by Katee Robert
She couldn’t talk to him about this. Not only was he Quinn’s best friend but… Daniel might not be in on her long list of people she despised—which basically amounted to the entire world outside her tiny circle—but he wasn’t one of her people. That meant she was more likely to curl up in a ball and waste away than to spill her guts to him. “It’s nothing.”
His mouth tightened. “I know nothing when I see it, and that’s not what’s written all over your face.”
For fuck’s sake. “Aren’t you supposed to be the quiet and brooding one who keeps to himself? Keep to yourself, Rodriguez.”
But he stepped in front of her. “Jules has her hands full with Adam right now, not that either of them would admit as much, and you don’t have friends other than Jules.”
“Wow, thanks. You’re making me feel so much better.” But, strangely enough, the sarcasm was making her feel better. A little.
Daniel rolled his eyes. “My point is that you don’t have a single damn person to talk to and you look like you need to talk.”
“I thought I looked like shit.”
“Those two things are not mutually exclusive.” He picked up her suitcase and set it down next to the stairs leading up to the apartment she used to share with Jules. “Now, sit your contrary ass down. I’ll be right back.”
“Holy shit, Rodriguez, I think you’ve strung together more words in the last five minutes than I’ve heard you speak in the last five years.”
He snorted. “And you’re already feeling more like yourself. Sit.”
She sat. Really, it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to be, and her self-flagellation could wait a few minutes. He was right—she couldn’t call Jules now any more than she could have called Jules earlier. This mess was one entirely of her own making, and dumping it on her best friend when she was otherwise occupied with things that were actually important would be a dick move.
Daniel reappeared a few minutes later with two mugs of coffee in hand, trailing Mr. Winkles and Ninja Kitteh behind him. The latter immediately jumped into Aubry’s lap and made himself at home. She ran her hand down the cat’s back and accepted the cup of coffee. “I don’t think I want to talk about it.”
“I kind of think you do, since you didn’t tell me to fuck off and then run upstairs to barricade yourself in that apartment.”
He had a point. Damn Quinn for making her learn to open up. She took a sip of the coffee. It should be too suffocating outside for hot coffee, but there was something really comforting about holding a mug of warmth in her hands. Where to begin? “I suppose you heard about my and Quinn’s brilliant plan.”
“I did.”
Of course he had. The rumor mill in Devil’s Falls surprised even her sometimes. Not that the whole thing with Quinn had been a secret, exactly, but now she was going to have to face people looking at her—and probably agreeing with Quinn that she was entirely unsuitable to date for real.
She winced. Yep. Still hurts.
“It goes like this—things got a little out of control on the sexual front.” She ignored the look on his face like he might be having instant regrets about giving her a chance to talk about this. Because apparently she did need to talk it out. “Like crazy-good out of control.”
“Spare me the details. Please.”
Right. He wasn’t Jules. He was just her stand-in. “Long story, short—it turns out I don’t totally despise Quinn and maybe I might have made the mistake—no doubt fueled by the crazy-good out of control sex—of maybe falling for him just a little. Which is bad.”
“Why is it bad?”
She wouldn’t have had to explain that to Jules…except maybe she would have asked the same question. Aubry took another sip of coffee. “Because it would never work. There’s a reason we’ve hated each other from the moment we met, and a little sex doesn’t change that.” No matter how much she’d fooled herself into thinking it might. “It wasn’t so bad at my convention, but once we got to that damn hotel in Napa Valley, it was like stepping into a different world—a world where I don’t fit.”
“That’s not Quinn’s world anymore.”
Which was exactly what Quinn had said. “You didn’t see him there, Jul—er, Daniel. He fits. He might pretend he doesn’t, but he does. Mingling with those people—a good portion of which are his family—is second nature.”
“Because if he didn’t learn how to deal with them, that world would have eaten him alive.” He held up a hand when she started to argue. “Here’s the deal, Aubry. I don’t know what else happened, but if that’s your biggest beef with him, it’s bullshit. I’ve known him since we were kids in grade school, and he’s never wanted that life—not in thirty-four years—so I kind of doubt he suddenly developed a desire to put on a stupid monkey suit and dance to the tune his parents set.”
“We don’t fit.”
“You keep saying that. I don’t know that you’d be this torn up about the whole thing if it was true.”
“What?”
Daniel sat on the step next to her, careful not to touch her. “The things that cut the deepest are the desires for things we want most.”
She blinked. “Damn, Daniel, that’s deep.”
“I read it in a fortune cookie.”
“No, you didn’t.” She closed her eyes for a few seconds, letting Ninja Kitteh’s purrs vibrate through her. “I don’t know how much Jules has told you about me—”
“She hasn’t told me shit, but I’m not an idiot. You’re anti-social to an alarming degree, you never talk about your past, and in the years I’ve known you, you’ve never left town to visit your family or had them come through here. That kind of thing speaks for itself.”
Maybe it did. She hadn’t been aware anyone noticed that last bit, but then Daniel was just full of surprises today. “Okay, fine. I like him. A lot. A whole hell of a lot. I feel like I found a missing piece of myself that I didn’t even know was missing. Which is really freaking scary. Because if he gave it to me, he can take it away.” It kind of felt like he already had. She took a hasty drink of her coffee and almost scalded her throat.
“Does he feel the same?”
“Not anymore.” She sounded so damn miserable it made her sick. “He said he wanted to date me, to make a real go of it, but the first time I freak out, he bailed.” She turned to Daniel. “You know me. You know how often I freak out.”
“Pretty sure it’s a daily thing.”
“Exactly. If the first bump in the road is the one that derails us, it was never going to work.” Which was exactly what he’d said.
“Did you tell him that you’re in love with him?”
She started, earning a warning hiss from Ninja Kitteh. “What? Don’t say that word!”
“Yeah, I thought so.” He sighed. “That shit is worth fighting for, Aubry. Believe me. It sounds like you guys had a hell of a fight, but Quinn’s family doesn’t exactly bring out the best in anyone. Why don’t you give it a few days and call him?”
“I’d rather chew off my own arm.”
He gave her a significant look. “No, you wouldn’t. You two are the most prideful people I’ve ever met, but if one of you doesn’t bend, you’re going to lose this thing before you even had a chance to enjoy it.”
That thought scared her. It scared her a lot.
What scared her even more was the idea of putting herself out there and having him grind what was left of her heart to dust. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Think about it.” He stood. “Now, why don’t you go take a nap or something? You look like shit.”
“Flatterer.”
“Only when the situation calls for it.” He hesitated. “If you need anything before Jules gets back into town…you can call me.”
It couldn’t have been easy for him to offer—no easier than it was for her to open up to him in the first place. She mana
ged a smile. “Daniel Rodriguez, you are a nice guy.”
“Don’t go spreading that shit around.” He ruffled her hair and then he was gone, striding out the back door and leaving her alone once again, with only her misery for company.
She looked down. “Well, my misery and Ninja Kitteh.” Aubry pushed to her feet, picking up the cat with one hand as she did. Once she was settled in upstairs, she picked up her Xbox controller, fully intending to lose herself in Deathmatch. But once she turned the console on, she just stared at the home screen. “Oh my God, I don’t even want to shoot people. I’m so damn broken.” She slouched down on the couch, cuddling the cat close.
Daniel’s words kept rolling through her head. Fight for it. Fight for him.
Love.
Surely he was wrong. A person couldn’t fall in love in five days. It was impossible. Yeah, Aubry had known Quinn for over a year now, but she hadn’t even liked him until after they’d started having sex… Had she?
Sure, she kind of admired how hard he worked on the Rodriguez ranch, and even when she was snarly at him, sometimes he’d say something particularly witty and she’d be almost in awe of it, but those weren’t exactly elements of a long-lasting relationship.
How about the fact that he took every single verbal punch you threw at him and came back for more? Or maybe that he actually listens, which is more than you can say for most of the people you’ve encountered in your life. Or that he went out of his way to draw you out of your shell and make you comfortable while pressing up against your boundaries?
Then there was the sex. She’d had sex before, but she’d never known it could be like that—soft and hard and dirty and full of laughter.
Kind of like Quinn himself.
“Oh fuck. I’m in love with Quinn Baldwyn.”
…
The entire drive back to Devil’s Falls, Quinn was determined to let that crazy woman have her way and do his damnedest never to see her again. It would be hard to stay away from her with them living in the same town, but he was more than up to the challenge. She flew away from him. He’d said some shitty things, but she had, too. And the first chance she had, she rabbited back to Devil’s Falls, where she was probably already holed up in her apartment with her gaming system and online worshippers.
He should just let her stew.
He would just let her stew.
Damn it, he would.
That righteous indignation got him through the first day back on the ranch, but after the sun went down and he retreated to his house, doubts started to creep in. He popped open a beer and dropped onto his couch, wondering what she was up to. Probably playing that damn game of hers.
Maybe she’s even playing with Kurt right now.
He forced himself to unclench his fist from the longneck. It wasn’t his business if she was talking to some other guy—or if she was doing more than talking. She left him. She hadn’t even given him a chance to find her and make things right. Not that he was in a big rush to do that. He wasn’t. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Much.
A knock sounded on his front door and he was pathetically grateful for the distraction. Quinn pushed to his feet and trudged over to open the door. He frowned at Daniel. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving you from yourself apparently.” He shouldered past Quinn and stalked through the living room and into the kitchen.
Mildly amused, Quinn followed. “I wasn’t aware I needed saving.”
“Of course you do. Normally I’d leave this meddling shit to my cousin, but since she’s out of town until the end of the week, I’m stepping in.”
He leaned against the counter. “It might help if you explained what the hell you’re talking about.”
Daniel huffed out a breath. “Forgive the fuck out of me if I’m not good at this matchmaking shit and going about it wrong.”
Matchmaking— Oh, hell no. “I don’t need you interfering.”
“Apparently that’s exactly what you need because it’s been three damn days and you’re showing no sign of coming to your senses. Aubry’s even more prideful than you are and you hurt her.” Daniel drained half his beer. “Look, this isn’t my thing and normally I’d just stay out of it, but if you actually told her you want to date her, letting a little thing like your family making you both insane isn’t a good enough reason to call the whole thing off.”
She’d talked to Daniel about them? He wasn’t sure what he thought about that. “What did she say?”
“That.” He pointed at Quinn. “That’s all I need to know. You like her, a whole hell of a lot, judging by the way you moped around today.”
“I don’t mope.” He might have moped.
“Not normally, no. Which is why I’m here.”
He stared at his friend. “What do you care if I’m fucking things up with Aubry?”
“Because, as I told her, this thing you have doesn’t come around all that often and throwing it away for a stupid reason is bullshit. Fight for her, you dickwad.”
Quinn blinked. He’d never seen Daniel so…fierce. “I didn’t think you knew Aubry that well.”
“I know her as well as I know anyone else in this town.”
Then why… The pieces clicked into place with a snap that left Quinn feeling like a damn fool. This wasn’t about Aubry at all. “She told you that Hope was at the wedding.”
The bleak look on Daniel’s face was all the answer he needed. He should have seen this coming. Call him crazy, though, but he never expected his friend to talk to his girl.
She’s not my girl. We both made damn sure of that.
“Daniel—”
He held up a hand. “I don’t need your sympathy or your pity. I just need you to get over yourself long enough to really think about if whatever you fought about is worth losing the connection you have with Aubry.” He finished off his beer. “If it is, then so be it. But if you have any doubts—any—then you need to fix this, Quinn. I’m not fucking kidding. You’ll kick yourself for the rest of your life if you don’t.”
“You could call her, you know.”
Daniel’s smile was more than a little bittersweet. “No, I can’t.” He walked out of the kitchen, patting Quinn on the shoulder as he went.
He wanted to call his friend back, to force him to talk about the shit that was obviously bothering him—and equally obviously had nothing to do with Quinn and Aubry—but Daniel had resisted opening up about either John or Hope for the last thirteen years. That wasn’t something that was going to magically change, him interfering in Quinn’s love life or no.
The problem was…he was right.
That fight had been awful—worse than awful. It seriously fucking sucked to have Aubry doubt him on so many different levels that she was willing to shit on everything they shared together, but what did he expect? She had a lifetime of feeling like she never quite measured up and five days with him wasn’t going to magically change that. He knew she was neurotic and jumped to conclusions and he’d still gone out of his way to punish her for the whole damn thing the second she dropped the ball. Could she have had a little more faith? Fuck yeah. But it took two to tango, and he’d more than dropped his end.
The thought of spending the rest of his life on the periphery of hers…
It stung. It more than stung. It flat out hurt.
He didn’t want to stand by and watch her settle down with some geeky guy. Marry him. Have little geeky babies with him.
Quinn wanted her to have geeky babies with him.
“Fuck.” He rubbed a hand over his face. It was time to face the facts, and the fact was he was hopelessly in love with that crazy redhead. “Damn it. I have to fix this.”
He just needed to figure out how.
Chapter Eighteen
Aubry looked at her phone for the fourth time, sure that she was in the wrong place. Earlier today, she’
d finally dredged up the courage to text Quinn. Sure it’d been a Hey and not full of all the things she really needed to say, but it was something. An hour later he’d responded, but it wasn’t much of a response at all.
Quinn had texted her with an address and, despite her wanting to demand an explanation, she was letting go of her issues long enough to put on her big girl panties and meet him. That’s what people in love did, right? Crazy shit.
She just didn’t expect it to be this crazy.
“I think I might actually get serial killed tonight.” She peered out of the windshield of Jules’s truck, wishing her friend was here. But by the time Jules had called her and got the whole sordid story out of her, she’d already put herself out there in a way she couldn’t take back. Because of Quinn. Because she wanted to prove to him she wasn’t a completely hopeless basket case. Just mostly hopeless. Maybe like sixty-five percent hopeless.
One last check of her phone confirmed she was, in fact, here. Here being a field in the middle of nowhere when night had fallen and the headlights barely made a dent in the darkness. She gripped the steering wheel. “I’m reasonably sure that Quinn didn’t invite me out here to kill me. So there’s that.”
A knock on the window had her screaming. She cursed when she saw the man in question on the other side of the glass. He gave her a shit-eating grin. “Scared?”
“Only totally.” And feeling particularly ridiculous about it now that she was seeing him for the first time in over a week. Eight days, four hours, and some-odd minutes.
Not that she was counting.
He looked good in his white T-shirt and faded blue jeans. Better than good. Downright edible.
And she was most definitely stalling.
Aubry took up a shoring breath and opened the truck door. “I don’t know why we couldn’t have talked in Cups and Kittens.”
“Because I’m not looking for an audience.” He motioned for her to follow him. “Come on.” He led the way deeper into the field, and it took Aubry a few minutes to realize they were actually on a dirt road.