Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers)

by Samantha Chase

  Zoe laughed. “You know that’s not very realistic. Whenever you get more than two Shaughnessys in the room, they’re bound to disagree about something. It’s just the way it is.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to tell me. I know it’s the norm, but maybe they’ll find something else to argue about.”

  Zoe sighed. “I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”

  “Hey, a girl can dream.”

  * * *

  He could barely hear himself think, the room was so noisy. It was full of conversation and laughter and, yes, arguments. With ten people around the table, dinner was boisterous to say the least.

  There was steak and chicken Ian had grilled on the barbecue, salads, corn on the cob, dinner rolls, and baked potatoes. There was enough food for a small army—which they kind of were. Plates and bowls were passed around almost continuously.

  Aubrey updated everyone on her health and how she was feeling with her pregnancy. Hugh grinned as he watched his wife, making sure she had everything she could possibly want to eat. Darcy talked about school, Riley talked about the possibility of a tour to promote his new album—if he ever finished it—and Owen shared how he had been offered the opportunity to teach at UC Berkeley at the Lawrence Hall of Science.

  The only problem with all of this was everyone was talking at once.

  Quinn looked around the table and caught a couple of words of each conversation. He thought about talking about how business was going, but he kind of felt like flying under the radar right then. Not about work, but he had a feeling he and Anna were under the microscope. It was their first time with everyone, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable in his own skin.

  “So, Anna,” Ian said loudly to be heard over all his kids, “I hear you and Hugh are working on the contracts for the coastal property here. It’s very exciting!”

  She nodded. “Things are moving along and my bosses are very pleased.”

  “I’m sure. I know we’re all looking forward to having him work close to home for a while. So thank you for helping to make it possible.”

  “Hey,” Hugh protested with a laugh, “I would have come around eventually.”

  Ian laughed and shook his head. “Not soon enough.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see how you feel when I’m around all the time,” Hugh challenged.

  “I still think I’ll be okay with it,” Ian replied.

  “Well, I can’t take all the credit,” Anna said. “I wasn’t really the one to approach him with the potential property. Quinn presented it to him first.”

  “Dude,” Riley said with a grin, shaking his head. “Not cool. You totally stole Anna’s thunder.”

  Quinn looked around and found the conversation had calmed down and everyone was looking his way. “What?”

  “That was totally Anna’s place to present the property deal to Hugh. Why’d you interfere?” Riley asked. His tone was light, but it still rubbed Quinn the wrong way. Then he added, “Seriously, Anna, what do you see in this guy?”

  Everyone laughed. “I always pictured you with a guy in a suit,” Hugh said with a playful grin. “You know, a businessman.”

  “I agree,” Aidan chimed in. “You can do way better than our resident grease monkey here.” He looked over at Quinn and saw the tension there and then winked at Anna. “I bet a businessman wouldn’t horn in on your job.”

  “I did not horn in!” Quinn snapped, slamming a hand down on the table. “I was simply trying to move things along to help her!”

  “Call it what you want, Quinn,” Riley said. “But you still stole her thunder.” He shook his head and made a tsk-ing sound before focusing on Anna again. “I wouldn’t tolerate it if I were you.”

  “It really wasn’t a big deal,” Anna said quietly, looking down at her plate.

  And it hit Quinn for the first time—had he really done that? Had he stolen her thunder? Had he interfered when he shouldn’t have? He thought about it for a minute and shook his head. Hell no! This was the dynamic of his and Anna’s relationship—they helped one another out. They always had. That’s what friends did. And technically, when he had called Hugh, he and Anna had still been just friends.

  Did she resent him for interfering?

  Would she even tell him if she did?

  No. Anna had a way of keeping certain things to herself—especially when it applied to things he did that upset her.

  Which, apparently, was a lot over the years.

  Knowing he wasn’t capable of participating in any more conversation, he ducked his head and focused on his meal, thankful the conversation turned to Hugh and his plans for the new resort.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Anna was eating and she was even participating in the discussion, but Quinn couldn’t bring himself to. Right then, his head was messed up.

  What if everyone was right? What if he wasn’t right for Anna? What if she did deserve to be with someone else? Instantly, an image of some corporate guy in a suit sprang to mind and it made him angry. The guy was faceless and yet Quinn could feel the rage building.

  What was so wrong with him that made everyone so damn certain he was wrong for her? Granted, he hadn’t been the most observant guy over the years, but he was working on it! Why wasn’t he getting any credit for trying to be a better person?

  He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice everyone standing up and starting to clear the table. In the Shaughnessy house, it was a group effort. No one person had dish duty; everyone did. For once, Quinn was glad to get lost in the shuffle. Conversation flowed around him, and when things were almost done, he ducked out and went to the backyard. The sun had gone down, and for a minute, all he could do was stand there and breathe, his head thrown back.

  “I wish I had my telescope with me.”

  Quinn didn’t need to turn his head to know Owen was coming up beside him.

  “The sky on a clear night offers an ever-changing display of fascinating objects you can see, from stars and constellations to bright planets, the moon.” He sighed wistfully. “If you want, I can point out some of the things you’re seeing.”

  Shaking his head, Quinn straightened and looked at his brother. “Thanks, but…not tonight.”

  “They’re all wrong, you know.”

  “About what?”

  “You,” Owen said simply. He wasn’t looking at Quinn; his attention was still on the sky.

  “Oh yeah? What makes you so sure about that?” Quinn asked, curious to get his brainiac brother’s spin on the whole thing.

  “For starters, there’s more to you than just being—what did they call you? A grease monkey?” He looked at Quinn with confusion. “I’m guessing it’s a play on words because you work on cars.”

  Quinn couldn’t help but chuckle and nod.

  “Anyway, I don’t understand why they say it like it’s a bad thing. Aidan builds houses, Hugh builds resorts, and Riley builds songs.” He shrugged. “You build cars—and not just one kind of car, every kind. You need to have a working knowledge of how every kind of car works. Most people don’t understand how an internal combustion engine operates. You do.” Then he turned and looked at Quinn. “Seems to me that makes you smarter than they are.”

  Well, hell. “You think I’m smart?” Quinn asked quietly.

  Owen nodded. “You’re one of the smartest guys I know. You’ve mastered so many different things already—and you didn’t go to school for any of them. I mean, I know you had to get certified to be a mechanic, but for you, that was just a technicality. You already knew how to do everything. You put your mind to something, and you make it happen. It’s impressive.”

  Wow. His genius brother was seriously standing there telling him he was impressed. Damn. “Yeah, well…no one else sees that.”

  “Does Anna think that?”

  “What?”

  “That you�
��re just a grease monkey?”

  Quinn chuckled. “No,” he said, smiling. “She’s never thought that. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing or what I’m trying, she makes me feel…hell…she makes me feel like I’m the best at it.”

  “It’s because you usually are,” Owen said simply.

  “Dude, knock it off. I’m blushing.”

  Owen looked at him oddly. “I wouldn’t really know. It’s dark out here.”

  Leave it to Owen to take him literally. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you think I’m wrong for Anna?”

  “No.”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  With a sigh, Owen faced him. “People like to argue how opposites attract. And in some ways, it’s true. But it seems to me what you and Anna have is something most people only hope to attain.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “You genuinely like each other.”

  Quinn’s eyes went a little wide. “That’s it? No scientific facts or figures?”

  Owen shrugged. “From the first time the two of you met, you clicked. You were instant friends and you’ve stayed that way. Why? Because you have a love and respect for one another. Granted, it didn’t turn into a romantic love until recently, but I think it’s always been there. It just needed time to be nurtured.”

  “I wish I could believe that. My track record is really working against me here—at least where everyone else is concerned.”

  “It shouldn’t matter what everyone else thinks. What do you think? Do you think you’re the right man for Anna? Do you believe you have staying power even if you don’t wear a suit to work?”

  Quinn didn’t know what to say.

  His confidence was slightly rattled after dinner, and he wasn’t so sure of anything right then.

  Chapter 9

  Something was becoming blazingly obvious to Anna—she and Quinn spent most of their time alone at her place.

  After the dinner at Ian’s, Quinn had been a little sullen and withdrawn, and she normally had to work at getting him to relax. They spent almost every night together, but she was beginning to realize they had gone out more when they were just friends than they had since they’d started dating.

  Not that she was complaining—not really. The time they spent alone after work was her favorite part of the day. They’d share dinner, watch movies, and make love. The man was insatiable, and she was finding her inner goddess was too! But there was going to come a time when they both needed something more. Neither of them was antisocial, and next week they had their monthly softball game. They’d been on the local league together for years, and it was something they’d always enjoyed. She could only wonder how Quinn was going to handle it. Maybe she needed to nudge him out of their routine and see how it went.

  It was after six on a Thursday night when he showed up. He looked exhausted and sexy as hell. Anna’s original plan had been to grill a couple of steaks and watch the Yankees game, but after her realization earlier, she changed it.

  Quinn kissed her thoroughly before walking over to the refrigerator and grabbing a beer. It was a very domestic scene—including the “Hi, honey! How was your day?” and it normally made Anna smile. Unfortunately, she didn’t feel much like smiling. She felt like shaking things up.

  “I don’t feel like cooking tonight,” she said casually, grabbing a bottle of water for herself out of the refrigerator. “I was thinking we’d go into town and grab something to eat, maybe some pizza or something.”

  Placing his beer down on the counter, Quinn looked at her. “You should have called me. I would have picked one up on the way home.”

  She shrugged. “Nah. I really want to get out and eat someplace. Come on. We’ll keep it casual. Just go and get changed, and we’ll go.”

  He looked completely uncomfortable. “Seriously, Anna? It’s been a crappy day. The Camaro is giving me fits, and we have cars parked all over the property waiting to be worked on and not enough space or manpower to get to them all. I was really just looking forward to staying in tonight.”

  “We stay in every night,” she reminded him. “We went out more before we started dating.” Then she chuckled. “Although I don’t really think we can call this dating since we haven’t gone out on any dates, so I guess I should rephrase and say we used to go out more before we started sleeping together.”

  His anger was apparent. “What the hell’s gotten into you?” he demanded. “So we haven’t gone out much. I didn’t think you minded.”

  She shrugged. “Normally, I don’t. But tonight I’d like to go out. I didn’t think it was a big deal. Obviously I was wrong.”

  He huffed and raked a hand through his hair, sending his hat flying. “Look, if you had mentioned it earlier, I would have been a little more mentally prepared for it, that’s all.”

  “Since when do you need to be mentally prepared to go for pizza? For crying out loud, Quinn, I’m not asking you to take me to the Four Seasons; it’s just a quick dinner so I don’t have to cook!”

  He studied her hard for a minute and then seemed to relax. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. Like I said, it was a crappy day. Give me a few minutes to wash up and change.” He walked back to her bedroom and she heard the bathroom door close.

  For a minute, she almost felt bad. Almost felt the need to go and tell him to forget about it and she’d cook for them instead, but she had a feeling that’s what he was hoping for. The old Anna would have done it, and she was done being that girl. Why, all of a sudden, she didn’t know. But right then, the only thing she was certain of was that she was tired of being kept locked up and not seeing anyone.

  Well, anyone other than the Shaughnessys.

  Fifteen minutes later, they were in his truck heading into town. “So…pizza?” he asked.

  “Sure. Unless there’s someplace else you’d like to go.”

  When they drove past Main Street, Anna questioned it.

  “There’s a really good seafood place I’ve been wanting to try,” Quinn answered. “We can get pizza anytime. What do you say?”

  She wouldn’t have minded if he’d asked before they’d passed the pizza place, but whatever. “Sure. That sounds good.”

  Thirty minutes later, Anna was a little suspicious. “This is kind of far, don’t you think?”

  Quinn shrugged and parked the truck. “Yeah, but sometimes the good places are worth it. Come on. All the guys at the shop have been talking about this place and telling me how good it is.”

  She supposed it made sense. It was a small place—barely more than a shack—and she could only hope the inside was more appealing than the outside.

  Quinn took her by the hand and pulled her in close, kissing her deeply. “Maybe after dinner we can go for a walk on the beach. There’s supposed to be outside seating in the back that overlooks the sand.”

  And then she relaxed. She was being suspicious for nothing. Maybe he really did just want to take her someplace different and have a date that wouldn’t include a dozen interruptions from everyone in town.

  “I think it sounds absolutely perfect.”

  And it was. She was completely dazzled by this side of Quinn. They talked all through dinner, and she was pleasantly surprised at how amazing the food was. The place certainly didn’t look like much, but it more than made up for it with its meals.

  After dinner, they walked along the beach hand in hand. The sky was clear and the breeze coming off the water was refreshing. They’d kicked off their shoes, and to Anna, it could quite possibly have been the most perfect date.

  “I’m glad we did this,” he said after a few minutes.

  “Me too.”

  “I know you may not believe this, but…I really just don’t think of things like this. I’m not usually that kind of guy.” He shrugged.

  “
I don’t know about that. In the past you’ve told me—”

  He cut her off. “I don’t want to talk about my past. I was a completely selfish jackass, Anna. I never should have talked to you about my dates, and I certainly don’t want to be reminded of them.”

  She looked at him and smiled softly. “I don’t think you were a selfish jackass, Quinn. I just miss going out places with you. We used to go to the movies or bowling or…anyplace. I’m beginning to feel like you’re embarrassed to be seen with me.”

  That stopped him in his tracks. “What?! Why would you even say such a thing? I would never…could never—”

  “You have to admit it seems pretty suspicious,” she interrupted with a nervous chuckle. “You never want to go anywhere anymore.”

  He reached up and cupped her face in his hands. “Did it ever occur to you that I don’t want to share you with anyone else? That maybe now that I’ve realized how much you mean to me, I want to show you as much as I can? Or maybe because you’re so damn sexy and my every freaking fantasy that I can’t wait to get you alone, so I can touch you, kiss you, and love you from head to toe?”

  His words made her weak. “Oh my…”

  “Even standing here right now, all I can think about is getting you home, undressing you, and making love to you until neither of us can move.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “All day long, I think about you.” He kissed her forehead. “The drive home seems to take forever because all I can think about is being with you.” Another kiss on the tip of her nose. “And it’s not just the sex. I just want to be with you. You’re my home. My heart. I love you.”

  And then she couldn’t breathe. It was everything she had ever dreamed of—only it was better because it was real. She sighed his name as she reached up and touched his face. Tears swam in her eyes. “I…I never thought… I just…”

  “Shh… I know. I don’t deserve you. I know that. But you’re everything, Anna. Everything.”

  She shook her head. “I feel the same way about you. I always have. I love you too.”

  And then, finally, his lips claimed hers, consumed her. They stood locked together with the waves crashing on the shore and stars shining in the sky, and Anna lost all track of time. When Quinn raised his head, the look of pure need there almost brought her to her knees.