Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers)

by Samantha Chase

  “I didn’t meet Zoe under the best of circumstances,” he began. “She and Aidan weren’t speaking. I had to get Darcy home from a job site, and then I needed to get back to work. It was one of those times when there was just way too much going on.” There were smiles and nods all around the room. “Anyway, I was kind of proud of myself that I threw the poor girl back into Aidan’s path. You see…my brother can be a bit difficult, and he was off pouting, so I threw Zoe right into the lion’s den with him.” Quinn chuckled. “So I guess you can say they owe their reconciliation and now their marriage to me!”

  Everyone laughed and Quinn looked at his brother with a big grin before winking at Zoe. When everyone quieted down, he continued. “When he brought her home for one of our traditional Friday night pizza nights, it was amazing how she instantly fit in. Considering we never really invite anyone to join us for that kind of thing, it was really cool how it just seemed as if Zoe was meant to be there.” He paused. “And she was. I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and knowing what I know now about Zoe, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that our mom chose her specifically for Aidan and sent her our way.”

  There was the familiar pang in his heart at thinking of his mom. When he looked over at his brother and his brother’s bride, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit envious. Maybe someday he’d have what they did. But not right now. He wasn’t looking for the whole love, marriage, and all that went with it. There were still so many things Quinn wanted to accomplish with his life and his business, and he didn’t want a serious relationship getting in his way.

  It was why he had to stop thinking about what Riley had said last night. Anna was his friend and that was the way it should be. Quinn knew he needed Anna to keep his life on an even keel. It wasn’t worth losing their friendship—no matter how attractive he suddenly found her or what his family thought about her feelings for him.

  The room was fairly silent, and that’s when he realized he needed to finish his toast.

  Zoe was resting her head on Aidan’s shoulder, tears glistening in her eyes. “I wish the two of you a lifetime of happiness.” He raised his glass and everyone joined in. Quinn took a long drink of his champagne before setting it back down.

  Music started up again and after several songs, he found himself paired back up with Anna. Funny how it kept happening.

  “What happened to you up there?” she asked.

  “When?”

  “During your toast. You sort of zoned out for a minute.”

  Crap. He wondered if anyone else had noticed. It would be easy to pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about, but knowing Anna, she would call bullshit on it. Might as well be honest. Or…almost honest.

  “I was thinking about the sudden change in my family.”

  “What? You mean with Aidan and Hugh both married? And having more women as part of your family?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I get it with Aidan. He’s the homebody type. If ever there was a guy who was the poster child for marriage and kids and the white picket fence, it’s him. But Hugh? That one still stumps me.”

  “Why?”

  “He travels all over the world. He was a major player. He had all kinds of beautiful women at his beck and call. The fact that he chose to settle down with just one? It just boggles my mind.”

  She stiffened in his arms. “Jeez…what in the world, Quinn?”

  “What? What did I say?”

  “You’re a pig, you realize that, right?”

  “Me? Why am I a pig?”

  “Did it ever occur to you that not everyone wants to just sleep around? That maybe the thought of random hookups isn’t appealing?”

  “No, actually, it didn’t.” He smirked.

  She made a sound of disgust and almost pulled out of his embrace.

  “Anna,” he said with just a hint of a whine as he pulled her back in close, “you know me. I never saw the appeal of marriage and kids and mortgages and all that crap. Especially when there are so many options out there.”

  For a minute, all she could do was stare at him. “So you subscribe to the theory of plenty of fish in the sea, life is like a smorgasbord, blah, blah, blah. Is that what you’re saying?”

  He nodded. “Sure am. How can you possibly know you’ve picked the right person to settle down with when there are so many to choose from? I just don’t think Hugh should have given up so quickly.”

  “He didn’t give up, you moron! He fell in love! People do it all the time, you know!” She was clearly pissed off and was pulling away again. Quinn knew he needed to calm her down before she started talking any louder and drew attention to them.

  He tugged her in close. “Okay, okay, calm down. No need to get all huffy.”

  “Huffy!” she cried. “What is wrong with you? You can’t possibly stand here and tell me you don’t see how Hugh and Aubrey are completely in love. You just can’t!”

  “Sure…for now. What’s gonna happen when Hugh goes back to traveling and Aubrey’s left behind and some hot chick hits on him, huh? You don’t think he’s going to wonder about all he’s missing?”

  “No, I don’t! When did you become so cynical? When you fall in love, you don’t sit around thinking about what you’re missing!”

  “Says you.”

  “Says anyone who’s ever been in love! You mean to tell me that in all of the relationships you’ve had, you’ve never been in love?” Then she stopped and shook her head. “What am I saying? Of course you haven’t.”

  “No, I haven’t, and it’s not a crime.”

  She studied him for a long moment before a small smile played across her face. Quinn knew that look and it kind of freaked him out.

  “What are you thinking?” he forced himself to ask.

  “I think it would be kind of fun to watch all of those things happen to you.”

  “All of what?”

  The song ended and Anna stepped away from him and started walking back toward her table. Quinn was hot on her heels, and just as she was about to sit down, he placed a hand on her arm and gently spun her around. “All of what? What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.

  “Tell me something…describe your perfect woman.”

  He swallowed hard because right now the only woman he could picture was her. Needing a moment, he tried to come off as being bored. “Why?”

  “Just humor me. Please.” She crossed her arms over her coral bridesmaid gown.

  With a sigh, he mimicked her pose. “Okay, the perfect woman… She’d be tall, skinny but curvy.” He stopped and thought a little more. “Big boobs, the kind of ass that—”

  “Okay, stop describing the latest Playboy centerfold, perv,” she interrupted. “Personality. Let’s focus on the kind of personality you look for in a woman.”

  “I don’t look at personality,” he said, his tone challenging.

  “Fine,” she said with a huff. “Here’s the thing, Quinn, sooner or later you’re going to find a woman who is your ideal—in looks and personality. She’ll be someone you’re going to want to stick around for more than a night or two, and when it happens, you’ll have to eat those words.”

  “What words?”

  “You’re such a douche sometimes,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re going to realize you’re no different from your brothers. They found the perfect woman for them.”

  “Not gonna happen, Anna. There is no perfect woman out there—for me or otherwise.”

  “So cynical.”

  “I’m a realist. There is no such thing as perfect,” he said with a shrug.

  “So if you met a woman who…let’s just say…enjoyed racing. It wouldn’t mean anything to you?”

  He shook his head. “Not particularly.”

  “What if she enjoyed other sports too—particularly baseball. Then what?”
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br />   He thought about it for a minute. “Well, it would be cool, sure. But it wouldn’t make her perfect.”

  “And she could cook.”

  “Lots of women can cook.”

  “And she knew how to fix cars.”

  “Keep talking…”

  “And she was independent—not clingy—and preferred burgers and pizza to steak and lobster.”

  “Does she have a nice ass?” he asked, a smirk on his face.

  “Naturally.”

  “And is she good in bed?”

  “Like a goddess,” Anna instantly replied.

  Quinn took a moment to process it all. “Okay, you find me that woman, and I’ll eat my words about Hugh and Aidan and let you do the ‘I told you so’ dance.”

  Anna’s smile grew. “You’re on.”

  * * *

  For the remainder of the weekend, Anna had to wonder what in the world had gotten into her. Why had she even made that bet with Quinn? She didn’t want him to find the perfect woman; she wanted him to find…her!

  It wasn’t until she was driving home that the idea came to her—she was already in the process of making herself over. Why not make herself over into the woman she described to Quinn? She almost squealed with joy. It wouldn’t take much. Most of the things she described already fit her to a T. Well, except the car fixing and goddess in bed things, but hey, a girl could learn, right?

  For the first time in…forever…Anna honestly felt hope for her and Quinn.

  The key to it was not making it too obvious or too easy. No. She needed to become a little less accessible and make him come to her. But how? There were the obvious methods—simply not being available for him like she normally was. That made her laugh. She’d need a backup for the plan. It didn’t seem to matter when he called or what he wanted, she usually went running. She was going to need someone who was in on her plan to make sure she stayed strong and in control.

  The obvious choice was Zoe. Although she had just left on her honeymoon, Anna made a mental note to get together with her for lunch as soon as she got back. That would give her time to really formulate her plan of action.

  “Operation Get Quinn.” She chuckled to herself as she drove through town, thankful to almost be home. “Oh, it’s going to be perfect!”

  Zoe would be the only one who could know what she was doing. To the rest of her friends and family, it would look like she was finally moving on—she’d go on dates that would hopefully make Quinn jealous, and take some classes to make it look as if she was just broadening her horizons. She thought of her brother and their conversation back at the wedding and knew he’d probably be the most excited at her new pastimes.

  Then he’d be pissed when he found out she was doing it all to get Quinn.

  “Then he won’t find out why I’m doing it,” she quipped with another laugh and felt as if everything was already falling into place.

  When she pulled into her driveway and got out of the car, Anna had a little spring in her step that hadn’t been there before.

  And it felt pretty damn good.

  * * *

  For the next week, Anna did her research. Community college courses, YouTube videos—you name it, she was using it. Of course, there were some things you couldn’t take a class for. Like the sex goddess thing.

  I draw the line at taking a class on how to be like that in bed, she told herself. More than once.

  The Internet was really quite handy, and she hadn’t appreciated all you could learn on it up until now. Over the last several days, Anna had learned to change a flat tire and to do minor maintenance on her car, like changing out windshield wipers and several filters.

  It was Saturday, and today’s project was learning how to change a spark plug. The first thing she was trying it on was her lawn mower. It was an old one—her father had given it to her when he’d upgraded—and she figured it was a good place to start. Five minutes later, she was done.

  “Well, that was a little anticlimactic,” she muttered, sitting on the floor of her garage.

  The car was a different matter. Unwilling to spend a fortune on a set of tools, Anna had had no choice but to call Bobby and ask to borrow some of his. Luckily, his timing was perfect, and when she looked over her shoulder, he was already pulling into the driveway.

  “What’s going on, squirt?” he asked as he strolled her way.

  “I told you,” she began, rising to her feet, “this old car is starting to show its age, and in order for me to be responsible, I need to learn how to do some basic stuff to it.”

  Bobby rolled his eyes. “That’s what you pay a mechanic for.”

  She rolled her eyes right back at him. “And that’s not being very responsible. Come on, Bobby, you know I’m trying to be financially responsible. Some of the stuff this car needs I can probably do myself.” Then she showed him the new wiper blades. “And…” she said, popping the hood, “new air filters! Look at me! I’m practically a mechanic!”

  Bobby leaned over the engine and looked around. “Not bad. Not bad at all.” Then he straightened. “Why the sudden interest in car repair? I mean, I know what you just told me, but this car’s been a bit of a nightmare for a while.”

  She shrugged. “With the new career and all, my schedule isn’t what it used to be. I’ve got student loans to pay off and I’m just trying to save money where I can.”

  “Dammit, Anna, do you need money? I knew when I moved out things were going to be harder on you and…shit…I should have offered to keep helping you out with some of the bills.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” she huffed. “No, I don’t need money. Why is it so wrong for me to just want to learn something new that will help me? I can’t keep running to you or Quinn whenever I have car trouble.”

  “You certainly can keep running to Shaughnessy. With everything you do for him, he should be putting a whole new engine in this thing for you! With all the food and the running around for him and—”

  “I’m not doing this with you!” she cried in exasperation. “Seriously, I am so tired of having this conversation with you over and over. Quinn is my friend! You have got to get over this…thing you have where he’s concerned! I don’t get on you about your friends!”

  “That’s because my friends don’t take advantage of me like he does you!” Bobby fired back. “You keep chasing after him, hoping he’ll fall in love with you or something. You can stand here all day long and play the ‘he’s just my friend’ card, but you’re not only lying to me, you’re lying to yourself!”

  It really sucked when she was so transparent.

  “Look, are you going to help me or not?” Anna said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Anna, all I’m saying is—”

  “Enough with the lectures, Bobby! I’m a grown woman! Jeez, I just need a little help from my brother, so I can be a little more independent. I didn’t think it was a bad thing!”

  Bobby had the good sense to know when to quit arguing. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I really do think it’s a good thing for you to know how to take care of yourself and your car. I’d hate to think of you broken down someplace and not knowing what to do.”

  “Believe me, if I’m broken down someplace, I’ll definitely call for help. But the maintenance stuff just seems like a smart place to start.”

  He stepped closer and wrapped her in a brotherly embrace, kissing her on the forehead. “I’m proud of you, Anna. I know I don’t say it enough, but I really am proud of all you’re doing with yourself.”

  She beamed at his praise. “Thank you,” she said. “Now, show me what kind of thingamajig helps me get a spark plug out of a fifteen-year-old Honda.”

  * * *

  Business was booming for Quinn. The new auto shop had a waiting list of people wanting their cars looked at, and the custom restoration part of the shop was fin
ally coming together. Standing back and looking at the two cars currently sitting in the bays was almost enough to make him giggle like a schoolgirl.

  Cars had always been his passion—he loved to drive them; he loved to take them apart and put them back together. His years on the racing circuit with NASCAR had been like a damn dream come true—the cars, the speed, the women. When one of his best friends was killed in a crash, Quinn had walked away from the circuit. Watching Todd’s family in the days and weeks following the accident had been a real eye-opener. There was no way he wanted his family to go through something like that—and watching footage of the crash every time they turned on the TV.

  Crashes had been an everyday occurrence for so long that Quinn had thought himself desensitized to it. That had changed in the blink of an eye.

  Once he retired, he was thankful for having the business sense to have invested his money during his career. True, he’d thought he’d have at least another ten years to keep putting money into it, but it was still enough for him to move on to the next phase of his life in automotive repair and restoration.

  His brothers had thought he was crazy. His father had simply asked if he needed a hand getting started. And Anna? Well, she had brought him food at all hours of the day and night because he had refused to stop working in those first few months, and she had always made sure he was taken care of.

  Shit. He hadn’t allowed himself to think about her much since the wedding. The entire weekend had pretty much messed with him on multiple levels. The whole thing with his dad and Martha still made Quinn want to shudder, but he knew it wasn’t something that was going to go away. His father deserved to be happy, and if right now that meant dating Martha Tate, then who was Quinn to try and stop it?

  But the whole revelation thing with Anna? It was something that was going to stick for a while. Besides the whole crazy bikini body thing, having his brother tell him Anna had been crushing on him for years? Hell, he still couldn’t wrap his brain around it.

  The sound of approaching footprints had Quinn looking over his shoulder. A smile soon followed. “Hey! Wasn’t expecting to see you around so soon,” he said as Aidan walked up and gave him a hug.