“And you want to be with me?”
“You have to ask?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.
“With women, it’s best to ask. I get in trouble when I take things for granted.”
“Wise words.” She shot him a mischievous grin.
“Let’s come out of hiding.” He grinned.
“Okay. If you don’t think it will hurt your career?” Her brow furrowed.
“Hell, no. The studio will love all the free press.”
“That’s not why…”
“Shh. Stop. Of course not. I’m doing it because I don’t want us to feel trapped like rats in a cage, afraid to leave the apartment, afraid to be seen together.”
“Okay, then. Let’s go!”
After she changed Junior, Quinn and Susanna took him in the stroller outside, where there were reporters waiting. They crossed the street, followed closely. After a few blocks of not answering their questions, the nosy men became bored and peeled off one at a time. Finally, it was only Quinn and Susanna. They found a nearby playground, and Quinn pushed Junior in a baby swing while Susanna made faces at the infant. He laughed with glee.
Days passed peacefully—walks in the park, ignoring reporters, afternoons spent rehearsing for Quinn’s next movie, and playing with Junior. Nights were spent in passionate lovemaking. Until the phone call one morning at ten.
* * * *
“Quinn Roberts?”
“Yes?” He picked up his mug and walked out to the terrace.
“Tiffany Cowles, here. Editor of the—”
“I know who you are. Editor of Celebs R Us.”
“That’s right.”
“What do you want, Ms. Cowles?”
“Tiffany, please,” she cooed.
“Is it something my PR person—?”
“Don’t try to foist me off on someone else, Roberts. You’ll be sorry.” Her pleasant veneer peeled away quickly, revealing the viper underneath.
“I’m listening.” He sank down into a chair.
“I want to know why you refuse to talk to my reporters.”
“I don’t have anything to say.”
“Yeah? I think you do. I think there’s a lot more to this story than just you knockin’ up Coach Joe’s daughter. You know that, Mr. Roberts?”
Quinn began to sweat. “What do you mean?”
“I think we’re barking up the wrong tree. You’re too public. Never known you to flaunt a girlfriend to the press, Quinn. My nose tells me something else is going on here. And I want to know what it is.”
“I haven’t made statements to the press…nothing for me to confirm or deny.” He took a deep breath, trying to sound calm.
“Oh? Your sudden appearance with a baby carriage and this chickie in L.A. and New York aren’t news? I disagree.”
“Disagree all you want. Nothing about this situation is newsworthy.”
She started to laugh. “Who’s the newsman here, you or me? I’ll decide what’s newsworthy. I smell a rat. Something isn’t right, and I intend to get to the bottom of this.”
“Sniff all you want, I’ve nothing to say, Tiffany.” His palms were wet, so he wiped them on his jeans.
“Maybe you won’t talk, but I bet that pretty little chickie of yours will. If we apply enough pressure. She must have something she doesn’t want the world to know, besides the fact she’s had your illegitimate baby. I’ll get pictures of the two of you, naked, in bed, Quinn. Trust me.”
“And you’ll get sued…”
“No one sues me and wins. Believe me when I say I’ll keep the pressure on until she cracks. And it won’t be pretty. Or you can tell me right now and save us all a lot of trouble.”
There was silence on both ends of the line. Panic made his breathing erratic and kicked up his pulse. Susanna!
“Quinn? You still there? Don’t mess with me. You’ll regret it.”
“Go to Hell!” He hung up on her. His whole body was sweating. He paced on the terrace then dialed the phone.
“Maggie? I need your help, and I need it now.” When he hung up, he heaved a sigh of relief. Susanna joined him, toting Junior on her hip.
“What was that about?”
“Pack a bag for you and Junior. Be ready to go any time after eleven tomorrow morning.”
“What’s going on?”
“Trust me. It’s for your safety.”
“My safety? Is someone threatening me?”
“Sort of. I can’t say any more. Just be ready.”
“You can’t tell me?”
“Do you trust me?” He stood in front of her, his hand on her arm.
“Of course.”
“Then it’ll be okay.” Quinn walked away from her to send a text.
Come back asap. Things heating up.
That night in bed, Quinn drew the drapes closed and shut the windows. He doused the lights.
“It’s like a coffin in here. Why is everything shut up? No one can see in, we’re all the way across the park.” Susanna pulled off her top then unbuttoned her jeans. Quinn put a hand out to stop her.
“Do you have a nightgown?” She shook her head. “Here take this.” He tossed one of his T-shirts at her. “Wear it to bed tonight.”
“Why?”
“Don’t ask why, just do it, please?”
“If it means that much to you.” She unhooked her bra, slid it down onto the chair, and donned the T-shirt.
“High powered cameras…” he muttered.
The sound of rotors drew Quinn to the window. He opened the curtain a pinch and peeked out. Above Central Park, halfway between Fifth Avenue and Central Park West, a helicopter hovered for a few moments before rising and moving off. It couldn’t be. She wouldn’t.
But he believed his eyes. Stepping back, he replaced the curtain so there was no chink and undressed down to his boxers. They got into bed, and he tucked her into his shoulder before turning out the light. She cuddled up to him, resting her face on his bare chest. Quinn was too keyed up to sleep. He lay tense in the dark until he could swear he heard the rotors again.
He leaped out of bed and was at the window in a flash. He turned to Susanna. “Don’t move!” She lay still. He cracked the drapes open again, but this time the ’copter was closer.
“Does this have something to do with why Junior and I are leaving tomorrow?”
He nodded. “I promise I’ll tell you all about it when we’re relocated.” He returned to bed.
“It’s like one of your movies. All this clandestine stuff. Like secret agents.”
“I’m doing this to protect you, baby. “ He palmed her cheek and kissed her. “Let’s get some sleep.” They scrunched down under the covers, huddled together. Quinn kept his arm around her all night as if he was afraid someone would snatch her from his bed.
* * * *
The next morning, Quinn and Susanna came down to the lobby with Junior. She had two bags, plus the baby’s paraphernalia. She picked up the infant while Quinn collapsed the stroller and kissed her.
“It won’t be long before this is over. I promise.” He kissed her again.
Crash took the luggage and stroller. Quinn went outside and was immediately surrounded by reporters. He stood listening to their questions while slowly moving toward Seventy-Fifth Street, bringing the knot of reporters with him. A black SUV rounded the corner and pulled up in front of the building at an angle, blocking view of the vehicle’s license plate. Quinn gave the thumbs up signal to Crash, who went outside and loaded up the big car.
He opened the back door. Susanna came out carrying Junior, turning her face away from the vultures lying in wait for her. Quinn strolled closer to the side street, steering the men away from the young woman and infant. She fastened the baby in the safety seat as fast as she could and closed the door.
At the sound of the door slamming, the journalists turned just in time to witness Susanna climb in the front seat. The reporters took off running toward the vehicle, but the driver pulled away from the curb a moment b
efore they arrived. A couple of them chased the car, hollering out a question or two, but the driver swerved her way through traffic and turned the corner onto Seventy-Fourth Street, speeding toward Columbus Avenue, leaving them in the dust. A few reporters swore as the car disappeared from view.
A smile of satisfaction graced Quinn’s handsome face as he turned to the crowd and shrugged. “Now isn’t that just like a woman?” He asked, barely able to contain his glee.
* * * *
When they pulled onto the West Side Highway heading north, the driver spoke for the first time. “I’m Maggie Carter. Quinn’s sister. You must be Susanna Barnes?”
Two hours later, they turned into the driveway of a farmhouse in Pine Grove, New York. The two women sat in the car for a bit since the baby was sleeping.
“Your place?”
“It’s the house Quinn and I grew up in. Our mother has moved into an apartment in Oak Bend.”
“Thank you so much for taking Junior and me in. Quinn seems to feel there’s some danger?”
“I’ll let him tell you. He’ll be here this afternoon.”
Susanna smiled. “He’s coming?”
“Don’t think he’d just leave his girlfriend and a baby like that, do you?”
Susanna blushed.
“Not Quinn. He’s a very responsible man. Come inside. I need a cup of coffee after that daring rescue. Makes me feel like Joe Martin,” she chuckled.
Junior woke up howling, and Susanna lifted him out of the car seat, holding him against her chest.
“He’s a cutie. What’s his name?” Maggie ran her finger over his cheek. The baby stopped crying and focused his attention on her.
“His real name? I don’t know. Quinn calls him ‘Junior,’ so I do too.”
“You’re the nanny, right?” Maggie looked Susanna over from head to toe.
She nodded.
“He sure got lucky with you—good with the kid and damn pretty. Let’s go inside, Cal’s waiting with lunch.”
“Cal?”
“My husband.”
Susanna nodded and followed Maggie inside. A tall, rangy man with thinning, brown hair going to gray stepped up and extended his hand. “Cal Carter.” She slung Junior into a comfortable position on her hip. His jeans and boots were worn, but his T-shirt looked new. She clasped his strong, lean hand and gave it a good shake. “Gotta grip like a dude,” Cal chuckled. Susanna blushed. “Got bags out in the car?”
Maggie nodded. “Come this way, Susanna, let me get you and the little one settled in.”
“He’s mighty cute. Reminds me of Jess when he was a baby.” Maggie smiled at her husband and stopped to give him a quick kiss before leading Susanna up the stairs.
“This room is equipped with baby stuff and a full size bed. Quinn is across the hall. Your sleeping arrangements are up to you. None of my business.” She wiped her hands together. Cal followed them and deposited their things in the room.
“Got sandwiches. You all must be hungry,” Cal said.
“Ravenous!” Maggie laughed.
Hmm, a man who cooks. Nice! After lunch, Susanna put Junior down for a nap. Maggie offered her another cup of coffee, and the women settled into rocking chairs on the porch. The farmhouse was set back about sixty feet from the road.
Across the way was an overgrown field dotted with blue and white wildflowers, and a house set way back, flanked by two huge maple trees. The air was the freshest the young woman had breathed since leaving Willow Falls on that fateful day with her father. The smells of freshly mown grass and summer flowers tickled her nose.
The two women enjoyed the peaceful songs of chickadees and the hum of bumblebees, plus the occasional visit from a hummingbird at the special feeder on the corner of the porch. They shared silence, not needing to fill the air with idle chatter.
Rescued from the never-ending sea of reporters dogging her steps and intruding on her life, calm settled over Susanna. Her muscles relaxed, her shoulders dropped, and her eyes became slits. Maggie gently dropped a cotton throw over her guest’s lap and tiptoed back in the house, the babysitter’s last image of Quinn’s sister as sleep came.
* * * *
Quinn had been detained in the city until the next day. Susanna hadn’t realized how accustomed she was to having him around until they were apart. When he finally arrived, she received a big greeting, with a long hug. He even kissed Junior’s head. While Maggie and Cal had tried to make her feel comfortable, it had been awkward to be there without the love of her life.
Cal grilled steak and potatoes out in the back while Maggie and Susanna made salad and set the table. When they all sat down, all eyes turned to Quinn for an explanation. He told them about Tiffany’s threat.
“Junior’s mom is coming in a week, and this nightmare will be over.”
“He’s not a nightmare,” Susanna said quietly, toying with her salad.
“No, he isn’t.” Quinn glanced at the baby, sitting at the table in his highchair, watching the adults eat, and toying with a few Cheerios. “But hide and seek with the press is driving me nuts. Annemarie assured me she’d be back for him in six days.” Quinn cut off a piece of steak.
“Annemarie? I should have known,” Maggie sniffed.
Susanna’s ears pricked up. His family knows Junior’s mom? Suspicion flew through her veins. They all agreed the sooner life went back to normal, the better off they would be. Except me. I’ll be jobless and…maybe homeless? Will Quinn toss me out with the trash when Junior leaves? Susanna wondered what she’d do.
“Don’t go there, Maggie.” Quinn turned toward Susanna. “I have a surprise for you tomorrow.” She raised her eyebrows. “Annie asked me to—”
“Annie? You spoke to my sister behind my back?”
“Not behind your back. I had to tell her where I was taking you, didn’t I?”
“Why?” Susanna put a piece of potato in her mouth.
“Because if you disappeared…” He took a sip of his beer.
“Cell phones, remember?”
“You were in the paper today. Splashed all over the pages of Celebs R Us, fleeing in an SUV.”
“She can call me and…” She cut a small piece of steak and stabbed it with her fork.
“And what will you tell her? You don’t know anything.”
‘You’ve got a point.” She washed down her food with a swallow of cool beer.
“Seems the lawyer for your dad’s estate needs you to sign some papers, so we’re going to Willow Falls. I’d like to see where you grew up.”
“And Junior?”
“Maggie’s agreed to take him for the day.”
Susanna’s heart sang. A date. Kind of a date. Just the two of us. She grinned. “Awesome.”
He joined his fingers with hers. The table got quiet while Maggie and Cal stared at the two lovers holding hands.
After dinner, Susanna put Junior to bed. The adults played a few games of hearts, where the competition between siblings got fierce, and the teasing and gloating were hilarious. At ten o’clock, she excused herself and went upstairs alone. Disregarding the quizzical stare from Quinn, she marched up the stairs and slipped into the comfortable double bed.
The room was a girl’s room. It was painted pink with a pink, lavender, and white calico bedspread. Two fleece blankets and two pillows invited her to rest her weary head and stretch out. The ruffled café curtains added just enough privacy. Junior slept peacefully under a baby blanket in a portable crib. She stared at the ceiling, which was dotted with a few stick-ons of pastel-colored unicorns and shooting stars.
Quinn stopped by an hour later. He eased down on the bed.
“I’m awake,” she said, rolling over to face him.
“Don’t you want to sleep in my room?”
She shook her head. “I’m comfortable here.”
“But we could make love or just cuddle, if you want.”
“Nope. Seems like taking advantage. Rude, on some level.”
“Hey, my sister was
no angel. I could tell you stories—” Susanna put her fingers on his lips. “Okay, okay. I get it. Her house, her rules.” He said.
“She didn’t say I had to sleep here. I’m more comfortable here.”
He leaned down to kiss her. “Goodnight, honey,” he whispered, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders then palming her cheek.
“Sweet dreams, Quinn.”
Susanna rolled over and closed her eyes. Thoughts about spending the next day alone with him put a smile on her face as she drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
Up at six, as usual, with Junior, Susanna threw on jeans and a tank top and padded downstairs. After feeding him, she strapped the baby in the stroller and headed for a walk down the quiet, country road. Entertained by birdsong, she tried to name all the different flowers growing wild among the weeds. She stopped after dandelions and Queen Anne’s lace. The early morning air was cool and pleasant as it caressed her skin.
Junior made talking sounds, kicked his feet, and waved his hands. She was transported back to the days of her youth when she’d leave for early morning adventures in the woods with her best friend. Though only eight years old, the girls had roamed free, searching for signs of wildlife, raccoon tracks, deer droppings, birds’ nests, and discarded treasures.
When they returned to the house, she was surprised to find everyone awake. Quinn was yawning over a cup of coffee in the kitchen. Maggie looked bright-eyed.
“Gimme that little critter,” she said, reaching out her arms. Susanna handed Junior over.
The expression of uncertainty on his little face gave her pause, but Maggie cooed at him and started talking to him in a calm voice. Fascinated by Maggie, he moved his gaze to her eyes from Susanna’s.
“Like Cal said, reminds me of our boy, Jess. He was the cutest baby. Became a hellion at thirteen, but he’s calmed down now at sixteen.” She placed Junior in his high chair and scattered some Cheerios on the tray for him.
“Where are your kids, Maggie?” Susanna asked, sitting down next to Quinn. Cal reached into the cabinet for another mug, filled it with coffee, and placed it in front of her.
Red Carpet Romance Page 14