Chapter 6
H e couldn’t believe that he was doing this, and if the look on her face was any indication, neither could she.
“I’m sorry, say that again,” Dylan said, frowning adorably while he stood there, slowly exhaling as he took in the sketch of the Anderson project.
“I’ll marry you,” Quinn repeated, forcing the three words that he never thought he’d say out of his mouth for a second time.
“I see,” Dylan said, only to sigh heavily as she dropped her bag back on the floor. “And yet, I don’t see tears of joy running down your face, which makes me wonder about the sudden change of heart.”
“Does it really matter?” Quinn asked as he looked through the notebook, taking in her sketches, the notes she’d made along the way, the intricate designs she came up with for the fireplace, the front door, and Christ, even the wainscotting.
“I think it depends on your answer,” Dylan drawled as she stepped away from the bed and started making her way around his room, taking in all the details from the molding lining the ceiling to the white trim framing the floor and everything in between.
“There’s no fucking way that I’m going to let Brooke destroy everything,” Quinn said as he watched Dylan run her fingertips along the edge of the bureau his cousin Devin built.
“Fair enough,” Dylan murmured as she paused by the closet and looked inside.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked, watching her as she took in the untouched walk-in closet from the oak shelves to the empty drawers.
“Probably the same reason why most people want to get married,” Dylan murmured absently as she closed the closet door and moved onto the next one.
“And that is?” Quinn asked as he glanced back down at the notebook on his lap and-
“Revenge.”
-felt his lips twitch only to sigh when he thought about the divorce clause.
“If we get divorced before the five-year mark, we forfeit the business even if we manage to have a son and Brooke automatically gets B.T. Construction whether or not she’s married and has a child, so I need you to be really fucking sure that this is what you want, Dylan,” Quinn said, looking up to watch as she slowly exhaled and-
“I’m in,” Dylan said firmly.
“Then, it’s a deal,” Quinn said as he turned the page and found himself wondering how she’d managed to hide this from everyone. “When did you start drawing?”
“Right around the time that I fell in love with Blackwood Manor,” Dylan said as she stepped into his walk-in closet and took in his work boots and clothes that only took up a few shelves.
“Why hide it?” Quinn asked as he ran his eyes over her, taking in everything from her long, black hair pulled into a ponytail to the baggy B.T. Construction hoodie and worn jeans, typical Dylan Thomas attire.
“Because I know how it would have ended,” Dylan said, shrugging it off as she made her way into the bathroom and-
“Is…is that a jacuzzi tub or a garden tub?” came the hesitant question that had his lips twitching. “You know what? I’ll find out for myself,” she said with a satisfied sigh as she closed the bathroom door behind her.
“And how’s that?” Quinn asked as he flipped through the rest of her journal.
“I never would have been able to leave B.T. Construction,” Dylan said as he heard what sounded like the bathtub running.
“Is that a bad thing?” Quinn asked, tossing the notebook on the bed as he thought about the little pain in the ass taking her clothes off in the other room and-
There was something seriously fucking wrong with him.
“No, it just wasn’t my dream,” Dylan said as Quinn grabbed her backpack, needing something to focus on instead of the deeply disturbing thoughts that he’d been having since she came to work full-time for B.T. Construction.
She’d always been adorable, but when she was eighteen, something changed and he still had no fucking idea why. One day, she was the little pain in the ass that drove him crazy and the next…
He couldn’t take his eyes off her and he’d hated himself for it.
He’d never looked at another woman before, never been tempted to before, but with Dylan, he found himself noticing just how fucking beautiful she was, how much he liked it when she teased him, and told himself that it was because he missed Jenn.
So, he forced himself to take on more hours, flipped houses on the side, and worked until he was too fucking exhausted to think about the little pain in the ass.
By the time Jenn came back, he was used to putting in long hours, which made it really fucking easy to bury himself in his job after he walked in on Jenn getting bent over her desk by her boss.
After that, he was done with absolutely fucking everything.
“And Blackwood Manor was?” he asked as he thumbed through the small stack of black notebooks until he came to one that was faded.
“Yes,” she said with absolutely no hesitation as he opened the notebook and-
“Christ,” he whispered hoarsely as he took in the sketch of Blackwood Manor.
It was…
Incredible.
The sketch was like nothing that he’d ever seen before.
It was so detailed, from the shingles struggling to hold onto the collapsing roof to the briars threaded throughout the ivy leaves clinging to the walls.
She managed to capture every detail, every flaw, and brought it all to life.
He turned the page only to forget how to breathe as he took in Blackwood Manor in its former glory.
His eyes were drawn to the bottom of the page to the cobblestone driveway that ran past the right side of the house before the small cobblestone walkway pulled his attention to one of the most beautiful houses that he’d ever seen.
Gone were the briars and ivy clinging to the walls, revealing Blackwood Manor’s imposing facade.
He took in the fieldstone foundation, each rock strategically placed, before he took in the porch, the railings that guided the steps up to the front door, where a wrought-iron knocker welcomed guests.
He took in the molding, the lantern mounts, shingled roofs, shutters showcasing double-hung sash windows encased in flat classical molding before his gaze slowly made its way to the roof, where the chimneys that fell apart years ago had been brought back to life.
“How are we going to do this?” came the curious question as he turned the page and found himself looking at a sketch of a beautiful foyer with a staircase featured in the center.
“Really fucking carefully,” Quinn said, turning the page to what appeared to be a library with built-in bookshelves lining the walls.
“That’s probably for the best,” Dylan said, only to release a soft sigh.
“As long as we have the element of surprise, Brooke will take her time, savoring the moment so that she can rub it in our faces,” Quinn said, knowing Brooke well enough by now to know that as long as she thought she’d won, she’d take her time, stretching it out so that she could enjoy every minute of their downfall.
There was no doubt in his mind that she would get engaged as soon as possible, needing to lock in that first step, but for everything else…
She would stretch it out, enjoying the spotlight and ensuring that she got everything that she wanted from the perfect engagement party to a lavish wedding, but the moment that she found out that they were married, all bets were off.
“So, no looks of adoration or declarations of our undying love?” the little smart ass asked as he took his time looking through her notebook.
“This is just a deal, Dylan,” Quinn drawled as he took in the sketch she made for the kitchen, blending modern features and appliances seamlessly into the design.
“We need to meet the conditions that our parents set out, stay married for five years, and once it’s over, we go our separate ways.
I need you to understand that there will never be anything more than this deal between us. ”
“I’m listening,” Dylan said with a soft sigh as the sounds of water lapping against the side of the tub reached him.
“We get married this week, the sooner, the better, and we keep it quiet for now,” Quinn said as he took in the sketch showing the back of Blackwood Manor and-
This was going to take a miracle to pull off.
“In exchange for…” Dylan said, getting to the heart of the matter.
“We split B.T. Construction, fifty-fifty and-”
“I’m not interested in B.T. Construction,” she said, making him curious about something.
“You do realize that if you owned B.T. Construction that you’d be able to fix Blackwood Manor, right?” Quinn asked, wondering why she wasn’t interested in B.T. Construction when it would solve all her problems.
“I want to renovate old houses and bring them back to life and that’s not what B.T. Construction does,” Dylan said as the sounds of water sloshing against the tub reached him, letting him know that she was climbing out of the tub and-
“Is…is that a towel warmer?”
“You could change that,” Quinn pointed out.
“Not without destroying everything our fathers built,” she said while Quinn sat there, absently nodding as he thought it over.
“Then, how about this?” he began. “I’ll help you fix Blackwood Manor, and after it’s done, if you’ve decided that you’ve found your calling, I’ll make sure that you have everything you need to start your own company.”
“I don’t need help with Blackwood Manor,” the little pain in the ass said as she opened the bathroom door just wide enough so that she could stick her arm out and make him fucking sigh when she cleared her throat and held her hand out in silent demand.
She really was a pain in his ass.
“You’re going to need help,” Quinn pointed out as he grabbed a B.T. Construction tee-shirt and handed it to her.
“And that’s where the deal comes in,” Dylan said as she took the tee-shirt with a murmured, “Thank you,” before she pulled her arm back so that she could close the bathroom door.
“What’s the plan?” he asked, slowly exhaling as he told himself that he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life.
“To save money, I’m going to do most of the work on my own,” Dylan explained as Quinn stood there, thinking about the summer that she worked for B.T. Construction and-
Christ, he still had nightmares.
“And everything else?” he asked, wondering how she thought she was going to pull this off.
He wasn’t interested in taking on Blackwood Manor, not with everything going on with B.T.
Construction, and there was no way in hell that she would be able to pull this off on her own.
He’d have to ask a few of his cousins if they were interested in making some extra money on the side.
“That’s where the deal comes in,” Dylan said with a satisfied sigh as she opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom wearing his tee-shirt, drawing his attention to smooth tan legs before he forced himself to look away.
“What else?” Quinn asked as she made her way across the room and climb onto his bed.
“You can’t tell my father that I bought Blackwood Manor,” she said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Because he warned you to stay away from it, knowing that it would most likely ruin your life and leave you bankrupt, or because once he finds out, he’ll most likely spank your ass?”
Nodding, Dylan said, “Both.”
“Fair enough. Anything else?”
“We need to talk about the baby,” came the hesitant answer that had him slowly exhaling. He gave up his dreams of having children years ago, and now, thanks to this deal, it looked like he was about to have the one thing that he never thought he’d have.
“I know that having a baby is part of the deal, but I need you to understand that I won’t go through with this unless I know that this is something that you want.
I’m not looking for a weekend dad, Quinn.
I need someone who’s going to love this baby more than anything and be there for them. This baby-”
“-will never have to worry about whether or not he’s wanted,” Quinn said, cutting her off as Dylan watched him for a moment before she slowly nodded.
“Fair enough,” Dylan said, climbing beneath the covers with a satisfied sigh. “How should we do this?”
“You’ll move in here, but we’ll live our lives like nothing’s changed.
We don’t tell anyone that we’re married until after you’re pregnant and even then, we wait until the time is right.
Until then, we don’t give Brooke a reason to panic.
We let her think that she’s won,” Quinn explained as he leaned back against the wall.
“And the other part of our deal, the one that we haven’t mentioned and will end with one of us giving birth in nine months?” Dylan asked, not looking any happier about this than he was.
“It ends as soon as you’re pregnant,” Quinn said, making sure that she knew from the start that this would never be anything more than a deal because the last thing that he wanted was to give the curse a chance to fuck him over again.