“That’s not what I’m talking about, jackass,” Bobby snapped at him. “She’s been pining after you since you were teenagers and you never noticed. Do you have any idea how many times she cried after you started dating someone new?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Slowly, he stood up and began stalking Quinn again. “Or how many times she would come home brokenhearted and disappointed because you didn’t thank her or appreciate the things she did for you?”
“Bobby,” Anna warned.
“No! It’s time he knew just how awful he was!” Slowly, he walked around Quinn. “How many times did you call her and ask her to make you food or bake you cookies, and she did it only to find you with another girl when she arrived?”
Quinn watched him warily at first and then with defeat. “If I could go back and change any of it, I would,” he said quietly. “I know I can’t and it kills me. I had no idea Anna felt that way about me.”
“Yeah, well…maybe if you paid attention to someone other than yourself—”
“Look, I get it!” Quinn finally snapped. “Do you think I like knowing how much I hurt her? Do you think it’s easy for me to stand here and listen to this?”
“You’re not good enough for her,” Bobby snarled. “You’re having fun right now and everyone’s happy, but I know you, Quinn. You don’t stick around. You don’t have staying power. Eventually, you’re going to get bored, and you’ll start treating her exactly like you used to. And I’ll be the one whose shoulder she’ll cry on.”
“It’s not like that,” Quinn said.
“We’ll see.”
Anna stepped in between the two of them, facing her brother. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bobby,” she said sadly. “Thanks for believing I’m the type of girl who isn’t enough for someone to stay with.”
And then she stormed from the room, slamming the bedroom door behind her.
“Way to go, genius,” Quinn said, raking a hand through his hair.
“Me? This is all your fault!”
Quinn shook his head. “Uh-uh. No way. You came in here and started this. And by the way, why not try knocking next time instead of just barging in?”
“Barging…?” Bobby let out a growl of frustration. “You do realize I used to live here too, right?”
“Whatever. That was like…two years ago. This is Anna’s house now, and you have no right just letting yourself in. She’s entitled to her privacy.”
“Don’t you dare lecture me about my sister.”
Quinn threw up his hands in defeat and frustration. “You know what? We’re done. You need to leave so I can go and make sure Anna’s okay.”
“I’ll go and see—”
“No, you won’t,” Quinn said firmly. “You need to leave.” Then he sighed. “Honestly, Bobby, let me go and take care of her.”
“I don’t trust you, Shaughnessy.”
“That’s fine. I don’t really care what you think of me, but you’ll respect your sister. Just go. I’ll make sure she calls you later.”
Bobby hesitated for a full minute before he simply nodded and bent to pick up his keys on his way out the door.
Once it was shut and Quinn heard Bobby’s car pull way, he walked over to the bedroom door and lightly knocked. “Anna? Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
He opened the door and found her lying on the bed, one arm flung over her face, covering her eyes. “You okay?”
“Oh, yeah. Just great,” she mumbled.
Quinn sat down beside her. “You know he’s just looking out for you.”
“It didn’t feel that way.”
“Yeah, well, trust me. I think if I walked in on Darcy and found some guy in her place, I’d probably kick his ass first and ask questions later.”
She moved her arm away from her face. “It’s not like that at all. Bobby knows you. He’s known you as long as I have. What he said out there—and what he implied—was pretty insulting.” She sat up. “And Darcy’s still a child. Any guy you found with her would be a complete stranger to you, so you’d better punch first and talk later.”
He loved how she was just as protective of his little sister as he was. “I’ll remember to tell her it was your idea, should it ever happen.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
“And I’ll completely deny it. No one would believe you over me. Your family thinks I’m very sweet.”
Quinn tucked a finger under her chin. “I think you’re very sweet too.” He kissed her nose, her cheek, and then her lips. “Everything about you,” he murmured before kissing her again.
Soon they were lying down on the bed and he was rolling her beneath him. It would have been easy to distract her—and him. With very little effort, Quinn knew he could have them both naked and lost to the world outside. But he knew it wasn’t the way to really make her feel better.
Instead, he lifted his head and looked down at her solemnly. “I really am sorry, Anna. All this time I thought I was a good friend to you, but I wasn’t. I hurt you and I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”
One of her hands came up and caressed the side of his face. “It wasn’t your fault, Quinn. I could have handled things differently too. I should have said something a long time ago.”
“No. I hate that you got hurt because of me, but I think where we are now, here like this, it wouldn’t have happened unless we went through all we went through. Does that make sense?”
She nodded.
Rising from the bed, he pulled her up with him. “Now come on. It’s your turn to sit and watch me do all the cooking.” He took her by the hand and led her from the bedroom.
* * *
Of course, once the cat was out of the bag—compliments of Bobby—the phone started ringing. First it was her parents, and then some of their friends, and eventually the Shaughnessys chimed in. But in their defense, it was a family dinner invitation, and Anna never turned one of those down. This would be the first one—kind of—that she and Quinn would be going to as a couple.
Ian Shaughnessy was hosting a barbecue because all of the restoration and remodeling on his home was officially done. At one point or another, each of his six children had come home and helped with the work, but this was the first time everyone was going to be there to see the finished product.
Quinn had to work that morning, so Anna told him she’d meet him at his father’s. It wasn’t unusual for her to go there on her own, and if anything, it was no different from going home to her parents’. Well, it could also be because her parents lived right next door to Ian, and if they were in town, she had no doubt they’d be joining the family for the festivities.
Ian greeted her at the door with a big smile and a kiss on the cheek. “There’s my girl,” he said and took the large bowl from her hands. “What have you made for us?”
“This is some potato salad,” she said with a proud grin—it was one of her specialties and she knew the Shaughnessys all enjoyed it. “And I happen to have several trays of brownies out in the car. I just need to—”
“Did someone say brownies?” Riley asked as he came over and kissed her on the cheek too. “I’ll just go and grab them from your car.”
“It’s the blue Honda,” she yelled over her shoulder as Riley walked out the door.
She made her way into the house, saying hello to everyone as she went until she was in the kitchen. Zoe and Darcy were in there slicing vegetables and talking. “Hey, girls! How are you both doing?”
Zoe looked up and smiled while Darcy continued to look down at the tomato she was slicing. Anna walked over and hugged Zoe and looked at her questioningly. Then she turned to Darcy. “Hey, kiddo. What’s going on?”
Darcy shrugged and Anna looked back at Zoe. “Am I missing something?”
There was a moment’s hesitation before Zoe sighed. “Darcy asked if she could go
on a trip to Florida for spring break and Ian said no.”
Darcy looked up at Anna. “Honestly? Everyone said no.” She glared at Zoe.
“O-kay,” Anna said and put her purse down on the kitchen table. “So who’s going on this trip?”
Slamming down the knife she was using, Darcy huffed. “Everyone! All of my friends are going—Michelle, Diana, Amy, Jennifer, Mike, Rob—”
“So it’s a coed trip?” Anna asked, grabbing a celery stalk and munching on it as she leaned a hip against the counter.
“Well, yeah…it’s college. Of course it’s a coed trip.”
Anna chuckled. Oh, to be young and think everyone around you was a moron. “Were you planning on flying or driving?”
“Driving. Why?”
“And where were you going to stay?”
“We were going to rent a house in Daytona,” Darcy replied.
“Hmm…and how much was it going to cost?”
A shrug was her only response.
“Come on, Darce,” Anna said. “Out with it.”
“Okay, so I was going to need about fifteen hundred dollars for everything. But it would cover everything! Gas, food, the house—all of it!”
“And do you have that much money saved?” Anna asked.
Darcy looked at her like she was crazy. “No, why?”
“So basically you not only asked your dad for permission to go, but you wanted him to finance it too?” She didn’t wait for Darcy to answer. “And you were foolish enough to ask for way more than you could possibly need for the trip. That’s a huge red flag to me.”
“What are you talking about?” Darcy asked defensively. “We worked out the budget. That’s how much it’s going to cost.”
Anna finished her piece of celery, rested her elbows on the counter, and looked at Darcy with a mixture of sympathy and condescension. “Sweetheart, I hate to break it to you, but whoever worked that budget up probably failed fifth-grade math.”
“What do you mean?”
“The cost of driving from here to Florida—in one car—would maybe be a hundred bucks tops. Split that between however many are in the car and you’re maybe at twenty dollars a person.” She paused. “Then if seven of you are going in on a house and are splitting the cost of the house—a three-bedroom one would be completely sufficient—you’re looking at about three hundred per person.”
Darcy sputtered a little bit but couldn’t seem to get a word out.
“Then food and whatnot for one person, you’re looking at maybe—at most—about two hundred. And that’s only if you are eating out every day. Renting a house means you can stock the fridge to cut costs.” She straightened. “Sorry, baby girl, but honestly, had you said six hundred dollars, you might have had a chance.”
“No,” Darcy said. “They all said no because of the guys. If it were all girls, I’m sure Dad would have said yes.”
“Dad would have said yes to what?” Ian asked as he strolled into his newly designed kitchen.
Anna didn’t have a problem dealing with family matters head-on, and this family was like her own, so she knew it wouldn’t be a big deal to throw herself into the middle of this mess. “What was your biggest issue with the spring break thing, Ian? The cost or the boys?”
Ian looked at Anna for a minute and then glanced at his daughter. “Honestly? The cost. I’m not an idiot, Anna. She goes to school and lives on campus and is even in a coed dorm. The cost of that trip was just excessive.” He looked at Darcy again. “Sorry, sweet pea.” Then he kissed her on the head, grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, and walked back out to the living room.
“Holy cow.” Darcy sighed and then stared at Anna. “How did you do that? How did you know?”
Anna walked over and put her arm around Darcy. “Believe it or not, kiddo, you’re not the first college girl to try and con her way into a sweet spring break. Mine was Hawaii. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack. Had I aimed small—like Florida—he might have gone for it. But I got greedy.” She ruffled Darcy’s hair. “Lesson learned.”
“Well, shit,” Darcy said and pushed the plate of tomatoes away.
“Language,” Aidan said as he strolled into the room.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Darcy muttered. “Unclench.”
He went to Zoe and kissed her soundly on the lips. “And here I thought a big family get-together wasn’t going to be any fun. Who knew my baby sister would be so entertaining?” He turned and grinned at Darcy and almost choked when she flipped him the bird and stormed from the room.
“Aidan,” Zoe admonished. “That wasn’t very nice. You know she’s already upset.”
“And it’s all her own doing. She still hasn’t outgrown the need to make a scene when there’s an audience. She chose today to ask about that ridiculous trip because she figured Dad would be too distracted to question it. We’re all here for a nice day and to see the house as a finished product, and she had to ruin it.”
“I wouldn’t say she ruined it,” Anna chimed in.
Aidan gave her a bland look. “Anna, come on. As much as Darcy has grown up, she’s still very immature.” He shrugged. “Hell, we all were at her age, and it just sucks for her that there are so many of us who’ve been there before her.” He reached over and grabbed a beer. “We should be thankful Quinn wasn’t here to witness the whole thing. There would have been a lot more screaming and crying.”
“Yikes,” Anna said and walked over to grab herself a bottle of water.
“Speaking of which—when is he supposed to get here? I figured he’d be here by now.”
Anna looked at her watch. “Yeah, I thought so too, but he probably lost track of time. He had to go into the shop this morning to do some work on a car he’s restoring.”
“Not Jake Tanner’s, I hope,” Aidan said and then shook his head. “If it were me, I would have put those cars out in the middle of the road with the keys in them after what happened.” Zoe elbowed him in the ribs. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring that up.”
“It’s okay, Aidan. Really. I told Quinn he should do the work on the cars.”
“What?” Aidan and Zoe cried at the same time.
Anna nodded.
“Sweetie, are you crazy?” Zoe asked. “Why would you want him to work for that jackass? After what he did, I’d think you wouldn’t want Quinn to have anything to do with him!”
“I thought about it, but it’s a really big opportunity for his business. It isn’t like Jake’s going to be working beside him.” She shrugged again. “It’s really not a big deal. Quinn’s business is more important.”
“Um…no,” Aidan said. “You’re more important.” He stopped and cursed under his breath. “So is that why he’s not here? Because he’s working on one of Jake’s cars?”
At this point, Anna was afraid to confirm or deny it.
Riley walked into the kitchen with the trays from her car. “I’m not going to lie to you,” he said with a grin, “I ate two of them before I closed the car door.”
Anna chuckled. “You didn’t need to confess. The chocolate crumbs on your shirt gave you away. You’re forgiven.”
“Excellent.” He put the trays down and walked over to hug her and then kept his arm around her shoulders. “My brother’s a lucky man.” Then he looked around a bit. “Come to think of it, it looks like most of my brothers are lucky men.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Zoe said.
Riley looked from person to person and noticed the conversation had stopped. “Okay, what’s going on? Why’d everyone clam up when I came into the room?” He paused. “It’s the new song I sent, isn’t it? You guys hate the new music.” He stepped away from Anna and cursed. “Just come out and say it. I can take it.”
Anna immediately reached out and touched his arm. “No one hates your music, Riley. Relax.”
; “Then why is everyone so damn quiet?”
“It’s…it’s nothing,” Anna said.
“I’ll tell you what it is,” Aidan began. “Quinn kept those classic cars that belong to Jake Tanner. He’s still going to do the work on them!”
Riley’s eyes went wide. “Wait…Jake Tanner? The guy who…” He looked at Anna and then back to his brother. “Are you kidding me?”
“It’s really not a big deal,” Anna murmured, but no one seemed to be listening.
“I have no idea what’s wrong with him,” Aidan said, shaking his head with disgust.
“Why would he do that?” Riley asked, brows furrowed.
Before anyone could reply, Anna stepped in between the two brothers and held up her hands to stop them. “Look, I told Quinn he should keep the cars and work on them. The publicity he’s going to get once the cars are done will be a real boost to his business. So if I’m okay with it, then you all should be too. I don’t want anyone giving him any grief when he gets here.” Her voice was firm, as was her expression.
Wordlessly, Riley held up his hands in defeat. Reaching over, he grabbed one more brownie, and with the grin he was famous for, he left the kitchen.
Anna turned to Aidan and Zoe. “Promise me,” she said. “Promise me you’re not going to say anything to him.” She paused. “Today is about your dad and the house. I don’t know if any of you noticed, but he didn’t invite Martha, so that should tell you how important it is that the family is here. I’m sure it would be helpful if everyone got along. Darcy already got everyone riled up. Let’s not add to it, okay?”
Zoe nodded, and when Aidan didn’t say or do anything, she elbowed him in the ribs. “Fine,” he finally said. “But I’m still annoyed—”
“I get it,” Anna interrupted. “Just let it go for today. Please. For me.”
He nodded and kissed his wife on the cheek, and then kissed Anna on the cheek as well before walking from the kitchen to join the rest of his family in the living room.
“You won’t be able to keep them quiet forever, you know,” Zoe said when they were alone.
“I know. But for today I just want everyone to get along.”
Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers) Page 17