He heard her make her way through the house saying good-bye and thank you. He grabbed
a beer from the fridge and started drinking.
Colin strode in, loaded with bowls of food to be wrapped up. Eileen bustled in behind
him.
“Who’s on dish duty with me?”
“You’re not children anymore. I don’t keep a list.” His mother’s shortness had him
taking another pull from his beer.
“What are you doing, man?” Colin asked.
“Having a beer before I start washing dishes. What does it look like?”
“It looks like you’re avoiding everything and letting the best thing in your life
walk out.”
Eileen left without finishing wrapping the leftovers.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Another sip of beer cooled his throat.
“You love Quinn. Everyone in this house can see it. You’re standing here instead of
going after her.” He leaned against the table.
“Go after her for what? We’re friends. I don’t figure into her plan.”
“You are a stupid shit.”
Ryan set down the beer. He wouldn’t mind a brawl with Colin to ease some of the tension
in his body.
“If you think hitting me will fix things between us, go ahead and do it. I have at
least that much coming.” He continued leaning against the table, not looking concerned.
Ryan picked up his beer again.
“I know what my leaving did to you. I know what it cost you. Everything fell on you.
The business, the family. I should’ve been here to shoulder some of it. I know it
cost you Cassie.”
“No, it didn’t. It was a factor, but we’d already slid away from each other. She was
smart enough to make a clean break.” He finished his beer and chucked the bottle into
the trash.
“The point is, I’m not going anywhere. Let me help. I figure between the two of us,
we can take care of the family and the bar and still carve out lives for ourselves.”
“I have a life.”
“Yeah, she just left. If you don’t go after her, she’ll be gone for good.”
“She’s only going on vacation. She’s coming back.”
Colin pushed away from the table. “She might come back to Chicago, but not to you.
This is her chance for a clean break unless you stop her.”
“You go away for a few years and come back a philosopher?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Get out of here.” He gave Ryan a shove away from the counter. “Moira,
get in here and wash while I dry.”
“I did dish duty last week. Maggie’s turn,” Moira called from the dining room.
Maggie returned and poured cups of coffee. “I’ll be back in a minute to do dishes.”
She stopped, holding steaming mugs, and looked at Ryan. “For what it’s worth, I like
Quinn. She’s good for you.”
“And you know this from one family dinner?”
She lifted her shoulder. “I knew before dinner. No one has ever gotten you all twisted
up like you have been.” She kissed his cheek and brought the coffee to the dining
room.
“I’ve got a houseful of advice columnists now.” He followed Maggie and kissed his
mother good-bye. Outside, the humidity pressed in on him. A storm was brewing in the
air, but it had nothing on the one inside his chest.
Quinn wandered aimlessly through her loft. Nothing felt right. Months ago, Ryan had
said he wanted a relationship with her. He’d sent her signals, and she really thought
she’d read them correctly. That would’ve been a first. She’d been so close to telling
him she’d been an idiot.
He expected her to go to Twilight to find a date. He didn’t want her to miss her
last chance
to find a man. The only guy who’d expressed an interest in a relationship with her
over the past months thought she was pitiful.
Sending signals didn’t work for her any better than trying to read them. After dinner
with his family, she thought for sure he’d ask her not to go tonight. That he wanted
to spend her last nights in town with her. He was so good at reading people, especially
her, how did he not see she would’ve preferred that?
Unless he didn’t want to see.
They were better off as friends. She knew that. She couldn’t trust herself to make
the right choice. She’d known Ryan would be good for temporary fun, but seeing him
with his family played into her own fantasies. That’s all it was, a fantasy.
She’d left the O’Learys because she needed to pack, and she’d only gotten as far as
pulling out her suitcase. What had she wanted to accomplish by telling Ryan she’d
been wrong? Would she give up this trip to see what would happen between them? That
would be stupid.
Wishy-washy wasn’t how she lived her life, but Ryan messed with her head. And her
heart.
Turning to her dresser, she yanked open a drawer. She chose her garments carefully.
A silk nightgown stared at her. She loved the feel of it and immediately imagined
Ryan sliding his hands over her silk-clad body.
What am I doing?
She shoved the gown aside and grabbed some cotton shorts. She had a plan, and although
some of it hadn’t worked out, she’d accomplished a lot this summer. She shouldn’t
change what she wanted because of a man.
Even a really good man.
That was the sticking point. For all of her reservations about Ryan, thinking he was
too much like Nick, that he would walk all over her, she’d been wrong. He was a good
man. She’d just been too blind to see it. Now, it was too late.
He’d gone out of his way to make her happy, helping her fulfill her list. The least
she could do would be to play her part tonight and make him feel like he’d succeeded
in his mission.
No matter how much it might kill her.
Hours later, Ryan paced in his apartment. Nothing he did eased his restlessness. Colin’s
words echoed in his head. Quinn was leaving and she wouldn’t come back. He thought
about her navigating another singles event. Why did she even bother going? It wasn’t
like she was going to find a summer romance this late in the game.
She probably wanted to prove to him that she could handle herself and meet men. After
all, at dinner she was comfortable because they were just friends.
Guilt nagged him. He’d convinced her to continue looking for dates, and now he was
abandoning her because he didn’t want to witness the event. He changed his clothes
and headed to Twilight without a plan. He just knew he couldn’t let Quinn leave like
this.
Inside the door of Twilight, Mary sat at a small, linen-covered table handing out
locks and keys. She offered Ryan a key, and he quietly declined.
People were already mingling and trying to fit keys into locks. Mary had another hit
on her hands. He grabbed a beer and wandered around.
A roomful of single women surrounded him. He should be able to find at least one interesting,
even if he refused to play Mary’s lock game. But he didn’t really want to.
Indy stood near a table sucking on a Blue Smoke. Ryan’s mind drifted to the night
Quinn got drunk on Blue Smoke. She’d cuddled into Griffin’s arms that night, but made
out with Ryan in an elevator. He sought out Quinn but couldn’t find her.
A tall, willowy blonde sidled up to him as he turned from Indy’s direction. He nearly
collided with her. “Excuse me.”
“No, excuse me. Would you like to stick your key in?” Her breathy voice drew him closer.
“Here’s my lock. Where’s your key?”
“Sorry, I don’t have one. I’m just watching.”
“Too bad. I’m Brenda. Buy me a drink?”
He held out a hand. “Ryan, nice to meet you.” He eyed her nearly full glass. “You
look like you’re all set with a drink. I’ll get the next one.”
He brushed passed her and thought he escaped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He
painted on a friendly smile and turned to see Griffin.
“Are you sick? The blonde wanted a piece of you,” he informed Ryan and handed him
a beer.
“I know what she wanted. I’m not interested.”
“Off the market?”
“Just looking for something different.”
“Different, like what? A short brunette named Quinn?”
“You’re out of the loop. We’re friends. That’s it.” If he said it enough, maybe everyone
would believe it, including himself. He took a long pull on the beer. “How did you
know I was here?”
“I didn’t. Colin brought me. He’s here somewhere. He said you’ve been working on the
apartments. Where’d you finally get the inspiration?”
“Quinn and Maggie. It’s time to move on.”
“Moving to where?” Griff clasped a hand on Ryan’s shoulder.
“I wish I knew.” His eyes wandered back to Indy and saw Quinn sitting beside her.
They were entertaining a couple of suits. Indy was chatting them up with her flirtatious
grin. Quinn was along for the ride.
She caught him staring and mouthed, “Help me.”
He drank from his beer and shook his head. “Do me a favor and rescue Quinn. I’m going
to grab a key to help with this charade.”
Ryan grabbed a key from the fish bowl Mary kept in front of her. She smiled when his
hand dipped in, but she didn’t comment. He returned to the networking area and saw
Quinn standing with Griffin.
She was wearing the breezy sundress. The same one he’d stripped from her body the
first time they’d made love. He could admit it was more than sex with them. He wasn’t
naïve, but they were heading in different directions. Quinn had her route mapped;
he was still figuring out his final destination. Long term they might end up in the
same place, but she was in the express lane while he was sitting on the shoulder with
the map upside down.
When he walked up next to her, Quinn looked at him and said, “What are you doing here?
I thought you weren’t coming.”
“I figured you could use the support. I didn’t want you to fly without a wingman.”
“Some wingman you turned out to be. I think I need to hire Griffin for the job. He
rescued me from two of the most boring men I’ve ever talked to.”
Ryan cleared his throat. “He saved you because I sent him over.”
“Well, then, thank you. It’s kind of slow. Did Mary say more guys would be coming?”
She looked past Ryan to the men standing in small groups.
Griff pointed to Indy. “Your sister doesn’t seem to be having any trouble finding
men.”
“She never has.” Quinn sipped from her glass of pop.
“You could always go and introduce yourself,” Ryan suggested, knowing she wouldn’t.
Her mouth twitched into a half-smile and she straightened her shoulders. “You know
what? You’re right.”
She turned and walked away from him and into a crowd of four or five men. He didn’t
know what had come over her. This was not the normal Quinn. She had a small entourage
testing their keys on her. As she laughed at something one of them said, two more
men made their way into the crowd. Ryan played his part well, nudging her on, secretly
hoping no one would unlock her.
Griffin had wandered off to find a place to stick his own key. Ryan held the key loosely
in his hand. Nothing urged him forward to ask a woman if he could try her lock. The
lack of the chase or conquest bored him. He enjoyed a challenge. His eyes found Quinn
again and he shook his head.
She backed away from the small crowd of men. The lock was still closed and nestled
between her breasts. Her cheeks were pink.
“I can’t believe I did that,” she said when she reached him. “Indy was right. She
said walk the room like you own it and you do.”
Indy had created a monster.
“You were definitely successful. There were, let’s see . . . seven men drooling over
you.”
She relaxed beside him. “They weren’t drooling. And not one opened my lock.”
His eyes traveled down to the lock. His fingers itched to reach out and touch the
soft skin above it. “You want another drink?”
“Another diet would be great. Thanks.”
Ryan was incredibly thirsty. If Quinn felt anything from the way he looked at her,
she didn’t show it. He couldn’t keep his dick in line with the idea that he and Quinn
were friends. His heart had almost as much trouble.
He returned and pressed the cool glass into her palm, glad she was still alone.
“Thanks.” She took a long drink. Worry crossed her face. “God. Not again.”
“What?”
“Joe, my former student, walked in. Why is he here?”
“Mary would’ve invited everyone from speed dating. Sorry, I didn’t think to tell her
to dump his name.” He looked over his shoulder. “We could leave.”
“No, I did that last time.” She inhaled deeply. He watched the small, heart-shaped
lock rise. “I have to get him to realize I’m not an option.”