Authors: Meg Jolie
“Well, tonight was interesting,” he said.
“With Mom, it always is.”
Luke followed her into the living room. When he was seated next to her, he settled a hand on her shoulder, pulling her in. “You seem really tense. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m just tired of my mom’s drama. And I’m tired of the snow. I’m getting sick of winter. I feel so cooped up and spending the evening with my parents doesn’t help.”
“I shouldn’t say it,” Luke began, “but after all the talk about Nolan, it sort of feels like your mom’s decided maybe I’m not so bad.”
She smiled because she knew he was teasing. “You know she loves you. When it comes right down to it.”
“
Sure she does.” He didn’t look convinced.
“I just feel bad for Carly,” Quinn admitted. “Sometimes Mom just does
n’t know when to let things go. And she needs to this time.” She told Luke that Carly was living with Nolan.
“Really? Huh, I didn’t think I’d ever see the day when she’d settle down.” He paused. “Actually, I thought maybe she and Jesse would get back together again.”
“Yeah, Betsy would love that,” Quinn sarcastically replied.
Luke shrugged. “It’s not like she’d have any say in it.” He noted the confused look on Quinn’s face. “They broke up. Wait. Did I forget to tell you that?”
She nodded. She wasn’t surprised because it seemed like a complete guy thing to do, forgetting something like that.
“Oh, well, they did. The night we went out? When he was so pissed at her? When they left, he broke things off with her,” Luke said.
“I wonder what Carly would think of that,” Quinn muttered. “Actually, maybe it’s better if she doesn’t know. She seems happy with Nolan. Mom is enough of a complication. I don’t think it would be fair to throw Jesse into the mix.”
He knew better than to comment on that.
“I can’t help with your mom,” he said. “But I may be able to help with the rest of it.”
Quinn bounced around so that she was completely facing him. “What do you mean?”
He smiled but he looked a little nervous as he shifted. He pulled an envelope out of his back pocket. He handed it to her and she pulled out the paper that was inside.
“The Quinnie I grew up with loved surprises,” he said. “Please tell me that hasn’t changed.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, teasing. “Well that depends. I love
fun
surprises. Is this a fun surprise?”
He nodded and motioned to the paper she was holding.
She unfolded it as he watched.
“I thought we could go to Eagle’s Ridge next weekend,” Luke said hopefully. It was a ski resort that he, Quinn and their friends had spent a lot of time at back when they were in high school. “I wanted to do something fun for you. I thought maybe you could use a weekend away. And, well, you used to love skiing so much. It was the first thing that came to mind. But I thought we should go as soon as possible because winter
is
almost over.”
“
That sounds so amazing! I haven’t been skiing in
so
long!” Quinn admitted as she pulled him into a hug. “I’m pretty sure the last time I went was our sophomore year of college. I went with you. I hope I haven’t forgotten how.”
“You haven’
t. Once you know how to ski, you don’t forget,” Luke assured her. “I hope this wasn’t out of line, but I asked my parents if they could take Carter for the weekend.” He pointed at the papers in her hand. “I reserved two nights for us in the lodge. I can leave work early Friday afternoon so we can get up there at a decent time. But if you’re not okay with that, I mean, if you don’t want to go away or if you don’t want to leave Carter, it’s fine. I can cancel. I made sure of it before I booked the room. Or we can just go for the day on Saturday. I just wanted to have things in place in case you do say yes. But I know Carter is yours and it’s not really my place to make plans for him. So, if you’d rather he goes to your mom’s or maybe they could each have him a night, or maybe,” Luke said as he took a breath, “I could just stop talking. So you can tell me what you think.”
“I think this sounds perfect, Luke. I would love to go away with you. For the record, I think it was really nice of you to be sure your mom could take him.”
The look of relief that crossed his face was evident.
“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about too,” she said.
He frowned at her because she sounded nervous. “What is it?”
“It’s about the house. You haven’t mentioned it for the last few weeks. I’ve been waiting for you
to bring it up but you haven’t.”
“Oh,” h
e said as his frown deepened. “Actually, I’ve been waiting for you to bring it up again. I know I kind of threw the whole thing at you. I wanted to give you some time to think it over.” He hesitated. “Have you been thinking it over?”
She nodded. “I have. I really love the house. But more than that,” she said as she took his hand, “I love what it represents. You’ve been part of my life for as long as I can remember. You are such a huge part of my past. And my present. When I think of the future, I
know I want you in it.”
Luke’s expression was blank for a few moments as he let her words completely sink in. Then a smile slowly spread across his face. “Do you have any idea how badly I’ve wanted to hear you say that?” She shook her head. “Or how long I’ve waited for you to say it? Years,” he said in answer to his own question. “I feel the same way, but you probably already know that. As long as you’re on board, I’ll put in an offer on Monday morning.”
She bit her lip, smiling. A weekend away. An offer on a house.
A future with Luke.
She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so happy.
13
Quinn had never had a professional massage before. She’d been leery but after having finished it, she was sure that her first would not be her last.
A facial scrub came next, followed by a facial massage. By the time she was finished in the spa, she couldn’t wait to thank Luke. The massage was another surprise, a part of their weekend away.
He knew that it had been too long since she’d taken any time for herself.
As she walked back to the room, she realized that a weekend away was exactly what she needed. What they both needed. They’d had evenings alone together here and there. But most of the large chunks of time they’d spent together, they’d included Carter. As much as she loved her son, and as much as she could tell that Luke loved him too, she knew that they needed this time alone.
She let herself int
o the room and was greeted by the unmistakable sound of jets and bubbling water. Luke was lying back, with his eyes closed. As she got closer, he opened them and sat up.
“How was the massage
?” he asked.
“Aaaa-mazing,” she said, dragging out the word. “I wouldn’t mind going back for another one before we leave. Maybe a couple’s massage?”
“Maybe,” Luke agreed. “For now, this is nice,” he said, motioning to the water. “Are you going to join me? Clothing is optional,” he teased. He would’ve gone without but he wasn’t exactly sure how she would feel about that. He hoped to find out.
Quinn cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “And which option did you choose?”
He frowned. “I chose clothing but I’d be more than happy to change that.”
She laughed at him. “Let me change. I’ll be right back.” She plucked her black bikini out of her open suitcase and disappeared into the bathroom. She quickly changed, pulled her hair into a knot at the back of her head and then reemerged from the bathroom.
“This is really nice,” she said as she slid into the water.
“It’s okay,” he agreed. “We can go down to the pool later if you want. There’s a really nice hot tub down there. And the sauna. Or if you
’d like to, we still have plenty of time to hit the slopes tonight.”
She shook her head as she positioned herself next to him.
The hot water was soothing and the jets felt like the ideal complement to her massage. “This is perfect. We have all day tomorrow to ski. Sunday morning too, if we want. For now? I just want to relax. After that massage, I don’t feel like doing anything else.”
“Nothing else?” he asked, giving her a playful nudge. “How about having some champagne?”
She nodded as he pulled the bottle out of the ice bucket where it had been chilling on the edge. He popped the cork and then poured them each a glass. When they both had a flute in hand, Luke raised his to hers. “I’d like to make a toast,” he said. His tone was serious but his eyes were sparkling.
She laughed. “What for? Anything in particular?”
“To you. To me. To the new house that will belong to both of us someday. Hopefully someday soon.” He clinked his glass to hers as she sat there, momentarily stunned.
“Wait! So you got the house? They accepted the offer?” she asked excitedly.
He nodded. “Yeah, I just found out this afternoon.”
“That’s…so exciting!” she said.
He grinned. “I thought so. I’m glad you do too.”
They sipped their champagne and discussed the details.
The closing date was a month away. Neither of them mentioned Quinn and Carter moving in. Not yet. Luke was very much aware of how much Margo would disapprove of them living together before they were married.
That, however, was the least of his concerns. He wanted to do things the right way.
“Have you told anyone else?” Quinn asked.
“Of course not,” he said. “I wanted you to be the first to know.”
They finished their champagne and Luke set the flutes aside.
Quinn could barely contain her excitement. Luke had given her one surprise after another the past few days. Sitting next to him, she felt absolutely blissful.
The hot water was soothing, warming her to her core. Or maybe the warm feeling was caused by Luke’s hands sliding across her wet, slippery skin. He pulled her to him easily, her body gliding through the water. He lifted her over him, until she was straddling him.
She laughed at the smug smile on his face. “Did I tell you yet, what a great idea this weekend was?”
He shrugged as he settled his hands on her waist. “You might have mentioned it.”
She leaned in, nibbling at his neck, her hands easily gliding over his shoulders. “It might be the best idea you’ve ever had,” she said when she raised her mouth so it was next to his ear. All laughter was gone when she
finally brought her mouth down on his.
He kissed her back passionately. His hands roaming across her back, her arms looped around his neck. His fingers toyed with the strings of her bikini top but he stopped himself. When she ran her fingers through his hair he let out a little groan.
She was ready for so much more. She was still straddling him and she had no doubt he was ready for more as well. She could feel proof that he was. But she stopped, pulling away slightly.
His eyes opened lazily as he took in the sight of her. Her cheeks were flushed. Her hair was damp on the ends. Her bikini top left just enough to the imagination that he wanted to discover the rest for himself.
“Luke,” Quinn said with a sigh. She sat back so she was able to look him in the eye. There was something she’d been meaning to say for awhile. She wasn’t sure why she’d been holding back. Perhaps it was because it felt just a bit like she was pushing Jake out of her heart by letting someone else in.
But it was time.
Luke was looking at her, patiently waiting as the water continued to bubble around them.
She slid her hands across his cheeks, cupping his jaw line in her palms as she leaned in, leaving a small, slow kiss behind.
“I love you,” she finally said.
He didn’t say anything for just a bit. He just took in her expression. Finally, he said, “
I was starting to think you were never going to say it.”
She started
to explain but his fingers slid into her hair and he pulled her toward him, kissing her once more. This time, when his fingers became entangled with the strings of her top, she was ready to help him.
A knock on the door abruptly stopped them both.
Quinn sat back, her eyes widened in surprise.
Luke let out a groan as he gently slid Quinn off.
“It’s room service,” he explained. “I forgot I ordered dinner in.” He rose from the water, rivulets streamed down his body as he reached for a towel. Quinn leaned back, enjoying the sight of him as he got out. “I’ll be just a second,” he said.