Chapter 17 #2
Kara laughed so hard her body shook with it, which pleased him endlessly.
“Not sure which part of that was funnier—you calling yourself a rich, handsome stud or her being stuck with Matt the cheater for the rest of her life.” She wiped laughter tears from her eyes.
“In case I forget to tell you this, I’m so glad you forced yourself on me until you wore me down and got me to fall in love with you. ”
“I’m afraid I have to object to your terminology.
There was no ‘force’ involved. Rather, I employed a combination of devastating charm and a level of perseverance never before required with any woman to get you to fall madly in love with me.
It was a tough battle at times, but well worth it in the end. ”
“You’re too much, Torrington.”
“Maybe so, but I’m just enough for you, and I can’t wait to marry you.”
“I can’t wait either.”
Seated with Jared and Lizzie on the back deck of their house, Quinn scratched Brutus behind the ears and enjoyed the fire Jared had lit. “Outdoor fireplaces are all the rage on this island, huh?”
“We love ours,” Lizzie said. “After I saw Alex and Jenny’s, I asked Jared to build one for us.”
“And whatever my lovely wife wants, she gets,” Jared said with an indulgent smile for his wife, who was cuddled into his lap as usual.
“Oh hush. As if you don’t get what you want, too.”
Quinn put his hands over his ears. “Lalalalala. Can’t hear you.”
Lizzie giggled. “You’re one to talk. I saw you snuggled up to Mallory tonight. What gives, big brother?”
Quinn loved his brother’s wife. He truly did.
She was perfect for Jared and had brought much-needed balance to his insane life.
Quinn barely recognized the man that Jared was now—relaxed, decompressed and crazy in love with his adorable wife and her passionate desire to help people in need.
Only because he loved her so much did he indulge her nosiness. “I was not snuggling with anyone.”
“Semantics. What’s up with her?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“But you admit there’s something up?”
“Lizzie,” Jared said with exasperation. “Leave him alone.”
“You leave me alone,” she retorted. “You know I need the info on everything that goes on around here.”
“Sorry, bro,” Jared said. “At least if she’s badgering you, she’s not badgering me.”
“You love when I badger you.”
Quinn put his hands over his ears again. “Lalalalalala. Make it stop.”
Lizzie giggled some more. “If you spill the beans, I won’t have anything to badger you about.”
“I promise,” Quinn said, “that when there are beans to spill, you’ll be the first to know.”
“I can live with that,” Lizzie said.
“Thank goodness,” Jared said. “Can we talk about other stuff now?”
“Like how your parents want to come visit?” Lizzie asked.
“They do?” Quinn asked, shocked to hear that.
Jared nodded. “They said if Muhammed won’t come to the mountain…”
“I assume I’m playing the role of Muhammed in this drama?” Quinn asked.
“You assume correctly,” Jared said, “and PS, thank you for sucking me into your drama.”
“It’s not intentional. Trust me on that. When are they coming?”
“They said sometime this summer, so we have time to prepare.”
Quinn had tried to be a dutiful son. He called home every Sunday without fail and sent gifts for birthdays, holidays and his parents’ anniversary. But he hadn’t actually seen them in far too long and had felt guilty about it for a while now.
He was saved from having to further discuss his parents’ upcoming visit when David Lawrence and his fiancée, Daisy Babson, pulled into the driveway in front of their garage apartment next door and came over to say hello.
“You’re back!” Lizzie said, jumping up to hug David and Daisy. “Did you have a good trip?”
“We did,” Daisy said. “It was nice to be off the island for a couple of days, and we got to see Marion, too.”
“When she says it was nice to be off the island, she means it was nice to have access to stores,” David said. “Lots and lots of stores.”
Daisy laughed. “It’s true. I went a little wild buying stuff for our new house and the wedding.”
“That sounds like fun to me,” Lizzie said.
“Not me,” Jared added.
“Or me,” David said. “But if Daisy is happy, so am I.”
“Awww,” Lizzie said, “you two are so cute. Don’t forget we’ve got your caterer coming out on Tuesday to talk wedding plans.”
“How could we forget?” Daisy said. “We’re so excited to finalize everything.”
“When’s the big day?” Quinn asked.
“September,” Daisy said, “but the time is flying by. Thank goodness we’re doing it at the Chesterfield, and Lizzie is taking care of everything for us.”
“Almost everything,” Lizzie said. “Did you get a dress?”
“I did, and I love it.”
Lizzie clapped her hands. “Fantastic! I can’t wait to see it.”
“I can’t wait to show you. I was by myself when I bought it, and no one has seen it yet.”
“I offered to give an opinion,” David said, “and was schooled about the superstitions surrounding these things.”
“Which you should’ve known since this isn’t your first time being engaged,” Daisy said with a teasing smile for him.
“Everything about this time is different.” He put his arm around Daisy and kissed her. “I had nothing to do with planning that wedding. I wasn’t even here.”
“Ancient history,” Daisy said, smiling up at him.
“I meant to ask, how was Marion?” Lizzie said.
“Not great,” Daisy replied glumly. “She’s definitely declined since we last saw her. She didn’t recognize me at first.”
“That’s so sad,” Lizzie said with a sigh. “Alex and Paul are talking about moving her home once our facility is open.”
“That’d be a blessing for them to have her closer,” David said.
“They’re so grateful for what you all are doing with the facility,” Daisy added. “They can’t wait to move her back to the island.”
“I’ve been thinking we should name the facility for Marion,” Lizzie said. “She’s the one who inspired the idea.”
“That’d be amazing,” Daisy said. “Alex and Paul would be so thrilled.”
“That’s a great idea, hon,” Jared said. “I like it.”
“Then it’s done,” Lizzie said. “I’ll let Alex and Paul know tomorrow.”
Daisy hugged her. “Thank you so much for honoring Marion in this way.”
Lizzie returned Daisy’s embrace. “It’s so nice to be able to do something with Jared’s obscene fortune to make things better for people we care about.”
While everyone else laughed, Jared huffed. “There is nothing obscene about my fortune.” Though his tone was indignant, his expression was full of love for his irrepressible wife.
“We’re off to bed,” Daisy said. “See you all in the morning.”
“Good night,” Lizzie said for all of them.