Quinn is with his family. She could be with him and his wife, Yasmin. Or with any of his brothers. Maybe even his parents. The Griffins are an awesome family, and will help their friends and family any time they need it. Quinn definitely needed it, and I’m grateful to them, but now I need to find her.
I saw her at Luke Griffin’s wedding, but she told me to leave, and I couldn’t get past the four brothers, so I left. I’m not leaving Vegas, though. Not without Quinn. I won’t force her or stalk her or any crazy shit like that. I’m going to prove that I love her and that I’m sorry. Then she’ll take me back and we’ll live happily ever after. If only it was that easy. I know it’s not, but what I described is the only acceptable outcome for me.
* * *
Quinn
I’ve been in Las Vegas for two months now. I thank God every day for the Griffin family, and how they’ve helped me. I have a great place to stay and I love working with Chloe. It’s not fashion, but it is design, and she makes it fun for both of us. She does the major design work, but she lets me contribute my ideas, and then we work together to being her vision to life.
Our first building is almost ready for us to go in and put the finishing touches on. It’s a building for a non-profit in Tucson. We’ll be going there next week to check on the progress and I can’t wait. After Zane showed up here last week, I need to get out of town. If he pursues me, I’m going to go back to him. I won’t be able to help it. I have been in love with him since we were twelve. We’re twenty-five now and if anything, I love him even more.
We grew up together in the same neighborhood in Chicago. Our lives changed right before we started middle school. After years of struggling, my dad finally landed a good job. Actually, it was a great job. We ended up moving across town into a big house. Zane had been raised by a single mom, who was cooking at a local restaurant. Around the same time that my dad got his job, his mom got an amazing write up for her food. After that, an investor offered her money to open a string of restaurants around Chicago and the suburbs. They moved in down the street from us, and the Griffins, who’d grown up with us, too.
We were always good friends, but things changed for me that summer. My heart decided to get involved, and I saw him as more. Unfortunately, he could only see Whitney. The perfect girl who always wore dresses and looked like she’d stepped out of TV, or a magazine. How could I compete with that when most days I was in funky dresses, or jeans and combat boots? The answer is simple. I couldn’t.
It only got worse in high school. They weren’t the golden couple—they couldn’t be with Zane not being part of the popular crowd, or trying to fit in. But they were inseparable. He still defended me against the bullies who tormented me for not dressing like everyone else, and gave me a friendly hug when he saw me, but that was it. I didn’t think he’d ever see me differently. Then, he started drifting away from me, and falling more into her orbit.
I would still text him once a week or so to see how he was doing, but he never initiated any contact. I had to make the hard decision to give up, and try to be happy without him in my life. I never conformed to the clothes or uptight styles of the popular kids, and once I took the fashion design class my school offered, I found what I never knew I’d been missing. A purpose, and a dream.
I graduated high school, and was all set to go to New York and attend a prestigious fashion school. Then Zane walked back into my life. I’ll never forget that day. It was the day that my heart broke for the man I loved, as I watched him cry for someone else. I held him as he told me that Whitney wouldn’t give up her inheritance to be with him. That she didn’t love him enough. That he wasn’t enough. New money was worse than no money to her parents.
I comforted him, and tried to reassure him about what a great guy he was all summer. My parents watched us closely, and I know they were afraid I was going to give up my dreams to stay there with him. I didn’t, though. As much as I loved him, I knew he didn’t love me like that, and I couldn’t just give up everything to sit around and hope that he would one day realize that I was there with him. That I would always choose him if he wanted me.
The night before I left for New York, we made love for the first time. I’d been with a couple of guys from school, and he’d been with Whitney. So it wasn’t our first time in that sense. It was the first time I felt it in my soul, though. I thought he felt something, too, because he was so sweet and gentle with me. The next morning, he just kissed me on the forehead and disappeared. I got on the plane to New York, and was thankful that I had been able to have that one night with him. I thought that was the end, but it was only the beginning.
Learning To Love (The Griffin Brothers Book 4) Page 25