Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
MILES
A seven-week-old golden retriever stares back at me from the brightness of my screen.
After I got home last night, if I wasn’t thinking about Quinn, I was thinking about the dog I said I was going to get.
I’ve always wanted a dog but never pulled the trigger to get one. I’m a busy guy. I wouldn’t have a ton of time to take care of one, but honestly, it'll never happen unless I make the time.
I click out of the site and check my emails.
Yep, you guessed it. I sent an inquiry for one of the pups. I figured if I was lucky enough to find some for sale in Wind Valley, just a couple hours away, then I better reach out.
I set my phone down and crawl out of bed.
It’s early, but not as early as a typical workday. Even though I’ll work in the shop later, I let myself sleep in an extra hour, sometimes two, on Sundays.
Then I go to breakfast at my dad's house.
Fuck.
I scrub a hand over my face .
The whole idea that this deal with Quinn would be easy was shot right out of the window in one night. I have no clue how I thought we could pull this off low-key.
Nothing about this town is low-key.
Once people start talking, everyone knows everything.
I shower and get ready quickly, pulling on some gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt. I slip on shoes and then lock the door as I head over to get Quinn.
She doesn’t know that I’m coming.
She knows about breakfast, but we never established a time.
I never got around to it once we ran into her friends.
Friends. Ha. If you could call them that.
Friends wouldn’t have let Danny talk to her like that.
Friends would have defended her.
No one did that for her.
And what a sad asshole for thinking she should pick him over herself. If I had to pick and he was my option, I wouldn’t have picked him either.
I knock on the sliding door, stepping back so that I’m not right in her face when she opens it.
It’s just after eight. I hope she’s awake.
It takes her a moment, but she pulls the curtain back and smiles.
It’s simple. A smile. A freaking smile. But something about it gets to me.
Not to mention the fact that she looks ready in every way but her clothes.
“Good morning, Miles,” she says as soon as the door slides open. She crosses her arms and leans on the doorway.
She’s wearing another set of those matching pajama ensembles with shorts and a shirt that buttons down the front. I do my best not to let my gaze wander down to her bare legs, but it’s hard .
She’s got really fucking nice legs.
She has nice everything: legs, ass, chest, smile, if I’m being honest. But until recent events, I never let myself look for too long.
I shouldn't be letting myself look now, but the more time we spend together, the harder it is not to.
Quinn is beautiful.
“What can I do for you?” she asks.
I snap my gaze to hers and then scratch the back of my neck.
“We have breakfast at my dad’s this morning.”
“Yeah, I was wondering what time that would be.”
“I forgot to tell you that part last night, but then I realized that I don’t have your phone number. Otherwise, I would have texted you when I did remember so that I wasn’t springing it on you this early.”
“Okay, how fast do I need to finish getting ready?”
“Twenty minutes?”
She nods. “Come in. I can be faster than that.”
She turns and heads for the bedroom, and my sight falls straight to her ass.
Of course it fucking does, and her shorts are so short in the back that just a sliver of her cheeks show.
Fuck.
I take a breath and scrub a hand over my face.
Being attracted to Quinn isn’t new for me, but being attracted to her and being around her this much without arguing is.
“Is this a special occasion?” she asks as she moves from the bedroom to the bathroom across the hall.
“No. Just Sunday breakfast.”
With some kind of makeup wand thing in her hand, she pokes her head out to look at me.
“You do this every Sunday?”
“Yep. ”
“You, your brothers, and your dad.”
“Yep. And now Sadie. Then Ruby and Max when they’re in town.”
“I’ve never met Ruby,” she says loudly from the bathroom.
Because I’m used to looking at someone when they are talking to me, I turn to face where her voice is coming from and catch the exact moment she tosses her pajamas across the hall and back into the bedroom.
I would have taken her for the type of woman who takes her clothes off and folds them neatly to keep things tidy for when she needs to change back into them tonight.
“How often does she come to town?” Quinn asks, reminding me that we are talking about my little sister and not about what Quinn does with her clothes when she takes them off.
“Not as often as we all wish she would.”
Quinn walks out of the bathroom, ready to go with a smile.
“Is this okay?”
She’s wearing white cotton shorts and a green tank top with thick straps.
I nod. “It’s perfect.”
I open the door for her and lead her in the opposite direction of Main Street. Of all the Ashers, Dad lives the farthest from main street, and even then, it’s still within walking distance for each of us.
“I’ve never been to your dad's house,” Quinn says.
“That’s pretty obvious.”
“I mean, I don’t think I even know where he lives.”
“What? But aren’t you basically a small-town local?” I tease, and she shoves me.
“Okay, I think you’ve made your point on that one. I was wrong. Just because I visit here as much as I do doesn’t make me a local.”
“Ah, she’s learning. ”
“I am.”
Her admission makes me smile, and I don’t really know why.
Is it because she’s agreeing with me, or is it because the conversation between us flows easily when we aren’t fighting?
The screen door swings open as we reach the sidewalk in front of my father’s house.
“I was hoping you’d bring Quinn,” Sadie says.
“She’s here,” I say and follow both women inside.
Dad hugs me, and then he does the same to Quinn.
“Quinn Banks, it’s so good to see you again. Of all the places in Lovers, my kitchen on a Sunday morning wasn’t what I expected, but I am already a fan.”
“Thank you, Mr. Asher. I love that you all do this.”
“It is pretty cool, but I’m sure waking up to have a pastry in Europe or someplace exotic is more exciting.”
“To be fair,” Quinn says as we all move into the dining room where Luca and Hudson are sitting, “I think a family breakfast is more exotic than anything else in my life.”
She takes a seat next to Sadie, so I take the other. Bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, a quiche Sadie made, and a couple of muffins from B’s are laid out in front of us. It seems like a bit much, but we all divide the leftovers and take them home to get us through most of the week.
Everyone dives in, dishing up their plates. My dad asks, “Does your family not do something similar?”
Quinn shakes her head as Luca passes her the quiche. “If you think I travel a lot, you should meet my parents. They taught me everything I know, and you already know Tobias is doing his own thing. I just … I don’t see my family as much as I should.”
Dad nods. I know he’s about to say more on the subject, but I also caught the way Quinn’s last sentence caught a little in her throat .
It makes me think of last night again, and for a reason I can’t explain, I get pissed off all over again.
If she doesn't see her family often and her so-called friends clearly suck, who does she spend time with?
“So, Hudson,” I cut in before my dad can drill Quinn on anything more that might become too personal. “Are you actually going to work at the bar’s booth this year at the 4th of July festival?”
My older brother scowls at me, but he nods.
“Good. Wouldn’t want you to skip out again this year.”
“I didn’t skip out last year,” Hudson says, growing defensive. “I was busy.”
“For good reason,” Sadie adds quickly. She reaches for his hand on the top of the table, and the ring on her left hand shimmers in the light.
“Have you two picked a date yet?” Quinn asks.
“Next summer.” Sadie beams.
“We thought we’d keep the day she showed up at my door as a tradition. Last summer, she showed up begging me to take her in,” Hudson starts to tease, and Sadie pinches his side. He laughs and then kisses her forehead. “This year, I proposed on that same date, and next year, we will get married.”
“I love that.” Quinn sighs. “It’s very romantic.”
It is. Which, until last summer, was very unlike my brother, but again, as I said, I’m happy for him.
“How’s the marina thing going?” I ask, turning my attention to Luca.
“It’s not going. Shay hired someone from out of state, and it’s complete bullshit. She wouldn’t even give me five minutes. Told me I wasn’t worth it.”
No one says anything right away because this is a sensitive topic for Luca. Lovers is all about supporting each other, so for Shay to not hire him feels personal .
Which, to be fair, is for this particular situation.
“Who is Shay?” Quinn asks before I can stop her.
Hudson and Sadie groan, my dad shakes his head, and I open my mouth to give the shortest short version, but Luca is faster.
“Shay is my ex-best friend’s sister. Her family owns the marina and apparently still despises me for something that happened thirteen years ago, because when one of Lovers’s most popular attractions needed updating, they chose to hire anyone but the local contractor. That contractor is me,” he added.
As if Quinn couldn’t piece that together for herself.
I pinch my lips together to keep from laughing.
The situation as a whole is not funny, but damn, Luca’s delivery sure is.
“What did you do to make their family hate you so much?”
“That’s a damn good question, Quinn,” I say and look at Luca.
Since none of us know the answer, the rest of the table joins me in watching my brother until he gives us the answer.
Which, of course, he doesn’t.
“I’ll be fine. Time heals all wounds.”
I chuckle at that one and continue eating.
Conversation flows easy from there and it’s mostly wedding talk, which gives me time to let my mind take a break. With Quinn here, it’s like I need to be on high alert, ready to field any questions or slip-ups that could result in digging the hole we have created bigger than it currently is.
But shit, there’s no backing out now. We’ve come too far.
And I want to tell Luca, but then I’ll need to tell my dad, and I can see in his eyes that he’s happy about me dating someone. I just—fuck, I don’t know what I’m doing.
“So, we should go sometime this week,” Sadie says, pulling me back into the conversation.
“Do what? ”
“Go hiking,” Quinn says and pats my leg as if she knows I’m about ten seconds away from losing it if we add more to our list of fake appearances. To be fair, this one had been mentioned already. We just didn’t set a time. At least with them, it’ll be a true hike and no need to fake anything about it.
My gaze drops to where Quinn touches me. Women have touched me before, and I’m an adult male who can handle it, but the fact that she hasn’t removed her hand is what gets me. Or rather, it’s that a small side of me doesn’t want her to.
It’s a hand on my thigh, for fuck’s sake, and yet the action soothes me.
I look up to find Lucas glaring at me.
“This week is great,” Quinn says, “but we should get going. I have a long list of shop candidates to look through, and we all know this man right here doesn’t ever take a day off.”
“But he should start,” my dad chimes in, giving Quinn a goodbye hug. “Maybe having someone like you start stealing his time will knock some sense into him.”
“Loving your job isn’t a crime, Dad,” I tell him.
“No, no, it’s not, but missing out on life when it’s happening right in front of you is.”
I hold his gaze for a moment.
Before my mom died, Dad worked a lot. It wasn’t until after she passed away so quickly that he started talking like this. Live life to your fullest, Miles. Enjoy it while you can, Luca. Love like this only comes around once in your lifetime, Hudson. There are so many more one-liners he recites to us, but the one he just said to me is right on par with the rest.
I know he didn’t regret anything when it came to his relationship with Mom, though. Oh hell, those two are going to be one tough combination to beat.
I should know. I’ve been looking for a love like that for the last few years. Hence, why I made such a poor decision last summer with Cherry.
Which is also exactly why I’m not mad that Quinn blurted to her friends that she’s dating someone. Just because others around you are falling in love doesn’t mean you should force it when it’s not your turn, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to feel something similar. Even for a brief moment.
I get it.
“I’ll make sure he’s having plenty of fun,” Quinn says. She rests a hand on my back, rubbing it gently before she heads for the door. “See you next Sunday if not before then.”
“I like her,” my dad says before I can leave. “She’s different.”
I huff a laugh. “Oh yeah, she is.”
“It must be why you picked her.”
He slaps a hand on my shoulder before turning back for the kitchen.
As soon as I catch up to Quinn, my hand gravitates to her lower back as if it were an action I do every single day. I drop it as soon as I notice, but then we turn the first corner, and I do it again.
She turns to look at me, a small smirk on her lips right before she bites that damn bottom lip.
“Thanks for coming,” I say quickly before I can think about her mouth any more than a man should.
“Of course. That was really nice.”
“You know, I was thinking that if we can pull off moments like the one we just had with my family all summer long, we very well just might be the best fake dating couple this world has ever seen.”
Quinn laughs.
She might think I’m cracking a joke, but I’m being serious .
Everything about today felt natural. I was ready for a day of playing this role, but the only person I had to be was me.
There is a very good chance that we get away with this.
If anything, it’ll be the summer I finally get to know Quinn Banks.