Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Quinlan
J agger. Holy fuck, he’s sexy. I’m still grinning as he walks back to his booth. I feel someone nudge me and I turn sideways to see Luciana grinning at me.
“Stop looking at me like that.” I laugh.
“I’ve never seen you look nervous before. And over a guy!” She laughs.
“I think I now know how you felt when you met Rónán. I feel like I know him, like he’s mine. But I don’t even fucking know him,” I whisper to her.
“That’s exactly how I felt when I met Rónán.”
I nod. “Exactly. And I don’t even know his last name.”
“Well, get to know him. And I’ll bet you’ll be getting married soon.” She giggles as she rubs her belly.
I lean down to talk to baby.
“Your mama is crazy. Kick her for me.”
Luciana laughs as her baby starts to move around.
“See? I told you baby likes Aunty Quinn. I will be the favorite.”
“In your dreams, Quinny.” Isabella laughs as she comes up behind us. “I’m going to be the favorite, I mean I am her mama’s twin.”
“Dream on.” I laugh.
We all watch Jagger as he walks back over to me. I’m fucked. Even his walk is sexy. He takes my hand as soon as he gets close enough. Luciana clears her throat.
“Oh. Sorry.” I chuckle. “Jagger, this is Isabella and Luciana. The big guy from earlier is Rónán, he’s Luciana’s husband.”
“Nice to meet you both.” Jagger smiles at the sisters.
“Hey. You look familiar, are you by chance part of Twisted Bonds: Second Generation?” Luciana asks.
Jagger laughs. “I am. Have you heard our music?”
“My brother played me one of your songs just this morning. And he showed me a pic of your band. You’re all siblings right? And your dad was in the original band? My parents loved Twisted Bonds.”
Jagger nods. “We’re all here tonight, my sisters have been to your regular shows. They saw that you were having a male and female show. And here we are.”
“I’m glad you’re here. I’m guessing your sisters like the all-male show?” Isabella laughs.
“They do. I’m pretty sure they come at least once a month. But I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’ll be paying much attention to the show now.”
Jagger smiles at me and it sends tingles through my body. The way he looks at me, it’s like he sees only me. No one else. And when I look at him? It’s like having tunnel vision. He’s the only destination I see. Isabella and Luciana go over to their men, who are both performers for Magic Nights Chicago. Leaving me and Jagger to stare at each other.
“So tell me about you. What do you do?” he asks me.
“I’m in school still, I have one more year at Wolf University to finish my Master’s degree.”
“Holy shit. That’s awesome. What are you studying?”
“Criminology.” I grin at him.
“Wow. That’s amazing. What do you want to do? Police?”
“I might join the force, one of my good friends is a detective with the Chicago Police. But what I really want to join the FBI. I want to go into more of the forensics area and stay in Chicago.”
“That’s really amazing and sexy.” He grins at me and kisses my hand again.
“So you’re in a band? What do you play?”
“I’m the bassist in our band.”
“Do you go on tour? I’m guessing you do if Luciana heard your music.”
“Yeah, we’re starting to tour a little more these days. But we split our time playing and promoting our family business.”
“What’s your business?”
“We own a brewery, it’s called Twisted Brewery, we specialize in beer. And now we’re looking into making wines too. Our best beers are honey, strawberry and cherry. Which I know doesn’t sound delicious. But I promise you’ll like it.”
He must have seen the look on my face when he was naming the flavors. I’m pretty sure I wrinkled my nose. Those don’t sound like beer flavors.
“I promise to keep an open mind and try them.”
“That’s all I ask.” He smiles at me. I love his smile, it lights up his whole face.
I never thought love at first sight was a real thing, even after seeing Luciana and Rónán. But I do now. And I’m hoping Jagger feels the same way as I do.
Jagger
This night has gone by way too fast. I don’t really know what the show was about or who was up on stage. All I know is I’m not ready for tonight to end. I don’t want to leave Quinn. At least for now I get to spend time with her for the after-show hangout. I can’t keep my hands off her, I’m just hoping she doesn’t mind.
“I want to introduce you to my family,” I say as I take her hand and lead her to where they are. “This is Bowie, Presley, Lennon and Marley. And this…this is my angel, Quinn.”
I watch Quinn as she gets a hug from each of my siblings. The smiles on their faces tell me how happy they are for me.
“We’re going to grab drinks and walk around,” Lennon says to us.
“It was really nice meeting all of you,” Quinn says to them as they walk away. “They’re all really nice.”
I nod. “Best siblings ever. Which is why we can stand being together so much.” I laugh. “Are you here for every show?”
“Usually. Unless I have midterms or if I go back home.”
“Where is home?”
“In Oregon. It’s a tiny town called Portwalden. Where’s home for you?”
“I was born and raised here in Chicago.” I smile at her. “How long have you been here in Chicago?”
“I came here four years ago for college. I was lucky enough to meet my besties and now I never want to leave.”
“That’s good. Because I don’t want you to leave,” I whisper to her.
Quinn looks up at me.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?” she asks.
“If you had asked me before? I would’ve said maybe. I watched my parents have an epic love story. They’re still in love today. They go everywhere together. But now? After seeing you? Fuck yes. I believe in love at first sight, soulmates, and that there’s that perfect person for everyone.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
I can hear some fear in her voice and it makes me wonder if someone’s hurt her before.
“Could I be wrong? Of course. But I can say with one hundred percent certainty that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
I wrap my arms around her and lean down to take her lips with mine. I slide my tongue along her bottom lip, nipping at it after. Even with the noise of the music and the people around us, I can hear her soft moaning. Kissing her is even better than I imagined. And believe me, I’ve been imagining it all night.
As I pull away, I look into her eyes.
“I love that your eyes are different colors,” I say as I stare into her eyes.
“When I was little, I hated it. But my dad said that it made me original, so I didn’t have to be like everyone else.”
“You are definitely original, baby. And another thing I know? You’re mine. I know it’s fast, but I want to be with you and not worry about time. I want to follow what we feel.”
I see Quinn take a deep breath.
“I want that too. I’m scared, but I’ve never lived my life with regret. And I don’t want to start now.”
I wrap my arms around her. “I can’t promise that everything will always be smooth between us. But I can promise you to give you everything.”
The look that Quinn gives me completes my whole night. I’m so glad I came to the show tonight.