Chapter 14
Quinn blows out a hard breath, the brief joy that flashed across her face as we paddled out here now replaced with something darker.
“I’m not even sure I know where to begin,” she says.
“The beginning?” I suggest. “It’s usually a good place.”
She splashes me with water now, a smile tugging at her lips as she mutters, “Smart ass.”
“Come on,” I say, reaching over to grab her wrist as I pull her closer. “Hit me with it. I promise you’ll feel better.”
“Ugh, okay,” she groans, scooping some water and splashing it on her face. “My divorce lawyer called.”
“Okay, and?”
“And he’s offered me two million and my car, neither of which I asked for,” she says, letting out a humorless laugh as she adds, “Actually, he upped it to eleven million when I said no to the first offer, so there’s that.”
I don’t say anything, just wait for her to look at me.
She’s staring out at the horizon, watching the sun as it slowly rises above the mountains.
I love watching the sunrise on the water, and judging by the small smile that she’s trying to fight even as it curves at her lips, I think Quinn does too.
Eventually, she turns to me, a brow raised in question as she says, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
I let out a laugh, running my hands through the water as I watch her. “Well, I guess it seems like a pretty good deal, but then I don’t know what you asked for. What you actually want.”
“Not that,” she says, her words harsh. “He never listens, though, and he thinks by throwing money at me, he can make all of this go away.”
I’m nodding as I try to process her words, wondering what’s really going on here. “You left him, right?” I clarify, knowing she told me this the day she broke down on her front porch.
That she told me how she’d walked in on him fucking another woman in their bed. How this woman wasn’t the first, not even close, and how she’d simply walked out, leaving New York and moving to Hawaii where she knew no one.
“Yes,” Quinn replies, giving a single quick nod.
“Okay, so you wanna tell—”
“It comes with strings,” she quickly says, cutting me off. “Everything with him comes with strings.”
“What kind of strings?”
She swirls her hands through the water now, her legs moving beneath her board as she turns back to the horizon. “An NDA.”
“Ahhh,” I say, still not really getting it. Quinn lets out a laugh that tells me she also knows this, and then I just come right out and ask, “So, who exactly is your ex?”
She closes her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths before opening them. “Sean English,” she says, her voice flat. “Lead singer of The Provocation.”
I blink in surprise as I blurt out, “Are you fucking serious?”
Quinn rolls her eyes as she says, “You know him. Of course you do. Everyone does. They’ve won like eight fucking Grammys or whatever. Everyone thinks they’re so fucking amazing.” Her words are harsh, laced with sarcasm as she practically spits them out.
“I’m not gonna lie, their music is good, Quinn, but that’s not what my reaction is about,” I say, wondering if it’s possible for the world to be this small. That a band that gave my younger brother the biggest break of his life is also the same band that has brought me Quinn.
She looks over. “So what is it about, then?”
Chuckling, I ask, “So you know Miles is in a band, right?”
Quinn nods, and I’m sure she’s wondering how the hell this can mean anything given my brother spends half his time working with Daze in her bakery and half his time working with me and Dad.
Yeah, his band is still together, and they are still playing shows, but they’re not exactly touring the world and winning Grammys and shit.
Yet, anyway.
“Yeah, you told me they went on tour on the mainland, remember?” she says. “Daisy mentioned last night that they’re playing next weekend. She invited me to go see them with her and the girls.”
“You should go,” I say. “They’re really fucking good,” I add, mentally reminding myself that next weekend is probably very close to Quinn’s thirtieth birthday too.
She narrows her brow, watching me, a questioning look on her face. “Didn’t you also say things imploded on that tour? That they opened for—holy shit, was your brother’s band Silent Daydream?” Her questioning look has now morphed into complete and utter shock as the pieces all click together.
“Is Silent Daydream,” I say, correcting her. “They’re actually back together.”
Suddenly, Quinn bursts out laughing, splashing her hand in the water as she throws her head back and laughs. The sudden change in her brings a smile to my face, even if I am struggling to understand what’s so funny.
“Holy shit,” she eventually breathes out, shaking her head a little.
“Sean was sooooo pissed when they split during the last part of the tour. He went into a total rage when your brother’s band didn’t show for sound check.
Oh my god, this is too good,” she says, wiping the tears from her face. “Ugh, your brother. So. Fucking. Cool.”
“Okay, okay, let’s settle down,” I say, grinning at her. “For the record, I think it was me who actually told him they should just split, so don’t go getting all starry-eyed over my baby brother,” I say, emphasizing the word.
Quinn snorts out a laugh. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous?” she teases, and if nothing else, at least this conversation finally has her smiling again.
“Of Miles?” I ask, hand against my heart. “Shit no, that kid’s spent his whole life looking up to me.”
She’s shaking her head, still laughing at me as she asks, “Do you know why they ditched the tour? Sean never told me. He claimed it was some shit he didn’t understand, which I’m certain isn’t entirely true.”
“No,” I say, blowing out a breath. “Like I said, Miles doesn’t really like to talk about it all, but I know things were dark. Part of it was always about Daze not being with him, but I know there was other stuff going on too.”
Quinn pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, nodding her head slowly. “Yeah, that wouldn’t surprise me. I was never a part of that scene, but I heard the rumors. And obviously,” she adds, waving a hand around, “the rumors were true if what I walked in on in my bedroom is anything to go by.”
I lean over, taking her hand in mine. Threading our fingers together, I rest our joined hands on my thigh, gently brushing my thumb against the inside of her wrist.
“So back to this divorce,” I prompt, a reminder that we still haven’t finished our earlier conversation. “Sean English wants to pay you off, throw a shitload of money at you, but in return, you have to keep your mouth shut.”
“Gagged, more like it,” she mutters.
I squeeze our joined hands, waiting until she looks at me. “You can’t put a price on integrity, Quinn,” I say quietly.
“Not two million? Eleven million even?” she asks.
“Do you want the money?” I throw back at her.
“No. I don’t want anything from him.”
“Do you need the money?” I ask her, having no clue what their marriage was really like and if she has any savings to support herself out here.
She shakes her head. “No. I mean, I’m not loaded like he is. But I have savings, and now I have a job. Thanks to you,” she adds, her voice dropping.
“Well then,” I say, lifting our joined hands to my mouth as I press a kiss to the back of her hand. “Fuck the money and fuck the NDA,” I tell her.
She laughs. “It’s that easy, huh?”
“Yep,” I tell her. “It’s that easy.”
She smirks now, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she watches me. She hasn’t pulled her hand away, and every now and then, our feet brush together beneath the water too. “You make everything seem so easy, Kai Olsen,” she says.
Shrugging, I reply, “That’s because it is.
You’ve landed yourself in paradise, Quinn.
In the ugliest house on the island, no less.
But you’ve got a job, you’ve got friends, hell, you’ve got yourself a brand new surfboard,” I add, tipping my head at the board she’s currently straddling. “And you’ve got me.”
Her smirk turns to a soft smile as she hooks her foot around my ankle, squeezing my hand this time. “I do,” she whispers, her gaze locked with mine. “Guess I can thank Sean for that too, huh?”
“Well, let’s not get too carried away,” I say with a scoff. “But decision made. We go surfing, and then this afternoon, you email your ex or whatever it is you do and tell him, no deal, fuck off.”
Quinn laughs, shaking her head at me as she mutters, “Just like that.”
“You ready?” I ask, waving an arm at the swell that’s slowly building beneath us.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” she says.
After we’ve surfed for an hour or so, I drop Quinn back at her house before heading into the studio. Grabbing a T-shirt from the back seat of my truck, I pull it over my head as I walk inside to find my parents making out like a couple of teenagers beside the sander.
“Oh my god, gross you two!” I shout, grinning as I walk up to them.
Dad laughs, glancing over his shoulder as he says, “Where do you think you got all your charm and swagger from, huh?” I roll my eyes at him, pulling Mom into a hug.
“Been surfing?” Mom asks, her hands on my shoulders as she gives me a once-over.
“Always,” I reply, a grin on my face.
Dad nudges me with his elbow before dropping his arm around my shoulders. “What’s with the shit-eating grin?”
“Nothin’,” I reply as Miles walks in and says, “Quinn.”
Mom’s eyes light up, and I roll my eyes again, at my brother this time, as I mutter, “Fuck off.”
Miles laughs as he walks over and joins us, dropping his arm around Mom’s shoulders. “What? It’s true. Didn’t you walk her home from your place last night? Did you even go back home afterward?”
“Yes, I did,” I reply sarcastically.
“You did?” Dad asks, surprised.
I elbow him in the ribs. “Don’t you start.”
Chuckling, he ruffles my still-wet hair as he says, “Come on, even you can admit you’re a bit of a ladies’ man.”
“A bit,” Miles scoffs. “Try total manwhore.”
“Oh shush,” Mom says. “Kai’s just looking for his one true love.”
“No, I’m not,” I say at the same time Miles says, “No he’s not. He’s looking to get laid.”
“Leave your brother alone,” Mom says, as a weird knot forms in my stomach at Miles’ words.
“It’s not that either,” I say, meeting his gaze. “Quinn’s my friend. I really like hanging out with her. I’m not just looking to get laid.”
Miles says nothing, just looks at me with a stupid ass grin on his face. As my gaze moves to Mom, I can see she’s also looking at me, only her face is one hundred percent filled with hope and excitement and something else I do not want to read too much into.
Glancing at Dad, I can see he’s silently chuckling to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What?” I ask him.
“Your friend,” he repeats. “Who you really like hanging out with. And who you’d definitely fall into bed with given half a chance.”
I slow blink at him, not understanding what he’s getting at right now. This only makes my dad laugh even harder as he glances over at Mom and then Miles before turning his attention back to me.
“You do know that’s how your mother and I started, don’t you?”
“Me and Daze, too,” my unhelpful shithead of a brother chimes in.
“You might even say it’s the way we Olsen men fall for our girls,” Dad teases, hooking his arm around my neck as he pulls me closer in a friendly headlock. “Nothing to be ashamed of, my boy. I’m just glad it’s finally happened for you.”
“Took him long enough,” Miles mutters as my mom literally squeals, clapping her hands together.
“All of you are full of shit,” I say, shaking my head. “Now, we gonna get breakfast or what? I’m starving.”