Chapter 18
eighteen
QUINN
“But I don’t wanna go home,” Max says, rubbing his eyes and leaning against me heavily.
I brush his hair from his forehead and look down at him. “I know, buddy, but you need to. You can barely stand on your own. It’s been a long day.”
“I didn’t get to go on the hayride, though.”
“There’s always next year. It’s okay to miss out on some things. It might even be good for you. Remind you not to take everything for granted.”
“Do we have to get all serious right now? I’m tired.”
I laugh. “Exactly my point. Now get in the car with Caleb and Emily.” I press a kiss to his forehead and push him toward the car.
“Night, Declan.” Max detours to give Declan a quick hug.
“Night, kid. I’ll see you later.” He chuckles as he watches Max stumble toward Caleb and Emily.
“You sure you don’t mind me sticking around? I can go home with them if you’re ready to go,” I ask Declan.
“I’m good.” He smiles at me. “Remember, this is my favorite time of year. I am happy to continue soaking this in.”
“You staying?” Caleb calls from next to his open car door.
“Yeah, Declan is good with taking me home later.”
“Take care of her,” Caleb says to Declan.
“Not that she needs it, but I will,” Declan confirms before I can say anything.
Caleb rolls his eyes. “You two are perfect for each other.” Before I even register what he said, Caleb gets in his car and drives away.
“Don’t panic,” Declan says quietly at my side.
“I’m not,” I tell him, even though internally I am. I’m itching to run away from him.
Declan and I have gotten close over the last six weeks. Developing feelings was bound to happen when we’ve spent so much time together. But even when I lived in New York and spent significant time with my friends there, I never developed the kind of friendship I have with Declan. I mean, the last time I searched out someone to spend time with was back in high school, before Mom left.
Lately, I find myself taking every opportunity I can to be in Declan’s space. I wait around the main house on Tuesday nights so I can talk to him when he drops Max off. We have lunch together every day at school and Thursday nights at The Diner, which we’ve had every week since that first dinner. I could easily find somewhere else to go Thursday nights, but I don’t want to miss out on that time with Declan.
If I’m being honest with myself, Declan has become my best friend—one of my favorite people.
“Come on, let’s go for that hayride.” Declan rests a hand on my lower back, gently guiding me in that direction.
“Should we talk about that?” I ask him quietly when we make it to the line for the hayride.
“Only if you want to.” His hands are in his pockets now, but he’s standing close, almost as if he’s afraid I might bolt if he moves too far from me. To be fair, he’s not wrong. The urge to run is still in the back of my mind.
I would never forgive myself if I did something to change our friendship for the worse. He’s far too important to my family, and honestly, he’s become really important to me. I don’t know what I would do if he weren’t there for me to lean on, and I don’t want to jeopardize that or his relationship with my family if I’m unsure of a future with him.
I slowly turn toward him, and he looks down at me. I’ve gotten better at reading him, but in this moment, I’m not entirely sure what he’s thinking. “I think I want to talk about it.”
“Okay,” he says calmly. “What are you thinking?”
“Okay. I want to talk about it, but I want you to go first.”
He chuckles quietly, looking down and shaking his head slightly. A little like he’s exasperated with me, but the matching smirk lets me know he’s not really upset, and I immediately relax. Somehow, I know everything will be fine, no matter what happens next.
He lifts his head and studies me for a minute before he murmurs, “Fuck it.”
Then his hands are on my cheeks, pulling me toward him while he leans down, and his lips are on mine.
My mind goes blank. All I can focus on is the feeling of Declan’s lips on mine and his hands on my face. The kiss is gentle and demanding, like he’s giving me room to pull away if I want, but also showing me how much he wants this.
It’s that knowledge that has me stepping further into him, my hands gripping the edges of his open jacket tightly and I honestly can’t imagine letting go. His tongue glides over my lips, asking for entrance, but before I can grant it, he pulls back just enough to look me in the eye. “I know we actually have to talk, but right now, I just want to keep kissing you.”
I lean in, my lips against his and whisper, “So kiss me.”
One of his hands moves to the back of my head, the other down to my waist, pulling me closer. He swallows my gasp in a searing kiss. His hands holding my firmly, but still loose enough that I know I could pull away if I wanted—but I don’t. My hands move around his waist and travel up his back, pressing my chest flush with his. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this wanted from a simple kiss in my life. I don’t want it to end.
A throat clears loudly behind us, clearly not the first time they’ve tried to get our attention, making us pull away. “Might want to take that somewhere else,” the person says lightly.
I refuse to look at anyone and bury my face in Declan’s chest, completely embarrassed we forgot where we were.
“Right.” Declan clears his throat and squeezes me. “Sorry about that,” he says to the person behind us. He shifts slightly, pressing his mouth to my ear and whispers, “You want to go?” I nod my head against him. “Come on.” He laughs.
“I can’t believe we did that,” I say as we get closer to his truck. “There’s no way that doesn’t make it back to my family.”
“Would that be such a bad thing?” he asks, spinning me around so my back is to his truck, and he’s right in front of me, leaving the slighted amount of space between us.
“Not necessarily,” I tell him, fiddling with the buttons of his shirt. “But we should probably know what this is before they find out.” I look up at him. “Right now, I don’t think either of us knows the answer to that question.”
“Okay. Let’s talk about it.” He steps closer to me, sandwiching me between him and his truck.
“Not here,” I say, looking around and seeing so many people still walking around. “Can we talk back at my place?”
“Yeah.” Declan brushes a quick kiss against my lips and then opens the door for me. “Get in, Bug.”
I smirk at him but do as he says.
I stare out the passenger window on the drive back to the house. It’s quiet in the truck but not uncomfortable.
Declan reaches over the center console and places his hand on my thigh, squeezing it. “You’re not panicking over there, are you?”
I smile at how well he seems to know me. I like the idea of someone knowing me that well.
“No.” I glance down at his hand, picking it up and placing it between both of mine before turning back to the window. We stay that way for the rest of the drive home.
Declan pulls up to the house just as someone walks up the steps to the front door and rings the doorbell.
“Who could that be this late at night?” I say as I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out of the truck. There are lights on inside, so I know Dad is still up, but seeing someone here this late is still weird.
“Quinn, wait, you don’t know who that is.” Declan rushes to shut off the truck and follows me up the walkway.
“Can I help you?” I ask as I get to the bottom of the stairs. The man at the door turns around, and while I don’t know his name, he looks familiar.
“I’m looking for Scott Marks,” he tells me.
“What do you need with Scott at ten o’clock on a Saturday night?” Declan asks from behind me.
“I need to see Scott, and then I’ll be on my way,” the man repeats as Dad opens the door, leaning on his crutches.
“Hello?” Dad questions.
“Scott Marks?”
“Yes?”
“You’ve been served.” The man hands Dad an envelope before he turns and leaves.
“What?” I say, rushing up the porch steps to Dad’s side. “Served with what?”
Dad takes his time opening the envelope and pulling out its contents. He studies them before releasing a massive sigh. “Well, we wondered why your mother hasn’t been back since Max’s party.” He hands me the papers before heading down the hall and back to the living room.
I look at Declan, worry on my face, before looking at the papers and following Dad into the house, with Declan close behind. “She’s suing you for custody?” I exclaim. “What lawyer would take her case? She abandoned him!”
“Quinn, you’ll wake Max,” Dad says from the couch.
I look at him and then to Declan. “I don’t understand.” I take a seat on the loveseat.
“Let me see,” Declan asks softly, coming to my side and taking the papers from me.
“Your mother has always been good at making friends. I’m sure she conned some lawyer into believing some sob story she gave them,” Dad says.
“I’ll call my sister. She’s a family lawyer. She’ll be able to help make sense of this,” Declan tells us.
“Declan, we can’t ask that of you,” Dad says.
“You didn’t. Besides, Ava loves you, and she would be pissed if she found out we didn’t ask for her help.” Declan reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.
“You’re gonna call her now? It’s late,” I say to him.
“She’ll be up,” he assures me as he puts the phone to his ear. “Hey, Ava,” he says as he turns and walks back toward the front door.
Dad and I are quiet while we wait for him to return. We can’t hear what’s said, just the soft murmur of his voice from the front of the house.
“She can’t win this,” I say.
Dad doesn’t respond.
Declan comes back into the room a few minutes later. “She’s going to get on the first flight down here,” he says as he comes to take a seat next to me. He reaches over and takes my hand. “I gave her what information I could. She’s just as confused as you are, but she’s confident we’ll figure it out long before it goes any further.”
“Okay. Thank you, Declan,” Dad says, standing from the couch and bending down to kiss me on the forehead.
“That’s it?” I ask him.
“There’s nothing else we can do tonight. We’ll wait till Ava gets here and go from there,” he says, turning toward his room. “You’ll turn everything off and lock up behind you?”
“Of course.” I’m both stunned and jealous by his calmness.
Declan and I sit on the couch for a few more minutes before he squeezes my hand, bringing my attention back to him. “Your dad’s right. There’s nothing else to do tonight.” He stands and pulls me up with him. “Ava will text me with her flight information as soon as she has it, and I’ll pick her up from the airport and bring her straight here.”
“Okay.”
“Come on, let’s shut the house down and lock up. I’ll walk you home.” Declan begins moving around the house, shutting off the few remaining lights.
“We didn’t get to have that conversation,” I say quietly when I meet him by the front door.
He takes the keys from my hand, locks the front door, and turns to me, placing his hand on the small of my back and guiding me to the cottage. “There were more pressing things to worry about, and we have all the time in the world to figure us out.”
Us . I didn’t realize how much I liked the idea of an “us” until he said it. “I don’t want to put off that conversation for some undetermined amount of time. If Dad has taught me anything, it’s that we don’t always have as much time as we think.”
“Then we won’t put it off indefinitely. We’ll talk about it as soon as we have some answers from Ava,” he says as we reach the cottage door. He unlocks the door with the keys still in his hand and then places them in my purse, hanging across my body. He cups my face in his hands, studying me. “Are you okay by yourself, or do you want me to stay?”
“I’ll be okay,” I tell him, worrying my bottom lip.
“I’ll stay if you want me to.”
“I know you will, but I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” He leans down and presses a kiss to the corner of my lips. If I’m being honest, I want more, but I know now isn’t the time. “Go inside. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Declan says so quietly he’s practically whispering.
“Good night, Declan,” I whisper back.