by Katee Robert
She laughed. “I think I’m going to have to insist on it.”
Chapter Sixteen
After Aubry agreed to actually give them a shot once they got back to Devil’s Falls, nothing could get Quinn down—not even having to spend some time in close quarters with his parents. He’d left Aubry asleep in bed and come down to the required breakfast before the rest of the official shit started. Jenny was all smiles and clearly displayed nerves, but she gave him a big hug as he reached the table. “Sorry.”
Quinn didn’t get the chance to ask what she meant, because as soon as he sat down, his mother turned her disapproving look on him. It was one she’d had cause to practice over the decades and it used to be enough to bring him to heel, no matter how much he chafed at the restriction. That was a long time ago, though. Quinn poured himself some coffee and sat back. “Mother. Father.”
As expected, Peggy barely waited for him to take his first sip before she started up. “Quinn, honey, we’re worried about you.”
“We’ve let you have your freedom—all men need their freedom—but this is going too far.” His old man picked up right where she left off, as if they’d practiced this. Hell, maybe they had.
“You brought th-that girl to your sister’s wedding.” His mother took a sip of water. When she spoke again, her tone was much more controlled. “You’re thirty-four years old. The youthful rebellion was expected in your twenties. You dated wild girls and put gray hairs on my head. I hardly expected you to show up to your sister’s wedding with one who put them all to shame. She’s just so…trashy. I’m drawing the line.”
He almost pointed out that Jenny didn’t seem to have a damn problem with Aubry, but it was his sister’s wedding day and he wasn’t going to throw her under the bus to distract his parents. So he sat back and let them rant. They took turns going over the same old conversational paths. He was a Baldwyn. He was expected to act a certain way and not bring scandal down around the family’s ears. While his cowboy thing was cute at first, it was time to let it go and be done. He most certainly must not settle down with a woman who was beneath him. Under all the expected words, there was an undertone of desperation that had never been there before.
Apparently showing up with Aubry had been all the evidence they needed to finally realize that he was, in fact, serious about not dancing to the tune they set.
When they trailed off and a full five seconds passed without someone picking up the conversational ball, he drained his coffee. “Well, that was fun.”
“Fun.” His mother looked in danger of screeching. “You haven’t been listening to a single thing we’ve been saying.”
“No more than you’ve listened to me in the last twelve years.” He set his mug down. “I’m not coming back. Not in the way you want me to. As fun as it’s been torturing ourselves with these forced dinners and going round and round again every single time I see you, I’m done.” He stood. “If you can’t respect what I’ve chosen to do with my life—and who I’ve chosen to spend it with—then you can fuck off. I’m not changing, no matter how much you want me to.” He turned around and strode out of the restaurant, not sure if he was feeling free—or in a freefall.
All he knew was the hour he’d spent at the table was an hour wasted because he hadn’t been with Aubry. She never asked him to change, not really. She never manipulated or played games. She was exactly what she presented herself to be, and it was so fucking refreshing he could barely wrap his mind around it. Being around his family and their peers only brought home the differences even more clearly.
Maybe this time they’ll actually listen.
He smiled at the thought, mostly because it didn’t matter if they did or not. They had no control over him. He was only here because of Jenny. The smile died, though, when he walked into the room and saw Aubry glaring at her computer screen. “Hey, peaches.”
“Hey.”
A red flag rose at her tone. He crossed the room to stand next to her, searching her face even though she still hadn’t looked at him. “What happened in the last hour that has you looking like you want to go a few rounds in that game of yours? Because when I left you here, you were looking particularly sated and all aglow from the amazing sex.” The pieces clicked together with a snap. He rubbed a hand over his face. “You went down to the restaurant.”
“I thought you might need saving.”
That was a sweet gesture…or it would have been if she hadn’t witnessed the poison his parents were spitting. “How much did you hear?” Because she obviously hadn’t stayed to the end if she was up here, stewing.
She sighed, her shoulder drooping. “Just the part about my very presence being an insult to them and how they can’t believe you’d bring a trashy girl like me to a nice place like this.”
So pretty much all the key parts of his parents’ speech. He sighed. “I’m sorry. If I’d known they were going to spring that on me where you could potentially hear it, I would have warned you. As you discovered last night, my parents are horrible people.”
“It’s okay. I promised I could handle it, and I can.” She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “But what if they’re right?”
He went still. “Explain what the fuck you mean by asking me that.”
“Don’t take that tone with me. It’s a valid question. I don’t fit in here.” She waved her hand to encompass everything around them. “I’m not polished or poised, and I never say the right thing or know which fork to use in one of those fancy setups. I mean, I’m not shit on the bottom of their shoe like they think, but this isn’t my place and these aren’t my people.” She hesitated, her expression melting into something vulnerable. “They could be yours, though.”
“No.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Don’t you dare put me on a pedestal or whatever the fuck you’re trying to do. I hate this shit as much as you do.”
“Maybe, but even though you’ve been gone the last twelve years, you’re still the golden boy. You could come back to this at any time and they’d all welcome you with open arms, no questions asked.”
She was right, but that didn’t mean he liked hearing it. “My life is in Devil’s Falls. That was my choice, and that’s all that matters.”
For a second, he thought she might keep arguing, but she ran her hands through her hair and sighed. “Right. I know that. I’m sorry. I’m being crazy—crazier than normal. Apparently you can take the girl away from the trailer, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to feel any less like trailer trash. It’s okay. I’m okay. It was a momentary lapse.”
He got the feeling he hadn’t convinced her of anything, but there was nothing he could say that he hadn’t already said. And, fuck, Quinn was so goddamn tired of trying to convince everyone around him that he knew his own mind better than they did. He’d gone into this wedding knowing his parents would pull some shit—he just hadn’t expected to get it from Aubry, too. But she’d let it go. He could do the same.
For now.
He took a deep breath. “We’ll talk about this after the wedding.”
“Yeah. Sure. That sounds good.”
There was nothing overtly wrong. Not really. They’d had worse arguments since they’d known each other—worse arguments in the last two days. There was no reason for him to feel the sense of impending doom that currently hung over his head. Quinn hesitated, and then let it go. He wasn’t going to solve anything in the next half hour, but he would cause more problems if he was late for the pictures and other hoops he was required to jump through today. “It’s a date.”
…
Aubry almost panicked when the elevator doors opened up and she was faced with so many people. They blocked every avenue of escape and made it impossible to draw a full breath. I can barely take two steps out of this deathtrap without bumping into someone. She closed her eyes, but that only made it worse because she was assaulted by what sounded like a roar of mixed voices and too many conflicting perfumes.
She hadn’t reacted like th
is last night during the rehearsal dinner, but there had been less people…and she wasn’t still reeling from hearing Quinn’s parents spell out every single thing that was wrong with her in their eyes. It shouldn’t bother her. She knew it shouldn’t bother her. As he kept pointing out, he was going back to Devil’s Falls—the life he’d actually chosen. Which stood to reason that it hadn’t been the sex muddying up his brain last night when he said he wanted more time with her.
But that didn’t stop the insecurity from taking root inside her, feeding the secret part of her that had suspected she was just as worthless as her family had accused her of being, the part that had been waiting for the other foot to fall ever since she moved to Devil’s Falls—for someone to wake up and look at her and tell her that no one really wanted her there and it was high time she take her things and go.
Knowing it was an irrational fear didn’t do a damn thing to kill it. Truth be told, she barely thought about it most days. But there was something about being here with this man, a man whom she’d realized sometime over the last few days was a legitimately good guy. He wasn’t the muscle head she’d always suspected. He was decent, and gorgeous, and obviously insane because he was expressing interest in dating her once they got back to their normal stomping grounds.
She should have said no. There was no way they could last, and the reasons she didn’t want to keep having sex after they got to Devil’s Falls still stood. Jules would get her hopes up…
Aubry wrapped her arms around herself, the crowd blurring in front of her. No, that was a lie. She was the one who would get her hopes up. Because if this was really real, then Quinn would really hurt her when it was over. Because there was no way it wouldn’t be over.
I am such a mess.
“Breathe, peaches.” Quinn took her hand, his engulfing hers. “I won’t let them get you.”
She spoke out of the side of her mouth, pathetically grateful for the distraction from her intense issues—as if she had any other kind of issue. “What if one of them is infected and we have to run?”
“I’ll scoop you up, throw you over my shoulder, and we’ll bust out that big window into the back grounds. We can escape into the vineyards—there are miles of them.”
Even though it was a silly theoretical plan, and not one that would make a lick of sense in the real world, her next breath came easier. I am being crazy and irrational in worrying that Quinn is going to dump me like an old pair of boots at the first opportunity. “If anyone can manage it, it’s my trusty steed.”
“Damn straight.”
And then there was no more stalling because his little sister caught sight of them and waved. She wore a tasteful cream cocktail dress that would have looked at home on a woman twice her age, but maybe that was Aubry’s prejudice showing. She didn’t do tasteful and she didn’t do…pretty much anything to do with events like this.
Just another way that I don’t fit into this world.
Quinn didn’t have that problem. He wore his tux like he was born to do it…probably because he was.
Jenny’s eyes went wide when she caught sight of Aubry, and she couldn’t exactly blame the woman. Wearing a black cut-out dress that showed off her tattoos to perfection had sounded like a great plan when she was packing and planning to aggravate Quinn as much as possible, but actually walking into a room of pastels in it was something else altogether. What the hell was I thinking?
Quinn’s sister approached, her smile firmly back in place by the time she was in front of them. “Right on time!”
“I’m making a habit of it this weekend,” Quinn said. “Consider it a one-time thing.”
“Yes, well. I appreciate it. And I’m sorry again about this morning. I didn’t know they were going to ambush you like that. It’s wonderful to see you again, Aubry.” Someone called her name and Jenny’s smile faltered before she made a visible effort to reclaim it. “I’ve got to go. We’ll talk later, though.”
“Can’t wait.” The words didn’t come out nearly as chipper as Aubry meant them to.
This whole event was just a reminder of how different she and Quinn were. It didn’t matter how often he claimed they weren’t his people, she knew damn well that a person never truly escaped their past. She might be successful in her own right, but she’d always be that freak from a trailer park in the back of her mind. Being here only brought that feeling home. Again and again and again.
She felt Quinn’s warmth at her back a second before his hands settled on her hips, his thumbs dipping into the cutout that exposed her sides. “Have I mentioned that you look ravishing?”
“Ravishing. That’s a big word for a cowboy.” That’s it. Remind yourself that your lives aren’t that different now. You both love Devil’s Falls. That’s something.
Except…
Enough. Worrying about things now wasn’t going to do anything but stress her the hell out.
“I have a few more up my sleeve.” His voice dropped into a rumble she could almost feel. “The first chance I get, I’m going to take this thing off you, strap by strap.”
Her knees shook as she pictured him doing exactly that. His hands skated down just a little, to cup her hips. “No panties. Naughty, peaches. Very naughty. I like it.” He leaned close enough that his chest pressed against her back. “I don’t know if we’re going to make it back to the room. Maybe after the ceremony, I’ll drag you out into the vineyards and fuck you right there in the dirt.” His laugh had her biting back a moan. “I could bring you around to the outdoors yet.”
With that kind of motivation, he might just manage it.
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly that, but he made a startled sound and then his touch was gone, leaving her leaning against something that was no longer there. Even worse was the shock in his voice. “Hope?”
The woman who approached, a slight limp in her step, looked at home in the crowd, her pale pink dress with its delicate beading, exposing just enough cleavage to be classily sexy and making Aubry feel like a second-class hooker. Her long blond hair was pulled back into an elegant up-do and her lipstick was as perfectly pink as her dress…and currently stretched wide into a smile that seemed for Quinn alone. “Hey, stranger.”
She was beautiful. More than beautiful. Like a goddess who’d wandered into their midst.
He stopped in front of her, his hands at his sides like he’d forgotten how to move properly. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Jenny and I never lost touch.”
Which seemed to indicate she and Quinn had. Aubry looked from one of them to the other, her heart sinking. They looked like a pair. Like Barbie and Ken, except more attractive and a whole hell of a lot more real. This wasn’t like Rochelle last night. It had been clear from the start that she was his father’s pick, but Quinn had never been interested in her in any way. That wasn’t clear with Hope. In fact, Aubry got the feeling that not only was he interested, but this woman would be one that every single judgmental asshole in his family would approve of. They’d probably roll out the welcome mat as soon as they saw these two talking.
Those are my issues, not Quinn’s. Any second now, he’d prove her wrong and put this woman in her place or do something to remind her that they were here together. Not him and Hope. Him and her.
But he just stood there, like he wanted to sweep Hope into his arms but wasn’t sure of his welcome.
She seemed to sense the same thing. Her smile turned a little bittersweet. “So I don’t warrant a hug anymore?”
“Aw, honey, of course you do.” He wrapped his big arms around her and lifted her off her feet, eliciting a laugh that sounded like honest-to-God bells. It made Aubry want to crawl back up to their room and virtually shoot something.
Hope’s gaze landed on her, and she gave a perfect frown, a tiny line appearing between her brows. For fuck’s sake, I bet she even cries prettily. “Who’s your friend?”
“What? Oh.” He turned around as if seeing Aubry for the first time. “This is Aubr
y.”
She tried not to be offended that he didn’t correct Hope’s assumption that they were friends. Why would he? They weren’t dating, not really, and she obviously wasn’t among the women he’d feared dealing with when he agreed to this in the first place. Hurt, jagged and deep, sliced through Aubry. That feeling, at least, she could deal with.
She was used to not measuring up. Why did she think Quinn would be any different, no matter what he said?
She’d let herself forget, for a little while, that she hated people because the second they got the chance, they’d disappoint you. She’d forgotten, too, that she barely liked Quinn on the best of days. It was the sex. It messed with her mind, just like she’d been afraid it would. She moved across the distance between them, reclaiming her armor with each step, until she felt more like her old self than she had since getting in the truck with him that first day. Broken and bitter and well aware of what the world had to offer her—nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Aubry laid her hand on his arm, her smile feeling like it would shatter her teeth. “Now, don’t be polite, Quinn. We’re not friends.” She turned to Hope. “We were fucking, but that’s over now. He’s all yours, sweetie.”
She turned around and marched out of the room, bypassing the elevator because the thought of being closed in with herself was nearly as awful as being surrounded by strangers. Outside. I just need some fresh air. She veered right, heading down the hallway and out the side door. The cool night air did nothing to calm the stinging of her cheeks, and she hated that she was blushing furiously, even if it was in anger.
This was her fault. She’d let herself get caught up in the fantasy of Quinn and his big, sexy cock, and she’d compromised all the defenses she’d spent years perfecting. It was so unbelievably stupid. And even when she knew she was being stupid, she’d let him say all the right things and make her feel like maybe, for once in her life, her instincts weren’t right and there were more than a handful of people out there who actually gave a damn.