Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers)

by Samantha Chase

  Damn wedding.

  Why couldn’t he be at work right now? If he were working on a classic car, everything would be right with his world. When he was working on a project, it held his attention from start to finish—no distractions. Sure, he went out and socialized. Hell, he even dated. He was a guy, after all. But it was all superficial—a quick stop at the pub, a quick bite to eat, and some hot sex. But for the next three days, there was nothing but family and…Anna.

  He seriously hoped Zoe’s friends were hot. It would be a welcome distraction. It would quite possibly be the only thing that would save him from any awkward interactions with Anna. Then at night, he’d have to deal with the other awkward situation—sharing a room with his dad.

  A shudder wracked through his body. He knew it was only for three nights, but the only person Quinn wanted to share a room with was Anna. NO! Wait… Oh hell. A woman. He only wanted to share a room with a woman! Damn Anna and her bikini. Now he was going to have to be even more careful for the rest of the weekend, or it wouldn’t only be Anna getting in his face about his behavior. Soon his brothers would be in on it and eventually…Bobby.

  Crap. It was no secret there was no love lost between Quinn and Bobby. He wasn’t even sure when it started. They were all friends when they were kids, but somewhere along the way—probably around high school or maybe even as early as middle school—Bobby had taken a disliking to Quinn, and that, in turn, had made Quinn dislike Bobby. They’d had more than their share of brawls, but whenever Quinn would come out and say, “What is your problem?” Bobby would just throw his hands up in disgust and walk away.

  And it got worse when Bobby became a cop. Not to say he was harassing Quinn, but Quinn knew he got more tickets than the average citizen and it was usually over nothing. You’d think Quinn would just pack it in and set up his business’s home base someplace else. But no. Not only did he set up one of his shops in his hometown, but he’d seriously expanded and made it his crowning location.

  Idiot.

  Okay, so now he was up to three awkward situations on tap for the weekend. Maybe he should just stay in his room and fake being sick or something. Luckily there weren’t any medical professionals in the bunch. Riley wouldn’t come near him for fear of getting sick and missing out on being with the public. Owen was a bit of a germophobe and would definitely stay away. Darcy would poke her head in just to be nosy, while Hugh wouldn’t want to risk getting Aubrey sick. And Aidan…well, it was his wedding, there was no way he’d risk getting sick for his wedding day.

  But could he really do it? Just to get a room to himself and not have to face Anna or Bobby? Was he really so completely selfish that he’d risk ruining Aidan and Zoe’s weekend?

  Maybe.

  “No,” he growled and sat up. He wasn’t a coward. And hiding out implied he was. “I can face all of them and tell them each to go to hell if they have a problem with me.” Well, except his dad. There was no way he’d say that to his dad. Ian Shaughnessy was the best dad a guy could ever ask for, and even though Quinn wasn’t looking forward to bunking with him, it wasn’t an attack on his father.

  Just his snoring.

  Outside, he heard a couple of car doors slamming. Walking over to the window, he saw Hugh and Aubrey had arrived. Another car pulled in behind them but Quinn didn’t recognize it. It wasn’t particularly unusual—there were guests coming that he didn’t see on a regular basis. For all he knew, it was one of his aunts or uncles, the Hannigans, or even Zoe’s friends. It could be…

  Wait a minute…

  Squinting a little, Quinn leaned closer to the glass and felt an impending sense of doom. Rising from the driver’s side door of the second car was Martha Tate. Nothing wrong with that; she was Zoe’s boss. She was laughing and smiling, and she waved at Hugh and Aubrey like they were old friends. But she wasn’t alone. Stepping out from the passenger side was… Oh dear Lord.

  Ian Shaughnessy.

  Chapter 2

  “No, no, no, no, no, no,” Quinn grumbled as he stalked across the room. This was the icing on the cake of a really crappy day. His father didn’t drive anywhere with anyone. Hell, only recently had he started socializing with his old friends again, and the only people Quinn ever saw him driving around with were his own kids. Mainly Darcy. But Martha Tate? What the hell?

  He took off down the stairs and nearly collided with Anna at the bottom. She had a towel wrapped around her, thankfully. “Whoa, where’s the fire?” she said with a nervous laugh.

  Quinn was sorely tempted just to step around her and keep going, but he figured Anna might be a little more in the know on this situation than he was because she was so close with Zoe. “Why is my father arriving here in Martha Tate’s car?” he asked suspiciously.

  Anna instantly looked uncomfortable. “Are they here already? I didn’t think—”

  “So you knew about this? And you didn’t tell me?”

  “There really isn’t anything to tell. They’ve had dinner a couple of times, and I knew Martha was coming for the wedding. I guess—”

  “When did they have dinner?” he snapped and then took a step away and raked a hand through his already-disheveled hair. “This is crazy!”

  “It’s really not that big a deal, Quinn,” she said evenly. When he finally went to move around her, she placed a firm hand on his arm and stopped him. “What are you doing? You can’t go out there like this.”

  “And why the hell not?”

  “Because you’re freaking out over nothing. So they drove here together. You’re going to look like a crazy person going out there like this.”

  He seemed to consider what she said. “He was supposed to drive here with Darcy. So…where the hell is Darcy? And why is Martha here now instead?”

  At that moment, Zoe walked down the hallway toward them. “Everything okay?”

  Anna looked at Quinn and then back to Zoe. “Ian just pulled up with Martha,” she said and silently motioned to the look on Quinn’s face from behind him. “Quinn wasn’t aware of the situation.”

  “So there is a situation,” Quinn interrupted, turning toward Anna.

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Quinn wasn’t aware they were arriving together.”

  “Oh no,” Zoe said. “Neither was I. Martha said she couldn’t make it here today. I don’t have a room for her. All the bedrooms are taken.”

  “Maybe Hugh can get her a room at the resort. It’s only thirty minutes away and—”

  “No. I can’t do that to her. We’ll have to reconsider everything. Damn it. I hate when people don’t follow the plan.” And then she was gone, walking away and talking to herself about bedroom assignments.

  Anna glared at Quinn. “There. Happy now?”

  “Me? What did I do?”

  “You upset the bride! Like she doesn’t have enough to worry about without you freaking her out!”

  “Hey!” he snapped. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m the one who’s upset here! Why aren’t you going out there and yelling at my dad and Martha for making me upset?”

  The laugh came out before she could stop it. “Oh my God. Do you even hear yourself? You’re a grown man, Quinn. This isn’t a big deal. Now take a deep breath and maybe go out back for a few minutes until everyone comes in. And for the love of it, keep your mouth shut for as long as possible.”

  “Why—?”

  Anna held up a hand to silence him as everyone started to file in. She could feel him bristling beside her and finally leaned back and elbowed him in the ribs. His muffled “oof” almost made her smile. Before she could do more than blink, everyone was talking and saying hello and she went from person to person hugging and greeting them.

  “I can’t believe you beat us here, bro,” Hugh said as he shook Quinn’s hand. “I thought for sure you’d be one of the last to arrive.”

  Quinn took the good-natured ribbing with a sm
ile. Hopefully Anna was the only one to notice it was forced and that his eyes kept darting over to his father and Martha.

  Deciding to keep things light for a little bit longer, Anna said, “Quinn? Why don’t you take Hugh and Aubrey out back and show them the pool and get them a drink?”

  He eyed her suspiciously. “I’m sure they can—”

  “And see if Zoe needs anything,” she quickly added to cut him off. “You know she’s feeling a little frazzled right now.” Anna gave him a stern glare that warned him not to argue, and breathed a sigh of relief when he just nodded and led his brother and his brother’s wife through the house.

  When she heard the sliding glass doors open and close, she turned to Ian and Martha, who were looking at her oddly. “Okay, here’s the thing,” she began, her heart racing a little at having to have an awkward discussion with the man who had always been like a second father to her. “Quinn is a little freaked out that the two of you are here together.”

  Ian’s brows rose. “Why?”

  “Well…he was expecting you to arrive with Darcy.” And then she looked apologetically at Martha. “And I’m afraid Zoe didn’t know you were coming today. So she’s panicking about where to put you. Room-wise.”

  The older couple looked at one another nervously and then back at Anna and her stomach sank. Oh. My. God. She said a silent prayer she was not going to be forced to stand here and listen to them talk about the new turn in their relationship and how they were hoping to share a room.

  So not the discussion she ever wanted to have.

  “Actually—” Ian began, unable to look Anna in the eye.

  She cut him off before he could go any further. “It’s okay. Really. You were supposed to room with Quinn, but I’m sure Zoe can find another spot for him.”

  “Why was I rooming with Quinn?”

  Anna gave him the short version of Riley’s situation with the bodyguard and how all of the rooms were filled. “I’m sure Quinn can sleep on one of the sofas or the floor somewhere or maybe with Bobby.”

  Ian laughed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Those two will probably try to kill each other by the end of the first night.”

  The laugh came automatically, but Anna wasn’t really feeling it. No doubt she was now going to have to be the bearer of this awkward news.

  “Maybe I should find a hotel,” Martha said after a long silence.

  Ian looked at her apologetically. “I hate to see you do that. Why don’t we wait and see how things unfold here?”

  “Tell you what,” Anna said, interrupting them again, “let me go and talk to Zoe and then we’ll deal with Quinn. I’m not sure which room you’re in, so just leave your luggage here and go on out back and grab a drink.”

  “Anna,” Ian said, “I appreciate what you’re doing, but maybe it would be better if I was the one to deal with Quinn.”

  It would have been easy to agree, but she had a feeling things would go a lot easier this weekend if she was the one dealing with Quinn’s wrath rather than his father. “Let me at least try first. If I need to, I’ll let you take over.” She walked away before he could stop her.

  When Anna was out of sight, Martha turned to Ian. “How long has she been in love with him?”

  Ian sighed. “Since forever.”

  “Any chance of him feeling the same way?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  * * *

  Quinn’s eyes kept darting toward the sliding doors to see if his father was coming outside. He had no idea what he was going to say to him, but he knew he had to say something. What the hell was he doing here with Martha Tate? Like a couple! And why hadn’t he given any of them a heads-up? A warning? Something? Anything?

  Beside him, Hugh and Aubrey were talking about how their neighbor was dog-sitting for them. Crap. Who cares? Didn’t they realize there were bigger issues to be dealt with than making sure the dogs didn’t shit in the house? It was on the tip of his tongue to say something when a movement caught his attention.

  Anna.

  She stepped out onto the patio—alone—and Quinn knew immediately she was gunning for him. Great. As if he needed her in his face any more today. And why wasn’t she dressed yet? The towel was replaced with some sort of white, gauzy cover-up kind of thing and if anything, it was sexier than her just being in the damn bikini.

  Closing his eyes, he shook his head. When he opened them, Anna was standing in front of him. “Are you okay?”

  All he could do was nod. Quinn was certain if he opened his mouth to speak, he wouldn’t be able to control himself and he’d end up not only ranting—loudly—about his father and Martha, but also about Anna and her current wardrobe. Or lack thereof.

  “Everything okay?” Hugh asked. He looked at his brother and then at Anna and then back again. Aubrey stepped in close to them as well.

  “Quinn’s a little upset about your dad and Martha,” Anna said quietly.

  Hugh sighed. “Yeah. I have to admit it was a bit of a shock, but…” He stopped and shrugged. “He’s entitled to have a life too.”

  “Does he have to have one now?” Quinn hissed. “I mean…this is a family event! He couldn’t find a better time to break the news to us all?”

  Hugh looked at him oddly. “Dude, where have you been? They’ve been dating for a while now. This is hardly news.”

  Quinn shot an accusing look at Anna. “So everybody knew except me?”

  “Well,” Hugh began, “I can’t say with any great certainty, but—”

  “What about Darcy? Does she know? Is she okay with it?” he snapped.

  Anna looked between the brothers and stepped in. “Hugh, can you take Aubrey and check out the area we have set up for the dinner tonight and make sure it’s all right? I know Zoe would appreciate it.”

  The couple took their cue and excused themselves, leaving Quinn alone with Anna. She glared at him before taking his hand and dragging him down to the beach. The sand was hot and he was all but fuming by the time they stopped.

  “Okay look,” she began, “I know you’re upset—”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” he countered.

  “But,” she continued, “you need to understand several things.”

  “Anna, please don’t pretend you understand or that you’ve got it all figured out, because you don’t. This was a crappy time for him to bring Martha around.”

  “Honestly, it wasn’t,” she argued. “If you had been paying attention lately—”

  “I’ve been busy!” he yelled. “I’ve got a new phase of the business going on and that’s where my time has been spent. Had I known I was supposed to be sitting around like a gossipy teenager watching my dad, someone should have told me. You should have told me,” he accused.

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” she huffed and took several steps away before coming back to him. “It’s not my job to keep you up-to-date on your family, Quinn!”

  “And yet here you are doing just that.”

  She gasped and moved away again. It took a moment for Anna to find her voice. “Look, I’m not going to stand here and argue with you. All I’m saying is you need to calm down. This is your brother’s wedding. Zoe’s stressed out enough, and she and Aidan don’t need you starting a fight.”

  “Oh, I’m not the one who’s going to start the fight. I can guarantee when Darcy gets here, she’ll—”

  “She won’t do anything,” Anna said bluntly.

  Quinn could only stare.

  “Who do you think encouraged him to start dating? Who do you think orchestrated their first date? Who do you think is the most excited about maybe having more women in her life?”

  “But…no,” he said adamantly. “Darcy wouldn’t do that. She and my mom…”

  Anna’s shoulders sagged, her expression growing sad. “Quinn, Darcy doesn’t remember your mom
,” she said softly. “I know we all like to think differently, but the reality is she was a baby when Lillian died. She has no memory of her and it’s hard for her to pretend otherwise. It’s hard for her to have a connection to someone she doesn’t remember.” She paused. “It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love your mom—she does. But it’s not the same as the connection you and your brothers had to your mother.”

  It had been a long time since Quinn had felt overwhelmed with memories of his mother, but right now that was exactly how he felt. He swallowed hard and walked toward the water, not wanting Anna—or anyone—to see him like this.

  Sometimes it was easy just to pretend everything was okay, that there wasn’t this massive void in his life. And other times—like now—it was hard to ignore. With the scent and sound of the surf all around him, it was as if he were a kid again, on vacation with his family. It had always been their thing—they’d go to Myrtle Beach and spend the week just playing in the sand and the water.

  Anna came to stand beside him, and suddenly he was back in the present. His mother wasn’t here; they weren’t on vacation. And the reality hit him like a punch in the gut.

  “I wish Darcy remembered her,” he said quietly. “I know Mom loved us all, but she was just over the moon when she had Darcy—finally had a little girl.” He took a steadying breath. “I wish Darcy remembered some of Mom’s joy.”

  “So does she,” Anna replied before she turned and faced him. “It’s not easy for her, Quinn, but you have to know that just because she encourages your father to date, it doesn’t lessen her feelings for Lillian.”

  “I know.”

  “And you need to realize that just because he is dating, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t still love your mom. Or that he’s forgotten her.”

  Quinn swallowed hard, his eyes still focused on the waves crashing over the sand. He felt Anna’s hand slip into his and he grasped it hard. It was reassuring, soft, comforting. Everything he needed in that moment. They stood like that for several silent minutes before Anna simply leaned in and hugged him.