Page 87 of Delicious

I smile at him softly. You can see the affection he has for all his siblings every time he talks about them.

“How old are the girls?” I ask.

“Twenty.” He leans back comfortably in his chair and absently picks at the label on his beer. “Joss is training to be a vet so she can work with our brother Jesse. Juni is doing marketing thing. I’m not sure what, to be honest, just that it has something to do with social media. She went to college locally, but now she’s doing some online courses because she wanted to stay close to home.”

I toy with my beer. “Sooooo,” I say casually. “What’s up with you and Georgie?”

“Up?” He lifts a brow.

“Yeah. I mean, I kinda got the feeling the other day that, you know, you might”—I shrug a little too casually—“have a thing for her.”

He leans back, rocking his chair onto its back legs, and laughs. “Oh, yeah. My crush on Georgie.” He shakes his head in amusement. “I think I was twelve the first time I noticed her that way. Which would have made her sixteen, I guess. No, seventeen? Anyway, I pined for her for years in a haze of angsty teenage drama.”

“You never told her how you felt?”

He snorted. “She barely even noticed me. I was skinny with acne and braces and listened to way too much Muse. She was way too cool for me. Georgie was always comfortable in her own skin, and I both admired and envied that about her.”

“Do you think she knew? About your crush, I mean.”

“God, I hope not.” He laughs and drains his beer, then reaches for another one. “Our families were tight. Our parents and hers were best friends their whole lives. They were godparents for me and all my sibs, and my mum and dad were Georgie’s godparents. Georgie hung out mostly with Beck, Jesse, and Ryan. The four of them were pretty inseparable. In fact, she probably knew your friend Tyler if they’re about the same age and they all went to school together. I was a few years behind them. They were mostly all going off to college by the time I got to secondary school.”

“Do you still feel that way about her, then?” I ask, hoping that I sound casual and not like a potential stalker.

“Do I?” he mutters and takes a swig of his beer. “Hmm, I guess I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Some crushes die hard.” I set my now empty bottle on the table, and Quinn pops the lid on a new one and hands it to me.

“I think I might’ve up until a few years ago, although it had faded by then. To be honest, I think after Dad died I was just trying to hold on to anything familiar, even an unrequited teenage crush.”

“And now?” I sip my beer.

“Now.” He hums thoughtfully and then frowns. “It’s just not there anymore. Since being home, I… well, I’m happy to see her, but happy the way I am to see my brothers and sisters. No sweaty palms, jumpy belly, or teenage angst.” He laughs. “The last few years I’ve made a lot of changes I wasn’t even aware of. I guess it’s called growing up. I’ve been so focused on my career that I haven’t thought about relationships. Just hooked up here and there.”

“And those hookups would be women or…”

“Women.” He smiles at me and my heart sinks.

“So you’ve never–”

Suddenly, the gate rattles. “Quinn!” a feminine voice calls out. “Open the gate. I’ve got my hands full.” Setting his almost empty bottle on the table, he pushes to his feet and unlatches the gate. “Oh my god, put some clothes on, you himbo,” the young woman says when she gets a look at his bare chest. Quinn laughs and flexes his biceps. “You think that’s impressive just because now you don’t look like Shaggy fromScooby-Doo.” She rolls her eyes and steps further into the yard, holding out a small cardboard tray containing two full paper bags.

“Cookie.” Quinn closes the gate behind her. “This is Juni.”

“Hey.” She smiles, and I can see the family resemblance. She’s probably about the same height as me, slim, and wearing black pants and a black shirt withSully’s Bar & Grillembroidered on the breast. Her blonde hair is pulled back from her pretty face in a neat ponytail, and her blue eyes sparkle with mischief like her brother’s.

“Hey, Miss Juni, nice to finally meet you,” I greet her as she sets the tray down on the table in front of me. A whiff of a heavenly aroma wafts up from the bags, which makes my mouth water.

“You too, Cookie.” She grins. “I have to say, you’ve got the whole bay talking about these famous cupcakes of yours. I didn’t think anyone would be able to outdo Colin, but even he says they’re the best he’s ever tasted.”

“Oh, stop.” I wave my hand. “And by stop, I mean please continue.”

She laughs. “I’ll have to come by the bakery when I get the chance and try them.”

“Oh, here.” I reach into the box on the table and retrieve one of my rainbow swirl unicorn cupcakes with my signature frosting.

“Hey!” Quinn whines. “Don’t give her my cupcakes.”

I shush him. “She earned it coming down here to drop off dinner for us.”

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