Amber turns and flips him off.
“Don’t,” I say. “You’ll just fan the flames.”
“He can’t talk to people like that.”
“Has his whole life. You and I aren’t going to change that. He feels a sense of entitlement, even though he’s done nothing to deserve what he has.”
We reach the truck. I wince when I climb in.
“Is that why you don’t like to use your money?” she asks. “You think people will believe you’re undeserving?”
“I am undeserving. I wasn’t even wanted, Amber. I was born to a mother who used me as a pawn.”
“That makes you the most deserving of anyone.”
“You think?”
She nods. “I do.”
I smile crookedly. “Then let’s go spend some of my money at the grocery store.”
“You hungry?”
“We need supplies.”
“Are you out of condoms?”
I chuckle. “I’m never out of those. I was thinking chocolate and whip cream. And maybe some champagne and strawberries.”
“You getting romantic on me?”
“Romantic? Sweetheart, I haven’t told you where I plan to put the strawberries.”
She squirms in her seat. “You sure you’re up for it with your ribs and all?”
“I don’t feel pain when I’m with you.”
“That makes two of us.”
I hold out my hand, and she takes it. I don’t let go until we reach our destination.
After we get our supplies and check into the hotel, we ride up the elevator with a couple and their baby. The kid seems about Josie’s age, and it makes me wonder what Sophie and Josie are doing. When we exit, I ask, “Do you think Sophie thought to move the baby monitor into the guest room?”
“Probably. She’s pretty good.”
“What about that sleep blanket thing? Sophie’s never been there at night. We should have told her to use it. Josie sleeps better that way.”
Amber touches my arm. “Would it make you feel better if we called to check on them?”
I shrug. “I don’t need to check on them. But I guess it couldn’t hurt, you know, just to make sure the house didn’t burn down.”
Amber’s smile is huge. I don’t know why the hell she seems so happy all of a sudden. Then again, I’m pretty happy myself. I’m about to lick a whole bunch of dessert off the most gorgeous woman I know.
Chapter Twenty-six
Amber
Quinn’s had to take it easy for the past few weeks on account of his bruised or broken ribs. He can still fly but can’t do much in the way of manual labor around the ranch. And I can’t be sure, but I think Josie likes having him around.
Her early morning cries echo through the baby monitor. I roll over, tired from my meeting that ran late with a new client in Hawaii. I reach over and poke Quinn. “Can you get her?”
“It’s your turn.”
“I know, but I was up so late. I promise I’ll do the next two mornings.”
“Fine.” He leans over and kisses my cheek.
I lie in bed but don’t fall back asleep. I listen to Quinn through the monitor as he talks to Josie while he changes her.
“Morning, Jojo,” he says.
I smile lazily. He has a nickname for her.
“What can I do to get you to sleep past six thirty?” he says. “How about I make you a deal? Sleep until eight tomorrow, and I’ll give you a thousand dollars.” He chuckles to himself. “No? Okay, how about this—you sleep until eight, and I’ll play the stupid game Sophie plays with you. Does that sound good? Pull my finger if it’s a yes.”
I giggle into my pillow. They leave Josie’s room, and I can’t hear him anymore. I roll back over and pull his pillow close. I love the smell of him. Waking up to Quinn every morning isn’t something I ever thought I’d want. But the more I do it, the deeper the craving.
I can’t stay here forever; we both know it. My home is in Calloway Creek. But neither of us has mentioned it in weeks. It’s probably just as well. This—what we have here—can’t last forever. Nothing does.
My phone pings. I recognize the tone. It’s a banking alert to notify me of a deposit. I open my account and smile. A fat check just went in for matching Michael with the executive VP position last month. I’ve been doing this a while now, but this was by far my largest commission. I could pay my mortgage for months just with this one deposit.
It makes me think about Quinn and his trust fund. Does he really have fifteen million dollars? What does one even do with that much money? Especially someone who lives rent free on a ranch and drives a truck given to him by his estranged mother. The interest alone must be staggering. If Josie is his daughter, she’ll be set for life. But how much of that life will Quinn be a part of?
Not able to fall back asleep, I grab my phone and go in search of coffee. I pad out into the living room but stop in my tracks when I see Quinn and Josie on the couch. His back is to me, and she’s been propped in the corner with pillows. He covers his eyes with his hands, removes them quickly, and says, “Peek-a-boo!” I try not to laugh and ruin the moment. I’ve never seen him like this before. He does it again, only with a silly voice this time.
Then my heart does a double backflip. Because Josie smiles.
“Oh, shit,” he says. “Did you just—”
I race over. “She smiled. Oh my god, Quinn. You made her smile. Do it again.”
“You were watching us?”
I shrug. “You were having a moment. I didn’t want to interrupt. Now do it again.”
“It’s stupid,” he says.
“Will you just do it, Quinn?”
He looks at Josie, and I swear she’s waiting for him to make her smile again. “Women,” he says in exasperation. Then he covers and uncovers his eyes. “Peek-a-boo!” He turns to me. “Must have been a fluke. She won’t do it now.”
“Try again. Use the voice.”
“You use the voice.”
“She smiled at you for the first time in her life. You. Now do it again, or I won’t let you go down on me for a week.”
Immediately, he does it. Emphatically and with lots of silliness.
And she smiles.
“She did it,” he says. “Jojo, you smiled!”
I’m staring. Only it’s not her smile I’m staring at. It’s his. I snap a quick photo with my phone, because regardless of how everything turns out, this moment needs to be remembered.
Quinn strolls into the kitchen. I’m chatting with Sophie after a long morning of meetings, and Josie is sleeping in the pack-and-play. He looks in the fridge but doesn’t pull anything out. He fishes through some mail. He opens and closes some cabinets. I try not to laugh. The man is bored. “Something on your mind, cowboy?”
“I’m tired of feeling useless.”
“You’re not useless. You’ve flown at least three days this week.”
He looks longingly out the window. “It’s not the same. I want to get back on a horse. Want to go riding with me?”