Fireline

by Annabel Allan

  ‘We have time to decide,’ Quinn said. ‘It doesn’t need to be decided this minute.’

  ‘So, Miss Fournier. I have been told a lot about you in ten minutes from my daughter.’

  ‘Not all good things, I take it,’ I said, frowning.

  ‘Very little of it is good, but Anita was on the brink of hysteria while telling me,’ he said. ‘I want to hear about you from you.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Oh, um... well, I’m twenty-five. I used to work at Quinn’s law firm as an assistant before I received representation from a literary agency. So, now I’m wading my way through getting published... hopefully.’ I tried to smile.

  ‘A writer,’ he said. ‘I did a little bit of writing in my day as well.’

  I smiled genuinely. ‘Really? What did you write?’

  ‘Mainly short stories,’ he said. ‘Various genres.’

  ‘Short stories are the hardest,’ I said, ‘Harder than a novel. You have to convey an entire story in a condensed way. Most of my short stories end up being full-length novels. I guess I don’t have the stuff for short stories.’

  ‘You can do something infinitely grander,’ he said. He turned to Quinn. ‘She’s lovely. I’m sure you two will be quite happy.’

  I couldn’t help smiling, glancing to Quinn. ‘Thank you, sir.’

  Linus put his cigar in his mouth again to shake Quinn’s hand. ‘I look forward to the wedding. I’m sure it will be a spectacular event.’

  ‘Oh, I count on it,’ Quinn said.

  ‘Why don’t you two dance for a while? Get away from the banter of the hens pecking at that diamond on your finger,’ he said, winking at me.

  I laughed, nodding as Quinn took my hand, leading me back to the dancefloor. He made a firm structure to cling onto once again.

  ‘That went well,’ Quinn said.

  I smirked. ‘It did. You think he likes me?’

  ‘Linus wouldn’t be nice if he didn’t like you. He would have ignored your presence. It’s what he does when he doesn’t approve,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, well, then brownie points for me,’ I said with glee.

  ‘I knew he would like you. I wouldn’t have introduced you if we faced another person disapproving of our relationship. We don’t need that,’ he said.

  I looked to my ring once again. ‘I guess that’s true.’

  ‘We should probably decide when we want to get married.’

  ‘I thought you said there was a lot of time?’

  ‘Not if you want to get married this fall. What date?’

  I thought about it. ‘Well, November the second is kind of the date I had in mind.’

  ‘Any significance to that date?’ he asked.

  I nodded. ‘It was Marie Antoinette’s birthday.’

  He smirked. ‘I see.’

  ‘You don’t like it?’ I asked.

  He nodded. ‘I do. November sounds great. Indoor or outdoor?’

  ‘Depends on where we have it. I guess a lot of people will be there... so Casa Loma? If we can get in. I don’t know if they have a waiting list or not.’

  ‘I’ll look into it. If not, we can always have it here,’ he said.

  I frowned. ‘Here? Anita would love that. Where’s Jack, by the way?’

  ‘Probably at one of the tables, drinking away the evening,’ he said.

  ‘Has anyone ever tried to get him help?’ I asked.

  He shook his head. ‘It’s one of those things we ignore. It’s just Jack.’

  ‘Hmm,’ I said, feeling a bit sad. Imagine how much nicer Jack could be if he was sober... or meaner. I guess I would never know.

  Quinn spun me around. I noticed someone approaching us, seeing Ellie once again.

  I groaned. ‘We’ve got company.’

  ‘Can I steal Quinlan for a dance?’ she asked.

  I wanted to be bitchy, but she had been somewhat nice to us, though I knew she ran to Aunt Anita to tell her about the ring. I decided to play nice, not wanting to make a scene.

  I nodded, stepping away from Quinn, who was surprised, but Ellie was in his arms in a split second. I signalled that I would wait at the table, starting through the crowd, only to be stopped by Donald Vandermeer.

  ‘Going somewhere?’ he asked with his slimy smile.

  ‘I’m just going to sit down,’ I said, ‘Excuse me.’

  ‘Why not a dance?’ he asked, taking my hand.

  I pulled away. ‘No. I don’t want to dance with you.’

  ‘Why not?’ he asked.

  ‘Because Quinn told you to stay away from me. I’m not some puppet you can use to get to him,’ I said.

  He grabbed my hand, looking at my ring. ‘I see he’s already claimed you. I could give you so much more.’

  ‘You’re married!’

  ‘She’s in Europe,’ he said.

  ‘So you’re going to lead a double life?’ I asked, disgusted. ‘I’m sorry, even if I was interested, I wouldn’t chase after a married man.’

  ‘A technicality,’ he said, shrugging.

  I shook my head. ‘No, a big problem. I told you, I’m not helping you hurt Quinn.’

  ‘A ring on your finger won’t stop the inevitable,’ he said.

  ‘You think he’s going to dump me,’ I said.

  He shook his head. ‘No, I think quite the opposite.’

  ‘You think I’ll dump him? You’re fucking crazy.’

  ‘Am I?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said, walking away.

  I admit, I wanted to cry as I sat down, my face feeling warm. I swallowed hard, making sure I didn’t shed one tear. I wasn’t going to let Donald Vandermeer get to me. I wasn’t going to let anything rain on my parade. Why would I dump Quinn?

  He’s just trying to mess with you.

  I grabbed one of the glasses of water from the table. I calmed myself down, knowing that Donald was all about head games. He was planting the seed of doubt in my head so I would break up with Quinn.

  Not gonna happen.

  The more I thought about it, the more I felt sure of myself and my decision to marry Quinn. I loved him; I wanted that forever feeling with him. The question was, should we wait to get married? My parents got married after knowing each other for a few months and had been married for thirty-seven years. They had rough patches, but who doesn’t?

  I looked up as Quinn walked back to the table.

  ‘So, how did it go?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh, the same as usual,’ he said. ‘She made comments. I stopped her before she made a total fool of herself.’

  ‘What kind of comments?’ I asked.

  ‘Just the usual. I can’t marry you, we haven’t known each other that long, what would my parents think, crap like that,’ he said. ‘Hey, you want to disappear for a bit?’

  ‘And go where?’ I asked.

  ‘Bathroom,’ he said.

  ‘Bathroom, huh?’

  ‘Just a quickie. Your dress is driving me crazy,’ he said, looking to my cleavage.

  I thought about it for a second, the idea seeming more exciting as the seconds passed. I didn’t think about the technicalities, just the thought of having sex with him in his aunt and uncle’s home while they were in the home. It was almost too good to pass up.

  He grabbed my hand, leading me out, around and up the staircase, going to the left to the top landing. He led me down a bunch of rooms to a bedroom, where we crept inside, passing the bed to the en suite bathroom.

  It was large, sparkling white, the tub absolutely huge. Two people could fit in it easily. Over to the left was the vanity sink, the toilet across from it.

  I turned to him as he locked the door.

  ‘Should I hike up my skirt or take off the dress?’ I asked.

  ‘Take it off,’ he said, undoing his pants.

  ‘I need help with the zip,’ I said.

  He tossed his pants down, walking up to me and unzipping the dress slowly. He then ran his hand down my bare back.

  I took off the dress, turning to him in my pa
nties, his mouth instantly on mine. I started to undo his shirt as he picked me up, putting me on the vanity sink.

  He started to kiss down my chest, making his way to my panties. He took them off. I leaned back as he gave a good lick to my clit. I jumped, my breathing picking up, his licks becoming quicker, alternating from licking to sucking before he put his fingers inside me.

  He stood up, kissing as he fingered me, my moans getting caught in my throat. I reached down, taking his cock in my hand gently. He suddenly pulled away from me, grabbing hold of my hips and pulling me forward, our hips lining up perfectly. He was able to slip inside me easily, making me gasp from the angle. He started to thrust, my butt on the edge of the vanity.

  I tried to keep quiet, since I knew someone could come looking for us, but I was hoping they thought we were lost in the crowd of people. I kept my mind on the moment as much as I could, feeling the pulses of pleasure moving through me as he gave a hard thrust.

  ‘Quinn,’ I called out.

  He kept going, quick and hard, my legs starting to shake as the orgasm built up, making my moans get louder and louder. I wasn’t able to contain myself as it exploded, my legs tightening around him as I buried my face into his shoulder.

  He continued until he let out a long moan, his own head burying into my shoulder to muffle it.

  We sat for a minute, breathing heavily as we tried to regain ourselves. He pulled out before he kissed me and stood up straight, letting out a satisfied sigh.

  We cleaned ourselves up, Quinn putting on his slacks and fixing his shirt, grabbing my panties from the floor.

  ‘Hey!’ I said.

  ‘They’re mine,’ he said, putting them in his pocket. ‘You need to put your dress back on.’

  I was going to protest, but decided to leave it. He helped me back into the dress, zipping it up for me. I turned to the mirror above the vanity, fixing my hair as well as my make-up, making sure I looked presentable, though my cheeks were flushed and I had that post-sex glow.

  We hurried out, heading back to the ballroom and quickly joining everyone, making it look like we were there the whole time. We were circling around before Linus walked up to us.

  ‘Can I have this dance?’ he asked me.

  Quinn nodded, handing me off.

  I clung onto the older man, my hand on his shoulder.

  ‘You make him happy,’ he said suddenly.

  ‘He makes me happy.’

  ‘You live with him, right?’

  I nodded. ‘Yeah. For a while now.’

  ‘You know about his rehab stint last month,’ he said.

  ‘He went because I asked him to.’

  ‘Good girl,’ he said.

  ‘Does this mean you approve of me?’ I asked.

  ‘I think you’re good for Quinn,’ he said. ‘I think you make him happy and who am I to stand in the way of that happiness?’

  ‘I wish that other people thought the same,’ I said.

  ‘You’re speaking of my daughter,’ he said.

  I winced. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Anita is a little highly strung at times. She will warm up to you. I guarantee that after you get married she’ll soften. She only acts as she does because she wants to elevate Ellie.’

  ‘Yeah, I know,’ I said. ‘I guess she thought Quinn would be her saving grace.’

  ‘She did,’ he said. ‘But Ellie can find an equally wonderful man.’

  ‘Hopefully she does,’ I said.

  ‘Ellie will always be in love with Quinn,’ he said.

  I thought about it. ‘Why do you call him Quinn? I thought you would call him Robert.’

  ‘Because he doesn’t like being called Robert. He never did. When he started correcting people on it, I took the hint. I’ll never know why Anita insists on calling him Robert,’ he said.

  ‘Probably to demean him,’ I said. ‘Then again, I don’t really see her calling him Quinn. Almost seems appropriate.’

  ‘Almost,’ he said with a smirk.

  ‘I was worried about meeting you, but you’re the first person that’s been nice to me that’s in Quinn’s life,’ I said. I glanced over to the table, seeing Daniel Jr. talking with Quinn. ‘Well, save for Mister Brody and his son.’

  ‘Anita will warm up to you,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t worry too much.’

  ‘You sound like Quinn,’ I said.

  ‘Great minds think alike.’

  The music slowed and stopped, Linus taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

  ‘Thank you for the dance,’ he said.

  ‘Thank you,’ I said.

  ‘It was my pleasure,’ he said before walking back into the crowd.

  I went back to the table, where Daniel was still talking to Quinn. He looked to me, his eyes wide with shock.

  ‘Miss Fournier,’ he said. ‘You look stunning.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘Is your father here?’

  He nodded. ‘He’s dancing with my mother.’

  ‘Ah, Mrs. Brody!’ I said excitedly. ‘I get to meet her, finally.’

  ‘I hear there’s good news,’ Daniel said. ‘Come on, let me see it!’

  I laughed as I held my hand up for him.

  ‘Good work, Quinlan,’ he said, examining it. ‘Princess cut, should have guessed.’

  ‘Did you get a call from Michelle yet?’ I asked.

  He nodded. ‘We’re going out for coffee on Sunday.’

  Everything in me jumped for joy. ‘That’s great!’

  ‘I remembered her as soon as I heard her voice. I’m looking forward to seeing her.’

  ‘That’s great,’ I said, looking to Quinn. ‘I hope I wasn’t interrupting.’

  Quinn shook his head. ‘No, just talking about the engagement.’

  ‘That seems to be the talk of the town.’

  ‘How about I go and find my mother and father?’ Daniel asked. ‘I know you’re anxious to meet her.’

  I nodded. ‘OK.’

  Daniel turned, going into the crowd.

  ‘Pleasant dance with Linus?’ Quinn asked.

  I nodded. ‘Very. He likes me.’

  ‘Good,’ he said. ‘We now have someone on our side.’

  I stared at him for a second. ‘Why don’t we get married this fall?’

  He stared back at me for a moment. ‘This November?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  He kept his green eyes on me. ‘All right. You’ll have a lot of planning to do.’

  ‘I know. I’ll have my mum and Michelle, though, they’ll help,’ I said.

  ‘Leaving me out of it?’ he asked.

  ‘Obviously we’ll get your opinion, but you get to sit back and relax,’ I said, running my hands through his hair.

  Daniel came over with his parents, Mister and Mrs. Brody. Mrs. Brody was a good equal to her husband; stocky but pretty, even for her age, her shoulder-length brown hair curled nicely.

  We made nice, Mrs. Brody appreciating the diamonds that bedecked me, especially my new ring. It seemed all the ladies that approached me couldn’t get over it. There were a few of them that were disapproving of me, but the ring? Nope, that was perfect. Quinn did good.

  The evening wound down, my feet starting to hurt from dancing. I didn’t see Linus after our dance, but I was sure he was probably enjoying another cigar and his glass of bourbon.

  Quinn and I decided it was time to head out, finding Anita and Jack, who I hadn’t seen the entire evening. I was dreading what he was going to say.

  Quinn nodded. ‘I think we’re going to head out.’

  Anita looked me over. ‘I see.’

  Jack extended his hand to Quinn. ‘Congratulations.’

  I was stunned, my eyes widening as they shook hands.

  ‘Thank you,’ Quinn said. He turned to Anita, kissing her on the cheek. ‘Hopefully we can all get together and celebrate properly. Maybe brunch at the club.’

  I dreaded those words, but kept a smile going, nodding to Jack, who nodded back. I was surprised, but again, kept
my smile on my face as Anita looked to me once again.

  ‘I suppose you’re pleased,’ she said.

  ‘I’m happy,’ I said.

  ‘We’ll make arrangements for brunch on Sunday,’ she said.

  I just nodded again, Quinn and I turning and making our way out. I was a little sad to leave the estate, but I knew I would be back. I’d be going to a lot of family gatherings of Quinn’s from now on.

  We got into the limo. It wasn’t an exceptionally long ride, but I couldn’t take it any more, taking off my shoes.

  ‘Thank God,’ I said, rubbing my feet.

  Quinn smirked, putting his hand on my thigh. ‘Did you have fun?’

  ‘Yeah, well, the part where Donald spoke to me wasn’t too pleasing –’

  ‘Donald spoke to you?’ he asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ I said.

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘Ugh, the usual. He wasn’t too impressed that we’re engaged. He’s still dead set on ruining you somehow,’ I said.

  ‘I told him to stay away from you,’ he said.

  ‘It’s over now,’ I said. ‘You didn’t even see him. It was a few words; I held my own.’

  He looked out the window silently.

  ‘Quinn,’ I said, taking his hand. ‘Can we forget about it? Can we not focus on the good from tonight?’

  ‘All right.’

  ‘Good,’ I said, smiling.

  We arrived back at the condo close to two a.m. I made my way ahead of Quinn into the bedroom, carrying my shoes with me.

  ‘You tired?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m pooped,’ I said, turning around for him. ‘Zip, please.’

  He walked up to me, unzipping the dress. ‘We’ll have to go shopping tomorrow, get you another tea dress.’

  I sighed, exhausted from the evening, but even more so thinking about brunch on Sunday.

  ‘Oh, yay,’ I said sarcastically.

  ‘It’ll grease the wheels,’ he said.

  I took off the dress, realizing I was completely naked, since he had my panties in his pocket. All I was wearing was the jewellery, which made Quinn stare at me longingly.

  I smiled, taking off the necklace and putting it back in the velvet box on the dresser. I added the bracelets and the earrings and closed it.

  There, I thought. I made it through the night and they’re still in one piece.

  Quinn walked up behind me, stroking down my arm. I turned, leaning against the dresser behind me, stroking one of the waves around his face. I stared into his clear green eyes, looking over each lash and drinking him in.