“The beginning?” I suggest. “It’s usually a good place.”
She splashes me with water now, a smile tugging at her lips as she mutters, “Smart ass.”
“Come on,” I say, reaching over to grab her wrist as I pull her closer. “Hit me with it. I promise you’ll feel better.”
“Ugh, okay,” she groans, scooping some water and splashing it on her face. “My divorce lawyer called.”
“Okay, and?”
“And he’s offered me two million and my car, neither of which I asked for,” she says, letting out a humorless laugh as she adds, “Actually, he upped it to eleven million when I said no to the first offer, so there’s that.”
I don’t say anything, just wait for her to look at me. She’s staring out at the horizon, watching the sun as it slowly rises above the mountains. I love watching the sunrise on the water, and judging by the small smile that she’s trying to fight even as it curves at her lips, I think Quinn does too.
Eventually, she turns to me, a brow raised in question as she says, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
I let out a laugh, running my hands through the water as I watch her. “Well, I guess it seems like a pretty good deal, but then I don’t know what you asked for. What you actually want.”
“Not that,” she says, her words harsh. “He never listens, though, and he thinks by throwing money at me, he can make all of this go away.”
I’m nodding as I try to process her words, wondering what’s really going on here. “You left him, right?” I clarify, knowing she told me this the day she broke down on her front porch.
That she told me how she’d walked in on him fucking another woman in their bed. How this woman wasn’t the first, not even close, and how she’d simply walked out, leaving New York and moving to Hawaii where she knew no one.
“Yes,” Quinn replies, giving a single quick nod.
“Okay, so you wanna tell?—”
“It comes with strings,” she quickly says, cutting me off. “Everything with him comes with strings.”
“What kind of strings?”
She swirls her hands through the water now, her legs moving beneath her board as she turns back to the horizon. “An NDA.”
“Ahhh,” I say, still not really getting it. Quinn lets out a laugh that tells me she also knows this, and then I just come right out and ask, “So, who exactly is your ex?”
She closes her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths before opening them. “Sean English,” she says, her voice flat. “Lead singer of The Provocation.”
I blink in surprise as I blurt out, “Are you fucking serious?”
Quinn rolls her eyes as she says, “You know him. Of course you do. Everyone does. They’ve won like eight fucking Grammys or whatever. Everyone thinks they’re so fucking amazing.” Her words are harsh, laced with sarcasm as she practically spits them out.
“I’m not gonna lie, their music is good, Quinn, but that’s not what my reaction is about,” I say, wondering if it’s possible for the world to be this small. That a band that gave my younger brother the biggest break of his life is also the same band that has brought me Quinn.
She looks over. “So what is it about, then?”
Chuckling, I ask, “So you know Miles is in a band, right?”
Quinn nods, and I’m sure she’s wondering how the hell this can mean anything given my brother spends half his time working with Daze in her bakery and half his time working with me and Dad. Yeah, his band is still together, and they are still playing shows, but they’re not exactly touring the world and winning Grammys and shit.
Yet, anyway.
“Yeah, you told me they went on tour on the mainland, remember?” she says. “Daisy mentioned last night that they’re playing next weekend. She invited me to go see them with her and the girls.”
“You should go,” I say. “They’re really fucking good,” I add, mentally reminding myself that next weekend is probably very close to Quinn’s thirtieth birthday too.
She narrows her brow, watching me, a questioning look on her face. “Didn’t you also say things imploded on that tour? That they opened for—holy shit, was your brother’s band Silent Daydream?” Her questioning look has now morphed into complete and utter shock as the pieces all click together.
“Is Silent Daydream,” I say, correcting her. “They’re actually back together.”
