“She said she’d pay me a hundred dollars,” Liam announced boldly.
Adam laughed loudly. Ben shot him a look.
“Don’t lie to your uncle, young man.” Aunt Marnie cuffed Liam lightly on the shoulder. “You know I was paying you five hundred.”
Ben heaved a sigh at his crazy aunt and her little coconspirators. His four-year-old niece, Brianna, took pity on him. She gently wrapped his hand in both of hers.
“Uncle Ben,” she whispered loudly. “She was only paying us a dollar.”
He couldn’t hold back the indulgent smile the little girl always seemed to innocently coax from him. Ben scooped her up so they were eye-to-eye. She had the caramel skin of her father’s African-American family but the moss-green eyes of Ben’s sister. It was a good thing his brother-in-law was a former military policeman turned sheriff. Rich would likely need all his training to keep the boys at bay in a few years.
“You’re worth much more than that amount, little Bri.” He touched his nose to hers. “And if you’re going to commit a crime, always make sure it’s worth the money.”
“Did we commit a crime?” Bri’s face fell. “Daddy is going to be so mad at us.”
“Here come the water works,” Liam announced to the rest of the diners on the deck.
Aunt Marnie grabbed the boy by the forearm. “Abort the mission, rug rat. Abort!” The two of them scurried around the tables and back toward the kitchen.
True to Liam’s prediction, Bri was crying in earnest, her entire body shaking with sobs.
“Shh.” Ben pulled her in for a hug. “That was a bad choice of words on my part.”
When he glanced over the little girl’s shoulder at Quinn, he was taken aback by the look of astonishment on her face. She seemed transfixed by his interactions with his niece.
“My mother usually watches them at night, but she’s out of town,” he explained. “It’s probably child endangerment to have Aunt Marnie watch after them, but we do what we can for each other.”
“I love Aunt Marnie,” Bri blubbered, soaking his shirt in the process.
“That’s because she’s a big kid herself. That’s her favorite prank, by the way,” he said to Quinn.
“It usually ends with Ben’s date in tears, though,” Adam joked.
A slow smile formed on Quinn’s lips. She reached into her big bag and pulled out a bright yellow piece of paper. In less than a minute, she’d transformed it into a bird.
“Will this make things a little better?” she asked as she slid the origami figure across the table.
Ben swallowed roughly at the sweet gesture.
“That’s beautiful,” Josslyn exclaimed.
“A woman of many talents,” Adam added with a cheeky grin.
Bri gulped a sob before shyly glancing side-eyed at Quinn. One look at the bird and the child’s tears ended almost as abruptly as they’d begun. She clamored out of Ben’s arms to carefully wrap her tiny fingers around the origami artwork.
“Look, Uncle Ben, he’s just like the one you have.” She held it up for Ben’s inspection.
Shit. He sucked in a panicked breath. Quinn once made him a similar bird that now occupied a place of honor aboard the Seas the Day. Frantically trying to distract the child before she said more, he waved at the waitress. “How about some chicken tenders, Bri?”
His niece climbed into Josslyn’s lap, carefully cradling the paper bird in her hands. “I already had mac and cheese for dinner.”
The waitress indicated she’d be a minute. Ben bit back a curse.
“Uncle Ben has a bird just like this on his boat,” Bri told Quinn. “But we’re not supposed to touch it.”
Defeated, Ben slid into his chair.
Josslyn leaned toward Bri conspiratorially. “He won’t let you play with it? That’s not nice of him.” She shot Ben a sly smile.
Ben glared at the waitress, willing her to hurry up. It didn’t work.
“It’s ’cause his bird is special,” Bri explained, her little voice earnest. “He’s keeping it safe for someone important. She lost it and Uncle Ben is looking everywhere for her so he can give it back.”
Quinn’s face was solemn as her glance shifted from Bri to Ben. “That’s very sweet of him.”
“And then he’s gonna marry her,” his niece proclaimed.
Of course, the waitress picked that moment to make her way to their table. Adam mocked him with a shit-eating grin. Josslyn’s expression wasn’t much better. For her part, Quinn thankfully remained subdued.
“What can I get you to drink?” the waitress asked.
Suddenly Ben just wanted to get this evening over with before all of his secrets were exposed. “We’ll start with a pitcher of whatever sangria is the special tonight.”
“I’ll take some lemonade,” Bri chirped.
“Only if it’s in a shot glass.” His brother-in-law came up behind the waitress, still dressed in his sheriff’s uniform. “It’s too close to bedtime.”
As usual, Rich had impeccable timing, arriving five minutes too late to stop his daughter from embarrassing the crap out of him.
“Daddy!”
Rich hauled his daughter up for a kiss.
“Look what I got! Uncle Ben’s friend made it for me.”
“That’s beautiful, sweetie.” He smiled at his daughter adoringly. “Okay, let’s go wrangle up your brother so you kids can get home and your uncle and his friends can eat their dinner in peace. Say good night, Bri.”
“Good night, Bri,” his niece repeated with a giggle. “See you later, Uncle Bennett!”
“I want a little girl just like her.” Josslyn batted her eyes at her fiancé.
“Unfortunately, she has a vivid imagination,” Ben said mostly for Quinn’s benefit. Hopefully she’d get the message that he never harbored dreams of marrying her. At least not recently. “Liam, on the other hand, spends too much time with Aunt Marnie. I’m afraid he’s destined for a life in crime.”
“They’re both adorable,” Quinn remarked wistfully. “You’re very lucky to have a close family.”
The waitress arrived with the sangria, giving him a minute to gather his wits. He knew she was an only child. Her parents had been doting, if not a little distant. Her mother was a visiting professor at St. Mary’s University and her dad worked at the British Embassy. But had something happened to them since he’d seen her last?
Despite the fact he had to keep much of his work life a secret, he still had his relatives and friends to rely on. Granted, Aunt Marnie and the rest of his crazy family could be intrusive, but he wasn’t lying when he said they looked out for one another. He’d do anything for them. And they would do anything for him.
Who looked out for Quinn?
The sudden thought plowed through him, making his rib cage grow tight. He opened his mouth to ask about her parents, but Josslyn was quicker.
“So, how did you two kids meet?” she asked despite the fact he was pretty sure his friend’s fiancée already knew the answer.
“Quinn lived in Watertown my senior year,” he answered before she could. “We were lab partners.” He’d had a change of heart in the last fifteen minutes.