everything I thought I knew about love.
Did I really just think that?
Love?
Did I love Nolan Bennett?
The smile on my face and the giddiness in my soul shouted a resounding yes.
34
Nolan
“She’s not going anywhere. You can stop staring at her.” Will laughed when I tossed a wadded-up napkin at him, but I wasn’t irritated. I was the opposite, a whoosh of happiness rushing through me so fast it almost scared me. And my brother picked up on it. “You deserve this, Nolan. You deserve her.”
“She is pretty great,” Molly added. I didn’t hate my future sister-in-law by any means, but she wasn’t someone whose opinion I valued either. But hearing her tell me she liked Quinn was an unexpected pleasure.
“She really is.” The entire time she was gone, I kept looking over at her, waiting for her to tell me to join her. Would it scare her if I told her I’d prefer to be attached to her hip? Was that normal? Did she think of me in the same way, or did she need some space? Was that why she wanted to go to the bar alone? Swallowing the rest of my drink, I pushed aside all crazy thoughts and took a breath. And it was during those fleeting seconds of calming my rampant insecurities that I missed a guy walking up behind her. But I didn’t miss him putting his arm around her and pulling her in for a hug.
Will witnessed the interaction as well. “Who’s that guy?” he asked innocently enough. But the sight of someone else touching her so familiarly riled me, dredged up a beast I rarely felt. Jealousy. Was that Todd, her ex? I had no idea what he looked like, so I couldn’t be sure.
“I’ll be right back.” I was on my feet and walking toward them with purpose. The smiles on both of their faces didn’t go unnoticed, and the closer I got, the more I saw of the fucker pawing at my woman. Okay, perhaps I was being a bit dramatic, but I couldn’t seem to help the way I felt.
Once I stood a few feet from them, shielded behind a few of the other patrons, I got a good look at him, recognizing him right away. Grant Malone. One of the detectives at my precinct. How the hell did Quinn know him? Or perhaps she didn’t. Maybe he was hitting on her. But that wouldn’t explain the enormous grin on her face. I didn’t think she’d blatantly flirt with another guy with me being so close. Maybe she would, though. Maybe this was a part of her I hadn’t seen until right now. Here comes the self-doubt, back in full force.
When I entered her field of vision, she reached for my hand and smiled bigger than she had at Malone. “Nolan. This is—”
“Grant Malone. I know.” A crease formed between her brows as she looked from me to him and back again. “We work together. Sort of.” I’d always liked the guy, had assisted him on a few calls when he was a patrol officer. But right now, I didn’t know how to feel, confused about how he knew Quinn and vice versa.
“Oh. Well, look at that. Small world.”
Grant’s expression flickered to one I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Was he nervous? Last I knew, the guy was married. Was he here on the prowl, discarding his vows at t
he first sight of a beautiful woman? Or was he guilty because he had some sort of history with Quinn and didn’t want anyone at the precinct to know?
Seconds later, he extended his hand to me. I took it, tightening my grip and stepping into him. But instead of him challenging me, he shook his head and chuckled.
“Easy, Bennett. Quinn is my cousin.”
“Cousin?”
“Yeah. I’m not hitting on her.”
“He didn’t think that.” Her eyes traveled to mine. “Did you?”
“No.” My response was too hurried to be believable. Now they both laughed. “Fine, I did. But in my defense, you weren’t shy about getting around.”
“I wasn’t. But the moment Emerson came back, I only had eyes for her.” Even with the misunderstanding out of the way, I couldn’t help but think that there was still something... wrong? Malone tried to hide his reservation at seeing me, but the way he looked back and forth between me and Quinn had my proverbial antenna up.
“How is Emerson?” she asked. “I haven’t seen her in forever.”
“She’s great, busy with the skydiving business. Loves it.”
“God love her.” Quinn chuckled. “I don’t know how she does it. I could never jump out of a plane.”
“I didn’t think so either until I did it. I’m not saying I want to tempt fate again, but I get the appeal.”
The bartender slid our drinks toward Quinn, but before she reached for them, I snatched them off the bar, tucking Will’s beer carefully under my arm before handling the other three.
“Do you want to join us? We can grab another chair for you. Unless you’re here with someone.”
Malone pointed to a table near the door. “Nate’s with me. Just stopped by for a quick drink before heading home. But thanks.”
My attention returned to Quinn, leaning in to kiss her. “Take your time.”
“I won’t be long.”
“Nice to see you.” Malone jerked his chin toward me, but his reserved grin didn’t fool me. Something was off, and it drove me nuts that I couldn’t decipher what it was.
35
Quinn
“How are Grayson and Grady?” I hadn’t seen his brothers in what felt like such a long time. In fact, the last time I saw any of them was at Jimmy’s funeral service. After that, I only ran into Grant twice, tonight being the second time. The days melded into each other, but standing here with him now, I vowed to reach out more often, to spend time with family because I didn’t want to end up with more regrets.
“They’re fine.” His tone was curt, nostrils flaring right before he looked back at our table. When he swung his attention back to me, he appeared put out. Then he leaned in close. “What are you doing with him?”
“Nolan?”
“Yes.” With an unwavering glare, his focal attention made me lean back, but he grabbed my arm to pull me close again. “Why are you with him? Does he know? I doubt he knows. That’s kind of fucked up if he knows,” he rambled, making me more confused with each blurted word. “Although, props to him for looking past it.”
“What are you talking about?” Then it dawned on me that the last time I spoke with Grant, I’d been involved with Todd. He thought I was cheating on my boyfriend with Nolan. Only I wasn’t.
He studied me like I’d somehow morphed into someone he didn’t quite recognize, like I’d suddenly grown a second freaking head. He worked over his bottom lip, looking from side to side, then upward, only to stare past me as if I weren’t standing in front of him, confused as hell.
“Ahhh… probably because he didn’t put the name together. Harris is common, and Jimmy always went by his middle name. He hated being called Cary.”
“Grant,” I said with firmer emphasis, trying to draw him out of his one-man conversation and let me in on what the hell was going on right now. “Why are you talking about Jimmy?” What he said was true. Jimmy didn’t like his first name. When he was in sixth grade, he said some of the kids made fun of him, mocking him, and telling him that Cary was a girl’s name. From that day, he made us all start calling him Jimmy, and he wouldn’t answer unless we did.
My cousin tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing until his entire expression blanked. “Do you know?”
“Do I know what?” I lowered my voice when I realized how loud I’d been, glancing quickly at our table. Nolan was staring at me. He mouthed, “Are you okay?” and I nodded. I wasn’t leaving Grant’s side until he told me why he kept speaking in code.
“Jimmy.”
“What about my brother?”
“He was the driver.”
My heart started to race, yet I still had no idea what he was talking about.
“In his accident? Yeah, he was the driver. He was the only one in his car.” All of the moisture in my mouth dried up and traveled toward my palms.
The night he died, my brother had self-medicated with alcohol, as he often did, and he stupidly got behind the wheel of a car. Drunk. His blood-alcohol level had been 0.14, almost double the legal limit. No one knew exactly what happened, other than he crossed the median and hit another car head-on. He died on impact. That tragic car accident claimed his life and the life of a woman and little girl.
“Quinn.” His hand rested on my shoulder, the look on his face telling me everything I refused to believe.
“No.” I shook my head so fast I was surprised I didn’t fall over with dizziness. “No,” I repeated. “That can’t be true.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re lying.” My mind blanked and a wave of denial set in. “Why are you lying? No. No. No. They were someone else’s family.” For as unraveled as I became, I wasn’t shaking, other than my head, and I wasn’t ranting and raving in mass hysteria. “You could be mistaken, Grant.” I squeezed his hand, as if the pressure would suddenly change the truth. “You could have the accidents mixed up. It was three years ago.” Right then, I remembered an earlier conversation with Nolan when he told me how long ago his wife and daughter were killed. Three years. He said just over three years. “Please.” My vision blurred with unshed tears, my stomach flipping right before nausea hit me. “Please.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Jimmy killed Nolan’s wife and daughter?” I asked a question I already knew the answer to.
But I needed him to say the word.
Say the one word I didn’t want to hear.
The one word that would destroy any future I hoped to have with Nolan.
“Yes.”
I often wondered if people lied when they told stories about losing touch with reality, or losing time, but here it was. I was in it. The world seemed to stand still as my brain struggled to wrap around the idea that my brother had stolen two of the most important people from Nolan.
With one drunken decision, he altered the lives of two families.
Shifting the lives of two people who shared in the sorrow of losing a loved one.
Of two people who could never be together because of what he’d done.
36
Nolan
I couldn’t focus on the story Will told about the new bid he landed because my focus kept swinging toward Quinn. Her body language altered the longer she stood there talking to Malone, and even though I couldn’t hear their exchange of words, something he said upset her. It was in the tiny shifts in her posture, in the quickened expansion of her chest, and in the way she clutched the back of the chair beside her right before she turned and walked away. Only she didn’t come back to the table. She hurried toward the other end of the bar and disappeared around the corner.
“I’ll be right back.” I approached her cousin. “Is she okay?” He didn’t pay attention to me at first, his eyes trained in the direction Quinn had walked moments ago.
“She got some news that upset her,” he responded, finally turning to look at me, wearing an odd expression.
“Can you tell me what that was?” Every muscle in my chest tightened, even as I assumed whatever they�
�d been talking about had been related to their family.
“No.” As if coming out of a trance, he blew out a breath, the corners of his mouth curving into a placative half-grin. It was his comforting grip on my shoulder that set off alarm bells, but I couldn’t focus on that right now. I had to make sure Quinn was okay. I took a step back, and Malone’s arm fell to his side, his expression never changing. His only parting words were “She went to the bathroom.”
As he disappeared into the crowd, I glanced back to our table. Will’s frown prompted a shake of the head from me right before my legs carried me toward the ladies’ restroom. I wanted to barge in and go to her, but I waited impatiently just outside, my heart thundering in anticipation every time the door opened. Three women exited before I saw Quinn. The light in the hallway was dim but illuminated enough I could see she’d been crying.
“Are you okay?” She flinched at the sound of my voice, but it was her refusal to look at me that put me on alert, even though I couldn’t fathom why.
“I’m not feeling well. I want to go home.” She moved to walk past me, but I stopped her with a gentle yet firm hold on her forearm.
“Malone said you got bad news. Do you want to tell me?”
“Just family stuff.”
A moment of stillness descended over us. “I’m here if you want to talk, Quinn. Always.”
“Don’t make promises you won’t keep,” she mumbled, but I heard every word loud and clear.
“What does that—”
“I can call an Uber.” She stepped to the side, all the while keeping her eyes downcast and far from mine.
“Look at me.” She refused. “Quinn, please look at me.” During the silence passing between us, my mind began to wander. Only I couldn’t begin to imagine what was wrong. Receiving upsetting news about family could be devastating, as she and I were both aware, but why she refused to look at me or tell me what happened baffled me. She eventually lifted her head, her eyes veering upward until they landed on mine. Her chin quivered, and her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip.
