by Force, Marie
“You have a dog?” Mallory asked.
“I told you that.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned him. Jared says I’m way over the top about him.”
“Pictures,” Mallory said. “I need pictures.”
Like a proud papa, Quinn pulled out his phone and shared a series of photos with Mallory that everyone else then wanted to see, too.
“He is so cute!” Mallory said. “I want to meet him.”
That earned her a warm smile from Quinn that engaged his eyes. The effect made her feel light-headed and overheated. She started to take off her coat, and Quinn helped her. “Thanks.”
A waitress came by for their drink order, and they both asked for water.
Mallory noticed the odd look Mac gave her, but was thankful he didn’t ask why she wasn’t drinking.
“So who’s missing from this crowd?” Quinn asked.
“My brother Evan and his wife, Grace. He’s a singer, songwriter and musician. They’re on their way home from his tour with Buddy Longstreet. They’ll be home for the summer tomorrow.”
“I love Buddy’s music. I’ll have to check out your brother.”
“He’s so talented. He plays every instrument, or so it seems, and his voice is incredible.”
“You sound like a proud sister.”
“Oh, I am! He got me backstage passes when they played in Boston in April. I got to meet Buddy and his wife, Taylor. It was so cool.”
“That sounds fun.”
“It was a great night. Evan plays a lot with Owen when he’s home. They’re fantastic together.”
“He’s really good,” Quinn said of Owen, who was playing “Brown-Eyed Girl” for the enthusiastic crowd.
An older man with a buzz cut and bright blue eyes came over to their table, holding a squirming, dark-haired toddler on his shoulders.
“Hey, Charlie,” Mallory said. “Quinn, this is Sarah’s fiancé, Charlie Grandchamp, and Laura’s son Holden. Charlie, this is Quinn James.”
Keeping one hand on the child, Charlie shook Quinn’s hand. “Good to meet you.”
“You, too.”
“Sarah wanted us to tell you it’s time for Holden to go to bed,” Mallory said.
“Awww, Mommy and Grandma are no fun.”
“Someone’s gotta be the bad guy,” Mallory said.
“I suppose so. All right, then, buddy, let’s get you upstairs before Mommy comes looking for us.”
After Charlie walked away, Quinn said, “Nice guy.”
“Very nice. He’s Stephanie’s stepfather. He spent fourteen years in prison wrongly accused of abusing her, when it was actually her mother who abused her. Steph worked tirelessly to get him out. Grant and his friend Dan Torrington got involved, and they finally got him out last year.”
“Holy shit,” Quinn said under his breath.
“I know.”
“I’ve read about Torrington and his innocence project.”
“He lives here on the island now.”
“He does? Really?”
“Yep. He and his fiancée, Kara, spent the winter in LA, but they’re back now, too. Hey, Grant, where’re Dan and Kara tonight?”
“Tonight’s her birthday, so they’re off being romantical somewhere.”
“Listen to that disdain,” Finn said, scoffing. “As if you didn’t spend the whole winter in hibernation with your wife on the West Coast.”
“Who invited the baby cousins?” Grant asked. “Are they even old enough to drink?”
While Finn laughed and flipped Grant the bird, his brother Riley said, “Don’t lump me in with him. I’m a whole year older than him.”
“I love the baby cousins,” Janey said. “Especially when they bust my brothers’ balls. Takes some of the heat off me.”
“Don’t talk about your brothers’ balls, dear,” Joe said. “It’s unseemly.”
“You love it when I’m unseemly,” Janey retorted.
“Ewwwww,” Mac, Adam and Grant said in unison.
“Gross,” Mac added.
Mallory rocked with helpless laughter. She loved when her siblings got going. It was always so entertaining.
“Nothing gross about it,” Joe said, earning scowls and balled-up cocktail napkins lobbed at his head by his brothers-in-law. He batted them away without losing his big smile.
“You guys are so ridiculous,” Maddie said. “She’s pregnant for the second time. News flash, your baby sister has sex.”
“Lots of sex,” Janey added while Joe nodded enthusiastically.
“Mac, do something about your wife,” Grant said. “She’s out of control.”
“Oh, umm, well,” Mac said.
“Do finish that sentence,” Maddie said, propping her chin on her upturned fist. “I can’t wait to hear how it ends.”
“I have nothing to say, dear.”
“Pussy-whipped,” Adam said behind his hand, earning him an elbow to the ribs from his wife.
“Shut your mouth,” Abby said, “or you’ll be pussy-deprived.”
“Oh shit,” Adam said. “My heartfelt apologies, love.”
“This, right here, is why I’m never getting married,” Riley said, rubbing the stubble on his jaw. Like his brother, and his cousins, he had thick dark hair and the shockingly blue McCarthy eyes that Big Mac and his brother Kevin shared.
“Oh, whatever,” Janey said. “My brothers used to say the same thing, and look at them now, a bunch of domesticated house pets.”
“Hey,” Grant said. “I’d resent that if it wasn’t so true.”
The others snorted with laughter.
“Is it me, or has Mac been on his best behavior since our trip to Anguilla this winter?” Shane asked.
“It’s not just you,” Grant said. “Everyone is concerned that he’s been declawed.”
“Perhaps it was because he organized a boy posse to steal our clothes when we went skinny-dipping,” Abby said.
“Or that he told the guys that Maddie worships at the altar of Mac McCarthy,” Katie added.
“You all can shut right up any time now,” Mac said.
“Why?” Shane asked. “We’re just expressing our concern about your newfound good behavior.”
“Has it occurred to you fools that maybe I’ve decided it’s time to grow up?” Mac asked, drawing shocked silence from the others.
“No way,” Grant said, starting a new wave of laughter. “No fucking way.”
“I’m about to be a father of three,” Mac said. “No time like the present to start behaving like an adult.”
“I’m so proud of my little boy,” Maddie said, running her fingers through his hair. “He’s coming along so nicely.”
Mac purred as he leaned into her caress, his expression blissful and placid.
“Dear God,” Janey said. “This might require a full-blown intervention.”
“Don’t you dare,” Maddie said with a sinister glare for her sister-in-law.
“Yeah, brat,” Mac said, “the only thing getting fully blown around here is me, so shut it.”
Janey cringed. “So disgusting.”
“Ain’t nothing disgusting about it,” Mac replied with a wink for his sister, who pretended to puke.
Mallory was weak from laughter. Their good-natured bickering, joking and pranks—some of which had been epic—were endlessly entertaining to the woman who’d grown up so alone.
“Tell Quinn about the time you girls convinced the guys that you’d hired strippers for Jenny’s bachelorette party,” Mallory said.
The women proceeded to relay the story of their greatest victory to date, when they’d had the guys foaming at the mouth with outrage for a full week ahead of Jenny Martinez’s bachelorette party.
“Of course, my husband was the first one through the door at Syd’s house that night,” Maddie said. “Cost me a couple hundred bucks, but that’s what I get for betting on him.”
“You guys bet on which of the guys
would be the first to show up?” Quinn asked, sounding astounded.
“Of course we did,” Abby said matter-of-factly. “We all knew it would be Mac. Well, everyone but Maddie, that is.”
“The vows said I’m supposed to be loyal to him,” Maddie said. “Even when he gives me reason not to be.”
“That is so awesome,” Quinn said, rocking with laughter.
“You should’ve seen Blaine, Tiffany’s husband, who is the chief of police,” Mac said of his brother-in-law. “If you think I was out of my mind, he put me to shame.”
“No one puts you to shame,” Maddie said, “which is why you’re working on being better behaved.”
“It’s so boring being good,” Mac said glumly.
“Can we take bets on how long this new stage of Mac’s is going to last?” Janey asked. She pulled her phone from her purse. “Place your bets. Ten bucks apiece, winner takes all.”
“I call one more week,” Grant said, tossing a ten her way.
“Put me down for two weeks,” Joe said.
Everyone else called out their bets while Mac sat back and watched the money fly at Janey.
“I’ll take one more month,” Maddie said.
“You took vows!” Mac said. “You can’t bet against me!”
“Sorry, love, but I don’t see this new leaf of yours as sustainable long-term, and I need to make back what I lost on the strippers.”
Mac only glared at her while everyone else lost it laughing.
“And that,” Mallory said two hours later as they walked back to the Lobster House parking lot, “is my family.”
“What a great time,” Quinn said. “I haven’t laughed that much in years.”
“They’re so fun. Sometimes I still can’t believe I get to keep them. I’m glad you enjoyed meeting them.”
“Every one of them is funnier than the last one.”
“I know! I can’t keep up with them when they start going at it.”
“They’ve had years of experience goading each other. You’ll catch up.”
“Even if I never do, I get to be entertained by them on a regular basis.”
“It’s nice to see that truly functional families still exist.”
“I agree. Yours isn’t like that?”
“Not like they are. When the James siblings go at it, usually people cry rather than laugh.”
“Ouch.”
“Exactly. Not so much anymore, but when we were younger, it was pretty brutal. My parents used to wonder if we’d speak to each other as adults. And then when Jared struck it rich, he shared the wealth with the rest of us, which brought out the best in some and the worst in others.”
“Money does strange things to people.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Did it do strange things to you?”
“Nah. I invested it and forgot about it while I was in the military.”
“Which means you’ve probably made a killing on it.”
“It’s done all right. Jared keeps an eye on it for me, and he’s a wizard. But it’s never felt like my money, you know?”
“I can understand that, but it was nice of him to make his family comfortable when he hit it big.”
“Yes, it was. He was extremely generous with all of us. The best part was that my dad, who drove a New Jersey transit bus his entire adult life, was able to retire, and my parents spend six months a year in Florida. Now he plays golf seven days a week and is tanned year-round.”
“That’s wonderful.” Mallory paused and then glanced over at him. “That’s why you didn’t tell them about your leg, right? Because they were enjoying their retirement so much.”
“Yeah. They’d worked so hard to support us. My mom worked in a high school cafeteria. Money was always in short supply when we were kids. They need to relax and enjoy themselves now. They’ve certainly earned it.”
Once again, it pained her to think of him enduring such a difficult ordeal completely alone, but it told her a lot about who he really was that he’d put his parents and their best interests ahead of his own.
They arrived at his truck, and he held the door for her. Mallory’s heart began to beat a little faster the closer they got to her house and the end of their evening. Usually by this point in a date, she was working out a strategy to get rid of the guy as fast as she could. But tonight… Tonight she wanted him to stay awhile longer but had no idea what he was thinking.
He pulled into her driveway, killed the engine and turned to face her, his arm propped on the back of the seat. “Thank you for a great night.”
“Thank you for dinner and for putting up with my family.”
“It was fun.”
“Yes, it was.”
He raised his hand ever so slightly to touch her hair.
Mallory held her breath, waiting to see what would happen next. At that moment, she wasn’t thinking about the job he’d offered her or the possibility that he could be her boss. No, she was too focused on his lips and the possibility that he might kiss her.
He didn’t disappoint. Leaning in, he whispered, “You’re going to have to meet me halfway.”
“I can do that.” Mallory moved closer to meet him and noted the slight curve in his lips right before they connected with hers. And holy wow, the man could kiss. She edged ever closer to him, and he drew her in with his fingers buried in her hair for one hell of a kiss—tender and sweet, but also hot and needy at the same time.
When he ran his tongue over her bottom lip, Mallory gasped from the sensations that spiraled through her. It had been, she realized, a very long time since she’d experienced true desire.
He withdrew from her slowly but kept his firm grip on her hair so she couldn’t get away. “Whoa,” he whispered as his lips slid over hers.
“What you said.”
She felt him smile against her lips. “You want to come in?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You have to let me go so we can get out of the car.”
“In a minute.”
Chapter 10
Quinn kissed her again, much more passionately this time, with his tongue rubbing up against hers in a sensuous dance that had her gripping a handful of his coat to keep him from retreating too soon.
By the time they came up for air, the windows were fogged and both of them were breathing hard.
He reached down to release her seat belt and then unfastened his own.
They got out of the truck and met at the front. She noticed that he looked as bewildered as she felt from the heat of their kisses as he put his hand on her lower back to guide her up the stairs to the small front porch.
Mallory used her key in the door. Even though her family told her no one locked their doors on Gansett Island, she was too much of a city girl to ever break that habit entirely.
The fragrance from a cinnamon-scented candle greeted them, giving the tiny cottage a warm, welcoming feeling. She turned on a light that bathed the living room in a cozy glow. It had taken years for her place in the city to feel like home to her, but already, this house owned by her sister spoke to her in a way the city place never had.
Quinn unzipped his coat and helped her remove hers.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.
He shook his head and raised his hands to frame her face, tipping it up to receive another kiss.
Mallory rested her hands on his hips and tilted her head to improve the angle.
Before she knew it, his arms were wrapped around her as he devoured her with his lips and tongue.
This was… unexpected. Yes, she found him attractive and interesting and slightly mysterious. She’d enjoyed the time they’d spent together, but she hadn’t pictured the night ending on such a hot-and-bothered note. And where exactly was this headed from here?
The press of his arousal against her belly made it rather obvious what he wanted, but was she prepared to go there right now? No. Not quite yet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, shifting his focus t
o her neck, which made her legs go weak under her.
“I was thinking we should save something for next time.”
He continued to kiss and nibble on her neck until Mallory was on the verge of saying to hell with next time.
“I have to tell you,” he said gruffly, his breath warm against her tingling skin, “this was the best night I’ve had in a really, really long time.”
Moved by his sweet words, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight. “Me, too.”
“Tell me we can do it again very soon. Like tomorrow night. Or is it tonight? What the hell time is it anyway?”
Mallory laughed at the way he asked that question, as if he’d lost all concept of time while they were together. “Almost midnight.”
“Tonight, then. Yes?” He looked down at her, his expression fierce and tender at the same time.
“Yes.”
“Good answer.” He touched his lips to hers again. “I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
She watched him put his coat back on and walked him to the door. “Quinn.”
He turned to face her.
“I didn’t really want to put a stop to that just now.”
Gazing into her eyes, he stole another kiss. “That’s good to know. Sleep tight.”
She closed the door behind him and locked it, but waited until he’d pulled out of the driveway to turn off the outside lights. For a long time after he left, she leaned her head against the wood door and relived the delightful evening that had ended with the kind of passion she’d experienced only one other time in her life.
Her reaction to Quinn had taken her by surprise. She’d become accustomed to dates that ended with a pleasant kiss or two, occasionally some nice, sweet sex that rarely led to anything more substantial. But this… This had the potential to be more than substantial. It could be life-changing.
Did she want that at a time when so many other things in her life were changing? She had no idea, but that was the beauty of the Summer of Mallory. Anything was possible.
She turned off the rest of the lights and went into her bedroom to change into pajama pants and a T-shirt. In the bathroom, she washed her face and brushed her teeth and took a close look at her face in the mirror, noticing a hint of razor burn on her jaw as well as swollen, well-kissed lips.