“Quinn the Fin!”
It was a nickname she’d earned by spending most summers in the town pool. I’d take her when Jill and Charlie were at the hospital and LJ had football practice. I swear, one summer my nose hairs had been burned off from all the chlorine.
“Did I miss the toast?” Her shoulders sagged when she spotted the empty champagne glasses. “You guys took forever to get here, I was worried you were pulled off somewhere painting each other’s nails or something.”
A fork clattered onto a plate in the dining room. I cringed. He was going to get us caught. Just what I needed, an awkward not-my-family dinner where we were grilled about what was going on between us.
She let go of me and grinned, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief.
LJ called out from the dining room. “Doesn’t your big brother get a hug, Quinn the Fin?”
Peering around me, she narrowed her gaze. “I told you not to call me that.”
A sound of mock betrayal cut through the room.
I covered my laugh with a cough.
“What the hell, I’m your brother.”
“Only by birth.” She folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes.
“I see you’re ready for college, huh?” I hooked my arm through hers. “Come on, cut him some slack. He was so excited to come and see you.”
“Could’ve fooled me. He hasn’t been home in months.” Under all the surly teenage sass was a hint of sadness. As much crap as she gave him, she loved him. They all did. They loved each other, which was why LJ worked so hard to make sure they didn’t have to worry about money.
I got it. I absolutely got it.
“I’ve barely seen him, and I live with him. The season’s been crazy. You know how it goes.”
With a sullen nod, she dropped my arm and walked over to LJ and hugged him tight. “I missed you, doofus.”
He smiled at me over her shoulder before initiating a bear hug. “I missed you too.”
Squirming, she shoved him away. “You’re the absolute worst.”
“I tell him that all the time.”
Leaving them behind, I went into the kitchen. The swinging door creaked.
Jill and Charlie jumped apart both facing the stove. It looked like someone was getting the birthday smooches in early.
I didn’t try to hide my smile. Apparently, LJ and I weren’t the only ones to have our make out session interrupted. It was awesome that after twenty-five years of marriage they were still so into one another. It proved that not all relationships ended in a raging inferno. Most, but not all.
“Can I help?”
“No!” They shouted in stereo so loudly, my feet came three feet off the floor. I should’ve anticipated this reaction, even from LJ’s parents.
Charlie untied the apron from around his waist. “How about…” He scrubbed his hand over his chin. “What about the…”
Jill added the lobster into the pot of mac and cheese. “She could scoop the cookie dough.”
He leaned in and whispered into her ear.
A shudder ripped through her. “I’d blocked that from my memory. What about the…drinks? She could get out the wine.”
My number one specialty. I’d never be like LJ’s parents, hanging out in the kitchen making meals with someone. As much as I tried, it usually ended with an inedible monstrosity.
“Of course!” With a kiss planted on her cheek, he turned to me. “You know where the corkscrew is. The birthday girl will have white. I’ll have red. Find out what LJ would like and serve up whichever you’d prefer for you. Also keep an eye on Quinn—she will swipe your glass.”
In this house, people cared that you’d tried to take a sip of wine. She was a lucky kid to be surrounded by so much love. I grabbed the corkscrew and opened the two bottles.
They went back to their flirty low whispers.
I stepped out, feeling like I was intruding on their quiet, celebratory moment.
LJ wandered into the dining room and walked up behind me. We faced the doorway.
His breath tickled the hairs on the back of my neck. “We need to finish what we started in the car.”
A shiver raced through my body. I dropped my chin to my shoulder. “Not for the next couple hours.”
His finger traced down the curve of my elbow.
I jolted and splashed some white wine onto the table. “Shit.”
Reaching for the stack of napkins at the center of the table, I yelped when LJ slid his hand into my back pocket and squeezed my ass.
“What are you doing?” I whisper shouted, gaze darting to the dining room archway. My heart triple beat. If anyone walked in here, there would be questions—lots of questions.
“Thinking about you.” He said it so easy breezy, with a wolfish grin.
I stifled my smile, shoved him away, and wiped up the spill. “I swear, I’m sitting on the other side of the table.”
He stepped back with a troublemaker tilt to his lips.
A rushing flush crept up the back of my neck, heating it inch by inch as I imagined his lips everywhere his eyes roamed.
Charlie came in with the giant platter of brisket.
Jill carried the mac & cheese, and Quinn had the greens and rolls.
I finished filling the glasses, including Quinn’s with lemonade, which she went into a full pout over. Scooting my chair in, I took a sip from my glass, trying to calm my tension after almost getting caught.
And then the double cross. Quinn popped up from her seat. “I’ll sit next to Mom, you sit next to LJ since you two will be bickering the whole time and I’ll be caught in the crosshairs. LJ, switch with me.”
My glare intensified at his triumphant smile.
“I guess I’ll do it for you, Quinn. Don’t forget this.”
He slid into his chair and I promised a world of hurt if he tried anything while we were at the dinner table. Or maybe I’d have to make a preemptive strike.
Quinn launched into her college application breakdown. Five art schools spread out all over the country. There was an exchange of glances between LJ, Jill and Charlie while she showed me some of the new work she’d added to her portfolio. It wasn’t just paintings; she had some breathtaking multimedia work. Her art aspirations were well placed and well deserved. The tuition for RISD was astronomical, and I knew it all hung on LJ’s career prospects.
She’d make it, and so would he.
Other than a few failed footsie moments, dinner was uneventful. It was full of laughter, jokes, amazing food, and three of my favorite people in the world—scratch that. My favorite people.
We donned our construction paper crowns and sang Happy Birthday way too loudly and with tons of extra flair.
Jill blew out the candles on her cupcake and then we all dove in for the Lewis family traditional warm M&M chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream. It was an absolute mess. The melting ice cream dripped down the side of my hand.
I licked it off and caught LJ’s eye.
He looked back at me with an intensity so sharp I stopped breathing.
“Get the girl some napkins.”
Jill’s laughter-filled words snapped me out of the tingling tease tiptoeing down my spine.
We finished up our dessert and grabbed our coats. The three non-departing members of the Lewis family hugged me tight and LJ’s dad hugged me last.