Page 33 of Whatever It Takes

I stretchedmy legs out on the couch and shifted my body to the side. My eyes darted around the living room, noticing that the blinds were still down. The house was dark and quiet. The smell of Quinn’s familiar scent was on the empty pillow next to mine.

I reached for my phone and looked at the time, but that wasn’t what caught my attention. My phone chirped and beeped, alerting me of multiple missed calls and text messages all from Erica and Mackenzie. I threw my phone back down and stared at the ceiling. Those two were persistent and would no doubt keep calling, but I had zero desire to explain my current situation to them. As if on cue, my cell started to ring again. I groaned and sent it straight to voicemail.

I pinched my eyes closed as the memories from last night played on repeat in my head. My disgust with Grant was still front and center in my mind. Yet, sleeping in Quinn’s arms brought me a peace that I desperately needed. Now, I was left wondering what I was supposed to do next.

He made it very clear last night what he wanted. And as much as a part of me would love to just throw caution to the wind and say the hell with it, there was another part reminding to slow my roll. My life was in shambles, and the last thing I needed was more complications than I already had.

I threw the blanket off and gave up on trying to make sense of something that I would never understand.

My steps slowed on the way to the kitchen, not prepared for the sight in front of me. Quinn and Emery were sitting at the table eating breakfast while watching cartoons on his phone. She said something to him and he reached over and tickled her side, causing her to giggle.

My heart ached while watching the two of them interact. Seeing the softer side of Quinn and how at ease Emery was with him, had me wishing for another life.

One where Quinn was my husband and Emery was his daughter.

“Good morning,” I said, glancing around the kitchen and taking inventory of the mess that they made. There was a stack of dirty pans piled in the sink, and the stovetop was painted in yellow pancake batter. But there was no way in hell I would point that mess out. Especially not with Quinn sitting at the head of my kitchen table, looking like he belonged there, and my little girl smiling up at him like he hung the moon.

Emery lifted her head, her big green eyes full of innocence that I was desperately trying to preserve. After all the stress of last night, it was nice seeing her so relaxed.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Sleeping Beauty,” Quinn teased with a grin that was nothing short of irresistible. He looked like he didn’t have a care in the world, while I was trying to ignore the butterflies causing havoc in my stomach. I wanted to talk to him about what happened last night, and about where we stood because boundaries needed to be set and lines needed to be drawn. In other words, I needed to guard my heart.

“I see you guys made breakfast,” I said casually while swiping a piece of bacon off the plate.

Emery grinned while wiping the syrup from her mouth. “Quinn made banana pancakes and bacon.”

“I hope he made enough for me,” I teased, feeling a smile break across my face.

“I wanted to wake you up,” she said as I was reaching for my coffee mug. “But Quinn said you needed your beauty rest.”

My eyes found his as I poured the cream into my coffee. He scanned me from head to toe with a smile. I was feeling a generous amount of happiness, almost to the point where it didn’t feel like I deserved it.

I cleared my throat and grabbed a plate off the stove. “This looks delicious. Thanks for cooking and for letting me sleep in.”

“It was the least I could do seeing that you and Emery are letting me stay here.”

I rolled my eyes; it wasn’t like he gave me much of a choice.

Emery cocked her head to the side and studied me. “Mommy, your hair looks really messy this morning.”

Quinn covered his laugh with a cough, while I attempted to tame my wild hair with my fingers. Sometimes I hated having naturally curly hair.

“Thanks for pointing that out,” I grumbled and took a sip of my steaming hot coffee.

Just as I started digging into my pancakes, the doorbell rang. It was followed with loud, obnoxious knocking.

Quinn jumped from his seat, but I grabbed onto his arm. I knew I should have answered their text messages as soon as I got them.

“Relax. It’s Erica and Mackenzie.”

I stood up to go answer the door, but he pushed me back down in my chair. “I got it.”

“Quinn, it’s ten o’clock on a Saturday morning. I can answer my own front door.”

His eyes went hard, and he shifted his gaze to Emery. I knew he was going to lay into me later, but I didn’t care. He was being ridiculous and completely over the top.

I threw my napkin on the table and walked out of the room. I could hear the girls talking as I approached the door. I wasn’t prepared to deal with them right now, but there was no way of avoiding them.

“Good morning.” I smiled, as they both stopped talking at once.

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