Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MILES
Today is the day Quinn and I break up.
I scrub a hand over my face as we turn onto Main Street, ready to join in on the Fourth of July festivities.
I want a reason to not do this, but I’ve spent the last three days trying to find a way that doesn’t end with things in a mess.
All I can come up with is, no matter what happens, at the end of the summer, Quinn will leave and I won’t.
That’s the only part of our story that hasn’t changed.
And it’s best if we accept this is over now. Letting it drag on will only make it hurt more in the end.
This year the town decided that each business would set up their booth right in front of their business so that you still had that feel of walking down Main Street. Also, if someone sees something they like, they don’t need to walk around to find the store—it’s right here.
Honestly, I’m not sure why they didn’t do this sooner.
“What time does the bake-off start?” Quinn asks as we walk deeper into the festival already in full swing. It’s only just after lunch, but that’s how this town works for these gatherings .
“In fifteen minutes.”
“So, we should head right there?”
“Yeah, do you want a drink first?”
“It’s basically lunch, Miles,” Quinn says with a small laugh.
“And it’s the weekend, soooo…”
“So yeah, get me what you’re having.”
I pinch her side. She squeals and pushes me away from her playfully. “You get drinks, and I’ll go check us in for the bake-off.”
“Deal.”
I lean down and kiss the top of her head, then walk off.
When I look up, Luca is watching and waiting for me in front of Hudson’s booth.
“Look who showed up,” Luca says.
“I was busy.” I walk right by him to go inside the bar.
I could order outside, but it’ll be quicker inside because fewer tourists will be there.
“With Quinn?”
“Obviously,” I say without looking at him.
“So, how’s that going?”
“Good.”
A small smile touches my lips. Really good.
“The usual?” Hudson asks.
“Yeah, but make it two.”
“Three,” Luca says quickly.
“Okay, well, don’t think we are making this a summer thing,” Luca snaps after Hudson comes back with beers. “Hudson last summer, you this summer, and me next summer. Nope. No thanks.”
“Don’t be silly,” I tell him, and he scowls at me. “Ruby this summer and you the next.”
Hudson lets out a deep laugh while Luca just glares at me .
“I liked it better when I was the funny one.”
“Really? It’s kind of fun. Maybe we should switch. You can be all broody and dickish, I’ll crack jokes and enjoy life.”
“I think it’s a great idea.” Hudson adds. “Plus, that’s how this summer thing works. You have to be dickish, as Miles said, for the right girl to come around and challenge you.”
I smile now, because it’s been a while since Hudson and I teamed up against Luca.
“You two are so funny. Not,” Luca says and then walks off.
I keep smiling as I wave goodbye to Hudson and head to the bakery. I have a bake-off to win and a breakup to prepare for.
The last thought makes my smile drop and my stomach flop.
With drinks in hand, I weave through people on the street and find Quinn standing at our table, already prepped with tools. She’s got her phone out and looks to be filming something. She makes it look so easy. Sharing what you love. I wonder how that would work for the shop. Do I just post about cars and caption it I loved working on this ? Because if so, that’s what I’d put for every single post. People would be bored.
Quinn puts the phone down, so I walk up to our table.
“Get this,” she steps in closer, her perfume surrounding me. “Danny and Cherry are at the table to our right, and Hudson and Sadie are at the table to our left. Natalie and Tobias are here, too, but they are up front. I can’t believe Cherry and Danny joined as a couple.”
I couldn’t care less, but the way her face lights up makes me smile again.
She makes me smile.
Fuck.
“Okay, who’s ready to get started?” Brooke announces as she walks out of the bakery to the front of the group. She quickly goes over the rules and how we don't have electric mixers because the cords in the street are a hazard, but we have plenty of space in the oven to bake. We can pick between cookies or cupcakes. There will be a winner for each, and the judges for today are the town’s favorite old man trio, Bartly, Marty, and Phil. Then she tells us all to get started and disappears.
Quinn and I work quickly, and as soon as I’m mixing the dough into our cupcakes, I ask, “How hard is it to set up a social media page online?”
“That depends on who's doing it. It’s really easy to start one and get a couple of pictures up, but it’s the maintenance part that gets tricky. Why?”
“What if I set one up for the shop?”
“You should,” she replies with a lot more eagerness than I expected. “I can help you do it. I can even help you get a link on there that lets people see your schedule and potential openings. It would be easy to track those who are interested, and you can email or call them based on how they fill out any forms.”
I’ve stopped mixing to just stare at her.
“You have so much content already, and I think the small-town part will be a selling point to clientele who like to remain discrete. You never have to share a name, and I know you don’t like to show your face, so you won’t need to. It’s completely possible to make a faceless account. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to maybe have a post that we can pin to the—why are you looking at me like that?”
I chuckle. “You just sound like you’ve thought about this a lot.”
“Oh, well, it crossed my mind this week.”
“A social media page for the shop?”
“Ways to help you so that people like Cherry’s father can’t take anything away from you again.”
She looks away cleaning up our space so that she can stay busy .
Has she been thinking similar thoughts to mine this week?
“Okay, teams,” Brooke calls out. “The ovens are ready, so please keep an organized line when you start to come into the shop.”
Cherry’s red hair flashes right in front of me as she and Danny make their way to the bakery.
“I still can’t believe that those two are competing together.” Quinn steps up next to me, keeping her voice quiet. “Do you think it could be serious?”
“Maybe,” I say, not giving a shit right now what’s going on with Danny or Cherry.
Hudson and Sadie are stationed on our other side. Sadie is sitting on the table, and Hudson in front of her, leaning over her crossed legs. She's laughing as they feed each other a spoonful of cookie dough.
My heart swells watching the two of them so fucking in love, they don’t care who sees.
Then I look over at Natalie and Tobias. They are each wearing a baby carrier, baby included, as they go over the recipe. Natalie starts to laugh as she holds it in front of Tobias, and he holds up the two eggs we were given. They both erupt into more laughter as they set the eggs and recipe down, clearly abandoning their work. They step closer to each other and kiss quickly.
“All right, I think we are ready,” Quinn says, holding up the muffin trays. “Do you want me to take them, or do you want to do it?”
“Let’s do it together.” I take one of the trays.
“Okay.” She beams and then spins for the door.
“Who do you think is going to win?”
“Us, duh. Come on, Asher, have faith.”
I chuckle and follow her into the bakery. We make our way to the back and hand Brooke our trays .
On our way out, we spot Danny, Cherry, and her father. Danny and Mr. Pepperton are shaking hands as if they are meeting for the first time.
Quinn makes a sharp inhale noise and grabs my hand, then she pulls me out the door.
“Oh my god, did you see Cherry’s face?”
“No.”
“She was smiling so freaking big at Danny.” Her hand goes to her heart. “Awe, I think we actually did it. We made two people fall for each other.”
Yeah, I think we did. But I don't think we did it to just one couple.
I think we did it to ourselves, too.
Which is insane to think about. How can one kiss make you want more? How can one person change your mind about so many things in the time it takes to snap your fingers?
Easy.
Because when it’s the right person, nothing matters as long as you are together, and this whole scheme has lasted as long as it has only because I’ve been doing it with Quinn. Anyone else and I’d have ended it sooner. Hell, I wouldn't have even started it.
Which means only one thing to me now.
A breakup … yeah, that’s not happening.
“I can’t believe we didn’t win,” Quinn says as she takes a seat outside Hudson’s Bar, where he’s set up his little pergola booth. She sips her beer with a little scowl, making a wrinkle form on her forehead.
“Yeah, well, don’t tell your grandma this, but she’s had a lot more years than us to practice. ”
Quinn’s head falls back with laughter.
“I’d love to see you tell that to her face.”
“No, thank you.”
“Do you mind if we join you?” Natalie asks as she and Tobias walk out of the bar.
“Not at all,” Quinn answers. “Where are the babies?”
“Grandma B took them home for us. She said to take an hour or two for us,” Tobias says, resting his arm on the back of Natalie’s chair.
“I might only make it through one drink. I’m exhausted.”
“Me too.” Tobias kisses his wife's head just as Hudson and Sadie join us.
Hudson reaches for one of Quinn’s and my cupcakes. Red velvet with cream cheese frosting.
I swat his hand away. “No cupcakes for you,” I say quickly.
“What? Why not? We made cookies and not cupcakes, so they are gone already.”
“No, they are gone because you two ate so much dough, you could only make four cookies.”
Sadie and Quinn both laugh as Hudson pouts.
“I haven’t seen you like this in a while,” Sadie says to me.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re having fun.”
I jerk my head back slightly.
I want to argue that she’s wrong, but she’s not.
Outside of the social media question, I haven’t thought about work once today.
“I am,” I choose to say instead.
Just then, as if the universe said that’s enough enjoyment for you , Cherry and Danny step out of the bar with Mr. Pepperton, who is looking right at me.
Quinn basically jerks me out of my chair. “This is our chance,” she says quickly. “Just go with whatever I do, okay. ”
She talks so fast and moves even faster that I don't have a chance to say anything in return.
“I’m sorry!” she yells. Instantly, my heart drops into my stomach, and I swear my blood turns hot as I become aware of the watching eyes. “You deserve so much better!”
And with that, she rushes away from me.
My brother looks as shocked as ever for someone who knows what we had is fake. Tobias is glaring at me.
And Marcus Pepperton is still watching me. Only this time, with less glare. This whole breakup is for him but … fuck that.
Quinn is two stores down the street already.
I don't think twice. I chase after her.
“Quinn, wait,” I call out, but she doesn’t stop.
“No. I’m not what you need, Miles.”
“Quinn.”
Nothing.
“Quinn!”
Still nothing.
“Quinn, stop!” I yell even louder, and this time her body jumps as her steps come to a halt.
Since she doesn't turn around, I jog until I'm in front of her.
She's crying.
Damn. Those look real.
She sucks in a breath, and it hits me.
They look real because they are. My smile drops.
“Hey, hey,” I say and then crouch down to eye level with her. “Don’t do this.”
“I can’t help it,” she says quickly. “I want to play the part.”
“I don’t think you’re playing, Quinn.”
She takes a breath and blows it out.
“It doesn't matter.”
Then she pushes past me.
“It does matter. ”
“No, it doesn’t. This is what works. This is what will work.”
“For you, maybe, but it doesn’t work for me. Not anymore.”
“What?” she asks as if she’s out of breath.
“I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind. About what?”
“About us.” I reach for her hand. I tug her forward a few steps. “I don’t want to break up.”
“What about Mr. Pep?—”
“Screw him.”
“But you said?—”
“Forget what I said. Forget what I said about everything, okay?”
“I … I don’t understand.”
I nod slowly, a grin touching my lips as I look her in the eye.
“You want me to be clear, Quinn?”
“Please.”
I reach up, threading my fingers into her hair with one hand and cupping the right side of her face with the other.
“Breaking up isn’t an option anymore, and fake dating—well, that’s not an option either. From this moment on, this thing between us is real. Very, very, real.”
Her tongue slips over her lips and she bites her lower one.
“So, what’s next?”
“Well, I’d like to kiss you again, and then I think we should grab our cupcakes and head home, if that’s okay with you.”
She gives one small nod.
“Home sounds good to me.”
I barely let her get the last word out of her mouth before I press mine to hers. I add my other hand to her hair and deepen the kiss instantly, letting my tongue slip past her lips to tangle with hers. Her moan vibrates against my tongue as I step closer to bring her body flush against mine. Her hands rest on my hips, and she fists my shirt to hold me there .
I swear the entire world disappears at this moment. In a moment where I finally let myself have what I want most. Where I know the rest of the summer is going to be one I never want to end.
I have only a month left to spend with this woman.
I’m not wasting another moment of it.
“Let’s go,” I say, locking her hand with mine and tugging her toward home.
“Our cupcak?—”
“We don’t need them for what I’ve got planned.”
“Oh,” she says as she speed walks next to me.
We pass everyone quickly, maybe a wave here or there, but there’s definitely no room for talking.
We reach the garage, and even though my house is right behind it, waiting isn’t in my plans. I lock the door behind us, grip her hips, and lift her to sit right on the hood of my current project. I can’t think of a better way to have her right now.
“Here?” she asks as slight pink touches her tips.
I nod. “Are you okay with that?”
She bites her lip and nods. I groan.
“Good. Now lift your hips so I can have the dessert I’ve wanted all day.”
As soon as her clothes are off, I place a hand on each of her knees and spread her legs.
This view—hell, it’ll never get old.
“I love the way you look at me,” Quinn whispers, and my gaze flashes up to hers.
“I love the way you shine for me.”
A wicked smile touches her lips, which I take as my cue to get to work.
And I do.
From the first lick to filling her with my cock and hearing her moans echo off the walls .
I work her all night and then again the next morning
Like I said, my time with her is limited.
I plan to spend every single moment of it worshipping her, pleasing her, making her smile, and anything else she’ll let me do.